memeorandum: Boeing nearly escaped criminal charges over its 737 Max crashes when Alaska Airlines lost a door mid-flight—and it could blow the case wide open again (Fortune)

3:55 PM ET, January 11, 2024

Top Items:

Adam Klasfeld / The Messenger:

Trump Launches into Courtroom Tirade About ‘Witch Hunt’ Fraud Case, Claiming He Deserves Damages — The former president didn't wait for the judge's permission before reciting a roughly five-minute rant that he's being ‘persecuted’ — Donald Trump launched into a tirade Thursday …

Paul Rosenzweig / The Bulwark:

Trump's Lawyers Argue Biden Can Assassinate Him — The arguments were stupid to begin with, but one judge's question SEALed the deal. — I CONFESS TO A LONGSTANDING PREFERENCE for the Army's Delta Force over the Navy's SEAL Team Six. The preference is not rational—it is the product …

Discussion: CNN, Truthout, CBS News, New York Times, New Yorker, American Prospect, New Republic, The Atlantic, Raw Story, HuffPost, Political Wire, The Hill and PoliticusUSA

Charlie Mahtesian / Politico:

Don't Be So Certain Trump Has the Nomination Locked Up — Here's the path for a Nikki Haley upset. — Contrary to conventional wisdom, Nikki Haley doesn't have to win New Hampshire, or even South Carolina — she just has to keep it close enough to keep donors and voters convinced there might …

Discussion: New York Times, New York Daily News, ABC News, The Spectator World, The Nation, The Atlantic, No More Mister Nice Blog, New Jersey Monitor, Washington Times, National Review, Semafor, El País, New York Magazine, Business Insider, Washington Examiner and Bloomberg

Ron Dicker / HuffPost:

Trump Reacts To Woman Telling Him He ‘Personally Demeaned’ So Many Ex-Associates — The former president was confronted by a DeSantis supporter at the Fox News town hall and tried to spin his way out of it. — LOADING — Donald Trump on Wednesday wriggled out of a town hall question …

Discussion: Business Insider, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, The Messenger, Axios and The Hill

Politico:

Latest GOP split: Senate leaders hold out as House brass goes all-in for Trump — The former president's allies warn it's a risky move, depending on “how much Donald Trump wants to keep a grudge.” — Most Senate GOP leaders are confronting a dilemma they hoped to avoid …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Caller, U-S-NEWS.COM, Business Insider, Daily Kos, Raw Story, ABC News, Political Wire, Breitbart, The Messenger, Roll Call, The Hill and HuffPost

Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
Ramaswamy backs Trump before Supreme Court in 14th Amendment case

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Messenger, New York Times, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Washington Post, The Daily Signal and Business Insider

New York Times:
Will You Vote for Trump Again?

Discussion: Raw Story

Tyler Olson / Fox News:
Republicans respond to Trump ballot bans with bill to make SCOTUS only authority on insurrection challenges

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Resolute Square, Power Line, Los Angeles Times and The Messenger

NBC News:
'I know who it's going to be': Trump hints he's made up his mind about his VP pick

Tess Owen / VICE:

Democrats Propose Bill to Neuter Militias — The “Preventing Private Paramilitary Activity Act” would effectively limit most militia activity. — Militias who like to spend their weekends training to overthrow the government could find themselves running afoul of federal law …

Discussion: Washington Times

The Hill:

Hogan steps down from No Labels board amid 2024 speculation — Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) stepped down as co-chair of No Labels last month, raising speculation about a potential third party presidential campaign. — Hogan's resignation letter, dated Dec. 15 and first reported …

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, Washington Examiner, The Messenger and Digby's Hullabaloo

NBC News:
No Labels engages Chris Christie allies on a potential third-party run

Discussion: The Messenger, The Hill, Bloomberg and New York Times

New York Times:

Kim Reynolds Has Another Account, @Kimberl26890376, and Opinions About Donald Trump — In recent months, the Republican governor of Iowa has used a secondary account on X to share her unfiltered feelings on the Republican presidential primary race. — Not long after the calendar turned to 2024 …

Discussion: The Messenger, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, BizPac Review, Daily Caller News Foundation and Bloomberg

Mike Spies / ProPublica:

Secret Recording Shows NRA Treasurer Plotting to Conceal Extravagant Expenses Involving Wayne LaPierre — Audio obtained by The Trace and ProPublica reveals, in real time, the gun lobbying group enacting a plan that would conceal payments for fancy hotels, limousines and other luxury expenses connected to its longtime CEO for a decade.

