memeorandum: U.S. Prepares New Rules on Investment in China (Andrew Duehren/Wall Street Journal)

8:45 AM ET, March 4, 2023

Top Items:

Biden bucks liberals and tells Democrats to get tough on crime — WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden's decision Thursday on a local crime law is sending a national message to fellow Democrats about how he thinks they should address Republican criticism of the nation's rising crime rates.

Discussion: Fox News, CNN, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Insider, The Daily Caller, The Hill, RedState, Regular Order, Breitbart and Outside the Beltway

Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:

Biden puts reelection over principles with his decision on D.C. law — Democratic presidents in the past have done troubling and at times truly terrible things to appease centrist White voters and win elections. President Biden shouldn't continue that legacy — and I am becoming increasingly worried that he will.

Discussion: Reason, Fox News and New York Post

Zeke Miller / Associated Press:
Doctor: Lesion removed from Biden's chest was cancerous

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Republicans Use Arcane Political Tactic to Thwart Democrats

Discussion: Axios, The Hill, New York Magazine, Roll Call, Washington Examiner, New Republic, Becker Brief, The Western Journal, Representative Eleanor … and Wall Street Journal

Joe Jacquez / The Hill:
Pelosi on DC crime bill: I wish Biden 'would've told us first'

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Axios, El País, New York Post, IJR, HotAir, Associated Press and Roll Call

Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
Why Biden Stabbed D.C. in the Back

Discussion: CBS News, Grid News, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Fox News, TheDCLine.org, Washington Examiner, DCist and ABC News

CNN:

DeSantis appointee to new Disney oversight board suggested tap water could turn people gay — An appointee to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' new oversight board in control of Disney's special tax district called homosexuality “evil” last year and shared a baseless conspiracy theory that tap water could be making more people gay.

Discussion: Washington Press, Progress Report, Raw Story, New Republic, Deadline, Forbes, Mediaite, Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair

Politico:

The Trump world-Fox News war gets nasty — In his first minute onstage at CPAC on Friday, Steve Bannon identified one of his top targets of the moment, an entity he claimed is opposing Donald Trump's presidential campaign at its own peril: Fox News. — The host of the popular War Room podcast …

Discussion: NBC News, Alternet.org, Raw Story, The Wrap, PoliticusUSA, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, The Hill, Vox, Media Matters for America, The American Conservative, Digby's Hullabaloo, 19FortyFive, The Post Millennial, The Last Refuge, Washington Examiner and NewsNation, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

As 2024 race begins, special counsel advances with focus on Trump lawyers — Prosecutors have sought information from multiple attorneys and senior aides to the former president, triggering new legal battles — Federal prosecutors investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election …

Discussion: Insider, love, journalism, Adventus, emptywheel, Washington Examiner, Los Angeles Times, Raw Story, PoliticusUSA and VICE

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Pompeo's personal dig at Trump — This year's Conservative Political Action Conference has been a much lower profile affair than usual, as many big names opted to skip the festivities. But it's still a significant stage on which ambitious Republicans can test their message in front of the right wing of the right wing.

Discussion: Associated Press, Althouse, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, ABC News and The Independent

Wall Street Journal:

Twitter's Revenue, Adjusted Earnings Fell About 40% in Month of December — The company recently made a first interest payment to banks that lent $13 billion to help pay for Elon Musk's buyout, people familiar with the matter said — Twitter Inc. reported a drop in revenue and adjusted earnings …

Discussion: Sputnik News and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Page Six:

Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce after 22 years of marriage — D.C's weirdest marriage is over. — Page Six hears that Kellyanne Conway, the longtime advisor to President Donald Trump, and George Conway, the longtime tormentor of President Trump, have decided to divorce after 22 years of marriage.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, New Jersey Online, RADAR, HuffPost and Just The News

Matt Laslo / Raw Story:

CPAC attendees fear the event is now just a slush fund for Matt Schlapp's legal defense — OXON HILL, Md. — Change is in the air at this year's CPAC. So are questions, denials, and rumors. — This annual conservative family gala—formally, the Conservative Political Action Conference …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Insider, The Hill and Washington Times

NBC News:
White nationalist Nick Fuentes is ‘removed’ from CPAC, chair of ultraconservative conference says

Discussion: The Hill, CBS News, Forbes, Raw Story and USA Today

Reuters:

70 years after death, Stalin's polarising legacy looms large — On the eve of the 70th anniversary of Josef Stalin's death, attitudes to the Soviet Union's wartime leader remain mixed in the nations he once ruled with an iron fist. — During three decades of dictatorial rule …

Hannah Rabinowitz / CNN:

Attorney General Merrick Garland makes unannounced trip to Ukraine — Attorney General Merrick Garland made an unannounced trip to Ukraine on Friday, according to a Justice Department official, his second trip to the country after Russia invaded a little more than a year ago.

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Fox News, UPI, CBS News, NBC News and USA Today

Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
The U.S. attorney general meets with Zelensky during a surprise visit to Ukraine.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Washington Examiner, Associated Press and TASS

New York Times:

Conservative Media Pay Little Attention to Revelations About Fox News — Even in today's highly partisan media world, experts said, the lack of coverage about the private comments of Fox's top executives and hosts stands out. — Fox News and its sister network, Fox Business, have avoided the story.

