memeorandum: With a heavy weight on his shoulders, Evan Gershkovich is standing tall (Jason Rezaian/Washington Post)

3:20 PM ET, April 19, 2023

Top Items:

A $787.5 Million Settlement and Embarrassing Disclosures: The Costs of Airing a Lie — Fox News's late-stage agreement with Dominion Voting Systems came with a rare acknowledgment of broadcasting false claims by the conservative media powerhouse. — Reporting from Wilmington, Del.

Washington Post:

Fox News still faces $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic — Fox News's legal troubles related to the 2020 presidential election are far from over, despite its massive settlement with Dominion Voting Systems announced Tuesday afternoon. — The media company also faces …

TIME:

The Dominion Settlement Is Just the Beginning of Fox and Rupert Murdoch's Nightmare — Forget the repetitive media chatter debating the political and societal wins and losses over the historic record $787.5 million settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems …

Discussion: CBS News, Reuters, New York Times, Power Line, Los Angeles Times and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »

Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:
Don't get it twisted: Fox's $787.5M defamation deal is record-setting, massive and painful, experts say

Discussion: The Nation, Raw Story and New York Times

Max Tani / Semafor:
Ex-Fox News Political Director: “Who gets fired?”

Discussion: New York Times, HuffPost and Raw Story

Washington Post:
Fox News, Dominion settle defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
There's a big hole in the Dominion-Fox News settlement

Richard L. Hasen / Slate:
Why It's Fine that Fox and Dominion Settled

Discussion: VICE, Political Wire, Lawfare, Financial Times and El País

Lisa Hagen / NPR:
There are even more 2020 election defamation suits beyond the Fox-Dominion case

Discussion: New York Times, MyNorthwest.com, WGCU PBS & NPR …, Alternet.org, Joe.My.God., Daily Kos and Associated Press

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Putting the massive Fox News settlement in perspective

Discussion: Media Matters for America and Raw Story

Kiara Alfonseca / ABC News:

So-called 'Don't Say Gay' rules expanded through 12th grade in Florida — Classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity is limited. — The Florida Board of Education has voted to — expand restrictions — on classroom instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Discussion: Fox News, New Republic, Joe.My.God., The American Independent and NBC 6 South Florida

Anthony Izaguirre / Associated Press:

'Don't Say Gay' expansion requested by DeSantis approved — The Florida Board of Education on Wednesday approved a ban on classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades, expanding the law critics call “Don't Say Gay” at the request of Gov. Ron DeSantis as he gears up for an expected presidential run.

Discussion: Reuters, Politico, Washington Post, The Hill, New York Daily News, Alternet.org, The Daily Caller, Insider and The Guardian

Ana Ceballos / Miami Herald: Florida officially limits gender, sexual orientation instruction in all school grades

Sally Goldenberg / Politico:

DeSantis is in a rut. His trek to D.C. didn't help. — At a big moment for him, the Florida governor was overshadowed by rival Donald Trump's string of endorsements. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis values being in control. Presidential candidate-in-waiting DeSantis is losing it.

Discussion: Insider, Vox, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Wide World of News, Twitchy, RedState, Raw Story, Fox News, Boston Herald, NBC News, Washington Post and The Hill

Politico:

Playbook: How Trump ambushed DeSantis in D.C. — Presented by The U.S. Chamber of Commerce — With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross — DRIVING THE DAY — POPPING THIS MORNING — We've gotten our hands on a “confidential discussion draft” of a debt ceiling proposal being circulated …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Nation and The Hill

Emily Singer / The American Independent:
Florida Republicans abandon DeSantis and endorse Trump for president

Washington Post:

Inside the secret list of websites that make AI chatbots sound smart — AI chatbots have exploded in popularity over the past four months, stunning the public with their awesome abilities, from writing sophisticated term papers to holding unnervingly lucid conversations.

