memeorandum: Chris Christie is actually gaining support for president. From Democrats. (Politico)

12:55 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 — In 2020, Trump depicted Biden as a feeble old man. Now, facing criminal charges and eyeing a rematch, he's recasting Biden as a nefarious mastermind manipulating the justice system. — WASHINGTON — In 2020, the moniker was “Sleepy Joe.”

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, 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

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

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, Breitbart, The Messenger, Raw Story, Financial Times, New York Post, The Daily Caller and Reuters

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

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 …

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.

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

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

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

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

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 …

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

Breccan F. Thies / Washington Examiner:

Mother of trafficked Virginia girl sues school district over secret gender transition — EXCLUSIVE — A Virginia mother is suing her local school district in federal court, saying staff there secretly transitioned her daughter, putting her in such dangerous situations that she ran away only to be kidnapped and sex-trafficked.

Discussion: IJR

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

Eric Bradner / CNN:

Wisconsin GOP weighs moves to sideline elections chief and liberal Supreme Court majority — Wisconsin Republicans, after a string of losses in hotly contested statewide races, are taking steps toward sidelining the state's nonpartisan elections chief and undercutting the new liberal majority on the state Supreme Court.

Discussion: Associated Press and The Messenger