memeorandum: An Awkward Kiss Changed How I Saw Joe Biden (Lucy Flores/The Cut)

9:30 PM ET, March 29, 2019

Top Items:

Lucy Flores / The Cut:

An Awkward Kiss Changed How I Saw Joe Biden — In 2014, I was the 35-year-old Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in Nevada. The landscape wasn't looking good for my party that year. There were no high-profile national races to help boost turnout, and after the top candidate bowed …

Rebecca Traister / The Cut:

Joe Biden Isn't the Answer — It's still three months before the first Democratic debate, nearly a year before Super Tuesday, and he hasn't even declared yet, but poll after presidential poll continues to show 76-year-old former vice-president Joe Biden leading an enormous, diverse, and talented Democratic field.

Discussion: Axios and LifeNews.com

Laura McGann / Vox:

Lucy Flores isn't alone. Joe Biden's got a long history of touching women inappropriately. — The media gave Biden a pass for years. It won't in 2020. — Democrat Lucy Flores was preparing to give one of her final stump speeches in a race for lieutenant governor in Nevada when she felt two hands on her shoulders.

Discussion: New York Times, Balloon Juice, Louder With Crowder, Big League Politics and twitchy.com

Sebastian Murdock / HuffPost:

We Got Alex Jones' Deposition Video. It Was A Predictable Disaster For Him. — For all his dangerous talk about the Sandy Hook school shooting, Alex Jones couldn't even recall the date it happened. — Infowars host Alex Jones was questioned earlier this month for three hours by the lawyer …

Discussion: Law & Crime, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, HillReporter.com and Boing Boing

Jonathan Tilove / Austin American-Statesman:

In Sandy Hook deposition, Alex Jones blames ‘a form of psychosis’ for thinking everything is staged — Alex Jones, the Austin-based provocateur embroiled in several lawsuits filed by parents of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, said in a deposition released Friday …

Discussion: KTLA and Mediaite

Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times:

How Alex Jones and Infowars Helped a Florida Man Stalk Sandy Hook Families — In the world of conspiracy theorists, Alex Jones and Wolfgang Halbig fueled each other's darkest tendencies. — Soon after the Dec. 14, 2012, mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. …

Discussion: The Trace, YouTube, Daily Kos and Boing Boing

CNN:

Justice Dept. expects to release Mueller report to Congress by ‘mid-April, if not sooner’ — Washington (CNN)The Justice Department will have special counsel Robert Mueller's report ready to release by “mid-April, if not sooner,” Attorney General Bill Barr said Friday.

Discussion: RedState, Raw Story, Test Feed Using Fields, twitchy.com and Fortune

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:

Mueller report will be delivered by ‘mid-April, if not sooner,’ attorney general tells Congress — Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's report detailing his investigation of President Trump and Russia's election interference will be delivered to Congress by mid-April …

Discussion: The New Civil Rights Movement, Slate and Political Wire

Carrie Johnson / NPR:

Nominee For No. 3 At Justice Department Withdraws After Backlash From GOP Senators — Updated at 10: 17 a.m. — President Trump's pick to serve as third in command at the Justice Department, overseeing health care and immigration cases, withdrew her name from consideration Thursday evening amid backlash …

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Monthly, Raw Story, RedState, Law & Crime, Fox News, U.S. Department of Justice, Splinter and Washington Post

Sally Yates / Washington Post:
William Barr should release the full Mueller report as soon as possible

Discussion: The Hill

Rashaan Ayesh / Axios:
New Barr letter: Mueller report will be sent to Congress by mid-April

Discussion: Breitbart, Politico and Washington Post

emptywheel:
Pressure Works: After Four Days, William Barr Capitulates and Gives an Estimated Page Count!!

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Common Dreams

Michael Warren / CNN:

WH budget office, not DeVos, pushed for proposed Special Olympics cuts, official says — DeVos ignores CNN's questions after budget testimony — Washington (CNN)The Education Department failed to include funding for the Special Olympics in its budget proposal this year after it was rebuffed …

Discussion: IJR and Raw Story

Linda Qiu / New York Times:
Trump's Inaccurate Claims on Mueller, Health Care and the Great Lakes

Discussion: Mediaite

New York Times:
After Trump Casts Blames for a Special Olympics Cut, Betsy DeVos Flashes Pique

Discussion: Conservative Review and Hullabaloo

Sahil Kapur / Bloomberg: GOP Sees Political Peril as Party Scrambles for Health-Care Plan

Toluse Olorunnipa / Washington Post: 'It'll happen fast': Trump creates problems and then rushes in to solve them

Dylan Scott / Vox:
Trump's health care agenda is a legal disaster

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos and Politico

Sabrina Eaton / Plain Dealer:
President Donald Trump reverses course on Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Vox, Rolling Stone, IJR, Mother Jones and Toledo Blade

