memeorandum: Exclusive: China presses Iran to rein in Houthi attacks in Red Sea, sources say (Reuters)

1:44 AM ET, January 26, 2024

Top Items:

David M. Drucker / The Dispatch:

RNC Moving to Declare Trump Its Presumptive Nominee — An RNC committeeman has submitted the proposal despite Nikki Haley's vow to stay in the race. — The Republican National Committee (RNC) is reviewing a draft resolution that, if approved, would declare Donald Trump …

CNN:

Republican National Committee considering move that would declare Trump the presumptive nominee — A draft resolution circulating among the Republican National Committee would formally declare Donald Trump the Republican Party's 2024 presumptive nominee. — While the former president …

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, Breitbart, HotAir, RedState, Raw Story, New York Magazine, Mercury News, Mediaite, Fox News, The Hill and The Messenger

CNN:

GOP senators seethe as Trump blows up delicate immigration compromise — Senior Senate Republicans are furious that Donald Trump may have killed an emerging bipartisan deal over the southern border, depriving them of a key legislative achievement on a pressing national priority and offering …

Discussion: The Hill, MeidasTouch, Raw Story, Wisconsin Examiner, Vox, Washington Times, Politico, NBC News, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, NPR and The Messenger

Punchbowl News:

1/25/24 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM … Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell did four extraordinary things Wednesday afternoon, all of which we scooped in our PM edition Wednesday night. … McConnell told GOP senators that before border security talks began, immigration policy united Republicans and Ukraine aid divided them.

Discussion: Washington Post, NPR, Axios, National Review, The Guardian, New Republic, Mediaite, Media Matters for America, CNN, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, Patterico's Pontifications, The Messenger and The Bulwark

Dan Froomkin / Press Watch: The duty to intervene: What news organizations need to do in 2024

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
A new lens into Trump's legacy of adding to the federal debt

Discussion: HotAir

NBC News:
McConnell casts doubt on border and Ukraine aid deal as GOP fury threatens both

Discussion: Punchbowl News, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, The Messenger, Breitbart, Fox News, Raw Story, Axios, The Federalist, Foreign Policy, CBS News, The Hill, Mediaite, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, Washington Free Beacon and Daily Kos

NBC News: A Democrat raised protecting Speaker Johnson in meeting with Biden and congressional leaders

Alyce McFadden / New York Times:
Cheney Says Haley Should Stay in G.O.P. Primary Through Super Tuesday

Discussion: Mediaite, Political Wire and The Messenger

Reuters:
Trump seeking advice from friends, allies on vice presidential pick

Discussion: Bloomberg, Political Wire, Robert Reich, Patterico's Pontifications and Fox News

Jason Lange / Reuters:
Trump opens up lead over Biden in rematch many Americans don't want

Discussion: NewsNation, Breitbart, The Root, The Japan Times, New York Post, The Hill, Political Wire and Associated Press

Steve Benen / MSNBC: As 2024 race advances, Trump eyes a new priority: blacklisting

Annie Karni / New York Times:
Trump Strengthens Grip on Capitol Hill as He Presses Toward Nomination

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg and Political Wire

Alexandra Hutzler / ABC News:
Immigration emerges as key 2024 election wedge issue for Trump, vulnerability for Biden

Karoun Demirjian / New York Times:
McConnell Casts Doubt on Border Deal, Saying Trump Opposition May Sink It

Discussion: The Federalist, The Gateway Pundit, USA Today, New Republic, The Messenger, The Hill, MeidasTouch and Wall Street Journal

Associated Press:
AP VoteCast: What the first contests tell us about the Trump and Biden coalitions

Discussion: Washington Examiner, CNN and The Hill

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

‘Preposterous’: Federal judge decries efforts to downplay Jan. 6 violence, label perpetrators ‘hostages’ — Judge Royce Lamberth, who has handled dozens of Jan. 6 cases, lamented the false rhetoric spread by Donald Trump and his allies. — The longest-serving district judge on the federal bench …

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios, The Hill and Raw Story

Ryan Lucas / NPR:

Ex-Trump adviser Peter Navarro sentenced to 4 months for contempt of Congress — Former Trump White House official Peter Navarro was sentenced Thursday to four months in prison for contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack.

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, PoliticusUSA, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Wall Street Journal, Right Wing Watch, Politico, The Daily Caller, emptywheel, The Hill, Crooks and Liars, New York Post, MeidasTouch, CBS News, PBS NewsHour and The Messenger

Associated Press:

Trump White House official convicted of defying Jan. 6 congressional subpoena will be sentenced — WASHINGTON (AP) — A Trump White House official convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol is set to be sentenced Thursday.

Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:

Reagan-appointed judge warns GOP's ‘preposterous’ claims about Jan. 6 could pose threat — Judge Royce Lamberth says he's “shocked” that “meritless justifications of criminal activity have gone mainstream,” as some Republican politicans defend Jan. 6 rioters.

Matthew Chapman / Raw Story:

Trump's courtroom appearances force Arizona GOP to cancel ‘Freedom Fest’: report — The Arizona Republican Party has pulled the plug on their upcoming “Freedom Fest” event after former President Donald Trump, who was set to headline the gathering, ditched it to attend to legal matters in court.

Discussion: RedState, The Hill, The Messenger and Washington Examiner

NBC News:

Trump briefly testifies in E. Jean Carroll damages trial, clashes with judge — The former president was on the witness stand for about three minutes. Closing arguments will take place Friday morning. — Former President Donald Trump took the witness stand in a federal courthouse …

New York Times:
Inside Trump's Cutthroat Conquest of Iowa and New Hampshire

Discussion: Raw Story, KTVZ-TV, Business Insider, The Hill, The Guardian, El País and WFLA-TV

The Messenger:
Trump Spokesperson Steven Cheung Booted From Defamation Trial for Phone Alarm

New York Times:
Trump-Carroll Defamation Trial

Discussion: Washington Post, Associated Press, USA Today, Raw Story, Semafor, Axios, National Review, The Hill, Mediaite, New York Daily News, NBC News and CBS News

Reuters:

Exclusive: China presses Iran to rein in Houthi attacks in Red Sea, sources say — Chinese officials have asked their Iranian counterparts to help rein in attacks on ships in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis, or risk harming business relations with Beijing, four Iranian sources and a diplomat familiar with the matter said.

Discussion: One America News Network, Breitbart and Bloomberg

CNN:

EXCLUSIVE: Willis, Wade and others expected to be subpoenaed for hearing on Fulton County DA affair allegations — A current and former law partner to Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor leading the 2020 election subversion case in Georgia, have been told to expect a subpoena to testify …

Discussion: Reuters, HotAir, Fox News, Breitbart, New York Post, Associated Press, acecomments.mu.nu, ABC News, The Daily Beast, Washington Free Beacon and The Messenger

Steve Reilly / The Messenger:
Trump Joins Georgia Co-Defendant's Effort to Disqualify Fani Willis Over Affair and Impropriety Allegations

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState and New York Times

CBS News:

Biden administration warned Iran before terror attack that killed over 80 in Kerman, U.S. officials say — The Biden administration issued a private warning to Iran before the Jan. 3 terror attacks by the Islamic State (ISIS) that killed more than 80 people in the city of Kerman, U.S. officials confirmed Thursday.

Discussion: Associated Press

Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Eagle Pass is today's Fort Sumter. Biden must federalize the Texas National Guard. — The high-stakes game of Texas Hold 'Em taking place on the banks of the Rio Grande between the tin soldiers of that state's Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the U.S. Border Patrol has reached a tension level …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, IJR, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Fox News, The Messenger, The Status Kuo, The Gateway Pundit and HotAir

Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
Speaker Johnson backs Abbott's border ‘invasion’ decree

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Townhall, The Federalist, Washington Examiner, Houston Public Media, The Texas Tribune, Fox News, New Republic, RedState, ABC News, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, Rolling Stone, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Free Beacon, The American Conservative, MeidasTouch and The Messenger

New York Times:

Elon Musk Is Spreading Election Misinformation, but X's Fact Checkers Are Long Gone — Civil rights lawyers and Democrats are sounding alarms about Mr. Musk's claims about voting. The Biden campaign called his posts “profoundly irresponsible.” — In the spring of 2020 …

Discussion: Robert Reich

Khadeeja Safdar / Wall Street Journal:

Vince McMahon Accused of Sex Trafficking by WWE Staffer He Paid to Keep Quiet — Janel Grant files lawsuit saying McMahon pressured her into sex with him and other men at wrestling business, raising questions about 2022 board probe into CEO's payouts — A woman who received a payout …

Marc Levy / Associated Press:

Pennsylvania's governor says he wants to ‘get s— done.’ He's made it his slogan, profanity and all — Gov. Josh Shapiro has a new slogan for how he wants to run Pennsylvania. And it's profane. (Jan.25) — Photos — Gov. Josh Shapiro has a new slogan for how he wants to run Pennsylvania — and it's not fit for kids' ears.

Rolling Stone:

How Big Pharma Is Fueling a Radical MAGA Agenda — Republicans' Project 2025 blueprint is an assault on women's health care. It would also end Biden's Medicare drug-pricing plan — Big Pharma has invested big money in the organizations planning what a MAGA policy agenda will look like in a new Trump administration.

Discussion: STAT