memeorandum: Payments of $750 are only part of federal financial assistance after Helene

8:25 PM ET, October 7, 2024

Top Items:

Matt Dixon / NBC News:

Ron DeSantis is refusing to take Harris' call on Hurricane Helene — An aide to the Florida governor said that Harris' call “seemed political” and that she “was trying to reach out, and we didn't answer.” — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not taking calls from Vice President Kamala Harris …

Tara Suter / The Hill: DeSantis ‘not aware’ of Harris calls after reports he dodged them

ABC News:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis refused call from VP Kamala Harris about hurricane aid: Source

Discussion: RedState, The Post Millennial, Washington Post, Raw Story, Tomorrow USA, The Hill, Lawyers, Guns & Money, PoliticusUSA, Florida Politics and CNN

ITEP:

A Distributional Analysis of Donald Trump's Tax Plan — Impact Of Donald Trump's Tax Proposals by Income Group — Former President Donald Trump has proposed a wide variety of tax policy changes. Taken together, these proposals would, on average, lead to a tax cut for the richest 5 percent …

Discussion: The Hill

New York Times:
Trump's Plans Could Increase U.S. Debt While Raising Costs for Most Americans

Discussion: CBS News, Wall Street Journal and Fox News

HuffPost:
Donald Trump Tax Plans Would Increase Taxes On 95% Of Americans, Analysis Finds

Discussion: ITEP

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:
The Fiscal Impact of the Harris and Trump Campaign Plans

Discussion: Semafor, CBS News, Washington Examiner, New York Post, Roll Call, The Daily Beast, The Bulwark, The Hill, Axios and NPR

Molly Jong-Fast / Vanity Fair:

Lying Is Loyalty in Trump's GOP — So how far will his allies go to keep their king happy? — Donald Trump, who proved to be deeply dishonest as a candidate in 2016, and as president for four years, is lying with reckless abandon as he tries to return to the White House.

Brian Beutler / Off Message:
MAGA's Hurricane Helene Lies Are A Trial Run For The Election

Discussion: New Jersey Online and Digby's Hullabaloo

Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
October 6, 2024 — This morning began with a CNN headline story by fact checker Daniel Dale …

Discussion: Alternet.org

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:
‘Increasingly deranged’ Trump is inciting ‘civil war’ as election loss looms: Morning Joe

Discussion: Newsbusters, The Post Millennial, The Hill, New Jersey Online, RedState, The Daily Beast, HuffPost, Twitchy and Mediaite

Lindsay Whitehurst / Associated Press:

Supreme Court lets stand a decision barring emergency abortions that violate Texas ban — The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a decision barring emergency abortions that violate the law in Texas, which has one of the country's strictest abortion bans. Without detailing their reasoning …

Helen Lewis / The Atlantic:

What Going on Call Her Daddy Did for Kamala Harris — Very few podcasters would apologize to their fans for clogging up their feed by interviewing a presidential candidate. But Alex Cooper—the host of a podcast variously described as “raunchy, “sex-positive,” “mega-popular,” and …

David Gardner / The Daily Beast:

‘Call Her Daddy’ Faces Backlash Over ‘Propaganda’ Harris Interview — HOODIE'S NICE THOUGH! — Some fans of the hugely popular podcast are angry that the vice president did not address the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. — Alex Cooper, host of the Call Her Daddy podcast …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Slate, Daily Mail, New York Post, Twitchy, USA Today, Page Six and Los Angeles Times, more at Mediagazer »

Luke Barr / ABC News:

Misinformation amid Helene recovery is ‘extremely damaging,’ FEMA official says — Some prominent voices have been pushing disinformation since Helene hit. — In an aerial view, flood damage wrought by Hurricane Helene is seen along the French Broad River on Oct. 3, 2024, in Marshall, North Carolina.

Discussion: The Guardian

Stephen Fowler / NPR:
Fact checking falsehoods about FEMA funding and Hurricane Helene

Discussion: Mother Jones, Washington Examiner, Politico, Media Matters for America, The Dispatch, American Military News, Poynter, Fox News and ZeroHedge News

Ron Kampeas / The Forward:
Jewish officials handling hurricane communications face antisemitic harassment

Discussion: New Republic, Rolling Stone, Raw Story and Daily Kos

Jay Kuo / The Status Kuo:
A Disinformation Trial Run

Discussion: CNN, ABC News, NBC News, New York Times, CBS News, Associated Press, Rolling Stone, Wisconsin Examiner, Raw Story, Washington Post, Poynter, Meidas+, CNBC, Business Insider and Townhall

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Saying immigrants bring ‘bad genes’ echoes Trump's history — and the world's — With a mishmash of false claims about crime and ridiculous race science, Trump makes explicit the racism at the heart of his politics. — Former president Donald Trump has long espoused a worldview in which genes …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast and Daily Kos

