memeorandum: Special counsel pushes back at Judge Cannon in classified documents case, claims “not a single” Trump White House official backed up former president's claims of privatizing records (Robert Legare/CBS News)

10:25 AM ET, April 3, 2024

Top Items:

Ken Kolker / WOOD-TV:

Family of woman found dead on highway angered by Trump's speech — GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The sister of murder victim Ruby Garcia said she and her family were home watching live, in disbelief, as former President Donald Trump told an audience in Grand Rapids that he had spoken with “some of her family.”

Discussion: FOX 17 West Michigan News, USA Today, Mediaite, Detroit Free Press, Raw Story, Axios, Politico, The Daily Beast, Michigan Advance and Associated Press

Sophia Cai / Axios:

Trump wants “Christian visibility day” … - “You know what it's going to be called? … - His supporters — who queued in a half mile long line in hail and freezing temperatures — shouted their approval. … - “We must make America pray again,” said Trump, who encouraged supporters …

Discussion: HuffPost and The Gateway Pundit

Hannah Knowles / Washington Post:

Trump said he spoke to murder victim's family. The victim's sister said it never happened. — GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Donald Trump used his campaign event in Michigan on Tuesday to denounce what he called “Biden's border bloodbath,” zeroing in on the case of a young woman killed …

Discussion: MeidasTouch, Raw Story and Michigan Advance

Reuters:
Trump calls migrants ‘animals,’ intensifying focus on illegal immigration

Discussion: Raw Story, Fox News, HuffPost, Newsmax, Axios, Breitbart, Washington Examiner and The Japan Times, more at Mediagazer »

Alan Feuer / New York Times:

Frustrated Prosecutors Ask Trump Documents Judge to Act on Key Claim — The push for a quick decision on one of the former president's most far-fetched claims is an unusual and risky move in a case Judge Aileen Cannon has allowed to become bogged down. — In an open display of frustration …

Discussion: CNN, Associated Press, The Hill, Digby's Hullabaloo, HuffPost, emptywheel, The Guardian and Washington Examiner

Robert Legare / CBS News:

Special counsel pushes back at Judge Cannon in classified documents case, claims “not a single” Trump White House official backed up former president's claims of privatizing records — Washington — Special counsel Jack Smith urged a federal judge to keep a presidential recordkeeping law …

Discussion: The Hill, USA Today, Axios, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, Law & Crime, Raw Story, Mediaite, Associated Press, Bloomberg, MeidasTouch and acecomments.mu.nu

Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:
How Trump's Trial Will Complicate His Campaign—but Not Kill It

Discussion: Raw Story

Hugo Lowell / The Guardian:

Exclusive: Trump Media saved in 2022 by Russian-American under criminal investigation — Trump's social media company went public relying partly on loans from trust managed by person of interest to prosecutors — Donald Trump's social media company Trump Media managed to go public last week …

Discussion: Raw Story

Tesnim Zekeria / Popular Information:

A humanitarian catastrophe — A U.N.-backed report published in mid-March found residents of Gaza are facing “high levels of acute food insecurity.” According to aid groups, the number of people in Gaza experiencing “catastrophic hunger” has doubled since December.

The White House:

Statement from President Joe Biden on the Death of World Central Kitchen Workers in Gaza — I am outraged and heartbroken by the deaths of seven humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen, including one American, in Gaza yesterday. They were providing food to hungry civilians in the middle of a war.

Discussion: Axios, EEAS, UPI, New York Times, Middle East Monitor, BBC, The Dispatch, CBS News, The Times of Israel, Al-Monitor, KDFX-TV, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, Breitbart, WUSA, Fortune, NBC News, Vox, HuffPost, The Hill, USA Today, Blaze Media, RTÉ, The Guardian and Rolling Stone

Politico:
Why the strike killing World Central Kitchen workers is different

Discussion: Politico, Semafor, Haaretz, Deadline, USA Today, HuffPost, abc7NY, NBC News, Washington Examiner, NPR and The Daily Beast

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Trump and RNC raised nearly $66 million in March — Former President Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) raised $65.6 million in March, leaders for the two operations announced Wednesday, a sizable haul after fundraising lagged in the first two months of the year.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Trump, RNC raised $65.6 million in March — Trump's allies hope the amount will ease concerns about his fundraising. — Former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee raised $65.6 million in March and ended the month with $93.1 million in cash on hand, according to figures provided to POLITICO.

Discussion: Axios, Washington Examiner, USA Today and KDFX-TV

ABC News:
Biden's aggressive campaign strategy involves swing-state stops and jabs at Trump

Discussion: USA Today and The Hill

Lisa Needham / Public Notice:

Project 2025 reveals its goal: Trump as president for life — They're now openly in favor of abolishing the 22nd Amendment. … Project 2025, the Republican plan to functionally annihilate not just the federal government but democracy as well if Trump wins in November, is an unceasing parade of horrors.

