memeorandum: Pentagon commits another $300 million to Ukraine for security assistance (Andrew Jeong/Washington Post)

2:20 PM ET, April 2, 2022

Top Items:

Paul Sperry / New York Post:

Ketanji Brown Jackson chose leniency even in baby sex torture cases — In the eight child-porn cases that came before her court, former D.C. District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson heard horrifying details of “sadomasochistic” torture of young kids — including “infants and toddlers” …

Discussion: robertspencer.org and A3P

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

McConnell leans hard on GOP senators to oppose Jackson — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is putting public and private pressure on Senate Republican colleagues to oppose President Biden's nominee to the Supreme Court, despite the historic nature of her nomination to be the first Black woman on the court.

Discussion: Insider and Joe.My.God.

NBC News:

Is the Supreme Court confirmation process irreparably broken? Some senators say yes. — Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is on track for a narrow confirmation, but her hearings illustrated an ongoing disintegration of the process. Senators fear it will only get worse.

Discussion: Salon

A3P: The Article III Project: A3P Releases Transcripts of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Sentencing Hearings

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Americans strongly disapprove of GOP pushback on Ketanji Brown Jackson

Discussion: Slate

Jacob Heilbrunn / Politico:

Trumpian Conservatives Hold an ‘Emergency’ Meeting Over Russia — J.D. Vance was on the warpath. “Using American power to do the dirty work of Europe is a pretty bad idea,” he told a crowd on Thursday, warning against the U.S. getting more involved in Ukraine. “We don't have that many non-insane people in Washington.

Discussion: Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA

Ben Jacobs / The Atlantic:

The “Putin Is Bad, But” Republicans — On Thursday, in a dim conference room in the bowels of a Washington, D.C., hotel, about 150 conservatives gathered for a day of group therapy. They had all been traumatized by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which had left them questioning their assumptions about the world.

New York Times:

Garland Faces Growing Pressure as Jan. 6 Investigation Widens — The inquiry is a test for President Biden and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, who both came into office promising to restore the Justice Department's independence. — Give this article- - - Read in app

Discussion: HotAir, The Hill, Joe.My.God., Outside the Beltway and Associated Press

New York Times:

Sarah Palin Announces She's Running for Congress in Alaska — Ms. Palin released a statement on Friday that she was entering the race to replace Representative Don Young, who died last month. — Give this article- - - Read in app — Sarah Palin, a former Alaska governor …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Joe.My.God., Fox News, Breitbart, Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Gateway Pundit, Insider, National Review, Just The News and justoneminute.typepad.com

Anchorage Daily News:
51 candidates: A wild U.S. House race takes shape in Alaska

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Conservative Brief, Townhall and Alaska Watchman

Anchorage Daily News:
Live updates: As deadline nears, Palin joins crowded field in special Alaska U.S. House election

Discussion: Mother Jones, NBC News, The Federalist, The Guardian, Bloomberg, UPI, The Midnight Sun Memo, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, The Midnight Sun, The Daily Wire and POLITICUSUSA

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:
Palin joins Alaska House race for late Don Young's seat

Discussion: WinRed, The Daily Caller, The Sun, CBS News, Politico and Todd Starnes

Washington Post:
Sarah Palin running for Alaska congressional seat

Discussion: Anchorage Daily News, CNN, Associated Press, Alaska Public Media, USA Today, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, ABC News and NPR

U.S. Department of Defense:

Defense Department Announces $300 Million in Additional Assistance for Ukraine — Attributed to Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby: — This afternoon, April 1, the Department of Defense (DoD) notified Congress of additional assistance activities under authority provided by the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

Discussion: Insider, UPI, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, The Hill and Al Jazeera

Andrew Jeong / Washington Post:

Pentagon commits another $300 million to Ukraine for security assistance — The Pentagon will provide up to $300 million in military supplies to Ukraine, including drones, armored vehicles and machine guns, as part of a broader effort to boost Ukrainian forces fighting Russia's invasion.

Discussion: New York Post, The Times of Israel, POLITICUSUSA and Insider

Rosie Bradbury / Insider:

I spent a week on Trump's new social media app Truth Social. I felt like I was exploring a ghost town. — I spent a week on Truth Social, Donald Trump's new social media app. It was like a ghost town. — Lots of prominent right-wingers, like Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro, weren't anywhere to be seen.

Discussion: Raw Story

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:

Once Again, Environmentalists Are Sabotaging Climate Progress — New York City is among the most progressive and climate-conscious municipalities in the United States. It is legally obligated to bring its greenhouse emissions to 40 percent below their 2005 peak by the end of the decade.

Kathryn Paige Harden / The Atlantic:

The SAT Isn't What's Unfair — MIT brings back a test that, despite its reputation, helps low-income students in an inequitable society. — About the author: Kathryn Paige Harden is a clinical-psychology professor at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality.

Discussion: CNN and The Liberty Loft

Andrea Hsu / NPR:

He was fired by Amazon 2 years ago. Now he's the force behind the company's 1st union — “He's not smart, or articulate.” — Those were the words used by a top Amazon lawyer to describe former warehouse worker Chris Smalls. — Smalls had led a walkout at the start of the pandemic …

Discussion: Forbes, The Register and National Review, more at Techmeme »

Josefa Velasquez / THE CITY:
Amazon Warehouse Workers Win Historic Union Vote on Staten Island

Discussion: The Lever, Jacobin, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Mashable, Watch Night News, HuffPost, TheStreet, Rolling Stone, UPI, ABC7, Jezebel and Politico

Helene Cooper / New York Times:

U.S. Will Help Transfer Soviet-Made Tanks to Ukraine — The transfer, a response to a request from Ukraine's president, will mark the first time the Biden administration has helped send tanks in the five-week-old war. — Give this article- - - Read in app

Discussion: Politico, The Hill and Political Wire

Ed Pilkington / The Guardian:

What is Trump hiding? The Capitol riot-sized hole in White House call log — A mysterious gap of 7 hours 37 minutes in phone records for 6 January 2021 coincides with the insurrection in Washington DC — At 2.26pm on 6 January last year, Donald Trump picked up a White House phone …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Brent Lang / Variety:

Will Smith Resigns From Academy Over Chris Rock Oscars Slap Backlash … Will Smith, facing possible expulsion or suspension after he assaulted Chris Rock during last Sunday's Oscars telecast, has instead resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.