memeorandum: Gov. DeSantis signs executive order authorizing rescue of Floridians stranded in Israel: ‘Help is on the way’ (Andrew Miller/Fox News)

10:45 AM ET, October 13, 2023

Top Items:

Live updates House speakership stalled as Scalise withdraws from race — Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) announced at a Republican conference meeting Thursday night that he is pulling out of the race to become speaker. The announcement came after a day full of lengthy meetings with fellow Republicans …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Axios, Roll Call, Associated Press, Insider, New York Post, Washington Examiner, ZeroHedge News, Political Wire, NBC News and New York Daily News

Politico:

Fear and loathing grips the House GOP — While Republicans appear to be turning next to Jim Jordan, some are already airing open doubts that he can pull off what the majority leader couldn't. — The House GOP has entered an angrier and more bewildered phase in its leadership crisis.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Messenger, Vox and USA Today

Carl Hulse / New York Times:

With the World in Crisis, House Republicans Bicker Among Themselves — Despite conflicts overseas and an approaching deadline to avert a government shutdown, Republicans are unable to rise above their internal divisions. — Two key U.S. allies are engulfed in vicious wars.

Discussion: PoliticusUSA

Amanda Marcotte / Salon:

House GOP in total chaos: So much for fascist order and discipline! — Aren't far-right movements supposed to make the trains run on time? GOP can't elect a speaker from its own tribe — Nearly eight decades after the end of World War II, the thing we ought to understand most clearly …

Discussion: Axios

Politico:

Playbook: The House GOP sinks deeper into chaos — Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross — DRIVING THE DAY — OVERNIGHT — AP: “Israel's military told some 1 million Palestinians living in Gaza on Friday to evacuate the north, according to the United Nations …

Discussion: NBC News and Punchbowl News

Steven T. Dennis / Bloomberg:
Top House Republican Wants Help From Democrats to Pick a Speaker

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Punchbowl News, Semafor, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Balloon Juice, NBC News, PBS NewsHour, Roll Call and Hackwhackers

The Hill:
Steve Scalise drops out of Speaker's race

Discussion: PJ Media, NPR, Magnolia Tribune, Raw Story, One America News Network, UPI, New York Post, Los Angeles Blade, National Review, Boing Boing, Reuters, HuffPost, American Greatness, NBC News and Fox News

The Messenger:
Moderate House Republicans Plot To Empower McHenry Amid Stalled Speaker Search

Discussion: CBS News, Joe.My.God., CNN, Associated Press, Daily Kos, Fox News and Political Wire

CNN:
Steve Scalise drops out of speaker's race as House GOP faces leadership crisis

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, Boing Boing, PoliticusUSA, Fox News, NBC News, Washington Post, Tusk, Nevada Current, USA Today, Forbes, HuffPost, Mediaite, Reuters, The Messenger, Washington Examiner, The Mahablog, Roll Call, Truthout, Axios, CNBC, Mercury News and Punchbowl News

Politico:
GOP says time is running out for Scalise to lock down the speakership

Discussion: The Guardian, NBC News, Daily Kos, GovExec.com, Raw Story, Political Wire, Fox News, acecomments.mu.nu, Crooks and Liars, New Republic, The Bulwark, CNN, Washington Examiner and Puck

Washington Post:
With support for Scalise in limbo, some Republicans look for alternatives

Associated Press:

Israel orders unprecedented evacuation of 1 million in Gaza as possible ground offensive looms — Gaza's energy crisis risk hospitals turning into morgues — Israel Defense Forces release footage of assault on Gaza-adjacent outpost — Israel's military told some 1 million Palestinians …

Reuters:

Hamas tells Gaza residents to stay home as Israel ground offensive looms — Mosques and Hamas officials told Gaza Strip residents to stay in their homes on Friday, in defiance of an Israeli military call for more than a million civilians to move south within 24 hours in the build-up to its expected ground offensive.

Discussion: The Messenger, ThePrint and Power Line

Associated Press:

Hamas practiced in plain sight, posting video of mock attack weeks before border breach — Less than a month before Hamas fighters blew through Israel's high-tech “Iron Wall” and launched an attack that would leave more than 1,200 Israelis dead, they practiced in a very public dress rehearsal.