Discussion: Forbes, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

A cleaning company illegally employed a 13-year-old. Her family is paying the price. — One of 27 minors hired to clean a Nebraska slaughterhouse, the middle-schooler and her family now fear deportation and more. — By Maria Sacchetti and Lauren Kaori Gurley — GRAND ISLAND, Neb. —

Daniella Silva / NBC News:

Capitol Police confiscate assault-style ‘ghost gun’ and handgun capable of automatic fire during arrests — The U.S. Capitol Police confiscated an assault-style “ghost gun” and a handgun capable of automatic fire during the arrests of two people near the Capitol, police said Friday.

Discussion: WTOP News

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Nancy Pelosi, untethered: 'If you don't like your pillow, it's not my fault' — The former speaker isn't in charge of anything now but is doing exactly what she wants in what some call ‘Pelosi 3.0’ — BALTIMORE — Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) felt that sense of tension …

Discussion: Publishers Weekly

Jared Gans / The Hill:

California nurses slam state decision to roll back COVID-19 requirements in health care settings — A prominent group of nurses in California slammed a state plan to rollback masking and COVID-19 vaccine requirements in health care settings starting in April, arguing that the decision puts health care workers at risk.

Discussion: California Department …, apigateway.agilitypr.com and Los Angeles Times

Jane C. Timm / NBC News:

Fox Corp. and the Trump campaign hit with FEC complaint over Dominion revelations — A progressive group wants the Federal Election Commission to investigate Fox Corp. and former President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign for breaking campaign finance laws. — On Friday, End Citizens United PAC filed …

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, Let's Fix This Country, Media Matters for America, Raw Story, Bug-eyed and Shameless and Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Trump courts early-state Republicans at Mar-a-Lago — Former President Donald Trump is intensifying his courtship of influential GOP figures in key primary states - this time, over steaks and ice cream at his Mar-a-Lago club. — Trump spent Thursday night wooing over a dozen leaders …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Newsbusters

Ashley Zavala / KQCA-TV:

California bullet train project faces more cost increases, possible delays — Hide Transcript Show Transcript — California's bullet train project that is meant to link Los Angeles to San Francisco faces more cost increases and potential delays, according to an update from project leaders released this week.

Discussion: HotAir and Fresno Bee

Wall Street Journal:

How America Soaks the Affluent — The income tax code is steeply progressive, as 2020 IRS data show. — By The Editorial Board — WSJ Opinion: Chuck Grassley's Account of the FBI's Role in a Political Hit — YOU MAY ALSO LIKE — Created with sketchtool. — 1x

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, WTOP News and AIER

Associated Press:

Philippine governor killed by gunmen while meeting villagers — Gunmen in military uniforms shot and killed a provincial governor and wounded civilians while the politician was meeting poor villagers at his home in the central Philippines, in the latest brazen assault on local politicians in the country, police officials said.

Discussion: Bloomberg and Al Jazeera

Department of Justice:

Former U.S. Army Soldier Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Attempting for Murder Fellow Service Members in Deadly Ambush — A Kentucky man was sentenced today to 45 years in prison for attempting to murder U.S. service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists …

Discussion: The Hill, Task & Purpose, UPI, New York Daily News, Fox News, CNN, The Daily Caller, WTOP News and Raw Story

Andrew Duehren / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Prepares New Rules on Investment in China — Biden administration expected to seek money in its budget next week to set up program regulating investment abroad — U.S. vs. China: The Race to Develop the Most Advanced Chips — Created with sketchtool. … 1x

Discussion: Sputnik News and Bloomberg

Andrew Sullivan / The Weekly Dish:

Rupert Murdoch's Post-Truth Nihilism — The only thing that will get you fired at Fox is telling the truth. … The great and obvious flaw in the political right's legitimate criticism of mainstream media bias is that the most dishonest, cynical, postmodern, post-truth, “everything-is-power” media enterprise is Fox News.

Bloomberg:

California Weighs $360,000 in Reparations to Eligible Black Residents. Will Others Follow? — California is moving closer to determining what eligible Black residents are owed for generations of discriminatory practices, a key step toward potentially becoming the largest US jurisdiction to pay out billions of dollars in reparations.

Discussion: NBC News and New York Post

Joseph Simonson / Washington Free Beacon:

Two Suspected Illegal Immigrants Killed a Bald Eagle for Dinner. Federal Authorities Don't Seem To Care. … Two suspected illegal immigrants shot and killed a bald eagle with the intention of cooking it for dinner, and the town's sheriff whose department arrested them says federal authorities …

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, Frontpage Mag, Not the Bee and CBS News

Beege Welborn / HotAir:

Not so fast: CA NOT going to shutter nasty old Diablo Canyon nuke plant — What a difference falling flat on your renewable face time after time after time and again makes. — Eventually, attitudes come around a teensy weensy bit. … Not without a significant bit of CYA tapdancing …

Discussion: CalMatters, KTVX-TV, Washington Examiner and Associated Press

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

F.B.I. Queries for U.S. Messages Collected Without Warrants Are Said to Drop ‘Dramatically’ — A report about a warrantless surveillance program detailed new limits imposed since 2021, but it did not provide a number for how often the F.B.I. searched it for Americans' information in 2022.

Discussion: The Hill