memeorandum: 'It's crazy': FBI Director Christopher Wray expresses deep concern for rising violence in US (Kevin Johnson/USA Today)

5:55 PM ET, August 4, 2022

Top Items:

Oliver Darcy / CNN:

Jury finds Alex Jones caused $4 million in damages to two Sandy Hook parents — New York (CNN Business)Right-wing talk show host Alex Jones will have to pay the parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim a little more than $4 million in compensatory damages, a jury decided Thursday …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, NBC News, KXAN-TV, Washington Post and KDFX-TV, more at Mediagazer »

Matt Labash / Slack Tide:

Mr. Jones and Me — Is the Alex Jones joke over? Or is it still on the rest of us? — In my former incarnation as a serial profile writer, I developed a high tolerance - and sometimes even an affinity - for rogues, creeps, and colorful liars. Which is why it makes sense that I'd get along with Alex Jones, if only for an evening.

more at Mediagazer »

Anna Merlan / VICE:

A Copy of Alex Jones' Cellphone Will Be Turned Over to the January 6 Committee ‘Immediately’ — The phone data was accidentally given to a lawyer for the parents of children killed at Sandy Hook. — Anna Merlan — After Wednesday's revelation that an attorney for Alex Jones accidentally turned …

Discussion: Vox, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Rolling Stone and The Daily Beast

Associated Press:
Jan. 6 panel has asked for Alex Jones' texts, Sandy Hook attorney says

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Times, CNN, Rolling Stone, CBS News, Forbes, The Guardian, KXAN-TV, The Mahablog, The Moderate Voice and Talking Points Memo

Lawrence Mower / Tampa Bay Times:

DeSantis suspends Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren — “Our government is a government of laws, not a government of men,” DeSantis said. — TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren for not prosecuting certain crimes.

Discussion: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida Politics, Breitbart, One America News Network, Reason, WFLA-TV, The Western Journal, HotAir, Raw Story, American Greatness, RedState, The Daily Caller, Todd Starnes, Ace of Spades HQ and NewsNation

Steve Contorno / CNN:

DeSantis suspends Tampa prosecutor who took stance against criminalizing abortion providers — (CNN)Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday suspended Tampa's elected prosecutor, Andrew Warren, for pledging not to use his office to go after people who seek and provide abortions or on doctors …

Discussion: The Guardian, Fox News, ABC News, Forbes, 19FortyFive, Al Jazeera, Washington Times, LGBTQ Nation, Insider, Florida Phoenix, Florida Politics and The Federalist

Anders Hagstrom / Fox News:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspends ‘Soros-backed’ state attorney who refused to enforce abortion ban

Discussion: Daily Mail, Politico, RedState, The Daily Beast and LifeNews.com

Patricia Mazzei / New York Times:
DeSantis Suspends Tampa Prosecutor Who Vowed Not to Criminalize Abortion

Discussion: WUSF Public Media, NBC News, Wall Street Journal, Florida's Voice and Just The News

Kirby Wilson / Tampa Bay Times:
Who is Andrew Warren? Meet the Tampa prosecutor Ron DeSantis just removed

Discussion: CNN, Intelligible Noise, Washington Examiner and Balloon Juice

Emma Graham-Harrison / The Guardian:

Hey, that's my house: US aid worker realises Zawahiri villa is his old home — The Kabul property hit by a US drone was familiar. It turned out Dan Smock had something in common with al-Qaida's leader — Emma Graham-Harrison in Kabul — he balcony in Kabul where the head of al-Qaida was killed was a spot Dan Smock knew well.

