memeorandum: What Really Happens When Americans Stop Going to Church (Daniel K. Williams/The Atlantic)

12:10 PM ET, September 4, 2023

Top Items:

Biden's Age, Economic Worries Endanger Re-Election in 2024, WSJ Poll Finds — Nearly three-quarters of voters say the president is too old to run again — Voters overwhelmingly think President Biden is too old to run for re-election and give him low marks for handling the economy …

Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
From ‘Sleepy Joe’ to ‘Crooked Joe’: Trump tries to redraw his portrait of Biden

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg and CNN

Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
Senate Republican: 'We don't know' if Trump could beat Biden in 2024

Discussion: HuffPost, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Times, Raw Story, NBC News and Fox News

Lauren Sforza / The Hill:
Ramaswamy doubles down on voting for Trump if former president is convicted

Discussion: HuffPost, ABC News, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Fox News, Newsbusters, Washington Examiner and The Messenger

Francois Murphy / Reuters:

Iran expands stock of near-weapons grade uranium, IAEA reports no progress — Iran's stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, close to weapons grade, continues to grow and there has been no progress in talks with Tehran on sensitive issues such as explaining uranium traces at undeclared sites …

Discussion: CBS News, The Daily Caller, Agence France-Presse and Bloomberg

Stephanie Liechtenstein / Associated Press:

UN nuclear watchdog report seen by AP says Iran slows its enrichment of near-weapons-grade uranium — Iran has slowed the pace at which it is enriching uranium to nearly weapons-grade levels, according to a report by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog seen by The Associated Press on Monday.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press

Wall Street Journal:

Chinese Gate-Crashers at U.S. Bases Spark Espionage Concerns — Washington has tracked about 100 incidents involving Chinese nationals trying to access American military and other installations — WASHINGTON—Chinese nationals, sometimes posing as tourists, have accessed military bases …

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, The Messenger, Raw Story, Financial Times, New York Post, The Daily Caller and Reuters

Politico:

Why the White House thinks impeachment may prove risky for Republicans — And that's not the only political hot spot Biden aides are gearing up to confront. — The White House has been gradually preparing for a GOP impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and increasingly feels …

CNN:
Congress poised for messy September as McCarthy races to avoid government shutdown

Discussion: The Messenger, Washington Examiner, NBC News and Political Wire

Stephanie Kirchgaessner / The Guardian:

Twitter accused of helping Saudi Arabia commit human rights abuses — Lawsuit says network discloses user data at request of Saudi authorities at much higher rate than for US, UK and Canada — The social media company formerly known as Twitter has been accused in a revised civil US lawsuit …

Daniel K. Williams / The Atlantic:

What Really Happens When Americans Stop Going to Church — People hold on to their politics when they stop attending church. — Millions of Americans are leaving church, never to return, and it would be easy to think that this will make the country more secular and possibly more liberal.

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo

Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:

Why Illinois eliminating cash bail is a big deal — While red states restrict rights, the Land of Lincoln blazes a more hopeful trail. — ∙ Paid … The GOP have turned the states into laboratories of tyranny, innovating a slew of bold, brutal assaults on voting rights …

The Daily Beast:

The California Megachurch Pushing Public Schools to the Far Right — From fights over LGBT rights to prayer at school board meetings, Chino Valley public schools have become ground zero for the culture wars. — Outside the California State Capitol last month, a fitness trainer turned …

Discussion: Raw Story

Politico:

Chris Christie is actually gaining support for president. From Democrats. — They can't get enough of his new Trump-bashing persona. — SALEM, N.H. — Chris Christie is running away with support from at least one major voting bloc in his presidential bid.

Discussion: New Jersey Globe

Associated Press:

DeSantis Florida redistricting map is unconstitutional and must be redrawn, judge says — A Florida redistricting plan pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis violates the state constitution and is prohibited from being used for any future U.S. congressional elections since it diminishes …

Discussion: New York Post, Politico, New York Times, Fox News, Insider, Digby's Hullabaloo, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, RedState, The Hill, Florida Politics, Orlando Sentinel, CNN and The Messenger

Luke Roberts / Kern County Fire Department:

Sheep's Trail Incident - Technical Rescue — INCIDENT NUMBER INCIDENT TYPE — LOCATION: COMMANCHE POINT ROAD BETWEEN EAST ARVIN AND STALLION SPRINGS — CLOSEST COMMUNITY: COMMANCHE POINT ROAD BETWEEN EAST ARVIN AND STALLION SPRINGS — INCIDENT NARRATIVE

Discussion: CBS News and The Daily Caller

Eric He / Politico:

An effort to ban caste discrimination in California has touched a nerve — California would be the first state to explicitly ban the practice, but the process has been divisive. — SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Caste discrimination wasn't on the radar of many lawmakers in California.

Jacob Bogage / Washington Post:

Home insurers cut natural disasters from policies as climate risks grow — Some of the largest U.S. insurance companies say extreme weather has led them to end certain coverages, exclude natural disaster protections and raise premiums — In the aftermath of extreme weather events …

Discussion: Mercury News