memeorandum: Democrats endorse their first slate of challengers in the fight for the House majority (Sahil Kapur/NBC News)

9:40 AM ET, January 29, 2024

Top Items:

Playbook: Can Dems flip the border script? — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — I'VE GOT A BLANK SPACE, BABY — The NYT takes a close look this morning at President JOE BIDEN's general election battle plan, which will “couple a direct assault on …

Discussion: Punchbowl News, Axios, The Hill and Associated Press

New York Times:

Inside Biden's Anti-Trump Battle Plan (and Where Taylor Swift Fits In) — Watching Donald Trump ascend, the newly energized Biden campaign is aiming to make the general election all about him. It's also hoping for some big endorsements. — As former President Donald J. Trump speeds toward …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, Deadline, The Messenger, TMZ.com, NBC News and Axios

Politico:

The huge wedge between McConnell and Johnson: Donald Trump — The two Hill GOP leaders are about to find out if they can bridge their yawning generation gap — with a border and Ukraine deal on the line. — Mitch McConnell and Mike Johnson, two wildly different congressional GOP leaders …

Discussion: The Bulwark

Edward-Isaac Dovere / CNN:
Joe Manchin could upend Biden's reelection campaign - and blow up No Labels along the way

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Mediaite and Fox News

Amy B Wang / Washington Post:
Lankford defends bipartisan border security bill after attacks by Trump, GOP

Discussion: HotAir, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, Newsbusters, Axios, Breitbart, Oklahoma Voice, Business Insider, The Hill, Fox News, The Daily Caller, The Messenger, New York Post, Washington Times, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, Politico and Chicago Tribune

CNN:
State of the Union — DANA BASH, CNN HOST (voice-over): Gone South. — As his GOP rival gets under his skin...

Discussion: CAIR, Benzinga, NPR, The Daily Beast, NBC News, Mother Jones, Eschaton and Washington Post

Lauren Sforza / The Hill:
Noem spars with CNN's Dana Bash over border deal

Discussion: CNN, The Messenger, Louder With Crowder, The Daily Caller, HuffPost, RedState and Mediaite

Andrew Solender / Axios:

GOP hawks press Biden to target Iran directly over soldiers' deaths — President Biden is facing calls from congressional hawks to escalate attacks on Iran-linked targets, including within Iran itself, in response to the deaths of three U.S. service members in a drone attack in Jordan.

Discussion: U.S. Central Command, IJR, New York Post, Florida Politics, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, RedState, Breitbart, Bloomberg, Fox News, The Hill, Reuters, Frontpage Mag, Committee on Foreign Affairs, TASS, Washington Free Beacon and Al Jazeera

Daniel Greenfield / Frontpage Mag:
3 U.S. Soldiers Died Because Biden Won't Stand Up to Iran

Kelly Garrity / Politico:
Republican hawks call for retaliation after 3 killed in Iranian-backed strike

Discussion: Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Beast, Atlantic Council, RedState, Bloomberg and CBS News

Associated Press:
Three Americans killed, ‘many’ wounded in drone attack by Iran-backed militia in Jordan, Biden says

The White House:
Statement from President Joe Biden on Attack on U.S. Service Members in Northeastern Jordan Near the Syria Border

CNN:
Three US troops killed in drone attack in Jordan, more than 30 injured

Lisa Needham / Public Notice:

Republican governors' dangerous border standoff with Biden — This free edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers. To become one and support our work, please click the button below to sign up. — 📚 Subscribe to Public Notice 📚 — Over the last several years …

Discussion: Sacramento Bee, One First, Default, CNN, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

The second insurrection — “The Federal Government has broad constitutional powers in determining what aliens shall be admitted to the United States, the period they may remain, regulation of their conduct before naturalization, and the terms and conditions of their naturalization …

Discussion: HotAir

Sahil Kapur / NBC News:

Democrats endorse their first slate of challengers in the fight for the House majority — First on NBC News: The DCCC is backing 17 candidates in some of the most competitive districts on the 2024 map as part of its “red to blue” program. — WASHINGTON — House Democrats are officially issuing …

Discussion: The Messenger and The Texas Tribune

Kayla Guo / New York Times:

Pelosi Wants F.B.I. to Investigate Pro-Palestinian Protesters — The former House speaker suggested without offering evidence that some protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza had financial ties to Russia and Vladimir V. Putin. — Representative Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California …

Discussion: CNN, HuffPost, Outside the Beltway, Rolling Stone, JONATHAN TURLEY, National Review, New York Post, The Hill, The Messenger, UPI, The Forward and Washington Times

Erik Larson / Bloomberg:

Trump Cash Stockpile at Risk From $450 Million Dual Verdicts — Damages from NY civil cases could cut 15% of Trump's net worth — Likely Republican front-runner faces mounting legal bills — Donald Trump is facing a pair of major legal verdicts in New York that risk wiping out most …

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post and Benzinga

David Siders / Politico:
The Trump defense industrial complex goes a bit quiet after Carroll verdict

Discussion: The Messenger, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, USA Today, Mediaite, Fox News, Mother Jones, Raw Story and The Daily Beast

Ally Mutnick / Politico:

Dems make early ad reservations in key Senate races — Senate Majority PAC is booking early to lock in lower rates in Montana and Nevada, two states that are crucial to a brutal Senate map. — The Senate TV ad wars are beginning. — Senate Majority PAC, Democrats' largest outside group focused …

Discussion: The Messenger, American Greatness and Fox News

Kelby Vera / HuffPost:

Nikki Haley Explains Why ‘Insecure’ Trump Is His ‘Own Worst Enemy’ — “When he feels insecure, he starts to rail, he starts to rant, he starts to flail his arms and he starts to get upset,” Haley said in a recent “Meet the Press” interview. — LOADING — Nikki Haley called Donald Trump his …

Discussion: Semafor, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, MeidasTouch and NBC News

Wall Street Journal:

At Least 12 U.N. Agency Employees Involved in Oct. 7 Attacks, Intelligence Reports Say — Around 10% of Palestinian aid agency's 12,000 staff in Gaza have links to militants, according to intelligence dossier — TEL AVIV—At least 12 employees of the U.N.'s Palestinian refugee agency …

Discussion: Reuters, New York Post, Fox News and The Indian Express

Financial Times:

Brussels threatens to hit Hungary's economy if Viktor Orbán vetoes Ukraine aid — EU strategy aims to spook investors by cutting off funding to Budapest in stand-off over €50bn package — The EU will sabotage Hungary's economy if Budapest blocks fresh aid to Ukraine at a summit this week …

Discussion: Bloomberg, GB News, The Guardian, NBC 7 San Diego and Reuters

France 24:

Climate activists hurl soup at the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris — Two protesters from a climate and agricultural NGO hurled soup onto the bulletproof glass protecting Leonardo da Vinci's “Mona Lisa” painting in Paris, demanding the right to “healthy and sustainable food”. — By: FRANCE 24

Juliegrace Brufke / Axios:

Quiet rebellion threatens House GOP chair over surprise tax deal — The House GOP's top tax writer doesn't just face blowback over the surprise deal he unveiled this month: Now the background chatter suggests Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) could lose his gavel.