memeorandum: House passes foreign aid bills to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan (Barbara Sprunt/NPR)

5:50 PM ET, April 20, 2024

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Playbook: How the push to unseat Johnson could unfold — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — WHAT UNION JOE IS READING — “Tennessee workers at VW plant vote to unionize with UAW,” by The Tennessean's Todd Price and Gary Estwick …

Barbara Sprunt / NPR:

House passes foreign aid bills to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan — The House of Representatives has voted to pass roughly a $95 billion foreign aid package that includes funding to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. — Democratic support outweighed Republican opposition from those who had various frustrations …

Discussion: MeidasTouch, HuffPost, CNBC, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, One America News Network, Deadline, New York Times, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, CBS News, Forbes and New York Post, more at Techmeme »

The Guardian:

US House approves $61bn in military aid for Ukraine after months of stalling — Ukrainian president thanks America after Speaker Mike Johnson secures bipartisan support for funding Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan — After months of stalling, the US House of Representatives finally approved …

Washington Post:

House to vote on Ukraine, Israel aid bills — The House plans to vote Saturday on a $95 billion package of foreign aid bills that would provide funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, among other priorities. The bills have moved forward despite a far-right threat to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) if he advances Ukraine aid.

Tara Suter / The Hill: Rep. Don Bacon: ‘Ukraine will likely fall’ if US doesn't pass foreign aid bill

Washington Post:

Volkswagen workers in Tennessee pass historic vote to unionize — Victory marks the first win in the United Auto Workers campaign to organize the Southern factories of a dozen automakers — Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., passed a historic vote to join the United Auto Workers on Friday …

Discussion: The Tennessean, The Guardian, NPR, Payday Report, Truthout, Politico, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Balloon Juice, Associated Press, Electrek, CBS News, The Hill, Orange County Register, Lawyers, Guns & Money and New York Daily News

Theresa Maher / The Hill:

Biden celebrates Tennessee Volkswagen plant's vote to join UAW — President Biden celebrated the “historic vote” Friday for workers at a Tennessee Volkswagen plant to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. — “Congratulations to the workers at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee …

Discussion: The White House, RedState, CNBC, Michigan Advance, UPI, Washington Examiner, WTOP News, Payday Report and Associated Press

Nora Eckert / Reuters:
UAW clinches watershed union victory at Volkswagen Tennessee factory

Discussion: Rolling Stone, New York Times and Payday Report

Jill Colvin / Associated Press:

Trump forced to listen silently to people insulting him as he trades a cocoon of adulation for court — He seems “selfish and self-serving,” said one woman. The way he carries himself in public “leaves something to be desired,” said another. — His “negative rhetoric and bias,” said another man, is what is “most harmful.”

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Metro.co.uk

Charlie Smart / New York Times:
Where Jurors in Trump Hush-Money Trial Say They Get Their News

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New Yorker, NPR, Althouse, Axios, New York Post, One America News Network, Vanity Fair and Yahoo News, more at Mediagazer »

Sam Brodey / The Daily Beast:

Musk Says Maher Hit Bullseye Comparing Nickelodeon to Neverland Ranch — ANTI-WOKE — “Wow, Bill Maher hits the bullseye,” Musk wrote on social media. — Bill Maher has labeled kids' TV network Nickelodeon as “Neverland Ranch with craft services”—and teed off on progressives' views …

Discussion: HotAir, The Hollywood Reporter, Blaze Media, BizPac Review, TMZ.com, The Gateway Pundit, Hollywood in Toto, Washington Examiner, Florida Politics and Deadline

Allison Quinn / The Daily Beast:

‘Yes, I Did It’: Politician Confesses to Murdering Wife on Social Media — ‘I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT’ — “The lying wretch got what she deserved,” he wrote, among other disturbing things. — A politician in Russia's Tver region has sent shockwaves through the country after apparently confessing …

Ryan Lizza / Politico:

‘We Just Finally Saw the Dam Break’: How House Republicans Embraced the Chaos — Veteran Rep. Tom Cole is fed up with his party's insurgents. — Speaker Mike Johnson is on the verge of his biggest legislative victory yet — and it might mean his undoing.

Discussion: Raw Story and NBC News

Peter Pomerantsev / TIME:

Russia's War Against Evangelicals — After they beat Azat Azatyan so bad blood came out of his ears; after they sent electric shocks up his genitals; after they wacked him with pipes and truncheons, the Russians began to interrogate him about his faith. “When did you become a Baptist?

Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives:

Roll Call 151 Roll Call 151, Bill Number: H. R. 8035, 118th Congress, 2nd Session — VOTE QUESTION: On Passage, DESCRIPTION: Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, VOTE TYPE: Yea-And-Nay, STATUS: Passed

Discussion: Breitbart, Daily Caller News Foundation and CBO Publications

Tara Suter / The Hill:

Four ‘Three Percenter’ militia members sentenced to prison over Jan. 6 charges — Four “Three Percenter” militia members were sentenced to prison Friday over charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

Discussion: US Department of Justice, Orange County Register and NBC News

Rebecca Davis O'Brien / New York Times:

How R.F.K. Jr. Got on the Michigan Ballot, With Only Two Votes — The independent candidate persuaded a tiny party to give him its line on the ballot in a key 2024 battleground state, sparing him a costly, arduous organizing effort. — In January, when Doug Dern, the state chairman …

Discussion: Althouse