memeorandum: Armie Hammer Breaks His Silence (James Kirchick/Air Mail)

8:05 PM ET, February 4, 2023

Top Items:

U.S. military downs Chinese balloon over Atlantic Ocean — A U.S. military aircraft on Saturday downed the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that had been floating over the United States for several days, according to a U.S. official and eyewitness videos circulating on social media.

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Daily News, Semafor, Fox News, Snapshot, MSN, Insider, Raw Story, One America News Network, Task & Purpose, Politico, Sean Hannity, Kevin Drum and New York Post

New York Times:

U.S. Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon Off the Coast of the Carolinas — Shooting down the balloon ended a dramatic chapter in a diplomatic crisis. — WASHINGTON — The United States shot down a Chinese spy balloon on Saturday that had spent the last week traversing the country …

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Examiner, Just The News, Fox News and TASS

CNN:

US fighter jets shoot down Chinese spy balloon off East Coast — US military fighter jets shot down the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Saturday.

Discussion: Reuters UK, Drezner's World, Albuquerque Journal, 6abc, Reuters and New York Post

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Shoots Down Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon — U.S. Shoots Down Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon Over Atlantic — WASHINGTON- U.S. fighter planes shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, days after it was spotted crossing the U.S. and leading to renewed tensions with Beijing.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Instapundit, CBS News, Washington Times, NBC News and TASS

Associated Press:
China balloon: Many questions about suspected spy in the sky

Peter Alexander / NBC News:
U.S. has downed Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast and will attempt to recover debris

Discussion: Associated Press and The Hill

U.S. Department of Defense:
Statement From Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III

Discussion: RedState, Breitbart, Defense One, The Daily Caller, Fox News, TheBlaze and GLOBAL STRAT VIEW

Lily Kuo / Washington Post:
China rushes to cap damage over suspected spy balloon as Blinken delays trip

New York Times:
U.S. Close to Shooting Down Chinese Spy Balloon Over the East Coast

Discussion: Fox News, Rolling Stone, The Gateway Pundit, PoliticusUSA, Balloon Juice, Breitbart, Instapundit, BizPac Review, Washington Post and Bloomberg

Associated Press:
China plays down Blinken's canceled visit over balloon

Bloomberg:
From China to Big Sky: The Balloon That Unnerved the White House

Discussion: New York Post, RedState, IJR, HotAir, Fox News, TMZ.com, The Gateway Pundit, jihadwatch.org, Twitchy, USA Today, CBS News, WFLA-TV, TASS and Associated Press

Chris Pandolfo / Fox News:
Biden speaks about Chinese spy balloon on camera for first time, says 'we're gonna take care of it'

James Kirchick / Air Mail:

Armie Hammer Breaks His Silence — Two years after some of the most shocking allegations of the #MeToo era lit up the Internet and destroyed his career, the actor has finally decided to tell his side of the story — For the vast majority of humanity, January 1, 2021—a year into the coronavirus pandemic …

Discussion: Fox News, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, CBR, Jezebel, Vanity Fair, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, Variety, Page Six, New York Post, Deadline and Decider

Ariane de Vogue / CNN:

Exclusive: Supreme Court justices used personal emails for work and ‘burn bags’ were left open in hallways, sources say — Long before the leak of a draft opinion reversing Roe v. Wade, some Supreme Court justices often used personal email accounts for sensitive transmissions instead …

Discussion: The Guardian, Raw Story, Mediaite, HuffPost, Insider, The Hill, Mother Jones, Washington Examiner and The New Civil Rights Movement

Katie Glueck / New York Times:

Democrats Overhaul Party's Primary Calendar, Upending a Political Tradition — The proposal radically reshapes the way the party picks its presidential nominees, putting more racially diverse states at the front of the line. — PHILADELPHIA — Upending decades of political tradition …

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, The State, Yahoo News, NBC News, CBS News, Arkansas Advocate, Politico, Mother Jones, Florida Politics, NPR, Associated Press, National Review, HuffPost, PoliticusUSA, The Daily Caller, CNN, Los Angeles Times and USA Today

New York Times:
Democrats, Seeing a Weaker Trump, Are Falling in Line Behind Biden

Discussion: Washington Post, BizPac Review, Washington Times, Sun-Sentinel, NewsNation, The Atlantic, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, National Review, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Associated Press and NBC10 Philadelphia

Sara Boboltz / HuffPost:

Ron DeSantis Moves To Strip Florida Venue's Liquor License For Christmas Drag Show — The Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation is the Florida governor's latest target as he wages war against drag performers. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration moved on Friday to strip …

Discussion: Orlando Sentinel, Towleroad Gay News, The Hill, The Capitolist, Fox News, Washington Times, The Western Journal, National Review, Florida's Voice, New Republic, The Daily Caller and TheBlaze

Philip Marcelo / Associated Press:

Florida weighs mandating menstrual cycle details for female athletes — CLAIM: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is requiring all female student-athletes in the state to provide detailed information about their periods in order to compete in organized sports. — AP'S ASSESSMENT: False.

Discussion: Newsbusters, HotAir, PolitiFact and Miami Herald

Duncan Campbell / Byline Times:

Russia and the US Press: The Article the CJR Didn't Publish — Two and a half years ago, the Columbia Journalism Review refused to publish Duncan Campbell's investigation into The Nation magazine and its apparent support for Vladimir Putin. It is published here in full

more at Mediagazer »

Julia Angwin / The Markup:

Journalistic Lessons for the Algorithmic Age … Hello, friends, — I'm sad to inform you that this is my last missive to you. After founding The Markup five years ago, I am departing this newsroom to pursue other projects. It's been an honor to correspond with all of you, dear readers …

more at Mediagazer »

S.V. Date / HuffPost:

Much-Touted Trump Era Fundraising Platform WinRed Lost Millions In Midterm Elections — The loss came after Republicans pressured WinRed to lower its costs after complaints that the company generated millions for a handful of investors in 2020. — WASHINGTON — The GOP's much-touted …

Discussion: Raw Story

David Siders / Politico:

Dianne Feinstein's extremely awkward, very uncomfortable exit from the political stage — LOS ANGELES — Several of her House colleagues are already running for her Senate seat. She isn't raising real money. And it's so widely assumed that Sen. Dianne Feinstein is on her way out that Nancy Pelosi …

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Examiner, The Atlantic and Inside Elections

Andrew Weissmann / Washington Post:

An insider's critical view of an investigation of Donald Trump — Mark Pomerantz's ‘People vs. Donald Trump’ lands as the Manhattan district attorney's office moves forward on work that could lead to criminal charges against the ex-president — In February 2022, Mark Pomerantz was a lead attorney …

Discussion: Raw Story, National Review, HuffPost, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, New York Daily News, The Guardian, MyNorthwest.com, The Daily Beast and New York Times

Daniella Silva / NBC News:

Family found dead in Pennsylvania made a ‘joint decision’ to kill themselves, police say — A Pennsylvania family found shot dead in their backyard last week in what police say appears to be a suicide pact, included a mother and daughter who loved bowling and were devout Christian conservatives, people who knew them said.