Discussion: The Hill, Financial Times and The Messenger

Associated Press:
Israel-Hamas war: Strikes devastate Gaza as Israel prepares for possible ground assault

David French / New York Times:
What It Would Mean to Treat Hamas Like ISIS

Discussion: The Daily Signal, scheerpost.com and New York Post

Shannon K. Crawford / ABC News:
Blinken describes images of Hamas attack victims, pledges US support on trip to Israel

Discussion: The Times of Israel, Reuters, CNN, TheBlaze and New York Post

Washington Post:

How 91 felony charges boosted Trump's standing in the GOP — Interviews in multiple states show that Trump's constant message of victimhood has seeped in with voters — David Alexander, an engineer who attended the Iowa Faith and Freedom dinner last month, called the absent Donald Trump …

Discussion: Raw Story

Stephen Collinson / CNN:

Trump's turn against Israel offers stark reminder of what his diplomacy looks like — Donald Trump's inflammatory and artless comments about Hamas' horror in Israel emphasize the defining characteristic of his attitude toward foreign policy and his entire political world view: It's all about him.

Discussion: Politico, Fox News, Raw Story, Chicago Sun Times, New York Times, USA Today and Washington Examiner

Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:
Why is Trump Trashing Netanyahu?

Discussion: The Daily Beast, YouTube, The Messenger, The Washington Monthly …, Mediaite, Raw Story, Florida Politics, Forbes, IJR, The Forward, Digby's Hullabaloo and RedState

Judy Kurtz / The Hill:
De Niro warns democracy 'won't survive' Trump reelection

Discussion: The Guardian, Breitbart, Boing Boing, The Moderate Voice, The Messenger, HuffPost and New Republic

Associated Press:
Trump says Netanyahu ‘let us down’ before the 2020 airstrike that killed a top Iranian general

Andrew Miller / Fox News:

Gov. DeSantis signs executive order authorizing rescue of Floridians stranded in Israel: ‘Help is on the way’ — Hundreds of U.S. families are believed to be stranded in Israel — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order on Thursday authorizing planes from his state …

Discussion: PJ Media, United States Department …, Tampa Bay Times, BizPac Review, IJR, Florida Phoenix, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, The Floridian, Politico, New York Post, The Daily Signal, Orlando Sentinel and The Hill

Mark Sherman / Associated Press:

Supreme Court Justices Avoid Falling Chunk Of Marble In Courtyard — Democratic institutions in D.C. are literally crumbling, apparently. — LOADING — The Supreme Court avoided a catastrophic accident last year when a piece of marble at least 2 feet long crashed to the ground …

Discussion: USA Today

Eric Albeen / Fox News:

Former President Trump on Israel, Speaker's race, Nikki Haley & RFK, Jr. — Former President Trump joined Brian for a wide ranging interview in which he criticized Israel's lack of preparedness for the horrific attack by the terrorist group Hamas on Saturday, October 7th.

Discussion: Joe.My.God., New York Times, Raw Story, Althouse, The Messenger, PoliticusUSA, ThePrint, Al-Monitor, Louder With Crowder, New Republic, Daily Kos and The Hill

Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:

October 12, 2023 — We are in a bizarre moment. — If the U.S. government were operating within its normal parameters, my first story tonight would be about new federal charges that Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was acting as an agent of Egypt while chairing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Emily Jacobs / Washington Examiner:
Fetterman calls on Senate to expel Menendez after foreign agent charges

Discussion: Joe.My.God., RedState, The Messenger, The Daily Caller, The Hill, PoliticusUSA and New Jersey Globe

Zachary Faria / Washington Examiner:

Don't overlook Biden's empowering of antisemites — It is undeniably true that President Joe Biden emboldened terrorists to attack Israel with his support for funding for Gaza and Iran, but it is also the case that Biden has emboldened and legitimized antisemites who support those terrorists and their actions.

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Barbara McQuade / MSNBC:

Jack Smith tells Trump to put up or shut up — Smith's demand that Trump and his lawyers clarify his strategy is important because an affirmative defense would trigger two significant consequences — Jack Smith is asking former President Donald Trump to put his money where his mouth is.

Discussion: Raw Story and HuffPost