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12:20 PM ET, April 19, 2023

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
New York Times:
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.
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Fox News, Dominion settle defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million  —  The agreement brings an abrupt end to one of the most significant media cases in recent decades, one that hinged on false claims about a presidential election  —  WILMINGTON, Del. — Fox News agreed Tuesday to pay $787.5 million …
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 …
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
There's a big hole in the Dominion-Fox News settlement  —  When news of a possible settlement between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News surfaced on Sunday night, pleas from concerned citizens popped up on social media: Don't settle this lawsuit, Dominion.  Put all the evidence before a jury.
New York Times:
Fox Will Pay $787.5 Million to Settle Defamation Suit  —  The settlement with Dominion Voting Systems was the latest extraordinary twist in a case that exposed the inner workings of the most powerful voice in conservative news.  —  Reporting from Wilmington, Del.
Richard L. Hasen / Slate:
Why It's Fine that Fox and Dominion Settled  —  Murdoch testimony would have been more fun to watch than Succession.  But the trial wouldn't have fixed the bigger problem.  —  What does the Fox (News) say?  Not enough to save American democracy.  But we never should have expected …
Max Tani / Semafor:
Ex-Fox News Political Director: “Who gets fired?”
Discussion: New York Times, HuffPost and Raw Story
Reuters:
Exclusive: Fox investors seek records in possible step toward suing directors
Jack Shafer / Politico:
Rupert Wins Again
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.
RELATED:
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: The Hill
New York Times:
DeSantis Meets With Republicans on Capitol Hill, to a Lukewarm Response
Wall Street Journal:
Donald Trump Sides With Disney
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 …
RELATED:
Nathan Tankus / Politico:
Biden Can Steamroll Republicans on the Debt Ceiling  —  And Fed Chair Jay Powell won't interfere.  —  The threat of a real debt ceiling crisis is growing rapidly.  House Republicans are still pushing steep spending cuts that the White House won't countenance, even as the GOP remains deeply divided on a strategy.
Discussion: New York Times and CNN
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: Joe.My.God. and Raw Story
RELATED:
Graham Kates / CBS News:
Allen Weisselberg, former Trump Organization CFO, released from jail  —  Allen Weisselberg, the former Trump Organization chief financial officer who pleaded guilty to tax fraud and other crimes, was released from jail Wednesday, records show.  —  Weisselberg spent 108 days …
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.
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.
Wall Street Journal:
Kyrsten Sinema, Joe Manchin Fail to Attract Small Donors for Potential Re-Election Campaigns  —  Grassroots fundraising strength is often seen as a proxy for popular support for candidates  —  WASHINGTON—Small donors have largely abandoned Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin as they have strayed …
Discussion: OpenSecrets.org
RELATED:
Benjy Sarlin / Semafor:
People should say why they are running for president  —  Chris Christie may be a long shot if he runs in 2024, but he has one extremely important idea that other Republicans could learn from: Candidates should say why they'd be a better choice than their top rivals.
Discussion: Raw Story and Breitbart
Molly Jong-Fast / Vanity Fair:
It's Time for Dianne Feinstein to Resign  —  The 89-year-old California senator has been a trailblazer.  But a public servant needs to serve the public—and Feinstein is no longer doing that.  —  We should not hold a United States senator to a lower standard than that to which we hold all other Americans.
RELATED:
Axios:   Women lawmakers come to Feinstein's defense
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.
Jonathan Mattise / Associated Press:
Tennessee moves to shield gun firms after school shooting  —  In the wake of a deadly school shooting last month, Republican lawmakers in Tennessee awarded final passage Tuesday to a proposal that would further protect gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits.
Christopher Cadelago / Politico:
He's rich.  He's pugilistic.  And he's quietly paying to get Gavin Newsom's attention.  —  The organization trying to qualify another rent control ballot measure in California is paying $2 per signature for a letter to the Democratic governor — and it's not disclosing who is funding the correspondence.
New York Times:
China Is on Track to Become Nuclear Superpower, Ushering in New Age  —  China is on track to massively expand its nuclear arsenal, just as Russia suspends the last major arms control treaty.  It augurs a new world in which Beijing, Moscow and Washington will likely be atomic peers.
Salvador Rizzo / Washington Post:
Grand jury indicts torch carriers in 2017 Charlottesville rally  —  At least three men who marched with blazing tiki torches at the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville are now facing criminal charges, according to indictments unsealed this week.  —  A grand jury in Virginia indicted …
Kyler Alvord / People.com:
Sen. John Fetterman Is Ready to Talk About His Mental Health: ‘I Want People to Hear This’ (Exclusive)  —  The freshman Pennsylvania senator stunned the nation when he publicly admitted himself to the hospital for depression in February.  Now back to work, he tells PEOPLE of the hidden pain that led him to rock bottom
Discussion: The Hill, PJ Media, HuffPost and Breitbart
Zack Budryk / The Hill:
Almost 120M Americans exposed to air pollution that can shorten lives: research  —  More than a third of Americans are exposed to potentially life-shortening air pollution, according to the American Lung Association's (ALA) 2023 State of the Air report.  —  About 119.6 million Americans …
Discussion: UPI
Tesnim Zekeria / Popular Information:
Florida's phony “exceptions”  —  Last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed a near-total abortion ban into law.  The law, the “Heartbeat Protection Act,” prohibits “physicians from knowingly performing or inducing a termination of pregnancy” after six weeks — before many even know that they are pregnant.
Barton Swaim / Wall Street Journal:
Harlan Crow Is ‘Collateral Damage’ of a Smear Campaign Against Clarence Thomas  —  In an effort to delegitimate the Supreme Court, left-leaning journalists libel him as a Nazi sympathizer.  —  Resize  —  Dallas  —  American politics lately feels like an endless game of—pardon the infelicitous word—delegitimation.
Discussion: New York Magazine and Cafe Hayek
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: The Hill
 
 
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 More Items: 
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Supreme Court says Halkbank not immune from U.S. prosecution for Iran sanctions violations under FSIA
Discussion: Bloomberg and The Hill
Associated Press:
Supreme Court lets Texas death row inmate pursue DNA lawsuit
Discussion: CNN and KXAN-TV
Michael Daly / The Daily Beast:
Idaho Republicans Auction ‘Trigger Time’ With Kyle Rittenhouse
Discussion: Raw Story and Joe.My.God.
Associated Press:
Ralph Yarl armed only with ‘Black skin,’ family lawyer says
NPR:
Jon Ward says writing about the evangelical movement released bottled up emotions
Discussion: Yahoo News
 Earlier Items: 
The Guardian:
FBI arrests guardsman who applied for job on RentAHitman.com
Daniel Greenfield / Frontpage Mag:
Biden's Black Astronaut Reads Anti-White Poem to Prep for Mission
John Casey / Advocate:
Boycott Budweiser for Validating Trans Hate
Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:
U.S. charges four Americans with aiding Kremlin efforts
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced she will leave the agency on January 20; she was the first woman to be confirmed to lead the agency

Guthrie Scrimgeour / Wired:
Hawaii's The Garden Island stops using AI-generated newscasters on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram after two months, likely due to the negative public response

Bloomberg:
The DOJ's proposal would require Google to divest from AI partnerships, like with Anthropic, and ban Google from offering exclusive deals to content providers

 
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