memeorandum: Ukraine war: Exiled governor reports strike on ‘Wagner HQ’ (BBC)

1:40 AM ET, December 12, 2022

Top Items:

White Nationalists, Other Republicans Brace for ‘Total War’ — A collection of radical right figures including white nationalists and ultranationalist European leaders gathered in Manhattan for the New York Young Republicans Club's (NYYRC) annual gala Saturday night, where that group's president declared …

Discussion: The Hill, Mediaite and Raw Story

Zach Williams / New York Post:

Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump Jr. bash Dems at NY Young Republican gala — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) entertained Republicans in Manhattan Saturday night with a range of one-liners trolling the political left on hot-button topics. — “I want to tell you something …

Discussion: Rolling Stone, HuffPost, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, TMZ.com and Washington Press

Tom Wilson / Financial Times:

US scientists boost clean power hopes with fusion energy breakthrough — Net energy gain indicates technology could provide an abundant zero-carbon alternative to fossil fuels — US government scientists have made a breakthrough in the pursuit of limitless, zero-carbon power by achieving …

Discussion: Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

Washington Post:

U.S. to announce fusion energy ‘breakthrough’ — Scientists hit a key milestone in the quest to create abundant zero-carbon power through nuclear fusion. But they still have a long way to go. — The Department of Energy plans to announce Tuesday that scientists have been able …

Discussion: Agence France-Presse

Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:

Elon Musk Is a Far-Right Activist — If there's one tweet that will tell you everything you need to know about Elon Musk, it's this one from early this morning: … In five words, Musk manages to mock transgender and nonbinary people, signal his disdain for public-health officials …

Discussion: The Western Journal, The Hill, Althouse and RedState

Bloomberg:
Elon Musk Steps Up Attacks on Twitter's Former Safety Head

Discussion: RedState, New York Magazine, The Post Millennial, The Western Journal and The Gateway Pundit, more at Techmeme »

NBC News:
Why liberal Washington can't quit Twitter

Discussion: Louder With Crowder

CNN:

Special Counsel Smith speeds ahead on criminal probes surrounding Trump — Newly-appointed special counsel Jack Smith is moving fast on a pair of criminal probes around Donald Trump that in recent months have focused on the former president's state of mind after the 2020 election …

Discussion: Political Wire

Washington Post:
Congressional Republicans divided on attacking Trump investigations

Discussion: Raw Story, Newsbusters and John Paladin's newsletter …

New York Times:

Kamala Harris Swears In Karen Bass as LA's Mayor — Vice President Kamala Harris swore in Ms. Bass in a ceremony that celebrated her historic win but also underscored the obstacles she will face. — LOS ANGELES — Karen Bass was sworn in as the first female mayor of Los Angeles on Sunday …

Discussion: UPI and Associated Press

Los Angeles Times:
Karen Bass sworn in as Los Angeles mayor, the first woman to hold the office

Discussion: NBC News, Fox News, The Wrap, Variety, NBC Bay Area, CNN, Deadline, The Hill, Washington Post, KTLA, Associated Press and RedState

Josh Kraushaar / Axios:

Sinema's mutually assured destruction — Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's stunning decision to become an independent has triggered the possibility of a blue-on-purple civil war that could cost Democrats a must-win Senate seat in 2024. … - Sinema would have had difficulty winning a primary.

Discussion: Raw Story, Jacobin, Washington Times and CNN

Natasha Korecki / NBC News:
Republicans struggle in the Southwest as Latino voters stick with Democrats

Discussion: Washington Post

New York Times:

Thousands of Teens Are Being Pushed Into Military's Junior R.O.T.C. — In high schools across the country, students are being placed in military classes without electing them on their own. “The only word I can think of is ‘indoctrination,’” one parent said.

New York Times:
J.R.O.T.C. Textbooks Offer an Alternative View of the World

Discussion: Frontpage Mag

Norah O'Donnell / CBS News:

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on recession fears, inflation and the war in Ukraine — As inflation hovers at a 40-year high, the pandemic lingers, and the war in Ukraine rages, a growing number of economists and CEO's are saying the U.S. is headed for a recession.

Discussion: The Hill, Bloomberg and The Gateway Pundit

Wall Street Journal:

Lockerbie Bombing Suspect Is in U.S. Custody — Alleged bomb-maker for late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi admitted to building device, U.S. prosecutors said last year — WASHINGTON—The alleged bomb-maker in the 1988 terrorist attack that destroyed a commercial jetliner over Lockerbie …

Discussion: Fox News, HotAir and RedState

Associated Press:
Accused Libyan bombmaker in Pan Am downing now in US custody

Adam Goldman / New York Times:
Libyan Operative Charged in 1988 Lockerbie Bombing Is in F.B.I. Custody

Discussion: BBC, Fox News, Mediaite, Associated Press, ABC News, Politico, New York Post, CBS News, Brussels Reporter, New York Daily News and Forbes

The Guardian:

Arizona governor builds border wall of shipping crates in final days of office — Critics say Republican Doug Ducey's scheme is illegal because makeshift barrier is being erected on tribal and federal land — A makeshift new barrier built with shipping containers is being illegally erected along part …

Associated Press:
Arizona Gov. Ducey stacks containers on border at term's end

Discussion: FOX 10 Phoenix, HotAir, The Hill, Just The News and Insider

Marc Caputo / NBC News:

NASA chief: SpaceX leader says Elon Musk's Twitter drama is ‘nothing to worry about’ — NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said he saw the head of SpaceX last weekend and wanted to hear just one thing from her in light of company owner Elon Musk's tumultuous Twitter takeover.

Discussion: New York Times and Bloomberg

New York Times:

Prince Heinrich XIII and the Plot to Overthrow Germany's Government — Prince Heinrich XIII was arrested this week as the suspected ringleader of a plan to overthrow the German government. Nostalgic for an imperial past, he embraced far-right conspiracy theories.

Discussion: Mercury News and The Guardian

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

There is a path to save the Supreme Court from itself — The Supreme Court's right-wing majority has been on a tear lately. In the last week alone, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. made inappropriate wisecracks during oral arguments about whether a web designer can object to working with gay couples …

BBC:

Ukraine war: Exiled governor reports strike on ‘Wagner HQ’ — Ukrainian forces have struck a headquarters of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, says the exiled governor of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. — Serhiy Haidai said a hotel where the group met in Kadiivka, Luhansk, had been hit with major losses.

Discussion: Telegraph, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Al Jazeera, The Hill, Metro.co.uk, UPI, Cyprus Mail, CNN and Brussels Reporter

Emma Colton / Fox News:

Retired Navy SEAL made famous after coming out as trans announces detransition: ‘Destroyed my life’ — 'I destroyed my life. I'm not a victim. I did this to myself, but I had help,' retired Navy SEAL said — A retired Navy SEAL who became famous nearly 10 years ago after coming …

Discussion: Daily Mail, Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit