memeorandum: Trump says US will withdraw from nuclear arms treaty with Russia (The Guardian)

7:25 AM ET, October 21, 2018

Top Items:

White House privately doubts Saudi account of journalist's killing — President Trump and his aides have begun to privately express doubts about Saudi Arabia's explanation for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi even as the administration stands publicly in support of the oil-rich monarchy, according to U.S. officials.

Discussion: ABC News and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Marwa Rashad / Reuters:

Amid skepticism, Saudi official provides another version of Khashoggi death — RIYADH (Reuters) - As Saudi Arabia faced intensifying international scepticism over its story about the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a senior government official laid out a new version of the death inside …

New York Times:

Saudis' Image Makers: A Troll Army and a Twitter Insider — Each morning, Jamal Khashoggi would check his phone to discover what fresh hell had been unleashed while he was sleeping. — He would see the work of an army of Twitter trolls, ordered to attack him and other influential Saudis who had criticized the kingdom's leaders.

Discussion: Deadline, Mashable, Vox, TheBlaze, Engadget, The Verge, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Saudi Explanation of Jamal Khashoggi's Killing Fails to Squelch Skepticism — Saudi Arabia's acknowledgment that its agents had strangled the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul was met with a flood of international skepticism on Saturday …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Joe.My.God., The Week and Splinter

Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:

In Post interview, Trump calls Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed a ‘strong person’ who ‘truly loves his country’ — President Trump retreated late Saturday from his stance that Saudi Arabia's story about the killing of journalist Jamaal Khashoggi inside their Turkish consulate was credible …

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Step Away From the Orb — WASHINGTON — I was having dinner here once with a Saudi muck-a-muck. Midway through the interview, he passed an oblong velvet box across the table. Inside I found an expensive piece of jewelry. — I began laughing and explained that I was a reporter and could not take such baubles.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »

Wall Street Journal: Scandal Over Dead Journalist Jolts Heir to Saudi Throne

Ian Shapira / Washington Post:
Corey Stewart says Khashoggi was a “mystery guy” and his death not worth clashing with Saudis

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and ThinkProgress

New York Times: This is the front line of Saudi Arabia's invisible war

Washington Post:
The Saudi explanation for Jamal Khashoggi's death is a fable. Still Trump plays along.

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, Discourse.net, France 24, Axios, Reuters, ThinkProgress and Mother Jones

Associated Press:
Turkish reaction: we won't allow “cover-up” in Saudi killing

Discussion: Splinter, IJR and New York Times

Rula Jebreal / Newsweek:
Jamal Khashoggi Secret Interview: The Saudi Journalist's Views of Islam, America and the …

Discussion: Sputnik International

Vivian Nereim / Bloomberg:
Official Flip-Flop on Khashoggi Shocks Saudis

Discussion: Political Wire, Raw Story and Hit & Run

The Guardian:

Trump says US will withdraw from nuclear arms treaty with Russia — Experts warn of ‘most severe crisis in nuclear arms control since the 1980s’ as Trump confirms US will leave INF agreement — Donald Trump has confirmed the US will leave an arms control treaty with Russia dating …

Discussion: Press Association, France 24 and Common Dreams

Associated Press:

Trump says US will pull out of intermediate range nuke pact — President Donald Trump said Saturday he will pull the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty because Russia has violated the agreement, but he provided no details on the violations.

Discussion: Front Page Magazine

New York Times:

Trump Administration Eyes Defining Transgender Out of Existence — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth, the most drastic move yet in a governmentwide effort to roll back recognition …

Lucas Aulbach / Courier-Journal:

Man dumps Mitch McConnell's to-go box on Bardstown Road, witness says — (Video has no sound) Oct. 19, 2018 Video provided by Kohl Dodd, Louisville Courier Journal — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had a rough night at Havana Rumba. — The Kentucky senator was heckled Friday night …

Discussion: USA Today, HuffPost and The Tennessean

TMZ.com:
Senator Mitch McConnell Confronted at Restaurant by Angry Customers

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Hill, Power Line, twitchy.com, Breitbart, TheBlaze, Axios, Washington Times, RedState, The Mahablog, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and Talking Points Memo

Adam Shaw / Fox News:
Diners confront Mitch McConnell at restaurant, get told to ‘leave him alone’ by others

Discussion: twitchy.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and LifeZette

Michelle L. Price / Associated Press:

Biden rallies union for Democrats in tight Nevada races — Former Vice President Joe Biden spoke of working class struggles and said President Donald Trump is shredding American values as the Democrat rallied union members in Las Vegas to support Jacky Rosen and other Nevada Democrats.

Discussion: Breitbart and Politico

Seung Min Kim / Washington Post:
President campaigns for former foe at Nevada rally

Discussion: The Daily Beast, One America News Network, Politico and bradenton

Ted Enamorado / Washington Post:

Georgia's ‘exact match’ law could disenfranchise 909,540 eligible voters, my research finds — Recently, there's been an uproar about Georgia's approach to voter registration. The state's “exact match” law, passed last year, requires that citizens' names on their government-issued IDs must precisely match …

Discussion: PolitiFact Georgia, ThinkProgress and Greg Palast

David Siders / Politico:

Sanders hints at reckoning with Warren over 2020 ambitions — The two progressive icons are on a collision course. — BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Bernie Sanders says he speaks with Elizabeth Warren nearly every day — just not about 2020. — But with the two progressive behemoths on a collision course …

Discussion: Political Wire

The Daily Beast:

Convicted Ex-Trump Adviser George Papadopoulos Fights to Become the Next Big Fox News Star — Asked if aides and those close to Trump see Papadopoulos as an ongoing liability, one White House official replied that they see him generally as a ‘clown trying to make a buck.’

Discussion: Mediaite and Raw Story

Reid Wilson / The Hill:

Early voting hints at huge turnout — More than 4.3 million Americans have already cast their ballots in the midterm elections, and early signs point to a huge increase in turnout from the last midterm elections in 2014, when overall voter participation hit a 70-year low.

Christine Stapleton / Palm Beach Daily News:

EXCLUSIVE: Mar-a-Lago member Lana Marks headed to South Africa post? — President Donald Trump is said to be ready to nominate couture handbag designer and Palm Beach resident Lana Marks to become ambassador to South Africa, making her the fourth member of the Mar-a-Lago Club that the president has tapped for an ambassadorship.

Discussion: Mediaite

Jakob Hanke / Politico:

Raab floats extended transition as ‘alternative’ to Ireland backstop — Dominic Raab, the U.K.'s Brexit secretary, suggested the EU and Britain would need to choose between extending the Brexit transition period and a time-limited backstop to avoid a hard border in Ireland.

Discussion: Telegraph and One America News Network

Michael Goodwin / New York Post:

Count on Hillary Clinton running again in 2020 — This is beyond odd, but here goes. I rise to defend Hillary Clinton. — She is under attack and this time, the long knives are wielded by members of her own clan. Suddenly, after two years of indulging Clinton's blame games and pity parties …