memeorandum: Syria mission worth the risk, top U.S. general says after rare visit (Phil Stewart/Reuters)

7:50 PM ET, March 4, 2023

Top Items:

Laura Jedeed / New Republic:

The Sad, Desolate Scenes of CPAC 2023 … “It's so great to see everyone here, and it's so great to see a packed house, too!” — It is approximately 11:15 AM in Washington DC, and investigative reporter Sara Carter is lying. The house is never crowded this early on the first day of CPAC …

Discussion: The Mahablog, The Hill, Breitbart, Buttermilk Sky, ABC News, Mediaite and The Guardian

New York Times:

Eyeing DeSantis, Trump Readies for a Long Primary Battle — Donald Trump will be basking in affection from activists at CPAC on Saturday. But his campaign is preparing for an ugly, protracted primary fight for the nomination. — OXON HILL, Md. — Inside the MAGA-clad corridors …

Christopher Mathias / HuffPost:

At CPAC, A Call For Trans People To Be ‘Eradicated’ Gets Big Cheers — The conservative movement's annual confab was creepily obsessed with trans kids and showcased the GOP's alarming and intensifying anti-trans rhetoric. — NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Thousands of conservatives …

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Alternet.org, Mother Jones, RedState, Jezebel, Washington Examiner and Just The News

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

Trump easily wins CPAC straw poll — Former President Donald Trump easily won the Conservative Political Action Conference's (CPAC) closely watched straw poll on Saturday, notching a symbolic win among the Republican grassroots as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024.

Discussion: HuffPost, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Washington Times, Mediaite, Florida's Voice, The Daily Caller, CBS News, New York Post, 19FortyFive, The Gateway Pundit, NewsNation, Washington Post, Night Light, Just The News and Political Wire

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Inside the Panic at Fox News After the 2020 Election — “If we hadn't called Arizona,” said Suzanne Scott, the network's chief executive, according to a recording reviewed by The New York Times, “our ratings would have been bigger.” — WASHINGTON — A little more than a week …

more at Mediagazer »

Francis Wilkinson / Bloomberg:

Fox News Is Trapped by Its Own Zealotry — The HBO drama “Succession” might be a fictional corollary to the machinations of Rupert Murdoch's Fox empire. But when it comes specifically to Fox News, “The Righteous Gemstones,” an HBO show about a family managing its skeevy, sprawling, megachurch business may be a more apt model.

Discussion: Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality and Mediaite

Christopher Cadelago / Politico:
Dems want to cut Fox off after lawsuit revelations

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Raw Story, Mediaite, Political Wire and New Republic

CNN:

Trump seeks to block Pence's grand jury testimony in 2020 election interference probe — Former President Donald Trump has asked a federal court to block former Vice President Mike Pence from speaking to a grand jury about certain matters covered by executive privilege as part …

Discussion: Mediaite, National Review, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, Adventus and Washington Post

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Trump Asks Judge to Block Pence's Testimony to Grand Jury

Discussion: USA Today and Mediaite

Bar Peleg / Haaretz:

‘Good Evening, Anarchists and Terrorists’ | Record Number of Israelis Protest Against Netanyahu's Judicial Coup — Despite the force used by police against protesters on Wednesday, up to 150,000 people arrived to the central Tel Aviv demonstration ■ Police use water cannons against Tel Aviv protesters who blocked highway

Discussion: Reuters, The Times of Israel, Al Jazeera and WTOP News

Josh Breiner / Haaretz:
Israeli Pro-democracy Protests Enter Ninth Week as Police Ramp Up Forces in Tel Aviv

Discussion: The Times of Israel

Erin Woo / The Information:

Musk Delayed Paying Twitter's Amazon Cloud Bill, Sparking Ad Threat — Elon Musk is running into an obstacle in his relentless drive to cut costs at Twitter: some of the same vendors that Twitter is squeezing to save money are also its advertising clients. — As recently as last month …

Discussion: Bloomberg and Politico, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:
Twitter's Revenue, Adjusted Earnings Fell About 40% in Month of December

Discussion: Bloomberg, Sputnik News and The Daily Caller, more at Techmeme »

Annie Karni / New York Times:

Former Trump Adviser Kellyanne Conway and George Conway Are Planning to Divorce — The political odd couple had bewildered Washington when Ms. Conway was serving as an adviser to President Donald J. Trump and her husband was one of his fiercest critics. — WASHINGTON — Kellyanne Conway …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Insider, Washington Press, Jezebel, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Sun, The Western Journal, New Jersey Online, HuffPost, RADAR, Conservative Caucus and The Daily Beast

