memeorandum: US soft power grows as the alternatives become clear (Janan Ganesh/Financial Times)

2:15 PM ET, September 13, 2022

Top Items:

Republicans tried to sidestep the issue of abortion. Now they're seeking a reset. — Republicans' first step was admitting they had an abortion problem. Now, GOP candidates are racing to limit self-inflicted damage — and trying to blunt Democrats' edge on the issue — before November's midterm elections.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, National Review, Talking Points Memo, Balloon Juice and The Guardian

Rebecca Falconer / Axios:

Lindsey Graham to propose new national abortion restrictions bill … - Graham has previously introduced bills that sought to ban abortions nationally from 20 weeks. … - Republican candidates across the U.S. have moved to disappear hardline anti-abortion stances they took during their primaries …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, USA Today, The American Independent, The Daily Caller, Vanity Fair, New York Post, Common Dreams, PoliticusUSA, The Guardian, The Hill, Twitchy, Raw Story, Associated Press and Blue Virginia

Chris Stein / The Guardian:

Democrats condemn Lindsey Graham's nationwide abortion ban proposal - live — Senator's bill would outlaw procedure after 15 weeks — Democratic leaders condemn proposed nationwide abortion ban — January 6 committee member says criminal referral ‘likely’ over attack

Discussion: The White House, The Hill, Al Jazeera, Mother Jones, The Gateway Pundit, PoliticusUSA and Jill Filipovic

Annie Karni / New York Times:
Graham Proposes 15-Week Abortion Ban, Seeking to Unite Republicans

Discussion: Common Dreams and FiveThirtyEight

Washington Post:
Graham introduces bill to ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks

Discussion: Politico, VICE, Bloomberg, NBC News, The Daily Beast, CNBC, Insider, CBS News, Just The News, The Daily Caller and Rolling Stone

Tyler Olson / Fox News:
Graham introducing 15-week abortion ban, says bill may help GOP in midterms

Discussion: Politico and National Review

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar / The Independent:

Liz Cheney says new revelations reveal true ‘danger’ of Donald Trump — Cheney is one of the two Republicans on the investigating committee … Congresswoman Liz Cheney said Donald Trump's unwillingness to leave the White House after being defeated in the 2020 presidential election …

Discussion: Al Jazeera

Cami Mondeaux / Washington Examiner:
Ex-top Trump adviser rips ‘thievery’ of White House documents during presidency

Discussion: Washington Post and Newsweek

Zachary Petrizzo / The Daily Beast:
Peter Navarro Trashes Trump's Chiefs and ‘Cabinet of Clowns’

Discussion: Insider, New Book Releases …, Mediaite and Raw Story

Luke Broadwater / New York Times:
Archives Is Unsure Whether Trump Surrendered All Records, Panel Says

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Insider, NBC News, USA Today, Reuters, Raw Story and Forbes

Jacob Kornbluh / The Forward: ‘Shabbat Shalom and Sayonara’: Loyalists tried to oust Kushner via Shabbat meeting with Trump

Zachary Cohen / CNN:
House Oversight Committee asks Archives if Trump still possesses presidential records

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Associated Press, The Hill, New York Post, Florida Politics and Raw Story

Lucia Mutikani / Reuters:

Monthly U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly rise in August; core inflation picks up — Monthly U.S consumer prices unexpectedly rose in August as declining gasoline prices were offset by gains in the costs of rent and food, giving cover for the Federal Reserve to deliver another hefty interest rate increase next Wednesday.

Discussion: FXStreet, Voice of America, Associated Press, Washington Times and Twitchy

CNBC:
Stock sell-off deepens, Dow drops 800 points after hot inflation report

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ and National Review

Jeanna Smialek / New York Times:
Price Pressures Remain Stubbornly High

Discussion: The Western Journal, One America News Network, RetirementRevised, Fortune and Common Dreams

Washington Post:

Intelligence points to potential turning point in Ukraine war — Whether Ukraine's gains are permanent, Western intelligence officials said, depends on Russia's next moves, especially whether President Vladimir Putin orders up reinforcements — A Ukrainian counteroffensive …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Financial Times, CNN, Outside the Beltway, Instapundit, JustOneMinute, Political Wire and Politico

New York Times:

The Critical Moment Behind Ukraine's Rapid Advance — WASHINGTON — The strategy behind Ukraine's rapid military gains in recent days began to take shape months ago during a series of intense conversations between Ukrainian and U.S. officials about the way forward in the war against Russia, according to American officials.

