memeorandum: Benedict XVI, first pope to resign in 600 years, dies at 95 (Nicole Winfield/Associated Press)

11:00 AM ET, December 31, 2022

Top Items:

Barbara Walters, trailblazing TV icon, dies at 93 — The pioneering TV news broadcaster was the first female anchor in evening news. — Barbara Walters, the trailblazing television news broadcaster and longtime ABC News anchor and correspondent who shattered the glass ceiling and became …

Los Angeles Times:

Barbara Walters dies at 93; news anchor broke the boy's club of network television — Barbara Walters, the first woman to break up the all-male club of network television anchors and one of the last remaining megastars in broadcast news who deftly coaxed world leaders and celebrities alike …

Discussion: People.com, Variety, The Western Journal, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, NPR, CBS News, New York Post and UPI

Alessandra Stanley / New York Times:

Barbara Walters, a First Among TV Newswomen, Is Dead at 93 — She broke barriers for women as a co-host of the “Today” show, a network evening news anchor and a creator of “The View,” all while gaining her own kind of celebrity. — Barbara Walters, who broke barriers for women …

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter, The Forward, New York Amsterdam News, ABC7, Deadline, Page Six, TheBlaze, The Post Millennial, New York Post and Variety

Nicole Winfield / Associated Press:

Benedict XVI, first pope to resign in 600 years, dies at 95 — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the shy German theologian who tried to reawaken Christianity in a secularized Europe but will forever be remembered as the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the job, died Saturday. He was 95.

New York Times:

Pope Benedict XVI Dies — Updates: Pope Francis Will Preside Over Benedict's Funeral on Thursday … The first pope to step down in six centuries dies in retirement. — Pope Benedict XVI, the eminent German theologian and conservative enforcer of Roman Catholic Church doctrine who broke …

Discussion: HotAir, Reuters, NPR, CNN, BBC, ABC News, Washington Post, Associated Press, Rolling Stone, UPI, TASS, Vanity Fair, The Wrap, Metro.co.uk, Raw Story, National Review, WFLA-TV, New York Daily News, Al Jazeera, Outside the Beltway, Variety, The Guardian, Just The News and Breitbart

Washington Post:

How Benedict's death could reshape the Catholic Church — VATICAN CITY — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's death Saturday is an epochal loss for a church that was defined first by his resolute conservatism and later by his radical decision to abdicate power. — The Vatican said that Benedict died …

Discussion: TMZ.com and New York Post

David Cay Johnston / The Daily Beast:

Trump's Taxes Are the Best Case Yet for Putting Him in Prison — This Friday news dump is a huge deal, and should be the final nail in his coffin. … Don't let the cynics who know little about our tax system trick you into thinking there was nothing all that new or important in the six years …

Discussion: Raw Story, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal and New Republic

Politico:

Trump taxes show foreign income from more than a dozen countries — Donald Trump's tax returns show the former president received income from more than a dozen countries during his time in office, highlighting a string of potential conflicts of interest. — Trump's returns …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Raw Story and Insider

Washington Post:
House panel releases Trump tax returns in another setback for former president

Los Angeles Times:
Trump's tax returns are out. Here's how he was able to pay so little — so often

Washington Post:
What we've learned from Trump's tax returns

Discussion: Mercury News, CBS News, The Western Journal, The Gateway Pundit, Florida Politics and Forbes

New York Times:

The ‘Red Wave’ Washout: How Skewed Polls Fed a False Election Narrative — The errant surveys spooked some candidates into spending more money than necessary, and diverted help from others who otherwise had a fighting chance of winning. — Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat …

CNN:

Trump wanted to trademark ‘Rigged Election!’ and other key findings from the Jan. 6 panel's latest release — The House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, on Friday released another wave of witness interview transcripts. — The new drop, which complements the panel's sweeping 845-page report …

Discussion: Insider, Axios, Raw Story, Mediaite, Political Wire, HuffPost and New York Times

Sarah D. Wire / Los Angeles Times:
Jan. 6 committee is running out of time. Key documents may soon be locked away for decades

Discussion: CNN

Eric Garcia / The Independent:
Don Jr admits he doesn't know where $240m Trump fundraised to fight election results went in Jan 6 transcripts

Discussion: Raw Story and Insider

Gary D. Robertson / Associated Press:

AG: Meadows won't face voter fraud charges in North Carolina — Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff to President Donald Trump, won't face voter fraud charges related to his 2020 registration and absentee vote in North Carolina, the state's attorney general announced Friday.

Discussion: Fox News, McClatchy Washington Bureau and Washington Post

Dianne Gallagher / CNN:
North Carolina officials will not charge Mark Meadows with voter fraud

Discussion: NCDOJ, Politico, New York Times, The Hill, New York Post, Raw Story and Insider

Dan Primack / Axios:

Fidelity slashes Twitter value by 56% — Fidelity slashed its carrying value of Twitter by 56% during the first month of Elon Musk's ownership, according to a new disclosure. — Driving the news: Fidelity was among the group of outside investors that helped Musk finance his $44 billion takeover …

Discussion: TechCrunch and Political Wire

Associated Press:

Divisive social media star Andrew Tate detained in Romania — Andrew Tate, a divisive social media personality and former professional kickboxer, was detained in Romania on charges of human trafficking and rape, an official said Friday. Tate, a British citizen who previously was banned …

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:
Tucker Carlson's Defense of Andrew Tate Resurfaces After Influencer's Arrest in Sex Trafficking, Rape Case

Discussion: New York Post, The Sun, Common Dreams, Toilet Read, The Status Kuo, NPR, Just The News, Rolling Stone, The Hill and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:
Andrew Tate, brother charged in Romania with human trafficking

Discussion: UPI, Breitbart, New York Post, BizPac Review, New York Daily News, Bloomberg, Deadline, Mock Paper Scissors, New York Times, The Verge and CBS News

New York Times:

A Charity Tied to the Supreme Court Offers Donors Access to the Justices — The Supreme Court Historical Society has raised more than $23 million in the last two decades, much of it from lawyers, corporations and special interests. — In some years, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. does the honors.

Discussion: Al Jazeera and Politico

John Hanna / Associated Press:

FEC levies $30K penalty tied to Kobach's 2020 US Senate bid — Incoming Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach agreed to help pay a $30,000 penalty to resolve a federal complaint over the improper use of a group's email list during his unsuccessful 2020 campaign for the U.S. Senate.

Discussion: CNN, Raw Story, Insider and Election Law Blog

NBC News:

Idaho murders live updates: Suspect arrested in the killings of 4 college students — 28-year-old man arrested in connection with Idaho college killings — Police in Pennsylvania arrested a suspect Friday in the slayings of four University of Idaho students, law enforcement sources told NBC News.