memeorandum: US official says IS leader believed dead in US raid in Syria (Associated Press)

10:25 AM ET, October 27, 2019

Top Items:

Trump Approves Special Ops Raid Targeting ISIS Leader Baghdadi, Military Says He's Dead — The United States military has conducted a special operations raid targeting one of its most high-value targets, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), Newsweek has learned.

New York Times:

Special Operations Raid Said to Kill Senior Terrorist Leader in Syria — The identity of the target was not confirmed, but President Trump was scheduled to make a statement on Sunday morning. — WASHINGTON — United States Special Operations commandos carried out a risky raid in northwestern Syria …

Discussion: TalkLeft, VICE, Breitbart, Political Wire, Reuters and Althouse

Washington Post:

U.S. forces launch operation in Syria targeting ISIS leader Baghdadi, officials say — The Trump administration launched a military operation in Syria targeting Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the elusive leader of the Islamic State, officials said late Saturday. — Special Operations forces conducted …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, New York Post, Contemptor, The Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, NBC News and Mediaite

Associated Press:

US official says IS leader believed dead in US raid in Syria — WASHINGTON (AP) — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of the Islamic State group who presided over its global jihad and became arguably the world's most wanted man, is believed dead after being targeted by a U.S. military raid in Syria.

Discussion: Breitbart, Axios, The Hill, One America News Network, ABC News, Politico and Reuters

Katie Bo Williams / Defense One:

ISIS Leader Baghdadi Believed Dead After US Special Ops Raid — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is believed to have detonated his own suicide vest. — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the elusive head of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, was the target of a U.S. special operations forces raid in Syria on Saturday, Defense One has learned.

Dom Calicchio / Fox News:

ISIS target believed to be Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is killed in Syria: sources — A “high value ISIS target” believed to be Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed by U.S.-led forces in Idlib, Syria, a well-placed military source told Fox News on Saturday night. — The U.S. military cannot yet confirm the identity of the deceased target.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Other McCain, Изв … and Task & Purpose

Rebecca Falconer / Axios:

Report: ISIS leader Baghdadi believed to have been killed in U.S.-led raid — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State, or ISIS, was targeted in a raid led by U.S. military special operations and is believed to have been killed in the attack, Newsweek first reported Saturday night.

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press, CNN, ABC News, JustOneMinute, The Daily Beast, One America News Network and Breitbart

Bronson Stocking / Townhall:
BREAKING: ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Believed to Have Been Killed, According to Report

Discussion: Bloomberg and The Gateway Pundit

Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:

Sondland Told House Panels Trump's Ukraine Pressure Was Quid Pro Quo — U.S. envoy to EU told House committees that he believed White House meeting was conditioned on Ukraine opening investigations, his lawyer says — WASHINGTON—A top U.S. diplomat told House committees last week …

Discussion: CNBC, HuffPost, Slate, The Hill, Axios, Mediaite, Political Wire and Raw Story

Washington Post:

In impeachment inquiry, Republican lawmakers ask questions about whistleblower, loyalty to Trump and conspiracy theories — Republican lawmakers have used the congressional impeachment inquiry to gather information on a CIA employee who filed a whistleblower complaint, press witnesses …

Washington Post: Diplomat says top leadership of the State Department rejected his entreaties to publicly support …

New York Times:
Official Says Attempts to Rally Top State Officials Behind Ukraine Ambassador Failed

Discussion: Raw Story

Vivian Salama / Wall Street Journal:
Official to Testify Pompeo Blocked Show of Support for Ousted Ambassador

Discussion: Axios, CNN, Raw Story, Diplopundit, Vox and Associated Press

Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:

The Zombie Campaign Joe Biden is the least formidable front-runner ever. Will it matter? — Inevitably, he arrives late, by SUV or van. The former vice-president is thin and, yes, he's old. He dresses neatly and always in blue. Staff envelop him. There's the body man, the advance man …

CNN:

White House: John Kelly ‘was totally unequipped to handle the genius of our great President’ — (CNN)President Donald Trump is disputing that former White House chief of staff John Kelly warned the President before he left the White House last year not to hire a replacement who wouldn't tell him the truth or that he would be impeached.

Discussion: HuffPost

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
‘Catastrophically bad idea’: John Kelly criticizes Trump's Syria pullout

Discussion: Breitbart, The Hill, Raw Story and Political Wire

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
‘I feel bad that I left’: John Kelly warned Trump he would be impeached

Discussion: Fox News, Breitbart, Occupy Democrats, New York Times, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, Hullabaloo, Politico, KTLA, The Guardian, Axios, The Hill, Slate, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Bloomberg, Progress Pond and Mediaite

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

London trip photos show Giuliani with indicted associate at Yankees' game, Ukrainian charity event — Rudy Giuliani (center) speaks with New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone prior to a game between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in London in June 2019. Lev Parnas, a now-indicted associate …

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post: Giuliani associates claimed to have sway with both foreign billionaires and Trump administration officials

BuzzFeed News: There's A Village In Ukraine Where Rudy Giuliani Is The Honorary Mayor. That's Not The Weird Part Of This Story.

New York Times:

1.5 Million Packages a Day: The Internet Brings Chaos to N.Y. Streets — The push for convenience is having a stark impact on gridlock, roadway safety and pollution in New York City and urban areas around the world. — An Amazon order starts with a tap of a finger.

NBC News:

Here's the price Mitt Romney is paying for standing against Trump — The Senate's most outspoken GOP critic of the president finds his motives are questioned, and worse. — SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — One man is an island: Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. — The 72-year-old former Republican presidential nominee …

Tristan Greene / The Next Web:

White House cybersecurity chief quits, says leadership is inviting an attack — White House computer security Chief Dimitrios Vistakis gave the White House one helluva resignation notice earlier this week when he quit over practices he dubbed “absurd” including the systemic purging of cybersecurity staff.

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Wired

Ally Mutnick / Politico:

Ousted Republicans plot rematches with Trump back on the ballot — NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. — Former Rep. Claudia Tenney got swept out of Congress in 2018 on an anti-Trump wave. But she thinks the president could bring her back next year. — The one-term congresswoman lost to freshman Rep. Anthony Brindisi …

Phil McCausland / NBC News:

South still supports Trump, but base of disapproval is also steady — NBC News| SurveyMonkey polled voters and residents in 11 states across the South, but the data comes during a particularly interesting time for Mississippi, which is in the middle of a hotly contested governor's race.

Discussion: Political Wire