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

AP says the percentage sign now OK when used with a numeral (that's shift+5) — Brace yourselves. — The AP Stylebook says the percentage sign is now acceptable when paired with a numeral in most cases. — On Friday, Stylebook Editor Paula Froke announced the latest round of changes …

Doris Truong / Poynter:
AP Stylebook update: It's OK to call something racist when it's racist

more at Mediagazer »

John Bowden / The Hill:

Flake: Better for a Dem to win in 2020 than Trump — Former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said Thursday that he would rather see a Democrat win in 2020 than have President Trump elected to a second term. — Flake made his comments at a debate in New York hosted by the nonprofit Intelligence Squared.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and IJR

Paul Waldman / Washington Post: Spare us the lectures from Democratic candidates about how Democratic voters are the problem

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
The blue state Trump thinks he can flip in 2020

Discussion: The Hill, CNN, Chicks On The Right and Conservative News Today

Christopher Rivas / New York Times:

I Broke Up With Her Because She's White — When it comes to dating, I'd rather not think about race. But that's been hard to avoid. — O.K., let me just get to it. I think I broke up with my last girlfriend because she's white. Actually, no, I definitely broke up with her because she's white.

Discussion: Hot Air

Miriam Jordan / New York Times:

Former Trump Family Driver Has Been in ICE Custody for 8 Months — When Donald Trump's children and campaign staff arrived in South Florida during the 2016 presidential campaign, they were often greeted at the airport by Zoltan Tamas in a black Cadillac Escalade.

Discussion: Splinter and NY State of Politics

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

How the mysteries of Khashoggi's murder have rocked the U.S.-Saudi partnership — It has been nearly six months since Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered inside Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, but the aftershocks continue. The U.S.-Saudi defense and intelligence partnership has been rocked.

Discussion: Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Joel Gehrke / Washington Examiner:
Pompeo meets Saudi prince who lured Jamal Khashoggi to his death

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Vanity Fair

Daily Mail:

TIMELINE OF BUSH'S DECADE-LONG AFFAIR WITH JENNIFER FITZGERALD — Early 1970s — Bush is introduced to Jennifer by a mutual friend. They have flirtatious calls that lead to a romance that carries on for at least 12 years. — 1974 — President Gerald Ford appoints Bush to Chief of the Liaison Office in China.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Christopher Ingraham / Washington Post:

The share of Americans not having sex has reached a record high — You can blame young people for this dry spell, data show — The share of U.S. adults reporting no sex in the past year reached an all-time high in 2018, underscoring a three-decade trend line marked by an aging population and higher numbers of unattached people.

Discussion: The Hill, RedState, Liberty Unyielding and Althouse

Aaron Rupar / Vox:

Trump's latest comments about the border indicate he doesn't understand how trade works — It's supposedly his signature issue! — During a brief news conference he held at Mar-a-Lago on Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump claimed that closing the border with Mexico would be a …

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Press and Political Wire

Dara Lind / Vox:
Trump's threats to close the US-Mexico border, explained

Discussion: RedState, Slate, Contemptor, Breitbart, Sputnik International and Common Dreams

Daniel Lippman / Politico:

Linda McMahon to leave Cabinet for Trump 2020 PAC — Linda McMahon is stepping down as head of Small Business Administration to chair the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action, according to three people familiar with the move. — Trump allies have spent weeks searching for someone …

Discussion: CNN, Breitbart, The Atlantic, Townhall, Raw Story, New York Times, Axios, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, New York Post and The New Civil Rights Movement

Jenni Russell / New York Times:

Is Theresa May the Worst Politician Ever? — The British prime minister's deal has failed. Again. — This Op-Ed has been updated to reflect news developments. — LONDON — My first attempt to charm Theresa May was eight years ago, in the grand surroundings of the State Dining Room in Downing Street …

The Guardian:
May hopes to hold fourth vote on Brexit deal

Discussion: Press Association, Quartz, Shakesville and BuzzFeed

Matthew Sheffield / The Hill:

Poll: Americans more likely to say Ocasio-Cortez is ‘bad’ than ‘good’ for Democrats — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hurts the Democratic Party more than she helps it, according to a Hill-HarrisX poll released Friday that also found many voters are undecided when it comes to the first-term New York Democrat.

Discussion: Breitbart

Dion Rabouin / Axios:

Larry Kudlow wants the Fed to cut rates — White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Friday told Axios that he wants the Federal Reserve to “immediately” cut interest rates by 50 basis points. — Why it matters: This mirrors comments by Stephen Moore, who President Trump is expected …

Discussion: Bloomberg, TheStreet, CNBC and One America News Network

Emily Larsen / Washington Examiner:

Outed CIA spy Valerie Plame set for Senate run as Democrat — Valerie Plame, the former CIA officer who shot to fame when she was outed during George W. Bush's presidency, is poised to run for U.S. Senate in New Mexico. — The ex-spy told the Washington Examiner Friday that she would run …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Front Page Magazine, twitchy.com, Liberty Unyielding and Roll Call