memeorandum: Trump ally Roger Stone's trial to start this week (Pete Williams/NBC News)

3:10 PM ET, November 4, 2019

Top Items:

One Year From Election, Trump Trails Biden but Leads Warren in Battlegrounds — Signs that the president's advantage in the Electoral College has persisted or even increased since 2016. — Despite low national approval ratings and the specter of impeachment, President Trump remains highly competitive …

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

New Poll Shows Democratic Candidates Have Been Living in a Fantasy World — In 2018, Democratic candidates waded into hostile territory and flipped 40 House districts, many of them moderate or conservative in their makeup. In almost every instance, their formula centered on narrowing …

Discussion: Politico, National Review, Washington Post and Townhall, more at Mediagazer »

Ross Ramsey / The Texas Tribune:
Democrats don't have a candidate who would beat Trump in Texas today, poll finds

Discussion: Breitbart, The Hill and Washington Times

Natasha Korecki / Politico:
Dems tiptoe around ‘Pocahontas’ and Hunter as Trump licks his chops

Discussion: The Hill

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Did Trump just threaten a shutdown over impeachment?

Discussion: New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post

New York Times:
As Warren Gains in Race, Wall Street Sounds the Alarm

Discussion: National Review, Washington Monthly, Fox News and The Daily Caller

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Wall Street donors are so worried about Elizabeth Warren that they are snubbing Democrats in 2020 Senate races

Discussion: Daily Kos

NBC News:

Ousted Ukraine ambassador Yovanovitch says she was told to tweet praise of Trump to save her job — The three House committees leading the Trump impeachment inquiry released Monday two transcripts of the behind-closed-doors interviews they have so far conducted.

Discussion: The Hill

U.S. House of Representatives Permanent …:

COMMITTEES RELEASE TESTIMONY OF YOVANOVITCH AND McKINLEY AS PART OF NEW PUBLIC PHASE OF IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY — f t # e — Washington, DC - Today, Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Rep. Eliot L. Engel, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs …

Discussion: Townhall, Breitbart, CNN, KTLA, Alternet.org, Balloon Juice, Sara A. Carter and Shareblue Media

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

Impeachment transcripts become latest point of panic for Trump — Up until now, the congressional impeachment inquiry has unfolded largely behind closed doors. There have been some exceptions - some witnesses, for example, have publicly released their opening statements - but by and large …

Discussion: NBC News, Shareblue Media and New York Times

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Ex-Ukraine ambassador felt threatened by Trump

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Caller and Breitbart

Washington Post:
Live updates: Ukraine envoy, fearing loss of job, told to tweet support for Trump; White House …

Discussion: Raw Story, Politico, NBC News and The Hill

The Guardian: House releases transcripts from key witnesses in Trump impeachment inquiry - live

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump's awful new ‘transcript’ tweets demonstrate how his propaganda works

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Townhall and The Hill

Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:

Trump Taxes: Appeals Court Rules President Must Turn Over 8 Years of Tax Returns — A three-judge appeals panel said the president's accounting firm had to comply with a subpoena. — A federal appeals panel said on Monday that President Trump's accounting firm must turn over eight years …

Discussion: Axios, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Political Wire

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Trump could get whacked by legal losses in coming months — The final year of President Donald Trump's first term will be loaded with legal landmines — and it's not just the impeachment cases. — Trump could face court rulings that say he is illegally profiting from foreign governments …

Discussion: Associated Press, The Daily Caller, One America News Network, Raw Story and Breitbart

CNBC:
Trump loses appeal of New York tax returns case

Discussion: Breitbart and Alternet.org

Associated Press:
World Series champ Nationals take celebration to White House

Discussion: The Hill

Larry Neumeister / Associated Press:
Appeals court agrees Trump tax returns can be turned over

Discussion: Sara A. Carter and POLITICUSUSA

Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed News: Trump Can't Invoke “Presidential Immunity” To Block A Grand Jury Subpoena For His Tax Returns, A Court Ruled

Washington Post: Appeals court rejects Trump's attempt to withhold tax returns from local prosecutors …

Allan Smith / NBC News: Trump loses appeal in New York tax case, must hand over returns

Brian Stelter / CNN:

Justice Dept. is trying to ‘intimidate’ author of anonymous anti-Trump book, agents say — New York (CNN Business)The Justice Department is going on the offensive against the anonymous author of “A Warning,” telling them in a letter obtained by CNN Business that he or she may be violating …

Discussion: Axios and Raw Story

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Justice Dept. Asks for Identifying Details on Anonymous Op-Ed Author — The writer, a senior Trump administration official, plans to write a book to be published this month. — The Justice Department is trying to unearth the identity of the Trump administration official who denounced …

