memeorandum: Democrats worry Biden could pay the political price for rising inflation (Washington Post)

10:00 AM ET, January 13, 2022

Top Items:

Barack Obama / USA Today:

Former President Barack Obama: We need to follow John Lewis' example and fight for our democracy — “The world, and future generations, will be watching,” Obama writes as he calls on Senate to “do the right thing” and pass legislation to protect voting rights. — Barack ObamaSpecial to USA TODAY

Alayna Treene / Axios:

Schumer finds loophole to advance elections reform package — Democratic leaders have found a mechanism to enable them to bypass an initial Republican filibuster and debate the party's sweeping elections reform bills, according to a new leadership memo obtained by Axios.

Discussion: Washington Post, To Port of Court, Ineptocracy Chronicles, The Hill, Raw Story, Wall Street Journal, Roll Call, NPR, The Guardian, The American Independent and HotAir

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: Biden and Manchin come face to face — DRIVING THE DAY — Typically presidents head to Capitol Hill to put a final squeeze on lawmakers on the cusp of passing major legislation. Today, JOE BIDEN will make the trek up Pennsylvania Avenue for yet another sales pitch that's doomed for failure.

Discussion: Law & Liberty, New York Post, The Federalist, Common Dreams and Supercreator, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:
How pollsters say Democrats should talk about voting rights

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Abrams camp rejects ‘false rumors’ about her no-show at Biden event

Discussion: New York Times, Althouse, Fox News and CNN

Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
Durbin says Biden may have gone ‘a little too far’ in Georgia speech

Discussion: NBC News, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Breitbart, New York Post, Daily Kos, The American Spectator, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Associated Press, Political Wire, U.S. Senator John Thune, WTOP News and The Daily Wire

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Biden to huddle with Senate Dems as voting bill on brink of defeat

Discussion: HotAir, Washington Examiner, Fox News, CNN, NPR and Minnesota Reformer

ABC News:
McConnell blasts Biden's voting rights speech as ‘rage and false hysteria’

Discussion: National Review, Politico, New York Post, Power Line, Fox News, Insider, CNN, POLITICUSUSA, Fox News, NBC News, Eight by Seven, Raw Story, The Hill, Townhall, Politico, The Hill, Washington Times, Black Voters Matter Fund, Twitchy, RedState, Insider, UPI and The Daily Caller

Luke Broadwater / New York Times:

Kevin McCarthy Refuses Interview Request From Jan. 6 Committee — The panel said it was interested in conversations the top House Republican had with President Donald J. Trump on the day of the riot and afterward. — WASHINGTON — The House select committee scrutinizing the Jan. 6 attack …

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

McCarthy's plot to build the House of Trump — Kevin McCarthy is signaling he'll institutionalize key Trumpian priorities if he takes over as House speaker next year — aggressive tactics targeting undocumented immigrants, liberals and corporate America. — Why it matters …

Discussion: Raw Story, Campaign Update, The New Neo and RedState

House Republican Leader:
Leader McCarthy's Statement about Pelosi's Illegitimate Select Committee

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, POLITICUSUSA, Breitbart, Insider, New York Post, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, National Review, NPR, Fox News, Daily Kos, Townhall, TheBlaze, Politico and Washington Post

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Jan. 6 committee broaches witness tampering and Trump

Discussion: CBS News, Raw Story, Associated Press, Insider, Forbes and Bloomberg

Washington Post:

Omicron waves appear to slow in New York City, other major metropolitan areas … The explosion of omicron cases along the Interstate 95 corridor from the Mid-Atlantic to New England is showing signs of slowing down, according to health officials and epidemiologists, offering reason …

Discussion: Reuters, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Twitchy

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

Is Omicron Peaking? — In parts of the Northeast, it seems to be. — The number of new Covid-19 cases in New York City rose more than twentyfold in December. In the past few days, it has flattened. — In both New Jersey and Maryland, the number of new cases has fallen slightly this week.

Discussion: The Guardian and HotAir

David Bauder / Associated Press:
Omicron wave prompts media to rethink which data to report

Discussion: Poynter, The Gateway Pundit, HotAir, Twitchy and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »

Meridith McGraw / Politico:

Trump is eyeing the White House and wants a more compliant Senate for when he gets there — As Donald Trump charts out his midterm elections strategy, his focus has turned to the contest for the Senate, not just in hopes of getting it back under GOP control but of having more compliant lawmakers there should he become president again.

Discussion: The Federalist, CNN and Raw Story

Lee Moran / HuffPost:
‘Spineless’ Lindsey Graham Ridiculed For Latest Show Of Subservience To Donald Trump

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, Breitbart, Morning Shots, HillReporter.com and Insider

Washington Post:

Democrats worry Biden could pay the political price for rising inflation — President Biden and his advisers for months predicted inflation would be only transitory, a temporary problem that would fade as the economy rebounded and as supply chain issues were alleviated.

Discussion: HotAir, New York Post, The Hill, Roll Call, Politico and CNN

CNN: Did Democrats make a strategic error?

