memeorandum: Greece struggles to contain Europe's largest wildfire on record (Miriam Berger/Washington Post)

8:10 AM ET, August 30, 2023

Top Items:

Trump may not attend arraignment in Fulton County — Washington — Former President Donald Trump may not show up to his arraignment in Georgia next week, according to two sources familiar with his plans. — Trump is considering waiving his arraignment appearance, which is scheduled …

Discussion: CNN, Political Wire, Raw Story, UPI, NBC News, Fox News, The Hill and Washington Examiner

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Trump fundraising spikes after Fulton County mugshot, surpassing $20M in August

Discussion: The Messenger, ABC News, New York Post, Political Wire and Townhall

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Mark Meadows struggles to distance himself from Trump's plot

Discussion: The Hill, Insider, ABC News, The Status Kuo, JONATHAN TURLEY, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, CBS News, Raw Story, Digby's Hullabaloo, CNN, Politico and Talking Points Memo

CNN:
The testimony from Trump's White House chief of staff could change everything

Discussion: Washington Post, Forbes, Raw Story, NBC News, Slate, The Messenger, The Hill, HuffPost and PoliticusUSA

Brianna Herlihy / Fox News:

Over 100 former clerks of Justice Thomas sign open letter defending his integrity, independence — 112 of Justice Thomas' former clerks say news stories attacking him are ‘part of larger attack on the Court’ and its ‘legitimacy’ — EXCLUSIVE - Over 100 former clerks of Supreme Court Justice …

Discussion: Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, The Daily Signal and Just The News

NBC News:

Recently indicted John Eastman is among those vouching for Clarence Thomas' integrity — Eastman was indicted in Georgia in connection with efforts to keep former President Donald Trump in office after his 2020 election loss. He also faces disbarment proceedings.

Discussion: Political Wire and The Messenger

Brady Knox / Washington Examiner: Over 100 former clerks of Clarence Thomas defend integrity and character in open letter

Vaughn Hillyard / NBC News:

Secretaries of state get ready for possible challenges to Trump's ballot access — Arizona's secretary of state is the latest to say his office is grappling with the potential effects of a move to block Trump from the ballot. — Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said Tuesday …

Discussion: RedState and Washington Times

Kelly Garrity / Politico:
N.H. attorney general ‘carefully reviewing’ arguments that could keep Trump off state's ballot

Discussion: The Post Millennial, NH Department of Justice, UPROXX, NBC Boston, Florida Phoenix, DC Enquirer, Forbes, Washington Examiner, Raw Story and NH Journal

David Frum / The Atlantic:
The Fourteenth Amendment Fantasy

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Washington Examiner, The Bulwark, Boston Herald, The Daily Caller and Morning Shots

Robert King / Politico:

‘Go after it’: GOP strategists say Republicans need to hit Biden on drug pricing — Republicans are working to persuade Americans that the Biden plan will stifle innovation and lead to price controls. — As President Joe Biden touts the first 10 drugs subject to Medicare price talks …

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Boston Herald, The American Independent, New York Times, The Hill and Daily Kos

Washington Post:
Biden administration names 10 prescription drugs for price negotiations

Twitter:

Supporting people's right to accurate and safe political discourse on X — More than half a billion people from around the world gather on X to talk about their interests in real-time, and that includes elections. X enables people to directly engage on important topics with elected representatives …

Discussion: 9to5Mac, The Daily Caller, Al Jazeera, Gizmodo, ABC News, Breitbart, The Hill, The Messenger and Variety, more at Mediagazer »

Kari Paul / The Guardian:
Twitter allows US political candidates and parties to advertise in policy switch

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Deadline and The Hill

Shia Kapos / Politico:

A 6-figure Donald Trump donor is now a No Labels adviser — A major Republican donor and one-time financial backer of former President Donald Trump is now a leader in the Florida chapter of No Labels' third-party presidential bid. — Allan Keen, a Florida-based real estate developer …

Discussion: The Messenger, Political Wire and The Hill

Frank Bruni / New York Times:

When I Tell You Nikki Haley Is Pathetic, That's an Understatement — I wish it were as simple as that one Republican debate. — I wish the Nikki Haley onstage in Milwaukee last week — who called out Donald Trump for his profligate government spending, who implored her fellow Republicans …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Hill and Fox News

