memeorandum: Blinken says evidence of UNRWA staffers' Oct. 7 involvement ‘highly, highly credible’ (Jacob Magid/The Times of Israel)

4:55 PM ET, January 30, 2024

Top Items:

Adam Klasfeld / The Messenger:

E. Jean Carroll Lawyer Threatens to Seek Sanctions Against Trump Attorney for ‘Utterly Baseless’ Claims Judge Was Her ‘Mentor’ — Trump's lawyer Alina Habba claimed the judge had a conflict of interest based on a tabloid rumor of an alleged 30-year-old professional tie

Discussion: Washington Examiner, NBC News, Raw Story, New Republic, Salon, Business Insider, Mediaite, Reuters, Law & Crime, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, PoliticusUSA, MeidasTouch, Political Wire and HuffPost

Margaret Talev / Axios:

First look: John Bolton's predictions for a second Trump term — John Bolton — Donald Trump's former national security adviser — is laying out his nightmare scenarios for a second Trump term in a foreword to the paperback edition of his memoir “The Room Where It Happened,” out Tuesday.

Discussion: Reuters, The Hill, Raw Story, New Republic and The Guardian

Matt Vespa / Townhall:

E. Jean Carroll Delivered the Sound Bite That Could Win Trump the Election — There's the liberal media's crusade against the former president, but then there's E. Jean Carroll's war against Trump, which is something otherworldly. She's filed multiple lawsuits against Donald Trump.

Discussion: PJ Media, HuffPost, New York Times, Washington Post, RedState, Bloomberg, Fox News, Twitchy, The Hill, The Messenger, Political Wire and ABC News

Associated Press:

Illinois election board keeps Trump on ballot, rejects challenge — Illinois' election board on Tuesday kept former President Donald Trump on the state's primary ballot, a week before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on whether the Republican's role in the Jan. 6, 2021 …

Isabella Murray / ABC News:

Trump can stay on Illinois 2024 ballot after 14th Amendment challenge, officials say — A bipartisan state board voted 8-0 to affirm Trump's eligibility. — Former U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he departs for his second civil trial after E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her decades ago …

Discussion: CNN, CBS News, HuffPost, KRDO, The Messenger, The Daily Caller, RedState, UPI, The Gateway Pundit, MeidasTouch, Associated Press and Washington Examiner

New York Times:

Trump's PACs Spent Roughly $50 Million on Legal Expenses in 2023 — The former president is facing four criminal indictments and potential trials that could drive his legal bills even higher as he seeks to lock up the Republican presidential nomination. — Donald J. Trump piled up legal expenses …

Discussion: The Messenger, Rolling Stone, Raw Story and PoliticusUSA

New York Times:
Trump Has Devoured the Republican Establishment

Discussion: The Message Box, Deseret News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and Salon

Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
It's not that MAGA doesn't believe E. Jean Carroll — they just don't care that Trump abuses women

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Caller, New York Daily News, HuffPost, New York Times and USA Today

New Republic:
Meet the Lonely Republicans Willing to Say It: Trump Is Disqualified

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Political Wire

Matt Margolis / PJ Media:
Did E. Jean Carroll Admit Her Real Motivations for Her Accusations Against Trump?

Discussion: The Hill

Politico:

Biden planning post-UAW endorsement trip to Michigan — His trip comes as Biden lags in polls and amid anger over his handling of Israel policy. — President Joe Biden is expected to travel to Michigan on Thursday as he tries to rally support among voters in a battleground state viewed …

Discussion: Fox News, New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Messenger

Tal Axelrod / ABC News:
Voters said they didn't want a Biden-Trump rematch. Now they're facing longest general election ever.

Discussion: Fox News and Political Wire

Rolling Stone:
Trump Allies Pledge ‘Holy War’ Against Taylor Swift

Lee Moran / HuffPost:
Joe Biden Reveals What World Leaders Are Telling Him About Donald Trump

Discussion: New York Times, PJ Media, WLTX-TV, Mediaite and The Hill

Alex Thompson / Axios:
After three years, Biden goes all-in on the T-word

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press, PJ Media, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Fox News, New York Post and New York Times

Kayla Gallagher / The Messenger:
Haley Hits Trump on Cognitive Abilities: 'He Has Declined. That's a fact'

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Times

The Hill:

House Republicans poised to torpedo GOP's best chance in years to pass border bill — House Republicans appear to be on the precipice of torpedoing their best opportunity in years of passing border legislation. — Republicans had long insisted on changes to border and migration policy …

Discussion: Robert Reich, Punchbowl News, Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, Axios, Mock Paper Scissors, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit and Vanity Fair

