memeorandum: DOJ special counsel contacts Kemp, former Arizona governor in Jan. 6 probe: reports (Nick Robertson/The Hill)

12:30 PM ET, July 22, 2023

Top Items:

Before Jan. 6, Mark Meadows joked about Trump's election claims — In a text, Meadows wrote that his own son was unable to find more than a handful of votes potentially cast in the name of dead voters, people familiar with message say — Mark Meadows joked about the baseless claim …

Discussion: Insider and Raw Story

Nick Robertson / The Hill:

DOJ special counsel contacts Kemp, former Arizona governor in Jan. 6 probe: reports — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has been contacted by the federal special counsel investigating former President Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, Kemp's office confirmed Friday.

Discussion: CNN, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, NBC News, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Washington Post and The Daily Caller

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Trump's trial date conjures GOP's nightmare scenario — When the trial date for Donald Trump's Manhattan hush money case was set for March — during the GOP presidential primary schedule — the former president and leading 2024 Republican candidate shook his head.

Discussion: The Hill, Just The News, Raw Story, Financial Times, Daily Kos, Associated Press, Fox News, Semafor and New York Times

Holly Bailey / Washington Post:
Trump attorneys again push to block Georgia 2020 election investigation

Discussion: Politico, CNN, HotAir, Political Wire, New York Post and PoliticusUSA

Jaclyn Diaz / NPR:
Trump's classified documents trial date is set. What to know about this complex case

Discussion: Raw Story, CBS News, Must Read Alaska, Washington Post, Washington Times, RedState, Insider, Reuters, USA Today, New York Daily News and Power Line

Daniel Arkin / NBC News:

Tony Bennett, enraged by racism, championed civil rights alongside MLK — In an era when most white entertainers stayed on the sidelines, the singer marched for racial equality and resisted apartheid. — In the 1950s, Tony Bennett watched with dismay as Black musicians like Nat King Cole …

Discussion: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Gateway Pundit, Variety and Semafor

Dave Kindy / Washington Post:

Tony Bennett saw racism and horror in World War II. It changed him. — What were the chances? Thousands of miles from home, in a foreign land devastated by war, old friends bumped into each other on the street. — It was Thanksgiving Day, 1945, when two U.S. Army soldiers met unexpectedly in Mannheim, Germany.

Nick Robertson / The Hill:
Biden: 'Tony Bennett's life was legendary'

Sarah Mervosh / New York Times:

DeSantis Faces Swell of Criticism Over Florida's New Standards for Black History — In one benchmark, middle schoolers would learn that enslaved Americans developed skills that “could be applied for their personal benefit.” — After an overhaul to Florida's African American history standards …

Discussion: The Hill, Florida Politics, Politico, Victory Girls Blog and Fox News

Cleve R. Wootson Jr / Washington Post:
Harris, on DeSantis's turf, blasts Florida curriculum on Black history

Discussion: The Daily Caller, RedState, Washington Examiner, Orlando Sentinel, PoliticusUSA, Associated Press, Florida Politics, Politico, Fox News, The Messenger, WFLA-TV and NBC 6 South Florida

ABC News:
Harris blasts Florida's history standards' claim slavery included ‘benefit’ to Black Americans

BBC:

Climate records tumble, leaving Earth in uncharted territory - scientists — A series of climate records on temperature, ocean heat, and Antarctic sea ice have alarmed some scientists who say their speed and timing is unprecedented. — Dangerous heatwaves in Europe could break further records, the UN says.

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press and Los Angeles Times

Josh Boswell / Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden's lawyer Kevin Morris is seen smoking a BONG on the balcony of his LA home while clearly visible from the road during a visit from the president's son — DailyMail.com saw Hunter Biden's hotshot lawyer Kevin Morris smoking from a large bong on the balcony of his Los Angeles home on Thursday

Discussion: Louder With Crowder, Breitbart, RedState, Twitchy, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

Suzanne Bates / Deseret News:

Ahead of DeSantis' visit to Utah, a new poll shows him losing ground to Trump among the state's GOP voters — Voters also weighed in on what quality they want most in a leader, with moral character topping the list — As Utah prepares for a visit from GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis on Friday …

Discussion: al.com, New York Post, Just The News, Miami Herald, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, NBC News, The Messenger, Florida Politics and Associated Press

Christina Wilkie / CNBC:

Morgan Stanley credits Bidenomics for ‘much stronger’ than expected GDP growth — President Joe Biden's economic policies drove an unexpected economic surge that has forced Morgan Stanley to make a “sizable upward revision” in its GDP forecasts. — Biden's 2021 infrastructure bill has created …

Discussion: Political Wire

Joseph Zeballos-Roig / Semafor:

New York Republicans to House leaders: Hold the SALT at your own risk — The Scoop — Tensions are flaring between House Republicans as lawmakers from New York have threatened to oppose a major upcoming tax bill unless it raises the current $10,000 cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Washington Examiner and Political Wire

New York Times:

Texas A&M President Resigns Amid Fallout Over Journalism Program — The university said M. Katherine Banks would retire “immediately” after political pushback over the effort to appoint Kathleen McElroy to lead its journalism program. — Texas A&M University said on Friday that its president was resigning …

Discussion: Washington Post, Texas A&M Today, ABC13, The Texas Tribune, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, NPR, UPI, Fox News, Houston Public Media, The Daily Caller, The 19th, Breitbart, WKRG-TV and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Khristopher J. Brooks / CBS News:

Ron DeSantis threatens Anheuser-Busch over Bud Light marketing campaign with Dylan Mulvaney — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is hinting at legal action against Bud Light's parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, for the beer brand's promotion earlier this year with TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney.

Alexander Hall / Fox News:

Researchers horrified, decry rise of ‘fascism’ as students send mocking responses to woke survey — ‘Malicious responses’ to the survey included identifying as ‘illiterate’ and as an ‘attack helicopter’ — Academic researchers condemned students' irreverent and offensive responses to an LGBTQ survey …

Discussion: El País, Joanne Jacobs, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, HotAir and BizPac Review