Discussion: Gizmodo, Althouse and Metro.co.uk, more at Techmeme »

Liz Crampton / Politico:

Democratic governors lose their grip as Republicans nab supermajorities — A steady number of GOP wins and party-flipping have created a particularly challenging environment for Democratic governors in Kentucky, Kansas, Louisiana and North Carolina. — Kansas Rep. Heather Meyer …

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Post

Matthew Brown / Associated Press:
Montana shelves GOP proposal to alter US Senate primary

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Examiner and The Hill

Washington Post:

Top Trump lawyer may take limited role in Jan. 6 and documents cases — Boris Epshteyn continues in role as top adviser but has clashed with other lawyers on Trump's team over his advice and approach — One of Donald Trump's top advisers and most loyal allies may be taking a more limited role related …

Discussion: The Daily Beast

NBC News:

Boyfriend of N.Y. woman who was gunned down in the wrong driveway recalls her final moments — Blake Walsh said he was heartbroken after Kaylin Gillis, his girlfriend of four years, was fatally shot Saturday while they looked for a party. — SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — The boyfriend of a New York woman …

Discussion: New York Times, Insider, Frontpage Mag, The Hill, NBC New York, New York Daily News, New York Post, CBS News, CNN and NPR

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:

Red-State Voters Give Democrats Tester, Manchin Opposite Marks Ahead of 2024 — 58% of Montana voters approve of Tester, while 55% of West Virginia voters disapprove of Manchin. — Among the 59% of Montana voters who disapprove of Biden, 42% of them give Tester positive marks.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, Politico and The Daily Caller

Susan Page / USA Today:

Exclusive: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launches unlikely presidential bid backed by 14% of Biden voters — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launches his unlikely bid for the Democratic presidential nomination Wednesday with the support of 14% of voters who backed President Joe Biden in 2020, an exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washington Free Beacon, Fox News, National Review, ABC News, Associated Press, The Hill, The Western Journal and CNN

Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:

Rioter who organized ‘fighters’ on Jan. 6 pleads guilty, agrees to cooperate with DOJ — Russell Taylor will likely testify at the upcoming trial of members of the Three Percenters far-right movement. — WASHINGTON — A California man who organized a group of “fighters” to travel to Washington …

Discussion: UPI

Karen Freifeld / Reuters:

Ex-Trump Organization CFO Weisselberg released from jail — Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was released from jail on Wednesday, according to New York City Department of Correction records. — Weisselberg was sent to New York's Rikers Island jail …

Discussion: CNN, CBS News, Associated Press, The Daily Beast, New York Post, Just The News, New York Daily News, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

Evan Mealins / The Tennessean:

Capitol riot: Nashville's ‘zip-tie guy’ guilty on all charges — A federal court Tuesday handed down guilty verdicts for the Nashville man best known as “zip-tie guy” and his mother for the pair's role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. — Eric Munchel, who infamously brandished zip ties …

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Political Wire, Associated Press and WKRN-TV

Snejana Farberov / New York Post:

Ex-Biden official Sam Brinton to undergo mental health evaluation in luggage theft case — Sam Brinton, the disgraced former Biden administration official accused of stealing luggage on at least two separate occasions, has agreed to undergo a mental health evaluation as part of a Minnesota's adult diversion program.

Discussion: Daily Mail, The Daily Caller, Fox News and Washington Times

Shannon Ryan / ABC13:

Man arrested after 2 Woodlands Elite cheerleaders were shot outside HEB near Austin, police say — Police say Payton Washington was one of two Woodlands Elite cheerleaders hit when someone opened fire near a grocery store outside Austin. One man is in custody.

Discussion: KXAN-TV, ABC News, NBC News, KLTV-TV, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, alicublog, New York Daily News, The Hill, Associated Press, Metro.co.uk, CBS News, Insider, Law & Crime, Digby's Hullabaloo, UPI, New York Post, NPR and The Daily Caller

Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:

Oklahomans terrified of right-wing extremists 28 years after Tim McVeigh's federal building bombing — Charlotte Cisneros came of age in Oklahoma City in the wake of the bombing that killed 168 people on April 19, 1995. So, when she turned on the new Netflix documentary about Waco last month, it hit her hard.

