memeorandum: Coalition pushes lawmakers to sign ‘No Dictators Declaration’ in wake of immunity decision (The Hill)

5:40 PM ET, September 23, 2024

Top Items:

GOP retreats from North Carolina after Mark Robinson allegations … - “We don't comment on internal strategy or investment decisions, but we can confirm what's public — our current media buy in North Carolina expires tomorrow, and no further placements have been made,” …

Discussion: Alternet.org, New York Times, Mediaite, Joe.My.God. and USA Today

New York Times:

Trump Shows Signs of Strength in Sun Belt Battlegrounds, Polls Find — New polls from The New York Times and Siena College showed Donald J. Trump ahead in Arizona and leading in tight races in Georgia and North Carolina. — Voters across the Sun Belt say that Donald J. Trump improved …

WRAL-TV:

Robinson rejected offers of tech help to investigate posts on porn site, sources say — Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's alleged rejection of the offers sowed doubt among some staff members, people familiar with the matter tell WRAL. His response in the wake of the report likely played a role …

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite, National Review, Axios, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast and The Hill

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

These companies are bankrolling a multi-million dollar effort to elect Mark Robinson governor of North Carolina — Even before securing the Republican nomination for Governor of North Carolina in March, Mark Robinson had a long and well-documented record of promoting conspiracy theories …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, NC Newsline, Digby's Hullabaloo and CNN

Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
Mark Robinson may deliver North Carolina for Kamala Harris

Discussion: CBS News, UPI, WUNC, Mediaite, New York Magazine and The Signorile Report

Aaron Sanderford / Nebraska Examiner:

State Sen. Mike McDonnell deflates GOP hopes for Nebraska winner-take-all in 2024 — State Sen. Mike McDonnell announces leaving the Democratic Party after he was censured by the state and Douglas County Democrats. LINCOLN — The Republican push to change how Nebraska awards …

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
Key Nebraska Republican Rejects Trump's Push to Shake Up Electoral Map

Discussion: Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Politico and Rolling Stone

Jack Kelly / Wisconsin Watch:

Kamala Harris has largest post-debate lead yet over Donald Trump in new Wisconsin Watch poll — The MassINC Polling Group survey found Harris with 53% support to Trump's 46% among likely voters, nearly outside the poll's margin of error. — Reading Time: 5 minutes

Discussion: The Hill and Joe.My.God.

Alexandra Marquez / NBC News:
Democrats to dub Trump a ‘chicken’ to pressure him to debate Harris

Discussion: New Republic, Louisiana Illuminator, The Hill, Raw Story, New Jersey Online, Adweek, Washington Examiner, Politico, IJR, Daily Kos and Forbes

Rochelle Olson / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Minnesota Poll: Harris leads Trump in close presidential race

Discussion: The Hill, New Jersey Online, Joe.My.God., PJ Media, HotAir, Washington Post, CBS News, New Republic, USA Today, OutsideTheBeltway and Bloomberg

Michael C. Bender / New York Times:
JD Vance Has Turned to a Minnesota Republican to Help Him Prepare for the Debate

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Examiner, NBC News, NOTUS, New York Post, Politico, CBS News, The Hill, Semafor, Washington Times and LGBTQ Nation

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

The ‘policy’ mirage that undergirds Donald Trump's support — The former president and his supporters insist he wins a race centered on policy. It's not because of Trump's detailed policy platform. — One of the central characteristics of the 2024 presidential election is its steadiness.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, CBS News and Mediaite

Ashley Parker / Washington Post:

Donald Trump's imaginary and frightening world — His extreme caricatures serve as a way to paint an alarming picture of America under the Biden-Harris administration. — In Donald Trump's imaginary world, Americans can't venture out to buy a loaf of bread without getting shot, mugged or raped.

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, Digby's Hullabaloo and Alternet.org

NBC News:

Murder and other violent crime dropped across the U.S. last year, FBI data shows — Murder dropped 11.6% from 2022 to 2023, the largest single-year decline in the last 20 years. Property crime was also down overall, while motor vehicle theft and shoplifting rose.

Discussion: Pluribus News, PoliticusUSA, Politico, ABC7, New York Times and CBS News

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The place crime obviously spiked since 2020? Trump's imagination.

Discussion: The Follow

Federal Bureau of Investigation:
FBI Releases 2023 Crime in the Nation Statistics

Discussion: Axios, The Times of Israel, WHDH-TV, The Hill and NPR

Washington Post:

Trump gunman said to have left note: ‘This was an assassination attempt’ — New evidence was filed in court ahead of a detention hearing for Ryan Routh, who is charged with weapons violations. — WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The gunman arrested near where Donald Trump was playing golf …

Discussion: The Hill, Roll Call, UPI and The Daily Beast

Holmes Lybrand / CNN:
Man suspected of assassination attempt against Trump left a letter detailing his plans, prosecutors say

Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Judge orders would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh held without bail

Discussion: New York Times, Axios, Forbes, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Politico and The Sun

The Verge:

X will let people you've blocked see your posts … X will now make your posts visible to users you've blocked. In a reply on Monday, X owner Elon Musk said the “block function will block that account from engaging with, but not block seeing, public post.”

