memeorandum: Gas Prices Are Dropping: Here's How Much Lower They Might Go (Joseph De Avila/Wall Street Journal)

4:40 PM ET, December 2, 2022

Top Items:

The Truth about Kanye West Is Now Indisputable — On the menu today: A lot of people wanted to pretend that Kanye West wasn't nuts. A lot of people wanted to convince you that Kanye West wasn't nuts. But now it's indisputable that Kanye West is nuts. — Nazis? We Should Hate These Guys.

Discussion: CBS News, New York Daily News, The A.V. Club, Mediaite and Semafor, more at Mediagazer »

Ariella Marsden / Jerusalem Post:

‘I like Hitler,’ Kanye West says, denies Holocaust in Alex Jones interview — The rapper also asserted that Hitler, who West said had redeeming qualities, “didn't kill 6 million Jews.” — American rapper Kanye West praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and denied the Holocaust in a disturbing …

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

The GOP's bet on Kanye West has gone very bad — It's not hard to understand why the rapper Ye — born Kanye West — signaling his support for Donald Trump would be so appealing to Republicans. For years, the party has struggled to bolster its standing with Black voters and its position in popular culture.

Discussion: Morning Shots, No More Mister Nice Blog, Fox Business, UPI, The Guardian, Raw Story and NBC News

John Ganz / Unpopular Front:

What Is Even Happening? — Post-Historical Daze — Shortly after the election in 2016, a friend remarked to me, “It feels like the whole country has taken LSD.” It's true. There has been something hallucinatory and psychotic about the past half decade or so: a sense of reality melting …

Matt Gertz / Media Matters for America:
Tucker Carlson made Ye a right-wing hero. Now he's praising Hitler and Nazis.

NBC News:

South Carolina Democrats stunned by Biden's plan to put them first in 2024 — Biden proposes to make South Carolina first Democratic primary in 2024 — WASHINGTON — When President Joe Biden proposed making South Carolina the first to vote in the 2024 Democratic presidential primaries Thursday …

Washington Post:

Biden 2024 nomination plan faces state Democratic rebellion — Party leaders in New Hampshire, Iowa and Nevada have all objected to Biden's plan to put South Carolina first, while elevating Michigan and Georgia — Democrats on Friday faced a rebellion from their own leaders in New Hampshire …

Discussion: Politico, NBC News, CBS News, Fox News, Roll Call, Alaska Beacon, New Republic, Vox, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Balloon Juice, Just The News, Bloomberg, Political Wire, The Hill, CNN, NPR and USA Today

Will Weissert / Associated Press:
Dems move to make South Carolina, not Iowa, 1st voting state

Discussion: Bloomberg, New York Times, The Root, The Guardian, Associated Press, Iowa Starting Line, Breitbart, USA Today, Watch Night News, Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, CBS News, NewsNation, New York Post, Washington Post, The Hill and Politico

Punchbowl News:
12/2/22 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM

Discussion: Insider

New York Times:

Hate Speech's Rise on Twitter Is Unprecedented, Researchers Find — Problematic content and formerly barred accounts have increased sharply in the short time since Elon Musk took over, researchers said. — Sheera Frenkel writes about misinformation and social media platforms.

Discussion: Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, Fortune, The Moderate Voice, The Verge, HotAir, Forbes, The Root, Twitchy, New Republic, Iain Macwhirter's Substack and Metro.co.uk

NBC News:

Elon Musk's ‘amnesty’ pledge brings back QAnon, far-right Twitter accounts — Data reviewed by NBC News shows that many restored accounts trafficked in conspiracy theories and hate speech. The changes come as some high-profile users have fled. — Elon Musk's Twitter is beginning to take shape.

Discussion: Media Matters for America

Washington Post:

Drugs killed 8 friends, one by one, in a tragedy seen across the U.S. — Video by Drea Cornejo and Hope Davison — GREENVILLE, N.C. — On that terrible day nine years ago, Ellie Laughinghouse Crout was running late. The memorial service for her half sister was starting in an hour and she still hadn't left home.

Discussion: Washington Times

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump Embraces Extremism as He Seeks to Reclaim Office — As he gets his presidential campaign underway, Donald J. Trump has aligned himself with forces that used to be outside the mainstream of American politics. — WASHINGTON — The conviction of the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia …

Discussion: THE JACKAL, Wide World of News and Raw Story

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Trump expresses solidarity with Jan. 6 rioters who stormed the Capitol

Discussion: emptywheel, Raw Story, Rumble, Election Law Blog and New York Daily News

CNN:

CNN Poll: Warnock holds a narrow edge over Walker in final undecided Senate contest — In the final undecided Senate contest of 2022, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia holds a narrow lead over Republican challenger Herschel Walker among those likely to vote in a runoff election Tuesday …

Discussion: Fox News, Semafor, New York Daily News, HotAir and Wall Street Journal

NBC News:
Amid GOP worries, Herschel Walker's campaign desperately pleads for cash

Discussion: USA Today, Raw Story and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Herschel Walker is a very flawed candidate. Could he still win?

