memeorandum: The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is returning home after extended deployment defending Israel (Tara Copp/Associated Press)

4:20 PM ET, January 1, 2024

Top Items:

A fraying coalition: Black, Hispanic, young voters abandon Biden as election year begins — In a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll, Biden's failure to consolidate his victorious 2020 support has left him narrowly trailing Trump. — President Joe Biden heads into the election year …

Discussion: The Messenger, Breitbart, The Guardian, American Greatness, RedState, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, CNN, Political Wire and The Gateway Pundit

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Looking Ahead to 5 Things That Will Shape the 2024 Election — Trials, a Kennedy and the economy are among the variables to consider. — It's divisible by four. It's a leap year. It's a Summer Olympics year. — It's a presidential election year. — Happy New Year?

Discussion: The Guardian, The Hill and New York Post

Carmen Paun / Politico:

Mental hospitals warehoused the sick. Congress wants to let them try again. — Lawmakers are on the verge of allowing Medicaid to cover substance use treatment in the facilities. — The linked crises of drug addiction and homelessness have Washington on the verge of embracing …

Discussion: RedState

Lauren Sforza / The Hill:

Judge allows Mississippi to create state-run court in Black-majority capital city — Despite objections from the NAACP, a federal judge is allowing Mississippi to create a state-run court in Jackson — the state capital where the majority of residents are Black.

Discussion: The Messenger and KRDO

Associated Press:

Israel is pulling thousands of troops from Gaza as combat focuses on enclave's main southern city — Thousands of Israeli soldiers are being shifted out of the Gaza Strip, the military said Monday, in the first significant drawdown of troops since the war began as forces continued to bear …

Discussion: Bloomberg, New York Times, The Hill, Al Jazeera, Politico, Wall Street Journal, National Review, The Daily Beast, CBS News, The Messenger and The Times of Israel

Allison Novelo / CBS News:

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has thrown out the GOP-drawn district maps. That could be a huge change for the purple state — Republican Sen. Ron Johnson won reelection in 2022 in Wisconsin by just over 25,000 votes — the latest slim-majority victory in the state, which gave …

Discussion: Raw Story

Ari Rabinovitch / Reuters:

Israel's Supreme Court strikes down disputed law that limited court oversight — Israel's Supreme Court on Monday struck down a highly disputed law passed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government that rolled back some of the high court's power and sparked nationwide protests.

Discussion: Eschaton

Peter Stone / The Guardian:

‘A formulaic game’: former officials say Trump's attacks threaten rule of law — Ex-president has made increasingly conspiratorial and authoritarian broadsides against prosecutors pursuing him — As Donald Trump faces 91 felony counts with four trials slated for 2024 …

Discussion: Voice of America, Raw Story, Mediaite and Business Insider

Adeel Hassan / New York Times:

New State Laws Will Affect Americans Starting Jan. 1, 2024 — Many state laws take effect on the first day of 2024, including new rules on gun safety, a ban on diversity programs and a curb on telemarketing calls. — A spate of new state laws, including on guns, minimum wage and gender transition care …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Raw Story and ABC News

Associated Press:
California law banning most firearms in public is taking effect as the legal fight over it continues

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Mercury News, New York Times, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, RedState, The Messenger, Fox News, Reuters and Al Jazeera

Tara Copp / Associated Press:

The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is returning home after extended deployment defending Israel — After months of extra duty at sea providing protection for Israel, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group will be heading home, the Navy announced on Monday.

Discussion: The Messenger and KRDO

ABC News:

Court documents naming Jeffrey Epstein's associates to be unsealed: What to know — Former President Clinton, Prince Andrew and others are expected to be named. — In this May 18, 2005 file photo, Jeffrey Epstein attends the launch of Radar Magazine at Hotel QT in New York.

Discussion: WFLA-TV, Washington Times, New York Post, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Fox News, PJ Media, RedState, The Messenger, IJR, The Post Millennial, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Beast

Eric Bazail-Eimil / Politico:

The global elections Washington should be watching in 2024 — Countries representing half the world population will head to the polls in what's been dubbed the biggest election year in history. — 2024 is set to put democracy through its most sweeping test yet.

Discussion: Washington Post

Chico Harlan / Washington Post:

The climate future arrived in 2023. It left scars across the planet. — The year will mark a point when humanity crossed into a new climate era — an age of “global boiling,” as the U.N. Secretary General called it. — AVAS, Greece — By the time the flames were barreling down the slope …

Discussion: Eschaton and Orlando Sentinel

Diana Glebova / New York Post:

Biden spent 37% of 2023 at a getaway spot — in Delaware, at posh vacation sites or Camp David — President Biden spent more than a third of the past year at a getaway spot — either one of his Delaware residences, a posh vacation site or Camp David, according to a Post review of public records.

Discussion: RedState, Breitbart, The Messenger, Washington Examiner and New York Times