New York Times:

Trump Could Clinch the Nomination Before the G.O.P. Knows if He's a Felon — The federal election interference case — one of four — is set to start just before Super Tuesday and a cascade of consequential primaries. — By the time Donald J. Trump is sitting at his federal trial on charges …

Discussion: Political Wire, The Hill and Wall Street Journal

Tierney Sneed / CNN:
Here's how Trump may try to challenge Jack Smith and delay his March 4 trial

Discussion: NaturalNews.com, NBC News, Raw Story, New York Times, Washington Examiner, Political Wire, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Gateway Pundit and One America News Network

Matthew Chapman / Raw Story:

GOP lawmaker arrested again after domestic violence charges: report — A Republican state representative in Ohio has been arrested for violating a protective order — while awaiting trial for a prior arrest for domestic violence. — According to Fox 8 News, Rep. Bob Young allegedly breached …

Discussion: Fox 8 Cleveland WJW and Plain Dealer

Miami Herald:

Florida reviewers of AP African American Studies sought ‘opposing viewpoints’ of slavery — When Florida rejected a new Advanced Placement course on African American Studies, state officials said they objected to the study of several concepts — like reparations, the Black Lives Matter movement and “queer theory.”

Discussion: HuffPost, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New Republic, Rolling Stone, Daily Kos, Raw Story and Political Wire

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:

No Labels preps playbook to select presidential candidates, broaden support — The group that's preparing a potential third-party bid is seeking ways to grow grass roots before deciding whether to field candidates next year — The organizers of No Labels, the bipartisan group preparing …

Discussion: Political Wire

Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico:

DeSantis tells Biden: Keep your IRA money — The governor is blocking Biden's IRA benefits from Floridians. There's not much Dems can do about it. — President Joe Biden is offering one of his White House challengers hundreds of millions of dollars to spend in his state.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Political Wire and NBC News

Rolling Stone:

Jack Smith's Team Grilled Witnesses About Rudy Giuliani's Drinking — The special counsel's interest in Rudy's drinking could play a role in undermining one of Trump's key legal defenses … In their questioning of multiple witnesses, Smith's team of federal investigators have asked questions …

Discussion: Insider, HuffPost, Raw Story, Mediaite, Vanity Fair, New Republic, Digby's Hullabaloo, UPROXX and The Messenger

Reuters:

Canada, citing potential dangers, warns LGBTQ travelers of US risks — Canada, citing the risk of potential dangers, is advising LGBTQ travelers planning trips to the United States to check how they might be affected by recently passed laws in some states, Ottawa said on Tuesday.

Discussion: Axios, HotAir, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, CBS News, UPI, The Hill, The Post Millennial, Al Jazeera, Washington Times, Political Wire, The Messenger and Just The News

Miriam Berger / Washington Post:

Greece struggles to contain Europe's largest wildfire on record — Wildfires raging across northeast Greece for 10 straight days — even as hundreds of firefighters battling to contain them — are the largest ever recorded within the European Union, according to a European Commission spokesman.

Discussion: Raw Story, Al Jazeera and CBS News

Reuters:

Exclusive: Russia will not probe Prigozhin plane crash under international rules — Russia has informed Brazil's aircraft investigation authority that it will not probe the crash of the Brazilian-made Embraer (EMBR3.SA) jet that killed mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin under international rules …

Discussion: Politico

Luke Gentile / Washington Examiner:

School kicks 12-year-old out of class for 'Don't Tread On Me' patch — A 12-year-old Colorado boy was removed from class due to a patch on his backpack that showed the Gadsden flag. — Reading “DON'T TREAD ON ME,” the Gadsden flag has its roots in Benjamin Franklin's Join, or Die cartoon …

New York Times:

America Is Using Up Its Groundwater Like There's No Tomorrow — Overuse is draining and damaging aquifers nationwide, a New York Times data investigation revealed. — A wealth of underground water helped create America, its vast cities and bountiful farmland. Now, Americans are squandering that inheritance.

Discussion: The Hill, Bloomberg and The Denver Post