memeorandum: Republicans Really Want You to Keep Paying Junk Fees (Aidan Smith/The Daily Beast)

11:00 PM ET, February 20, 2023

Top Items:

Eliot A. Cohen / The Atlantic:

Biden Just Destroyed Putin's Last Hope — The president's visit to Ukraine was a gut punch to the Russian leader. — The long-range missiles matter. So do the super-accurate artillery shells, the surface-to-air missiles, and the winter weather gear; the training in the English countryside …

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, PoliticusUSA, NBC News, Financial Times, Just The News, Reuters, Fox News, Discourse.net, USA Today, CBS News and Political Wire

Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:

Biden Went to Kyiv Because There's No Going Back — The president's surprise visit sent a message to Moscow—and to European leaders. — An American AWACS began patrolling the skies west of Ukraine last night; Kyiv was locked down this morning. Motorcades crisscrossed the city and rumors began to spread.

Discussion: Politico, PJ Media, Wall Street Journal, Sputnik News, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, Digby's Hullabaloo, Just The News and The Sun

David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:

Biden's Trip to Kyiv is the Ultimate Humiliation for Putin—and Trump — Biden joined a great history of American presidents standing up to Russian aggression, and significantly broke from the shameful actions of his predecessor. — Kennedy and then Reagan in Berlin. Now Biden in Kyiv.

Discussion: Fox News, Balloon Juice, The Kyiv Independent, Breitbart, CBS News and Resolute Square

Julia Davis / The Daily Beast:

Putin's Cronies: We Should Have Blown Up Biden in Kyiv — Russian pundits were furious over Biden's surprise visit to Ukraine, questioning whether or not a “retaliatory strike” is in order. — In recent days, pundits and experts on Russian state television discussed the anticipated visit …

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News and Washington Examiner

Andrea Mitchell / MSNBC:
Rep. Crow: ‘Not even worth my brain space’ to respond to Republicans criticizing Biden Ukraine trip

Discussion: NBC News, Breitbart, Washington Times, RedState, Al Jazeera, Raw Story and Fox News

Illia Ponomarenko / The Kyiv Independent:
One year later: How Russia came to fail in Ukraine, battle after battle

Discussion: The Drive and Al Jazeera

The White House:
On-the-Record Press Call by Senior Administration Officials on President Biden's Trip to Ukraine

Discussion: Breitbart

New York Times:
Biden Visits Kyiv, Ukraine's Embattled Capital, as Air-Raid Siren Sounds

NBC News:
Photos: President Biden makes historic visit to war-torn Ukraine

Discussion: New York Times, CBS News, UnHerd, BuzzFeed News, Just The News, Sputnik News, National Review, Fox News, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Common Dreams, IJR and UPI

CNN:
Months of planning and days of secrecy led to Joe Biden's historic trip to Kyiv

Discussion: Breitbart, Newsbusters, The Hill, WHNT-TV, CBS News, Fox News, Raw Story, ABC News, Washington Post, HotAir, Mediaite and Political Wire

Mike Memoli / NBC News:
How Biden's wartime visit to Kyiv came together

Discussion: New York Post, Patterico's Pontifications and Mercury News

Washington Post:
On surprise trip to Kyiv, Biden vows enduring support for Ukraine

New York Times:

James O'Keefe Is Removed as Project Veritas' Leader — Mr. O'Keefe had been the face of the group since he founded Project Veritas in his father's garage in suburban New York in 2010. — James O'Keefe, the embattled leader of the conservative group Project Veritas, has been removed …

Discussion: Washington Post, Insider, Raw Story, Associated Press, Axios, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, The Hill and The Post Millennial

Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
James O'Keefe Resigns From Project Veritas After Employee Complaints

Yahoo News:

Revealed: Leaked document shows how Russia plans to take over Belarus — The document, written for Putin's Presidential Administration, envisages the total incorporation of Belarus into a “Union State” with Russia by 2030. — Read full article — President of Russia — President of Belarus since 1994

Discussion: Fox News

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

Despite her role, Marjorie Taylor Greene backs ‘national divorce’ — As Marjorie Taylor Greene endorses the dissolution of the United States, the question is whether House GOP leaders will bother to care. — In late 2021, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene briefly referenced “a National Divorce scenario” …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Hill, Raw Story, New Republic, The Mahablog, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Post Millennial, Crooks and Liars and The Western Journal

Shannon Pettypiece / NBC News:
Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for a ‘national divorce’ between liberal and conservative states

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Times and The Hill

Shriya Bhattacharya / Insider:
Marjorie Taylor Greene — who's gaining power in the GOP-led House — suggests splitting up the United States on President's Day

Discussion: HuffPost, The Hill, New York Post, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Peach State Politics …, The Wrap, IJR, Mediaite, The New Civil Rights Movement, Fox News, The Daily Caller and Just The News