Discussion: Common Dreams, The Guardian, Metro.co.uk and WTOP News

David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:

What Happens to Russia After It Loses? — In the aftermath of Putin's catastrophic war on Ukraine, Russia will never be the same. … With reports of Russian troops fleeing like “Olympic sprinters,” leaving behind weapons, crashing their tanks into trees, and turning over more than 3,000 square kilometers …

Discussion: Newsweek and CNN

Charlie Sykes / Morning Shots:
Will the U.S. Abandon Ukraine? It Could Happen.

Discussion: Washington Post

Walter Russell Mead / Wall Street Journal:
What if Putin Uses a Nuclear Weapon in Ukraine?

Discussion: CBS News

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Trump faces a new threat: Scrutiny of ‘stop the steal’ money scam — The upstanding folks around Donald Trump have been hit with a wave of new subpoenas in connection with the Justice Department investigation into efforts to overturn the election, the New York Times reports.

Discussion: CNN, The Post Millennial and Voice of America

Associated Press:
Trump's PAC faces scrutiny amid intensifying legal probes

Discussion: Balloon Juice and The Full Belmonte

New York Times:
Justice Dept. Issues 40 Subpoenas in a Week, Expanding Its Jan. 6 Inquiry

Lachlan Markay / Axios:

Republicans' stealthy primary play — Deep-pocketed Republican groups are pouring millions into efforts to knock off hard-right GOP primary candidates — while ensuring the source of the cash stays shrouded until after voters select their nominees, Axios has learned.

Discussion: Politico and Reason

Henry J. Gomez / NBC News:
New Hampshire's Senate primary offers one last GOP slugfest

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Dispatch, The Hill, ABC News, Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight and The Racket News

Aaron Sibarium / Washington Free Beacon:

Nation's Largest Public University Hit With Class Action Suit Over Race-Based Hiring Practices — The largest public university in the United States is reserving faculty positions based on race and making six-figure bonuses available exclusively to minorities, programs that are now the subject of a class action lawsuit.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Mike Allen / Axios:

First look: Pence was “angry” on Jan. 6 — Former Vice President Mike Pence writes in a memoir — “So Help Me God,” out Nov. 15 — that when the Capitol was attacked while he was presiding over a joint session to certify the 2020 election results, “I was not afraid, but I was angry.”

Discussion: Mediaite, Insider, Raw Story, The Hill and Political Wire

NBC News:

Verdicts for men charged in Jan. 6 assaults could have a major impact on Capitol prosecutions — WASHINGTON — A federal judge in D.C. on Tuesday will hand down verdicts in the trial of three Jan. 6 defendants that could have a major impact on the trajectory of Capitol attack prosecutions going forward.

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:

Biden to host White House celebration of the Inflation Reduction Act … Today, thousands of supporters from across the country are expected at the White House as President Biden stages a celebration of the Inflation Reduction Act, a sprawling new law that aims to lower prescription drug costs …

Discussion: The Hill, HotAir, Washington Examiner, National Review and Twitchy

Ed Morrissey / HotAir:
BREAKING: Bidenflation still roaring as CPI hits 8.3%, core CPI near high at 6.3%

Discussion: ABC News, Yahoo Finance, CNBC, New York Post, RedState, Twitchy, The Hill and Breitbart

Janan Ganesh / Financial Times:

US soft power grows as the alternatives become clear — America is more attractive in the light of Russia's failed aggression and China's domestic troubles — In 2020, according to the Pew Research Center, 31 per cent of French people had a favourable view of the US.

Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:

Senate to Investigate Charge That Trump Meddled in Prosecutor's Office — The allegations of political motivation are in a new book by the former U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey S. Berman. — The Senate Judiciary Committee will investigate allegations that the Justice Department under …

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story, The Hill, NewsNation, CNN and ABC News

Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:

‘Unless You Stop a Bully, a Bully Will Never Stop’: Sandy Hook Families' Lawyer Tears into Alex Jones as Connecticut Trial Kicks Off — As the second trial against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones kicked off, an attorney for eight families of Sandy Hook victims and a former FBI agent told …

Discussion: Raw Story and The Guardian

New York Times:

How King Charles Turned His Royal Estate Into a Lucrative Portfolio — As prince, Charles used tax breaks, offshore accounts and canny real estate investments to turn a sleepy estate into a billion-dollar business. — LONDON — King Charles III built his own empire long before he inherited his mother's.

Discussion: Fortune, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite and Defector

David Gilbert / VICE:

Trump's Not Even Pretending to Hide His Support for QAnon Any More — “President Trump himself is making it UNDENIABLE that he is 100% aligning with the Q operation,” one QAnon follower said. — David Gilbert — Former President Donald Trump has now shared his most explicit endorsement of the QAnon conspiracy movement to date.

Discussion: Raw Story