Discussion: Political Wire

Daniella Silva / NBC News:

Ohio woman who miscarried at home will not be criminally charged, grand jury says — Brittany Watts, 34, had been charged with a felony for abuse of a corpse after she miscarried in her bathroom and was later admitted to a hospital for a life-threatening hemorrhage.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Independent, The Messenger, CBS News, Fox 8 Cleveland WJW, WCMH-TV, New York Times and Religion News Service

Erin Cox / Washington Post:

Maryland Elections Board member arrested on Jan. 6 riot charges resigns — Carlos Ayala, nominated to the state's top election board by Republicans last year, allegedly wore a ‘Stop the Steal’ button while breaching the U.S. Capitol — A top Maryland elections official was arrested this week …

Discussion: New York Times, US Department of Justice, The Hill, The Messenger, CBS News and Raw Story

Alanna Durkin Richer / Associated Press:

Feds charge eBay over employees who sent live spiders and cockroaches to couple; company to pay $3M — Online retailer eBay Inc. will pay a $3 million fine to resolve criminal charges over a harassment campaign waged by employees who sent live spiders, cockroaches and other disturbing items …

Discussion: The Messenger, Fox Business, New York Post, Fox 8 Cleveland WJW and Press Herald, more at Techmeme »

Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:

Bomb Threat Made at Home of Judge in Trump's Bank Fraud Trial — A bomb squad rushed to Justice Arthur F. Engoron's house on Long Island, a source told The Daily Beast. — The danger surrounding Donald Trump's bank fraud trial in New York escalated just hours before its final hearing on Thursday …

Discussion: USA Today, CNBC, New Republic, Breitbart, NBC 7 San Diego, New York Daily News, Raw Story, Rolling Stone and The Messenger

NBC News:
Judge in Trump's civil fraud trial faces bomb threat ahead of closing arguments

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Times, BizPac Review, Law & Crime, The Hill, The Guardian, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Business Insider, Axios, PoliticusUSA, The Messenger, New York Post and The Post Millennial

Chris Queen / PJ Media:

The Plot Thickens in the Fani Willis Corruption Allegations — These Fani Willis allegations are getting crazier by the day. By now, I'm sure you've read Athena Thorne's intrepid report on the accusations that Willis hired an attorney with whom she is supposedly carrying on an extramarital affair …

Discussion: New York Post, The Western Journal, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Twitchy, RedState, The Hill, HotAir, The Guardian, The Gateway Pundit and Erick Erickson's Show Notes

Politico:
Jan. 6 committee helped guide early days of Georgia Trump probe

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Breitbart, BizPac Review, American Greatness, New York Times, Blaze Media, The Daily Caller, The Messenger, The Post Millennial, New York Post, Rolling Stone and NBC News

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

Musk uses megaphone to promote misleading claims about voting, push for severe restrictions — This week, Elon Musk has repeatedly promoted false and misleading claims about voting to his 168 million followers on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter.

Discussion: NBC News, Breitbart and HotAir

Lexi Lonas / The Hill:

Federal judge rules book ban lawsuit against Florida school can move forward — U.S. District Judge Kent Wetherell ruled on Wednesday a lawsuit against a Florida school over it pulling books off its shelves has standing to move forward, a win for those who have been raising the alarm about book bans in schools.

Discussion: New Republic, Los Angeles Times and PEN America

Zack Budryk / The Hill:

Renewable energy grows at fastest rate in decades: IEA — Renewable energy expanded more than 50 percent last year compared to 2022, potentially putting the international goal of tripling capacity by 2030 in sight, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Discussion: IEA and Electrek

Sibi Arasu / Associated Press:
Renewables grew rapidly in 2023, but must grow faster still to meet climate change target, IEA says

Discussion: Forbes, Semafor, The Guardian and Radio Free Asia

Fortune:

Boeing nearly escaped criminal charges over its 737 Max crashes when Alaska Airlines lost a door mid-flight—and it could blow the case wide open again — Last week's accident involving a Boeing Co. 737 Max 9 not only resulted in the grounding of scores of jets, but could complicate …

Discussion: inews.co.uk

US Food and Drug Administration:

Update on FDA's ongoing evaluation of reports of suicidal thoughts or actions in patients taking a certain type of medicines approved for type 2 diabetes and obesity — Preliminary evaluation does not suggest a causal link — Drug Safety Communication (PDF - 214 KB)

Discussion: The Hill, Associated Press and Forbes

Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:

New Hampshire 2024 Poll: Haley Gains, Trump Loses Support but Maintains Lead — Haley is Second Choice for 52% of Christie Voters — A new Emerson College Polling/WHDH New Hampshire survey finds former President Donald Trump leading the Republican Primary with 44% support, followed by Nikki Haley with 28%.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Hill, NewsNation, The 19th, Daily Caller News Foundation, Florida Politics, ABC News and Political Wire

Lara Jakes / New York Times:

U.S. Military Aid to Ukraine Was Poorly Tracked, Pentagon Report Concludes — The Defense Department's inspector general found that American defense officials and diplomats in Washington and Europe had failed to quickly or fully account for all of nearly 40,000 weapons sent to Ukraine.