memeorandum: Russia accuses Ukraine of launching a drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. (Neil MacFarquhar/New York Times)

3:30 PM ET, October 29, 2022

Top Items:

Pelosi Attack Suspect Was A Psychotic Homeless Addict Estranged From His Pedophile Lover & Their Children — Berkeley resident David DePape was more in the grip of drug-induced psychosis than ideology-induced fanaticism. — Leading politicians yesterday blamed the political Right …

Discussion: HuffPost, The Gateway Pundit, Lucianne, The Post Millennial, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Daily Wire, Fox News, Althouse, Fox 8 Cleveland WJW and The Guardian

Washington Post:

Attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband follows years of GOP demonizing her — A man with right-wing views who broke into the House speaker's home yelled “Where is Nancy?” before assaulting Paul Pelosi with a hammer, police say. — In 2010, Republicans launched a “Fire Pelosi” project …

Los Angeles Times:

Accused Pelosi attacker David DePape spread QAnon, other far-right, bigoted conspiracies — In the months before police accused him of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, David DePape had been drifting further into the world of far-right conspiracies, antisemitism and hate …

Politico:

Police offer new details in Paul Pelosi assault — SAN FRANCISCO — Police said Friday evening the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was “intentional.” — The man accused of entering the Pelosi home and attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer specifically targeted …

Associated Press:
Pelosi attack shocks country on edge about democracy threats

Discussion: Politico, Axios, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Mother Jones, CBS News, The Hill, The Guardian, Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Althouse

Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Pelosi Attack Highlights Rising Fears of Political Violence

Discussion: Politico, Axios, HuffPost, ABC7, ABC News, Washington Post, CNN, Bloomberg, Roll Call and CBS News

Anita Chabria / Los Angeles Times:
'It's getting worse.' The sad part of the Pelosi attack is it doesn't surprise us

Discussion: Insider and Raw Story

BBC:

‘Massive’ drone attack on Black Sea Fleet - Russia — Ukraine has carried out a “massive” drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, damaging one warship, Russia says. — Nine drones were used, a top official said. Ukraine has not commented.

Discussion: TASS, Task & Purpose and IJR

Neil MacFarquhar / New York Times:

Russia accuses Ukraine of launching a drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. … Russia's decision upends a deal designed to ease the global food crisis. — Russia on Saturday said that it was suspending its participation in an agreement to export grain and other agricultural products …

Discussion: Politico, Bloomberg, CBS News, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Fox News, UPI, Agri-Pulse Communications …, TASS, NPR and Inquirer News

Wall Street Journal:
Iranian Drones in Ukraine Project Tehran's Power Beyond Mideast, Testing U.S., Europe

Discussion: New York Times, middleeastmonitor.com, Informed Comment, Washington Examiner, RedState and Washington Post

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

American Jews start to think the unthinkable — On the holiest night of the Jewish year earlier this month, my rabbi looked up from his Kol Nidre sermon — a homily about protecting America's liberal democracy — and posed a question that wasn't in his prepared text: “How many people …

Discussion: American Prospect

Davey Alba / Bloomberg:

Musk's Twitter Roils With Hate Speech as Trolls Test New Limits — In the wake of Elon Musk buying Twitter Inc., a tide of slurs and racist memes swelled on the platform, sparking concern that the site is entering an era of hateful speech. — Twitter has long wrestled …

Stuart A. Thompson / New York Times:
Antisemitic campaign tries to capitalize on Elon Musk's Twitter takeover.

Discussion: The Wrap, New York Post, Wired, Killer NewsTv, Robert Reich, BuzzFeed News, One America News Network, Boing Boing, Bloomberg and The Times of Israel, more at Techmeme »

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

GOP New Hampshire Senate nominee repeats hoax that kids are using litter boxes in schools — The Republican Senate nominee in New Hampshire shared at a Thursday event the hoax claim that children are being told they can identify as anthropomorphic cats and use litter boxes in schools.