David Charns / KLAS:

I-Team: Nevada Republicans sent National Archives fake electoral certificates saying Trump won election — Documents include tracking number, which shows delivery in Washington — LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Nevada Republican Party sent the federal government documentation certifying the election …

Discussion: Mediaite

CNN:
Trump allies' fake Electoral College certificates offer fresh insights about plot to overturn Biden's victory

Discussion: American Oversight, Truthout, The Status Kuo and Mediaite

Washington Post:

Energy Department to announce Clean Energy Corps, hire 1,000 staffers to work on climate change — Good morning and welcome to The Climate 202! Yesterday was a busy day for climate policy, but we've got you covered. — Biden's Energy Department to announce Clean Energy Corps, will hire 1,000 staffers to work on climate change

Discussion: The White House

Jan Ransom / New York Times:

A Look Inside Rikers: ‘Fight Night’ and Gang Rule, Captured on Video — Videos obtained by The New York Times reveal scenes of violence as the Department of Correction struggles to restore order in the jail system. — The men had gotten along on Rikers Island, had even been friendly …

The Intercept:

House Republicans Release Text of Redacted Fauci Emails on Covid Origins … On Tuesday, Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform released a letter that paints a damning picture of U.S. government officials wrestling with whether the novel coronavirus may have leaked …

Discussion: spiked, HotAir and Ace of Spades HQ

Alayna Treene / Axios:

First look: NRCC raised $140 million in 2021 — The House Republicans' campaign arm raised $140 million in 2021, and $17.9 million in December alone, setting a new record for the committee's off-year fundraising, Axios has learned. — Why it matters: The hefty cash infusion …

Discussion: Breitbart, NRCC and Political Wire

John Stoehr / The Editorial Board:

We suspected that rightwing politics caused mass injury and death. A new book proves it — When partisanship subsumes everything, people die. Period. … The Republicans are sabotaging the country's full recovery from the covid pandemic. They don't think so, though.

Vivian Salama / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Diplomats in Geneva, Paris Struck With Suspected ‘Havana Syndrome’ — Mysterious neurological ailment has afflicted as many as 200 U.S. officials in diplomatic posts world-wide — WASHINGTON—Officials serving at U.S. diplomatic missions in Geneva and Paris are suspected …

Discussion: Political Wire

Luke Rosiak / The Daily Wire:

Loudoun Rapist Sentenced, Put On Sex Offender Registry For Life — LOUDOUN COUNTY, Virginia — The 14-year-old boy who raped a ninth-grader in a girls' bathroom while he wore a skirt and blouse was sentenced on Wednesday to residential treatment, as it emerged that he also allegedly attacked a third girl …

Discussion: NBC4 Washington, The Western Journal, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Louder With Crowder, WJLA-TV, The Daily Caller and Townhall

The Citizen Lab:

Extensive Hacking of Media & Civil Society in El Salvador with Pegasus Spyware — Key Findings — The Citizen Lab and Access Now have conducted a joint investigation into Pegasus hacking in El Salvador in collaboration with Frontline Defenders, SocialTIC, and Fundación Acceso.

Discussion: Washington Post, Wired, Amnesty International and Committee to Protect …, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:

German court: Syrian man guilty of crimes against humanity — KOBLENZ, Germany (AP) — A former Syrian secret police officer was convicted by a German court Thursday of crimes against humanity for overseeing the abuse of detainees at a jail near Damascus a decade ago.

Discussion: Washington Post, BBC, CNN, UPI, NPR, New York Times, Reuters, The New Daily, Al Jazeera and Amnesty International

Tyler Rogoway / The Drive:

Incoming North Korean Missile Warning Prompted FAA's Mysterious Air Traffic Halt — Two days after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a highly peculiar ground-stop order to aircraft operating across the western United States and Hawaii, and after the release of a remarkably murky official statement …

Discussion: The Western Journal

Peter White / Deadline:

Olivia Nuzzi Developing Pitch-Black Satirical DC Drama At AMC — EXCLUSIVE: Olivia Nuzzi, the Washington correspondent for New York magazine who wrote some of the wildest stories about President Donald Trump during his four years in office, is turning her attention to television.

more at Mediagazer »

CNN:

Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany met with January 6 committee, sources say — (CNN)Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday appeared before the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, two sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

Discussion: The Hill, CBS News, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, Mediaite and POLITICUSUSA

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Biden claims yet another arrest for which there's little evidence — “I did not walk in the shoes of generations of students who walked these grounds. But I walked other grounds. Because I'm so damn old, I was there as well. You think I'm kidding, man. It seems like yesterday the first time I got arrested.”

Discussion: HotAir and Mediaite

Quinnipiac University Poll:

Political Instability Not U.S. Adversaries, Seen As Bigger Threat, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Nearly 6 In 10 Think Nation's Democracy Is In Danger Of Collapse — mail_outline — In a sharply divided country, Americans agree on this: the bigger danger to the United States comes from within.

The Daily Caller:

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Ron Johnson Demands Details Of DOD Investigation Into COVID-19 Origins — Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson is requesting information about a Department of Defense investigation into the origins of COVID-19, following the recent republication of a report written …

Jessica Grose / New York Times:

I See Signs of Despair From Parents of Kids Under 5 — I've been talking to parents about pandemic stress for nearly two years, and I haven't heard the level of despair that I've heard over the past week since the spring of 2020. Some of the words parents used to describe their January 2022 …

Discussion: Pandemic Mama

Kanoko Matsuyama / Bloomberg:

Cannabis Compounds Prevented Covid Infection in Laboratory Study — Cannabis compounds prevented the virus that causes Covid-19 from penetrating healthy human cells, according to a laboratory study published in the Journal of Nature Products. — The two compounds commonly found in hemp …

Discussion: New York Times, HillReporter.com, WFRV Local 5, TheBlaze, Orlando Sentinel, The Daily Wire, Metro.co.uk and Twitchy

Tiffini Theisen / Orlando Sentinel:

Florida State Board of Administration official killed in apparent road-rage shootout — A spokesman for Florida's State Board of Administration was shot and killed in an apparent road-rage incident last week near Tallahassee, according to law enforcement and news reports.

Discussion: WCTV and Tallahassee Democrat