Jane C. Timm / NBC News:
Trump admin targets soon-to-be-published insider book by ‘Anonymous’

Discussion: The Hill

Jan Ransom / New York Times:

E. Jean Carroll, Who Accused Trump of Rape, Sues Him for Defamation — The writer says the president hurt her career when he said she had lied about him attacking her in a dressing room in the 1990s. — E. Jean Carroll had publicly shared a secret in June that she had kept largely to herself …

Discussion: Axios, Vox, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Beth Reinhard / Washington Post:
New York writer who accused Trump of sexual assault sues him for defamation

Discussion: NBC News, ABC News, Politico, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, NPR, HuffPost, Shareblue Media, VICE, Alternet.org and The Week

Aaron Calvin / Columbia Journalism Review:

Twitter hates me. The Des Moines Register fired me. Here's what really happened. — During the seven months I worked as a trending-news reporter for the Des Moines Register, it was my job to write about viral news in Iowa and to frame my stories in ways that would increase their viral potential.

more at Mediagazer »

Matt Novak / Gizmodo:

Internet-Savvy Nazi Says a Bunch of Old Fashioned Nazi Shit in Leaked Tape — Richard Spencer, one of the most high profile neo-Nazis in America, has spent the past three years online trying to rebrand his extremist ideology with terms like “alt-right.” But a newly leaked audio tape makes …

Discussion: SoundCloud, The Mary Sue, The Daily Caller, VICE and LGBTQ Nation

CBS Denver:

FBI: White Supremacist Richard Holzer Arrested In Plot To Blow Up Synagogue In Colorado — (CBS4) — A known white supremacist named Richard Holzer has been arrested in a plot to blow up Temple Emanuel in Pueblo, according to newly unsealed federal court documents.

Kashmir Hill / New York Times:

I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score. Now You Can Get Yours, Too. — Little-known companies are amassing your data — like food orders and Airbnb messages — and selling the analysis to clients. Here's how to get a copy of what they have on you. — As consumers, we all have …

Marshall Allen / ProPublica:

How One Employer Stuck a New Mom With a $898,984 Bill for Her Premature Baby — Dignity Health said its employee, an ER nurse, failed to meet the deadline to add her premature newborn to its health plan, so she was responsible for the medical bills. It rejected her appeals for a year until ProPublica called.

Discussion: Friendly Atheist and Kaiser Health News

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Trump, the phone call, and consciousness of guilt — The July 25 call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelensky is the central piece of evidence in the Democratic drive to remove the president from office. “That call was a smoking gun,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Judd at Popular Information / Popular Information:

The Trump campaign holds a lot of contests. Does anyone win? — The Trump campaign has held at least 15 contests since 2018 offering the chance to win breakfast, lunch, or dinner with President Trump. Supporters are enticed to donate to Trump's campaign with promises of free travel …

Washington Post:

Unemployment is climbing in key swing states, including Michigan and Wisconsin — There's been a steady increase of people coming to the St. Vincent de Paul Society's food pantry in Marinette, Wis., a small city of about 10,000 just across the border from Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Sam Brodey / The Daily Beast:

Embattled Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovich Was Advised to Tweet Praise of Donald Trump — The idea, remarkably enough, was described as “go big or go home.” — Facing a concerted campaign from Rudy Giuliani and his allies to oust her, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovich struggled …

Pete Williams / NBC News:

Trump ally Roger Stone's trial to start this week — Stone was charged with misleading the House Intelligence Committee about his efforts to find out when WikiLeaks would be releasing hacked Democratic Party and Clinton campaign emails. — Jury selection begins Tuesday in the trial …

Discussion: Political Wire

Polina Ivanova / Reuters:

Exclusive: Ukraine to fire prosecutor who discussed Bidens with Giuliani - source — Polina Ivanova, Ilya Zhegulev — KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine plans to fire the prosecutor who led investigations into the firm where Joe Biden's son served on the board, a central figure in the activity …

Amy Knight / The Daily Beast:

Putin's Top Spy: We're Teaming Up With D.C. on Cybersecurity — Behind-the-scenes cooperation with U.S. agencies, particularly on cybercrime and terrorism, is a theme the Kremlin likes to push onto center stage. Trump likes it, too. — Following a recent conference of foreign security …

Discussion: Mediaite and TASS

Lauren Fedor / Financial Times:

Nearly two-thirds of US voters say Trump has not made them better off — Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they are not better off financially than they were when Donald Trump was elected, casting doubt on whether economic expansion and a record bull market will boost the president's re-election campaign in 2020.

Discussion: Alternet.org and The Hill