CBS News:

NYPD: Woman sought after Pride flag set on fire outside Little Prince restaurant in SoHo — NEW YORK — New video shows the person police are searching for who they say lit a Pride flag on fire outside a SoHo restaurant. — The NYPD is investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Discussion: abc7NY, Gothamist, New York Times, PIX11, New York Daily News, Mediaite, The Hill and IJR

Julia Jacobs / New York Times:

‘Rust’ Prosecutors Downgrade Alec Baldwin's Manslaughter Charges — The actor's lawyers had argued that a firearm law included by the prosecutors was not in effect at the time of the fatal shooting. It would have carried a mandatory five-year sentence. — Prosecutors have downgraded …

Scott Macfarlane / CBS News:

Feds seek to seize funds from white supremacist convicted in deadly Charlottesville car attack — Washington — The Justice Department is seeking to seize money that has been contributed to the white supremacist who rammed his car into a group of counter-protesters, killing one person …

Discussion: Raw Story

Joshua Nevett / BBC:

Ukraine war: Liz Truss joins Johnson in calling for transfer of fighter jets — Liz Truss has joined growing calls for fighter jets to be sent to Ukraine, in her first speech in Parliament since resigning as prime minister. — Ms Truss said the UK needed to “do all we can, as fast as we can” …

Discussion: The Hill, New Jersey Online and Metro.co.uk

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop: McCarthy gives Tucker Carlson access to trove of Jan. 6 riot tape — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has given Fox News' Tucker Carlson exclusive access to 41,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage from the Jan. 6 riot, McCarthy sources tell me. — Carlson TV producers …

Lingling Wei / Wall Street Journal:

In China, Worries About a Weakened Russia Prompt a Rethink — Concern that a Russian setback in Ukraine would cripple China's partner against the West helps drive Beijing's push for an end to the war — China's leadership is growing worried that increased Western military support for Ukraine …

Discussion: The East is Red, Fox News, NBC News, Associated Press, Al Jazeera and The Hill

Jacob Kornbluh / The Forward:

‘I never claimed to be Jewish’: Santos suggests his false Jewish claims were a ‘party favor joke’ in new interview — Despite evidence to the contrary, Rep. George Santos now claims his grandparents survived the Holocaust by falsifying documents — Rep. George Santos …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Insider

Richard Winton / Los Angeles Times:

Housekeepers husband is arrested in slaying of L.A. Bishop David G. OConnell — Authorities have arrested the husband of a woman who worked as a housekeeper for Auxiliary Bishop David G. OConnell in connection with the slaying of the beloved Los Angeles cleric, officials said Monday.

Discussion: Orange County Register, CNN, New York Post, New York Daily News, KSLTV.com, Fox News, WHNT-TV, Metro.co.uk, Associated Press, 6abc, Religion News Service, National Review, Washington Examiner and The Daily Caller

Jack Mirkinson / The Nation:

“The New York Times” Is Repeating One of Its Most Notorious Mistakes — The paper's anti-trans coverage parallels its failings over gay rights and AIDS. But the Times appears determined not to learn from its own history. — On March 11, 1998, New York Times copy editor Donna Cartwright posted …

Discussion: Outspoken, more at Mediagazer »

David Folkenflik / NPR:

The ‘wackadoodle’ foundation of Fox News' election-fraud claims — A woman who says the wind talks to her and put forth claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential race that she admitted were “pretty wackadoodle” turns out to be a key source of allegations that Fox News presented …

Discussion: PennLive, Mediaite, The Nation and The Guardian

Kai Bird / New York Times:

Jimmy Carter's Presidency Was Not What You Think — The man was not what you think. He was tough. He was extremely intimidating. Jimmy Carter was probably the most intelligent, hard-working and decent man to have occupied the Oval Office in the 20th century.

Discussion: Raw Story

Aidan Smith / The Daily Beast:

Republicans Really Want You to Keep Paying Junk Fees — Despite trying to brand themselves as economic populists, the GOP is going to bat for banks and corporations that rip people off with hidden, bogus extra charges. … In an era of “fee-flation,” it seems like Americans …

Discussion: Raw Story

Jon Kamp / Wall Street Journal:

Why the Covid-19 Death Toll in the U.S. Is Still Rising — The pandemic is less risky for most people, but America still sees hundreds of deaths daily — Covid Vaccines Could Mirror the Flu-Shot Process. Here's What That Means. — YOU MAY ALSO LIKE — Created with sketchtool.

Discussion: ParentData and THE VACCINE REAPER REPORT

Financial Times:

Fentanyl: America's struggle to contain a deadly drug — The potent synthetic opioid is claiming lives in the US at an alarming rate. Campaigners say it is time to call it what it is: a weapon of mass destruction — Jaime Puerta remembers the last night his life felt normal.