Matt Shuham / HuffPost:
Trump: Immigrants Have Brought ‘Bad Genes’ Into The Country

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Fox News, Washington Post, USA Today, Al Jazeera, Metro.co.uk, Digby's Hullabaloo, Raw Story, New Republic and Crooks and Liars

Hugh Hewitt / The Hugh Hewitt Show:
Former President Trump On The Anniversary Of The 10/7 Massacre In Israel

Discussion: Jewish Insider, North Dakota Monitor, BizPac Review, New York Post and Mediaite

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Why asking about the 2020 election isn't a ‘gotcha’ question — The question is less about 2020 than about the willingness of Trump supporters to reject his efforts to subvert the 2024 results. — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is not interested in talking about the 2020 election.

Discussion: The Hill, New Republic, Mother Jones, HuffPost, New York Post, Washington Times, Reuters, ABC News and Washington Examiner

Maga Mama / The Daily Beast:

Melania Trump: Why I'm an Unapologetic Election Denier — Donald Trump's wife says she believes the 2020 contest “was not a normal election” and still “questions the results.” … Melania Trump is fully on board with her husband's 2020 election denial, her new memoir reveals.

Associated Press:

Hurricane Milton is a Category 5. Florida orders evacuations and scrambles to clear Helene's debris — Florida's storm-battered Gulf Coast raced against a Category 5 hurricane Monday as workers sprinted to pick up heaps of appliances and other street debris left over from Helene two weeks ago …

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Porn Industry Jumps Into the Presidential Campaign, Targeting Project 2025 — In seven swing states, the industry's websites will feature ads decrying the conservative policy blueprint's proposed ban on pornography. — Just when you thought everyone had already jumped into the 2024 campaign, here come the porn stars.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Digby's Hullabaloo, Business Insider, Mock Paper Scissors and Althouse

Lily Mae Lazarus / The Daily Beast:

Porn Stars Aim to Turn Own Audience With Anti-Project 2025 Blitz — NAKED AGENDA — More than a dozen adult entertainment stars have established a campaign against right-wing efforts to ban pornography. — Journalist — Porn stars threw their hat in the political ring …

Phil Williams / WTVF-TV:

‘We already have the receipts.’ Election denier says his group gained access to U.S. banking data — Arizona's Mark Finchem says Millersville, Tennessee's assistant police chief, Shawn Taylor, used Treasury Department's FinCen data in work for Finchem's Election Fairness Institute

Discussion: Arizona Mirror and Raw Story

Tinsae Aregay / Torque News:

GEICO is Terminating Insurance Coverage of Tesla Cybertrucks, Says “This Type of Vehicle Doesn't Meet Our Underwriting Guidelines” — GEICO, the second-largest vehicle insurance underwriter in the US, has decided it will no longer cover Tesla Cybertrucks. The company is terminating current …

Discussion: KING-TV, The Register, The Verge and The Daily Beast

Craig Mauger / The Detroit News:

Kamala Harris gains slight lead over Donald Trump in Michigan, poll shows — Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have gained momentum in a race for the White House that remains neck and neck in Michigan with a month until Election Day, according to a new poll from The Detroit News and WDIV-TV (Channel 4).

Discussion: HotAir and NPR

Andrew Romano / Yahoo News:
New Yahoo News/YouGov poll: Trump-Harris race tightens after Vance debate ‘win’

Discussion: freebeacon.com, RedState, New York Post, The Hill and New Jersey Online

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Ex-Florida Democratic lawmaker backs Trump, citing foreign policy — A former Democratic congressman who served six terms in the House said Monday he was endorsing former President Trump, citing his concerns with the Biden administration's handling of global conflicts abroad.

Discussion: Breitbart, Jewish Insider and IJR

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Trump: Israel has to ‘get smart’ about supporting him

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Times, New Republic, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Raw Story, Jewish Insider and abc7NY

Christopher Flavelle / New York Times:

As Major Hurricane Approaches Florida, FEMA Faces Severe Staffing Shortage — Fewer than 10 percent of the agency's disaster workers are available to respond to Hurricane Milton and other calamities. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency is running out of staff to deal …

Discussion: CBS News, IJR, American Greatness, Washington Times and Townhall

Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:

Trump transition team co-chair warns prospective appointees must prove ‘loyalty’ — Howard Lutnick, former President Trump's transition team co-chair, said prospective appointees will only be tapped for future roles in a hypothetical Trump administration if they prove “loyalty” to the former president and his policies.

Discussion: Financial Times, New Republic and The Guardian

Clay Walker / The Daily Beast:

Sally Field Recalls ‘Traumatic’ Illegal Abortion in New Video — ‘PIT OF SHAME’ — Sally Field was 17 when she had the abortion and months away from her big break. — Sally Field is opening up about an illegal abortion she had when she was 17 years old.