Discussion: The American Independent

Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:

White House rejects promoting general involved in Capitol riot response — The Pentagon backed Lt. Gen. Walter E. Piatt, the director of the Army staff, to become a four-star general. But the Biden administration nixed his promotion. — The White House rejected a recommendation …

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Steven Nelson / New York Post:

Knives out in House GOP whip race over Electoral College abolition — WASHINGTON — A top House Republican's little-known past job working with Democrats to change US elections and choose presidents by popular vote threatens to upend his bid to rise in the GOP ranks, The Post has learned.

Blake Hounshell / New York Times:
It's 2024. Trump Backers Won't Certify the Election. What Next, Legally?

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Washington Times, ABC News, Bloomberg and NBC News

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times: Governor's Races Enter Final Sprint on a Scrambled, Surprising Map

Christina Caron / New York Times:

Teens Turn to TikTok in Search of a Mental Health Diagnosis — While social media can help people feel less alone, using it to evaluate symptoms has several downsides. — About a year into the pandemic, Kianna, a high school student in Baltimore, was feeling increasingly isolated.

Discussion: Althouse

Carol Rosenberg / New York Times:

U.S. Releases Guantánamo's Oldest Prisoner — Saifullah Paracha, 75, was accused of being a Qaeda sympathizer and was held for two decades. But he was never charged with a crime. — GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — The United States has released the U.S. military's oldest prisoner …

Discussion: CBS News, Mother Jones, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Mourning and Al Jazeera

U.S. Department of Defense:
Guantanamo Bay Detainee Transfer Announced

Discussion: UPI, CNN and NPR

Associated Press:

Officials: 120 dead after Halloween crowd surge in Seoul — At least 120 people were killed and 100 more were injured as they were crushed by a large crowd pushing forward on a narrow street during Halloween festivities in the capital of Seoul, South Korean officials said.

New York Times:

Biden's Agenda Hangs in the Balance if Republicans Take Congress — On a wide array of issues like abortion, taxes, race and judges, President Biden's opportunities would shrink as Republicans vow to dismantle much of his legislative accomplishments. — WASHINGTON — For President Biden …

Discussion: Fox News, Townhall, CNN, Raw Story, The Hill and Washington Examiner

Insider:

Paul Pelosi secretly called 911 while in front of the intruder and spoke in ‘code’ to dispatcher to convey what was happening: ‘Why are you here? What are you going to do to me?’ — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband was attacked by an intruder at their San Francisco home Friday.

Discussion: New York Times, Axios, Vanity Fair, Mediaite, TMZ.com, New York Post, KTVU-TV, Lucianne, Fox News, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times and CNN

Herb Scribner / Axios:

U.S. faces “environment of fascism” ahead of 2022 midterms, AOC says — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said in an interview with MSNBC Friday that the United States is “facing an environment of fascism” similar to the days of Jim Crow in the leadup to the 2022 midterms.

Discussion: MSNBC and CNN

Nicole Sganga / CBS News:
Government warns of “heightened threat” to 2022 elections, fueled by rise in domestic violent extremism

Discussion: NPR and Washington Examiner

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Starbucks will get reporters' messages with union, federal judge rules — A federal judge has ordered the organization behind a unionization drive at Starbucks stores in western New York to turn over all of its messages with journalists — a sweeping and unusual ruling that will let the company peek …

Andrew Miller / Fox News:

Left-wing activists harass conservative reading Bible, steal book and rip it up, protester eats pages — The activists were protesting a speech by conservative author Matt Walsh at a Wisconsin college campus — Leftist protesters harass man reciting Bible verses, take Bible and rip up pages …

Discussion: RedState and New York Post

Benjamin Lindsay / The Wrap:

Penguin Random House Staffers, Others Call for Canceling of Amy Coney Barrett Memoir … Hundreds of Penguin Random House staffers and other literary professionals are calling on the publishing company to cut ties with Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett and to cancel her upcoming book.