memeorandum: What to know about Speaker candidate Kevin Hern (Nick Robertson/The Hill)

9:15 PM ET, October 21, 2023

Top Items:

Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll found dead outside her home — A politically connected Detroit synagogue president was found stabbed dead this morning outside her home in the city's Lafayette Park neighborhood, east of downtown. — Samantha Woll, 40, led the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue …

CNN:

President of Detroit synagogue found stabbed to death outside home, police say — The president of a Detroit synagogue board was found dead Saturday morning with multiple stab wounds outside her home, police said. — The victim, Samantha Woll, was the president of the board …

Discussion: CAIR, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, Law & Crime and Rolling Stone

Nick Robertson / The Hill:

What to know about Speaker candidate Kevin Hern — The House GOP is in chaos amid attempts to elect a Speaker after Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) lost his third attempt at securing the gavel in a floor vote Friday. — Nine congressmen have stepped up for the job, or have signaled …

Discussion: Forbes, Washington Examiner and KTVX-TV

Jacqueline Alemany / Washington Post:

Concerns about Jordan's election denialism flare during failed bid for speaker — As Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) waged his battle to become House speaker, some House Republicans were uncomfortable with the possibility of having an election denier occupying the most powerful legislative seat …

Discussion: HuffPost, Outside the Beltway, Axios, Mother Jones and Media Matters for America

Clare Foran / CNN:
House remains paralyzed with no end in sight for speakership battle after Jordan's exit

Discussion: Politico, Punchbowl News, Fox News, Bloomberg, Roll Call, Raw Story and CBS News

Nick Robertson / The Hill:

Chesebro attorney argues client never believed Trump's ‘big lie’ of election fraud — Kenneth Chesebro, one of former President Trump's 18 co-defendants in the George election fraud case, didn't truly believe the 2020 election was stolen, according to his attorney.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Mediaite, The Atlantic, BizPac Review, Slate, Deadline, The Daily Caller, KSNG-TV, Semafor, The Messenger, Rolling Stone and Zandar Versus The Stupid

CNN:

Back-to-back plea deals pose grave legal threat to Donald Trump — Two stalwart allies of former President Donald Trump flipped against him in the past 36 hours, a staggering turn of events that could now pose a grave threat to his ability to fend off criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Douglas MacKinnon / The Hill:

Leading Democrats need to go to the White House to ask Biden and Harris to step aside — Playtime is over. We have to put the toys away and have the adults in the room re-exert their authority. — It's one thing when the issues of the day are identity politics; “green” energy …

Ronald Brownstein / CNN:
Mideast crisis will test whether Biden can make experience an asset

Discussion: The Hill and Media Matters for America

New York Times: Can Biden Change How Voters See Him? The Israel War May Give Him a Chance.

Brandy Zadrozny / NBC News:

7 influential accounts are warping Israel-Hamas news on X, researchers find — The University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public said that the most popular posts about the crisis revealed how news on the platform is “faster, more disorienting, and potentially more shaped by Musk himself.”

Discussion: Center for an Informed Public, Twitchy, VINnews and UPI, more at Techmeme »

Nick Fagge / Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Israeli morgue worker says horrors inflicted on Hamas's victims are ‘worse than the Holocaust’ including decapitated pregnant woman and her beheaded unborn child — Shari says the atrocities committed by Hamas are ‘worse than the Holocaust’ — She and her team spend 12 hours a day cleaning mutilated corpses

Discussion: Exposing the role …, Breitbart and The Forward

Wes Davis / The Verge:

Google owes executive $1 million after losing gender bias lawsuit … A jury found Google guilty of sexual discrimination and awarded female Google Cloud executive Ulku Rowe, who filed the complaint, $1.1 million. Rowe's lawsuit alleged that the company gave higher pay to less-experienced male cohorts …

more at Techmeme »

Roya Rateshtari / usmarshals.gov:

U.S. Marshals Searching for Fugitive Wanted for the Murder of a State Judge — Pedro Manuel Argote now the target of an interstate manhunt — For Immediate Release — District of Maryland — (410) 362-7550 — Baltimore, MD - The U.S. Marshals Service is seeking the public's assistance …

Discussion: The Messenger, NBC News, Insider, NPR, Washington Examiner, Forbes, UPI, New York Daily News, New York Post and Fox News

Jacob Magid / The Times of Israel:

Senior official: US, European countries pushing Israel to delay Gaza ground offensive — Western governments believe invasion may scuttle chances of further hostage releases; Biden publicly draws link between Hamas onslaught and efforts for Saudi-Israel normalization

Discussion: Power Line, RedState, HotAir, BizPac Review and Al Jazeera

Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing / Politico:
Biden says Hamas attacks aimed to halt Israel-Saudi Arabia agreement

Discussion: Washington Times, The Hill, CNN, Al Jazeera, RedState, Associated Press, New York Post, Washington Examiner, New York Daily News and Bloomberg

Steven Shepard / Politico:

Democrats keep getting new warning signs about Black voter support — Black voters continue to be loyal to Democrats, but there are signs that support continues to erode. — Democrats are about to find out how worried they need to be about Black voter support.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Washington Post:
Post-Schar School poll: Abortion is key for Dems., women in Virginia election

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Blue Virginia, Political Wire and NBC News

Mathew Murphy / The Daily Beast:

Bill Maher Goes Off on Harvard Kids for ‘Siding With Terrorists’ — “As an Ivy League graduate who knows the value of a liberal education I have one piece of advice for the youth of America—don't go to college,” Maher said Friday night. — After 34 Harvard student groups signed …

Discussion: Mediaite, RedState, BizPac Review, The Gateway Pundit, TMZ.com, Fox News, Breitbart and The Messenger

Michael Biesecker / Associated Press:

AP visual analysis: Rocket from Gaza appeared to go astray, likely caused deadly hospital explosion — (AP animation: Marshall Ritzel, AP video: Angie Wang) — Shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday, a volley of rockets lit up the darkened sky over Gaza. Videos analyzed by The Associated Press show …

Discussion: The Times of Israel, Twitchy and Al Jazeera

U.S. Customs and Border Protection:

CBP Releases September 2023 Monthly Update — WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection released monthly operational statistics today for September 2023. CBP continues to address increased migration flows as we enhance the security of our borders; disrupt the entry of dangerous people …