Discussion: The Hill, Task & Purpose, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, The Diplomat, The Daily Beast, CNN and rolling dumpster fire

Kevin Johnson / USA Today:

'It's crazy': FBI Director Christopher Wray expresses deep concern for rising violence in US — Wray called election and politically motivated violence “almost a 365-day phenomenon,” an outgrowth of the country's deep divide. — WASHINGTON - FBI Director Christopher Wray …

Discussion: Politico and Washington Times

Spencer Brown / Townhall:
'What Are Y'all Doing?': Cruz Scorches FBI Director for Targeting Patriotic Symbols

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner, The Federalist, UPI, RedState, IJR, The Daily Caller, Louder With Crowder and Twitchy

Luis Martinez / ABC News:
How the Hellfire missiles took out al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri with minimal collateral damage

Discussion: The Dispatch

CNN:

Exclusive: Trump lawyers in talks with Justice Department about January 6 criminal probe — (CNN)Former President Donald Trump's legal team is in direct communication with Justice Department officials, the first sign of talks between the two sides as the criminal probe into January 6, 2021 …

Discussion: Bloomberg and Associated Press

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

Trump likely to be criminally charged in DOJ election probe along with other former White House officials, Obama AG Holder says — Former President Donald Trump “probably” will be indicted on criminal charges along with former White House officials as part of a Justice Department investigation …

Jim Heintz / Associated Press:

WNBA's Griner convicted at drug trial, sentenced to 9 years — KHIMKI, Russia (AP) — U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was convicted Thursday in Russia of drug possession and sentenced to nine years in prison following a politically charged trial that came amid soaring tensions between Moscow …

Karen Townsend / HotAir:
Will another American held in Russia be added to a prisoner swap deal?

Discussion: Washington Examiner

The White House:
Statement by President Joe Biden on the Sentencing of Wrongfully Detained American Brittney Griner

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Insider, The Root, The Spun, Mediaite, Sports Illustrated, The Western Journal, Mother Jones, PBS NewsHour and Townhall

ABC News:

DOJ charges current, former police officers in connection with raid that killed Breonna Taylor — The department is investigating the Louisville Police Department. — U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday that the Department of Justice has filed charges against four former …

Discussion: Washington Post, USA Today, CBS News, FOX 56 News, The Gateway Pundit, MJR News, The Daily Caller and New York Times

Roberto Ferdman / VICE:
Cops Tied to Breonna Taylor's Death Arrested and Charged

Discussion: Axios, RedState and Just The News

Cami Mondeaux / Washington Examiner:
Four officers charged in connection to Breonna Taylor's death

Discussion: Law & Crime, Politico, U.S. Department of Justice, New York Times, TheBlaze, Insider, Wall Street Journal, Sputnik News, Bloomberg, JURIST, UPI, NBC Bay Area, Common Dreams and CBS News

Washington Post:

As monkeypox strikes gay men, officials debate warnings to limit partners — Sex is a major driver of the global outbreak. But health officials and longtime HIV activists say calls for abstinence don't work. — SAN FRANCISCO — Thousands of gay men clad in leather, latex …

Discussion: HotAir, Sacramento Bee, RedState, Big League Politics, Common Dreams, NPR, Twitchy, The Federalist, Just The News, NewsNation, 17-Minute Date and The Daily Caller

Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
Monkeypox is ‘a public health emergency,’ U.S. health secretary declares

Discussion: The Hill, HuffPost, Politico, Bloomberg, Reuters, Mercury News, Mediaite, TheBlaze, Union-News, The Verge, CBS News, Fortune, New York Times, Insider and STAT

A.B. Stoddard / The Bulwark:

The Distinct Shame of Senate Republicans — Think about what Republican senators must have known when they voted not to convict Trump during the second impeachment. — Watching the House Select Committee on January 6th hearings I was struck by one overriding question.

Discussion: Bernard Goldberg's Commentary, The Guardian, Robert Robb and New Republic

HuffPost:

Democrats Plan Saturday Vote On Inflation Reduction Act — Passing the bill would represent a partial fulfillment of a major part of Joe Biden's domestic policy agenda. — WASHINGTON ― Senate Democrats plan to hold a procedural vote Saturday on their major domestic policy bill known …

Discussion: Fox News, Bloomberg, Politico, KDFX-TV and Political Wire

Politico:
Schumer's office says he plans to hold vote on tech antitrust bill

Discussion: The Hill and New York Post

Miriam Jordan / New York Times:

G.O.P. Governors Cause Havoc by Busing Migrants to East Coast — Thousands of migrants have been arriving on buses sent by the governors of Texas and Arizona. Many have ended up in homeless shelters and on the streets. — WASHINGTON — Lever Alejos arrived in the nation's capital last week …

