memeorandum: Voting Rights: “There Is Reason to be Optimistic as Well as Alarmed” (Anna Deen/Washington Monthly)

7:05 AM ET, April 18, 2022

Top Items:

Alex Jones' InfoWars files for bankruptcy in U.S. court — Far-right wing website InfoWars on Sunday filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in the face of multiple defamation lawsuits.

Discussion: CBS News

Neil MacFarquhar / New York Times:

Days after the sinking of a Russian warship, questions linger. — A video released by Russia's Ministry of Defense purporting to show dozens of uniformed crew members from the missile cruiser Moskva standing in formation, apparently days after the ship sank, did not answer lingering questions …

Discussion: Occupation of Ukraine?!, The Daily Beast and CBS News

Julia Davis / The Daily Beast:
Russian Propaganda Turns to ‘Lord of the Rings’ to Stir Ukraine Hatred

Discussion: Raw Story

Anton Troianovski / New York Times:
Atrocities in Ukraine War Have Deep Roots in Russian Military

Discussion: Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post

Bel Trew / The Independent:
Bound, beaten, killed: Ukrainian civilians reveal horrors of Russian torture chamber

Discussion: Metro.co.uk and Balloon Juice

Jonathan Lis / Haaretz: Russia Summons Israeli Envoy After Lapid's ‘Regrettable’ Remarks on Ukraine War

New York Times: ‘They Are Gone, Vanished’: Missing Persons Haunt Ukrainian Village

Timothy Snyder / Thinking about:
Russia's Easter Offensive

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Gilles Guillaume / Reuters:

French prosecutor studying EU anti-fraud agency report on Le Pen — French prosecutors said on Sunday they are examining a report by the European Union's anti-fraud agency accusing far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and members of her party of misappropriating thousands of euros' worth of EU funds.

Discussion: Bloomberg and Al Jazeera

John Irish / Reuters: French far-left gives no voting instructions after internal consultations

Associated Press:

US rocked by 3 mass shootings during Easter weekend; 2 dead — HAMPTON, S.C. (AP) — Authorities in South Carolina say they are investigating shooting at a club in Hampton County early Sunday that left at least nine people injured. It was the third mass shooting in the U.S. over the Easter holiday weekend.

Discussion: CNN, Associated Press, TheBlaze, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Law & Crime, ABC Columbia, TheGrio, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, UPI, Washington Examiner, City of Columbia Police …, WOOD-TV and Indian Country Today

Paul Best / Fox News:

South Carolina mall shooting suspect's bond set at $25,000, can go to work with ankle monitor — Jewayne Price was charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol — Fox News Flash top headlines for April 17 — A South Carolina judge set a $25,000 bond for a suspect in a mall shooting …

Discussion: NBC News, Townhall, The Hill, The Daily Caller and Associated Press

Ben Kesslen / New York Post:

Woke Ariz. diversity activists falsely accuse black DJ of wearing blackface — Two local diversity advocates in Arizona are taking heat after calling a school district racist for hiring a DJ to perform in black face — but it turns out the DJ was black. — Stuart Rhoden and Jill Lassen …

BBC:

Dozens arrested at Sweden riots sparked by planned Quran burnings — More than 40 people have been arrested during four days of violent clashes in cities in Sweden between police and people angry at plans by a far-right group to burn copies of the Quran. — Three people were injured …

Discussion: Al Jazeera, Agence France-Presse, The Gateway Pundit and Euractiv

Anna Deen / Washington Monthly:

Voting Rights: “There Is Reason to be Optimistic as Well as Alarmed” — The Supreme Court is curtailing voting rights, as are many states. But the Brennan Center's Michael Waldman sees reason for hope. Here's why. — Michael Waldman hadn't planned on rereleasing his 2016 book, The Fight to Vote, anytime soon.

Discussion: New Republic

Adrianna Rodriguez / USA Today:

COVID vaccines are not meant to prevent all infections, experts say. Americans need to reset their expectations. — Watch Video: COVID vaccine second booster: Here's who can get the 4th shot — Denny Mitchell couldn't believe he tested positive for the coronavirus in January.

Lachlan Markay / Axios:

Out-of-state money floods midterm races — Candidates in key midterm primaries are getting huge cash boosts from wealthy out-of-state donors — funneled through groups that can raise and spend unlimited sums for them, according to an Axios analysis. … It precedes major Senate primaries …

James Downie / Washington Post:

Will the media let Sen. Mike Lee go unquestioned? — Earlier this month, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) became the fourth of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump last year to announce his retirement. On Sunday, Upton and NBC's “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd discussed …

Discussion: The Bulwark

Hillary Andrews / Fox Weather:

New reason to fear ticks: Extreme food allergy possible from single bite — Emergency room visits for tick bites spike from April to June. — Now there's a new reason to fear tick bites. It's a potentially deadly allergy that starts with the dreaded insects.

John Harwood / CNN:

Biden confronts a host of problems he can't do much to solve — There's just not much President Joe Biden can do about it. — There's not much he can do to curb inflation. — There's not much he can do to stop migrants from reaching America's southern border.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Associated Press, Democracy, New Republic, Wide World of News and RedState

Julia Shapero / Axios:

GOP Rep. Upton says death threats made bipartisan votes ‘frightening’ — Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said on Sunday that death threats — like those he received for voting for infrastructure spending — could “be a detriment getting good people to run” for Congress.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Insider