Discussion: The Bulwark and New Republic

Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo:

Amazon Ditches ‘Just Walk Out’ Checkouts at Its Grocery Stores — Amazon Fresh is moving away from a feature of its grocery stores where customers could skip checkout altogether. — Amazon is phasing out its checkout-less grocery stores with “Just Walk Out” technology, first reported by The Information Tuesday.

Discussion: The Information, Fortune, The US Sun, Associated Press, New York Daily News, The Verge, Orlando Sentinel and SztupY, more at Techmeme »

Aaron Zitner / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Leads Biden in Six of Seven Swing States, WSJ Poll Finds — Incumbent trails in most battlegrounds that decided 2016 and 2020 elections

Discussion: USA Today, New York Times, Washington Examiner, The Hill, The Guardian, New York Post, IJR, New Jersey Online and Mediaite

José Andrés / New York Times:

Let People Eat — In the worst conditions you can imagine — after hurricanes, earthquakes, bombs and gunfire — the best of humanity shows up. Not once or twice but always. — The seven people killed on a World Central Kitchen mission in Gaza on Monday were the best of humanity.

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Rolling Stone, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Eschaton, Mediaite, The Times of Israel, Balloon Juice, Voice of America and Al Jazeera

A.B. Stoddard / The Bulwark:

‘Start the Steal’: Trump Once Again Planning to Overturn an Election — THERE IS A PLAN AFOOT to overturn the results of the November election, and for both parties it is fast becoming a major concern. The scheme is being hatched by Republicans on behalf of Donald Trump, who seeks to steal the election if Joe Biden defeats him again.

Discussion: Semafor and Raw Story

NBC News:

Oklahoma official with white nationalist ties is ousted in recall vote — Judd Blevins, who marched alongside neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, lost his fight to remain on Enid's City Council. — ENID, Okla. — Voters in Enid decided by a nearly 20-point margin Tuesday …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Fox News, KFOR-TV, HuffPost, NBC 7 San Diego, MSNBC, The Hill, CNN, Associated Press and KDFX-TV

Lauren Peller / ABC News:

House Republicans want to rename Virginia's Dulles Airport after Donald Trump — The bill seeks to rename the airport to “Donald J. Trump International Airport.” — Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., on March 15, 2023. — House Republicans have introduced a bill …

Discussion: Fox News, PinkNews, Mediaite, NBC News, WUSA, Politico, Blaze Media, The Hill, MeidasTouch, New York Daily News, Raw Story and al.com

Tara Suter / The Hill:
Virginia Democrat slams proposal to name airport after Trump: 'I'd suggest they find a federal prison'

Discussion: HuffPost, UPI, U.S. Congressman Guy …, Digby's Hullabaloo, Washington Times, Raw Story, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, PoliticusUSA, Axios, CBS News and RedState

Courtney McBride / Bloomberg:

Blinken Arrives Late to NATO Forum After Latest Plane Breakdown — Secretary of State Antony Blinken's latest European tour hit a speed bump in Paris on Wednesday when his official plane broke down, necessitating an hours-long drive to Brussels. — A State Department spokesperson …

Discussion: Reuters

Lily Kepner / Austin American-Statesman:

Sources: UT lays off at least 60 employees previously in DEI-related position, closes DCCE — A week after state Sen. Brandon Creighton warned Texas university system administrators about the state's expectations for higher education institutions to comply with Senate Bill 17 …

Discussion: National Review, Fox News and The Hill

The Texas Tribune:
UT-Austin announces round of firings in latest step to comply with Texas' DEI ban

Discussion: Instapundit and KXAN-TV

Rupert Neate / The Guardian:

Taylor Swift among 141 new billionaires in ‘amazing year for rich people’ — Combined assets of $14.2tn are more than the GDP of every country except China and the US — There are more billionaires than ever before. The world has 2,781 people with fortunes exceeding $1bn (£800m) …

Discussion: Raw Story, Fortune, Forbes, Fox Business, New York Daily News, The US Sun, RTÉ, Reuters, The Hill and New York Post

Phelim Kine / Politico:

U.S. states are cutting off Chinese citizens and companies from land ownership — Skepticism about federal protections spurs surge in laws aimed to firewall states from perceived malign Chinese influence through land purchases. — State lawmakers are producing a wave of legislation aimed …

Randall L. Kennedy / The Harvard Crimson:

Mandatory DEI Statements Are Ideological Pledges of Allegiance. Time to Abandon Them. — Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard — On a posting for a position as an assistant professor in international and comparative education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education …

Discussion: Israpundit, Power Line, Washington Examiner and Fox News

Andrew Solender / Axios:

House Freedom Caucus chair backs Capitol rioter's bid for Congress … - Good said in a statement he is supporting former West Virginia legislator Derrick Evans, who was sentenced three months in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 attack, over Rep. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.).

Discussion: Raw Story and The Hill