Discussion: HotAir, Ace of Spades HQ, Big League Politics and Twitchy

Sue Evans / Common Sense:

How Tavistock Came Tumbling Down — I was a nurse working on a team that recklessly prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids. I blew the whistle in 2005. Now the government is finally listening. — I joined the Tavistock Clinic in North London as a clinical nurse therapist in 2003.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Jo Yurcaba / NBC News:
‘Social contagion’ isn't causing more youths to be transgender, study finds

Discussion: LGBTQ Nation

Josh Hammer / Newsweek:

Why Is Everyone Talking About the Claremont Institute? — , NEWSWEEK OPINION EDITOR AND HOST, “THE JOSH HAMMER SHOW” — On Wednesday, Elisabeth Zerofsky of The New York Times Magazine published a lengthy essay titled, “How the Claremont Institute Became a Nerve Center of the American Right.”

Discussion: New York Times

Josh Barro / Very Serious:

Kansas Provides a Roadmap for Democrats on Abortion — And exposes Republicans' own ‘coalition brain’ problem — The proposed state constitutional amendment that would have permitted state lawmakers in Kansas to prohibit abortion was soundly defeated yesterday, losing by a margin of nearly 20 points …

Discussion: Fox News, HuffPost, Bloomberg, Forbes, NPR, RedState, Associated Press, Iowa Starting Line, Roll Call, Morning Shots, FiveThirtyEight, Popular Information and Politico

Amy Davidson Sorkin / New Yorker:
A Bad Democratic Bet in the G.O.P. Primaries

Discussion: HotAir, Washington Post, The Daily Caller and National Review

John F. Harris / Politico:

How Ruth Bader Ginsburg Will Have The Last Laugh on Samuel Alito — Justice Samuel Alito, in drafting Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, said he and the other justices who joined him in ending a constitutional right to abortion had no ability to foresee what the political implications would be.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, National Review and Althouse

Hannah Natanson / Washington Post:

‘Never seen it this bad’: America faces catastrophic teacher shortage — Rural school districts in Texas are switching to four-day weeks this fall due to lack of staff. Florida is asking veterans with no teaching background to enter classrooms. Arizona is allowing college students to step in and instruct children.

Discussion: Kevin Drum, ArkansasTimes, Wikidworld and Joanne Jacobs

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

The Trumpists are winning. Here are 3 hidden reasons to fear them. — As the noxious dust settles from this week's GOP primaries, some big storylines are coming into view: The Trumpists are ascendant, and in their hands, the threat of Trumpism will far outlast Donald Trump himself.

Discussion: CBS News and Axios

San Antonio Express-News:

‘He was difficult’: Uvalde school police chief Pete Arredondo was demoted years before the massacre — Eight years before Uvalde school police Chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo led a disastrous law enforcement response to a mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, he was demoted …

Associated Press:

Primaries bring big losses for incumbent GOP state lawmakers — MADISON, Wis. (AP) — As Wisconsin's longest-serving Assembly speaker, Republican Robin Vos has presided over efforts to restrict abortions, weaken unions, expand gun rights and push back against COVID-19 mandates.

Discussion: CNN, Insider and Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Delays Minuteman III Missile Test Amid Tensions Over Taiwan — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the delay to avoid further inflaming relations with China, a defense official said — What's Next for Taiwan as U.S.-China Tensions Rise … The Biden administration postponed …

Discussion: The Hill, Bloomberg, Politico, New York Post, Townhall, CNN, Twitchy, Sputnik News, Financial Times, Fox News and The Guardian

Michael Rezendes / Associated Press:

Seven years of sex abuse: How Mormon officials let it happen — BISBEE, Ariz. (AP) — MJ was a tiny, black-haired girl, just 5 years old, when her father admitted to his bishop that he was sexually abusing her. — The father, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints …

Discussion: Raw Story

Charley Grant / Wall Street Journal:

CFPB Is Investigating Goldman Sachs's Credit-Card Practices — The bank said regulators are looking at areas including how it handles customer refunds — Goldman Sachs GS -0.39%▼ Group Inc. said Thursday that regulators are investigating business practices at its credit card unit.

Discussion: CNBC and Financial Times