Discussion: TechCrunch

State of California:

Attorney General Bonta Sues ExxonMobil for Deceiving the Public on Recyclability of Plastic Products — Attorney General Bonta Sues ExxonMobil for Deceiving the Pub... Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov — The first-of-its-kind lawsuit seeks to hold …

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Examiner, Axios, CNN, The Guardian, The Hill, The Allegheny Front, Bangor Daily News, Beyond Plastics, CBS News, Mercury News, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Joe.My.God., New York Times and The Daily Caller

Allyson Chiu / Washington Post:
California accuses ExxonMobil of lying about plastics being recyclable

Discussion: NPR, Politico and Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

CNN:

Melania Trump was paid for a rare appearance at a political event. It's not clear who cut the unusual six-figure check — Melania Trump has barely been seen on the campaign trail this year. One of the few times she has appeared at a political event, she's received a six-figure paycheck …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Alternet.org, Forbes and Joe.My.God.

Charlie Spiering / Daily Mail:

Resurfaced video shows Kamala Harris protesting against deporting migrants with disgraced celebrity — Vice President Kamala Harris in now promising to secure the border, but when she was a senator of California, she was a staunch opponent of deporting illegal immigrants.

Discussion: HotAir, RedState, IJR, freebeacon.com, Breitbart, New York Post, Twitchy, Townhall and The Gateway Pundit

Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:

J.D. Vance Caught Lying About Egg Prices in Painfully Bad Video — J.D. Vance attempted to point out high prices in a recent campaign stunt at a grocery store, only to be caught with egg on his face. — On Saturday, the Trump War Room account on X posted a video of Vance visiting a grocery story …

Discussion: Plain Dealer, Mercury News, TMZ.com, Raw Story and Alternet.org

Lauren Sausser / CNN:

She was accused of murder after losing her pregnancy. SC woman now tells her story — Orangeburg, South Carolina , KFF Health News — Amari Marsh had just finished her junior year at South Carolina State University in May 2023 when she received a text message from a law enforcement officer.

Rong-Gong Lin II / Los Angeles Times:

New COVID subvariant XEC poses potential threat heading into winter — XEC, which was first detected in Germany, is gaining traction in Western Europe — There are estimates that XEC makes up 13% of coronavirus samples in Germany and 7% in Britain. Will America be next?

Discussion: The Hill

The Hill:

Coalition pushes lawmakers to sign ‘No Dictators Declaration’ in wake of immunity decision — A bipartisan coalition is pushing for lawmakers to sign a declaration to combat possible abuses of power by the president in the wake of a Supreme Court decision giving former executives broad immunity from criminal prosecution.

Discussion: HuffPost, Fox News and Default

Sean Craig / The Daily Beast:

MAGA Sheriff's Post About Harris Yard Signs Gets Department Booted From Election Duties — BLEW IT — Bruce Zuchowski, a Trump-supporting Republican, likened migrants to “human locusts” and called the vice president a “Flip-Flopping, Laughing Hyena.” — The sheriff's department in Portage County …

Discussion: Politico, The Conversation, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Alternet.org, New Republic and Plain Dealer

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:

Trump Media plummets 10% as post-lockup selloff picks up steam … Shares of Trump Media sank Monday to their lowest price since 2021, days after majority owner Donald Trump and other company insiders got the green light to start selling their stakes in the Truth Social operator.

Discussion: Raw Story

Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:

Harris-Trump showdown: Leading law enforcement group takes sides in presidential election — Despite data showing a downward trend in many crime statistics, it remains a top issue on the minds of Americans — Join Fox News for access to this content — FIRST ON FOX - A nonpartisan …

Discussion: New Jersey Online

Michael Sainato / The Guardian:

Amazon, Tesla and Meta among world's top companies undermining democracy - report — Corporations such as ExxonMobil and Blackstone also big funders of climate crisis, new trade union report finds — Some of the world's largest companies have been accused of undermining democracy across …

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Pentagon to spend $500M on women's health research — First lady Jill Biden on Monday will announce the Pentagon intends to commit $500 million on women's health research as part of a broader White House push to increase funding for the study of women's health.

Discussion: Task & Purpose

Alexander B. Howard / CIVIC TEXTS:

How the Congressional Hackathon helped the House work better for the People — Good afternoon from cloudy Washington, where fall arrived on Sunday, along with a continuing resolution that will, if enacted, avert a government shutdown in October. (Thanks to Politico for linking to the bill, for folks who like to read then.)

Associated Press:

Lebanon sees deadliest day of conflict since 2006 as Israeli strikes kill 492 — Israeli strikes on Lebanon Monday killed more than 490 people, including more than 90 women and children, Lebanese authorities said, in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.