Discussion: WHNT-TV and New York Times

Jana Winter / Rolling Stone:

DHS Official Has Office Raided, Covered in Crime Scene Tape — The head of the office that tracks cross-border threats — including fentanyl and cartel activity — was walked out by security and questioned on Monday, sources tell Rolling Stone — THE DEPARTMENT OF Homeland Security intelligence official …

Discussion: Raw Story

Sam Levin / The Guardian:

‘Stand your ground’: the US laws linked to rising deaths and racist violence — The shooting of Ralph Yarl, the Black teen who rang the wrong doorbell, revives concerns about expanding self defense laws — The shooting of a Black teenager who rang the wrong doorbell in Kansas City …

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, NBC News, Kansas City Star, Forbes, CBS News and Politico

Associated Press:

Maine quadruple murder suspect was recently released from prison — Joseph Eaton, 34, was released Friday from the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, where he had been sentenced in March 2021, a state official said. — BOWDOIN, Maine — A Maine man who police say killed four people …

Discussion: The Guardian, Reuters, CBS News, The Daily Caller, MyNorthwest.com, New York Daily News, Metro.co.uk, Forbes and Associated Press

Sean Murphy / Associated Press:

Oklahoma Official Who Discussed Killing Reporters Resigns — McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings was caught on tape discussing killing reporters and lynching Black people. — A county commissioner in far southeast Oklahoma who was apparently caught on tape discussing killing reporters …

Discussion: NBC News, The Hill, NBC New York, Raw Story, BizPac Review, TMZ.com, Just The News and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Jason Rezaian / Washington Post:

With a heavy weight on his shoulders, Evan Gershkovich is standing tall — As Evan Gershkovich appeared in a Moscow courtroom, everything about the stage-managed proceedings was designed to elicit a specific response. He was placed in a glass cage where cameras flashed around him.

Discussion: The Hill

Katherine Doyle / NBC News:

Biden will meet with ‘Tennessee Three’ at the White House — Biden invited state Reps. Reps. Justin Jones, Gloria Johnson and Justin J. Pearson, who faced expulsion over gun control protests, to the White House “to continue that conversation.” — WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will meet …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Politico, USA Today, Bloomberg, Washington Free Beacon, Associated Press, The Hill and Political Wire

Carol Robinson / al.com:

Dadeville birthday party shooting: 2 teen brothers arrested for reckless murder — Dadeville birthday party shooting — Two teenage brothers have been charged with four counts of reckless murder in the Saturday night shooting at a Dadeville birthday party that killed four young people and injured 32 others.

Discussion: ABC News, Alabama Reflector, UPI, WGN-TV, NewsNation, Just The News and WHNT-TV

Charisma Madarang / Rolling Stone:

Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson Discuss the Urge to Impregnate Women — Musk blamed “birth control, abortions” to the impending collapse of civilization on Tuesday's Fox interview — IN THE SECOND night of the two-part interview between Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson, the two traded notes …

Discussion: LifeSite, New York Post, Jezebel, The Daily Caller, LifeNews.com, The Wrap, The Daily Beast, Fox News and Mediaite

Nina Totenberg / NPR:

The Supreme Court ponders when a threat is really a ‘true threat’ — The Supreme Court on Wednesday revisits a question the court has never answered: When is a threat a “true threat?” What does the prosecution have to prove? Does it have to show that the defendant intended to frighten his target …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Free Beacon, NBC News, Reason, The Verge and Outside the Beltway

Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:

Marjorie Taylor Greene silenced in committee after accusing Mayorkas of lying — Democrats twice sought to strike remarks from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) during a Tuesday hearing, with the House Homeland Security Committee failing to reprimand her for accusing a colleague …

Discussion: RedState, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, Mediaite, PoliticusUSA, Raw Story and Twitchy

CNN:

McCarthy eyes $1.5T debt limit increase in push for key vote next week — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told his leadership team that he wants to release bill text Wednesday detailing his party's plan to raise the national debt limit for one year and is pushing for a floor vote next week …