Nancy Cook / Bloomberg:

Between Rounds of Golf, Trump's Searching for the Perfect DeSantis Diss — Holed up at his resort in Palm Beach, Florida, former President Donald Trump spends many mornings golfing and then, in the afternoons, plots his political comeback. — Maybe he'll shoot videos on policy proposals for his latest presidential campaign.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, HotAir, Raw Story and Florida Politics

Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert / Insider:

Florida courts could take ‘emergency’ custody of kids with trans parents or siblings — even if they live in another state — Florida Senate Bill 254 would grant courts emergency custody of kids who receive gender-affirming care. — The bill, introduced Friday, would also allow …

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Nancy Pelosi untethered: The former speaker revels in newfound freedom — 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, or agita as her Italian family might say …

Discussion: Publishers Weekly

Phil Stewart / Reuters:

Syria mission worth the risk, top U.S. general says after rare visit — The nearly eight-year-old U.S. deployment to Syria to combat Islamic State is still worth the risk, the top U.S. military officer said on Saturday, after a rare, unannounced visit to a dusty base in the country's northeast to meet U.S. troops.

Discussion: New York Times, Task & Purpose, Associated Press, nationalinterest.org and The New Arab

Elahe Izadi / Washington Post:

The last New Jersey reporter on Capitol Hill just got laid off — Jonathan Salant covered Washington on behalf of Newark's Star-Ledger for a decade. Now, the same elected officials he scrutinized are protesting the decision to eliminate his job. — Anyone elected to Congress from New Jersey …

more at Mediagazer »

Hayden Vernon / The Guardian:

Russian minister's claim Ukraine war ‘launched against us’ met with laughter — Sergei Lavrov says Moscow ‘trying to stop’ war in remarks at India's Raisina Dialogue conference — Comments by Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, were met with laughter at an international conference in India …

Discussion: NPR, Washington Examiner, Insider, Washington Post and Talking Points Memo

Ruby Cramer / Washington Post:

A life in Congress: Lauren Underwood learns what it costs — As a single Black woman in the House, the 36-year-old Illinois Democrat tries to balance who she is versus what she does. — Was this what she signed up for? — Not exactly. But Lauren Underwood was here to do the job …

Daniel Dale / CNN:

Fact check: Republicans at CPAC make false claims about Biden, Zelensky, the FBI and children — The Conservative Political Action Conference is underway in Maryland. And the members of Congress, former government officials and conservative personalities who spoke at the conference on Thursday …

Discussion: Alternet.org, Mediaite, Digby's Hullabaloo and Raw Story

Michael Levenson / New York Times:

Former Army Private Sentenced to 45 Years in Neo-Nazi Plot to Kill Soldiers — Prosecutors said he planned an attack on his own U.S. Army unit, sharing sensitive details about it with a white supremacist, neo-Nazi and pro-jihadist group. — A former U.S. Army private was sentenced on Friday …

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Post, The Hill, New York Daily News, New York Post, Fox News, CNN, WTOP News and Department of Justice

iaea.org:

Joint Statement by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — Video Video of (2023-03-04) Press Conference with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi — IAEA Director General H. E. Mr. Rafael Mariano Grossi visited the Islamic Republic of Iran on 3 and 4 March 2023.

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, Sputnik News, The Times of Israel, Al Jazeera and TASS

Peter Beaumont / The Guardian:

Race to get last children out of Bakhmut as city becomes ‘hell on earth’ — With Russian forces closing in, police try to persuade remaining citizens to get out and access routes come under fire — War breeds euphemism and metaphor. In the battle for the Donbas city of Bakhmut …

Fox News:

Former Vice President Mike Pence reveals his potential 2024 advantage if he launches a White House run … Mike Pence on his potential 2024 presidential advantage: ‘The American people love competition’ — PALM BEACH, Fla. - EXCLUSIVE: Former Vice President Mike Pence says Republican voters' familiarity …

Discussion: CBS News, The Hill and Washington Examiner

Blake Brittain / Reuters:

U.S. court says French, Swiss groups cannot restrict ‘gruyere’ cheese label — The name “gruyere” can be used to label cheeses from outside of the Gruyère region of Switzerland and France, a U.S. appeals court said on Friday, in a victory for U.S. dairy groups and others.

Discussion: Raw Story, Politico and Reuters

NBC News:

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.