Discussion: Breitbart, The Hill, Just The News, New Republic and Inside Elections

Shawn McCreesh / New York Magazine:

The New York Times Newsroom Gets Ready to Walk Out — This morning at 8 a.m., New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien received a letter from Bill Baker, unit chair of the Times guild, that was signed by more than 1,000 employees. Subject line: “Enough.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

Edward Snowden swears allegiance to Russia and receives passport, lawyer says — Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor who leaked information about U.S. surveillance programs, swore an oath of allegiance to Russia and has collected his Russian passport, his lawyer told state media on Friday.

Discussion: The Hill, Associated Press, Gizmodo, The Guardian and Reuters

Bianca Johnson / SAVANNAH POLICE:

SPD Arrests Suspect in Hartridge Street Shooting — SAVANNAH, GA (December 2, 2022) - Savannah Police detectives have arrested a 42-year-old Savannah man who shot a teen outside his home on Hartridge Street on Dec. 1. — Around 5:35 p.m. officers responded to the 500 block of Hartridge Street …

Discussion: CNBC, HuffPost, Raw Story and Washington Examiner

Reuters:

Alex Jones files for bankruptcy following $1 bln Sandy Hook verdict — Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones filed for bankruptcy on Friday, less than two months after a jury ordered him and the parent company of his Infowars website to pay nearly $1 billion for spreading lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting.

Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times:
Alex Jones Files for Bankruptcy

Discussion: NBC News, HuffPost, Occupy Democrats, The Gateway Pundit, Al Jazeera, Gizmodo, The Daily Wire, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, New York Daily News, PHL17.com and New Republic

Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:

Ukraine Clamps Down on Orthodox Church Linked to Moscow — Zelensky seeks to weaken a key source of Russian influence as heavy fighting continues — KYIV, Ukraine—Ukraine's government moved to curb the activities of the Orthodox Christian denomination historically linked to Moscow …

Discussion: Reuters, TASS, Associated Press, The Daily Caller and The Pillar

New York Times:
Russia-Ukraine War — E.U. Agrees to a Price Cap for Sale of Russian Oil

Discussion: CBS News, Al Jazeera, Politico, Raw Story, Bloomberg, Euractiv, The Post Millennial, Wall Street Journal and The Guardian

Greg Norman / Fox News:

Teenager campaigning for Warnock shot in Savannah, Georgia: police — Suspect Jimmy Paiz fired weapon through closed door, Savannah, Georgia police say — Georgia breaks single day voting record in Senate runoff election — The Savannah Police Department has announced Friday the arrest …

Discussion: NBC News, The Hill, Associated Press, Just The News and New York Post

CNN:

GOP tension builds over House speaker race as McCarthy and critics prep for floor fight — House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy and his critics are gearing up for a potential floor fight over the speakership in January, raising the possibility of a messy intraparty showdown that could bring uncertainty …

Discussion: Washington Post, Reuters, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill and Breitbart

Christopher Grimes / Financial Times:

Florida prepares U-turn on Disney's 'Don't Say Gay' punishment — Lawmakers seek compromise preserving theme park operator's right to run private government — Florida lawmakers are working on plans to reverse a move that would strip Disney of its right to operate a private government around …

Discussion: HotAir, Reuters, Florida Politics, Forbes, Florida's Voice, The Daily Wire, Mediaite, New York Post, The Hill, Fortune, One America News Network and Zandar Versus The Stupid, more at Mediagazer »

Amy Qin / New York Times:

Applying to College, and Trying to Appear ‘Less Asian’ — The affirmative action lawsuit against Harvard seemed to confirm advice given for years to Asian Americans: Don't play chess, don't check the box declaring race. — When it came time to fill out his college application form, Max Li chose not to declare his race.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Jack Jenkins / Religion News Service:

Ye's Trump dinner is a high point for Catholic nationalists' influence campaign — The meeting of Ye, Nick Fuentes and Donald Trump was a win for an extreme, Catholic-leaning subset of Christian nationalism. — (RNS) — In the days after his recent dinner with former President Donald Trump …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Big League Politics and America Magazine

Benjamin Wilson / Washington Free Beacon:

Stefanik Demands Postal Service Investigate ‘Targeted Theft’ of Campaign Donations — Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) is demanding an investigation into the “repeated, targeted theft” of campaign donation checks while in transit through the United States Postal Service.

Discussion: Breitbart, Roll Call, New York Post, The Daily Caller, IJR, Washington Examiner and Fox News

New York Times:

Appeals Court Scraps Special Master Review in Trump Documents Case — The panel's decision removed a major obstacle that for more than two months had hindered the Justice Department's investigation into Mr. Trump's handling of sensitive government documents.