memeorandum: TikTok now has 150 million active users in the U.S., CEO to tell Congress (Carol E. Lee/NBC News)

12:30 PM ET, March 19, 2023

Top Items:

Erica Orden / Politico:

Manhattan DA Bragg privately warns of intimidation after Trump calls for protest — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg offered a private retort to Donald Trump's message Saturday urging supporters to protest his expected indictment, telling office employees in an email that …

Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:

March 18, 2023 — Rumors that he is about to be indicted in New York in connection with the $130,000 hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels have prompted former president Donald Trump to pepper his alternative social media site with requests for money and to double down on the idea …

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo

Washington Post:

Mike Pence, unmoored from Donald Trump, finds his old voice — The former vice president is banking on Republicans returning to more traditional conservatism after the turbulent Trump era — KEENE, N.H. — Mike Pence delivered his old talk radio tag line as a kind of benediction …

Discussion: Human Events

Brittany Shepherd / ABC News:
EXCLUSIVE: Pence says prospect of Trump arrest is ‘a politically charged prosecution’

Discussion: Mediaite, HotAir, RedState, New York Post, Joe.My.God., BizPac Review, National Review, Bloomberg, Politico, Just The News and The Hill

Andrea Vacchiano / Fox News:
Trump 2024 opponent Vivek Ramaswamy slams possible looming indictment: ‘Dark moment in American history’

Discussion: Breitbart, One America News Network, Insider, New York Post and The Wisconsin Daily Star

Luke Clausen / Iowa Capital Dispatch:
Pence, in Iowa, characterizes potential Trump prosecution as ‘politically motivated’

Peter Baker / New York Times:

An Untold Story Behind Jimmy Carter's Presidential Defeat — A prominent Texas politician said he unwittingly took part in a 1980 tour of the Middle East with a clandestine agenda. — WASHINGTON — It has been more than four decades, but Ben Barnes said he remembers it vividly.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Mock Paper Scissors, Raw Story, Insider, Washington Press, Political Wire, New York Magazine, emptywheel, Lawyers, Guns & Money and INDIGNITY

Patricia Mazzei / New York Times:

Covid Politics Leave a Florida Public Hospital Shaken — Staff members of Sarasota Memorial Hospital are bewildered by critics who continue to wage a campaign against federal guidelines on Covid treatment. — SARASOTA, Fla. — The turmoil at Sarasota Memorial, one of Florida's largest public hospitals …

Ray Hartmann / Raw Story:

Alex Jones is transferring millions to family and friends to thwart creditors: report — The families of Sandy Hook shooting victims are finding themselves victimized once again by Infowars conspiracy broadcaster Alex Jones, the New York Times reported today.

New York Times:
Sandy Hook Families Are Fighting Alex Jones and the Bankruptcy System Itself

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and KFOR-TV

New York Times:

Businesses in Phoenix Struggle As Homelessness Crisis Continues — As homelessness overwhelms downtown Phoenix, a small business wonders how long it can hang on. — Reporting from Phoenix — He had been coming into work at the same sandwich shop at the same exact time every weekday morning …

Andrés R. Martínez / New York Times:

Putin Makes Surprise Visit to Occupied Ukraine — State media said the Russian leader flew by helicopter to Mariupol, site of one of the bloodiest battles since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia traveled to Mariupol, a surprise visit to the Ukrainian city …

Discussion: Reuters, CNN, Insider, NBC News, The Hill, UPI, Associated Press, Washington Post, Fox News, Bloomberg, TASS, Metro.co.uk, The Times of Israel, The Guardian, Politico, Al Jazeera, Just The News, New York Post, Daily News and National Review

ABC News:

Pence indicates he won't challenge all aspects of special counsel's subpoena, as more details emerge — The former vice president spoke with ABC News' Jonathan Karl for “This Week.” — Former Vice President Mike Pence indicated that he is not challenging all aspects of the subpoena — issued last month

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Rolling Stone, Fox News and Washington Times

Carol E. Lee / NBC News:

TikTok now has 150 million active users in the U.S., CEO to tell Congress — When TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before Congress on Thursday, he plans to unveil new internal data that suggests the popular video-sharing app is far more enmeshed in Americans' daily lives than anyone realizes.

Discussion: Fox News and New York Times, more at Techmeme »

NBC News:

Trump-DeSantis drama casts a shadow over House GOP retreat in Florida — WASHINGTON — House Republicans head to Florida this week for their annual retreat — straight into the belly of the beast of the 2024 presidential primary campaign. — The Sunshine State is home to both former President Donald Trump …

Mark Landler / New York Times:

Rishi Sunak Charts Post-Brexit Role With Pivot From ‘Global Britain’ — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has dropped Boris Johnson's bombastic approach to foreign policy, echoing the new British leader's personal style and reflecting the country's changed global status. — Reporting from London

Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:

Navajo Nation's long quest for water — and for the federal government to keep its promises — ends up at Supreme Court — NAVAJO NATION, N.M. — Her hands gripping the steering wheel, Marilyn Help-Hood gingerly drove her rugged Ford pickup truck along rutted unpaved roads …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Henry J. Gomez / NBC News:

How Midwest roots shaped Ron DeSantis' political values and perspective — YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — In 1960, political scandal erupted at the Board of Elections in Mahoning County, Ohio. The Republican secretary of state, furious because voting machines hadn't worked properly during the May primary …

Dave Lawler / Axios:

20 years on, most Americans say Iraq invasion was the wrong decision — Two decades after the U.S. invaded Iraq, 61% of Americans do not believe the U.S. made the right decision by invading Iraq, according to a new Axios/Ipsos poll. … The invasion toppled a brutal dictator but sparked 20 years …