Benjamin Guggenheim / Politico:
House GOP infighting threatens to derail vote on bipartisan tax package

Discussion: The Messenger, ABC News, Roll Call and Semafor

HuffPost:
Republicans Who Screamed About A Crisis On The Border Now Oppose A Plan To Fix It

Discussion: Variety, The Hill, Mediaite, Washington Post, Bangor Daily News, ABC News, Crooked Media, The White House, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and Washington Examiner

Associated Press:

Israeli undercover forces dressed as women and medics storm West Bank hospital, killing 3 militants — Israeli forces disguised as civilian women and medical workers stormed a hospital Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing three Palestinian militants in a dramatic raid that underscored …

The Times of Israel:

IDF says it killed 3 terrorists planning Oct. 7-like attack hiding in Jenin hospital — CCTV footage shows undercover forces in fake beards or dressed as Muslim women before they killed 3 armed Hamas members in West Bank medical center, in dramatic 10-minute raid

Discussion: Washington Examiner, National Review, Jerusalem Post, Breitbart, Fox News, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, CBS News, UPI, The Daily Caller and The Messenger

Abeer Salman / CNN:
Undercover Israeli troops dressed as medical staff kill three militants in West Bank hospital raid, officials say

Discussion: HotAir, Washington Examiner, TASS, New York Times and Al Jazeera

Cory Doctorow / Pluralistic:

Pluralistic: My McLuhan lecture on enshittification (30 Jan 2024) — My McLuhan lecture on enshittification: Live from Berlin. — Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. — This day in history: 2014, 2019, 2023 — Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Discussion: The Register

Bonchie / RedState:

CONFIRMED: House Democrat Being Criminally Investigated Is ‘Squad’ Member Cori Bush — As RedState reported on Monday, a House Democrat is currently under criminal investigation for the misuse of government funds under the guise of paying for “security” services.

Discussion: The Messenger, Fox News, Breitbart, The Guardian, Frontpage Mag, Twitchy, The Post Millennial and acecomments.mu.nu

NBC News:
Justice Department investigating Rep. Cori Bush campaign's use of security funds

US Department of Justice:

Ohio Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Firebombing a Church that Planned to Host Drag Show Events — For Immediate Release — An Ohio man was sentenced yesterday to 216 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for attempting to burn down a church because of its support for the LGBTQ+ community.

Discussion: The Hill, UPI, Law & Crime, The Daily Caller and Fox 8 Cleveland WJW

Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
‘White Lives Matter’ member gets 18 years for firebombing church that planned drag events

Discussion: The Columbus Dispatch and The Messenger

Aaron Sibarium / Washington Free Beacon:

Not Just Claudine Gay. Harvard's Chief Diversity Officer Plagiarized and Claimed Credit for Husband's Work, Complaint Alleges — It's not just Claudine Gay. Harvard University's chief diversity and inclusion officer, Sherri Ann Charleston, appears to have plagiarized extensively in her academic work …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, New York Post, The College Fix, National Review, The Daily Caller and The Federalist

Devan Cole / CNN:

Justice Sotomayor speaks on frustration following some Supreme Court rulings — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor opened up on Monday about the “frustration” she said she experiences daily as the high court's conservative supermajority continues to move the country further to the right.

Discussion: USA Today, Fox News, Mediaite, The Hill, Daily Caller News Foundation, IJR, National Review, Washington Times and Reason

Joyce E. Cutler / Bloomberg Law:
Sotomayor Calls Supreme Court Pace, Workload More Demanding

Discussion: Washington Examiner, New York Post, Fox News, Raw Story and Althouse

Politico:

New US-made longer-range bomb expected to arrive as soon as Wednesday in Ukraine — The Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb doesn't even exist in the U.S. inventory. — The Pentagon has successfully tested a new long-range precision bomb for Ukraine that is expected to arrive on the battlefield …

Discussion: Political Wire

Henry Rodgers / The Daily Caller:

Ron DeSantis Calls For Ilhan Omar To Be Expelled From Congress, Denaturalized And Deported — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis called Tuesday for Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar to be expelled from Congress, denaturalized as a U.S. citizen and deported back to Somalia in response …

Washington Post:

Inside Kyrsten Sinema's reelection decision: Will ‘voters even care’ about her record? — As she pushes for another tricky bipartisan accomplishment, the deadline nears for the Arizona independent senator to decide on reelection — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) has spent the past few months …

Discussion: NBC News

Bree Burkitt / KNAU Arizona Public Radio:

Proposed bill would give Arizona Legislature authority to override popular vote — An Arizona lawmaker wants to give the state Legislature the power to appoint presidential electors regardless of who wins the popular vote. — Currently, the candidate who wins the popular vote gets Arizona's electors.