memeorandum: Michelle Obama to get a check for $741,000 for a one-hour speech about ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ at Munich conference (James Franey/Daily Mail)

2:05 PM ET, September 26, 2023

Top Items:

Alex Thompson / Axios:

Scoop: Biden team's don't-let-him-trip mission … - With a physical therapist, Biden has been doing exercises to improve his balance as far back as November 2021. — Since his stumble in June, he has been wearing tennis shoes more often to avoid slipping — and using the short stairs on Air Force One …

Discussion: The Messenger, RedState, HotAir, The Hill, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, The Daily Caller, Twitchy, Mediaite, New York Post, Louder With Crowder, National Review, Raw Story and Fox News

Katie Rogers / New York Times:

Biden Joins U.A.W. Strike — President Heads to Picket Line in Michigan to Court Autoworkers — President Biden is traveling to Michigan a day before former President Donald J. Trump makes his own visit, as the two men offer dueling messages to a powerful voting bloc in a key swing state.

Discussion: HuffPost, USA Today, CBS News, Florida Phoenix, Washington Post, CNN, The Hill, The Messenger, NewsNation, UnHerd and PoliticusUSA

Lauren Egan / Politico: Biden joins striking auto workers on picket line

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:
Ralph Nader, wary of Trump, offers to help Joe Biden win

Discussion: The Hill and Vanity Fair

Associated Press:
Biden is headed to Michigan to join the UAW picket line. He's all-in on showing his union bona fides

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
Americans Are Down on Biden. Why Does His Party Keep Winning Elections?

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Times, KTSM-TV, Digby's Hullabaloo and The Messenger

Washington Post:
Biden, Trump square off for Michigan's working-class voters

Discussion: The Messenger, Washington Examiner, Michigan Advance, CBS News, Reuters, Roll Call, New York Times, The Guardian, KNSD-TV, abc7NY, The Message Box, Raw Story, Hackwhackers, Financial Times, Fox News, USA Today, Political Wire, Politico, Slate, Bloomberg, NewsNation and CNN

CNN:

Cassidy Hutchinson's new book reveals a Trump White House even more chaotic than previously known — In her new book “Enough,” former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson paints the closing days of the Trump White House as even more chaotic and lawless than she previously disclosed in her shocking televised testimony last summer.

Discussion: Insider, Mediaite, Raw Story, HuffPost, The Messenger and USA Today

Eva Surovell / The Messenger:
Cassidy Hutchinson Book Reveals Chaos at End of Trump White House: 'I Don't Want People To Know We Lost'

Discussion: Insider, Raw Story, Mediaite and UPROXX

William Vaillancourt / The Daily Beast:
Cassidy Hutchinson Begs GOP to Stop Donald Trump Before It's Too Late

Discussion: The Guardian, Washington Post, al.com, Raw Story, Mediaite, New Republic, The Daily Beast, CNN, The Hill, PoliticusUSA, BizPac Review, UPROXX, HuffPost and The Messenger

Christopher Maag / New York Times:

Booker Says Menendez Should Resign, Breaking Silence — The decision by Senator Cory Booker, a close ally, to condemn Senator Robert Menendez underscores the deepening crisis Mr. Menendez faces after his indictment. — Senator Cory Booker called on Senator Robert Menendez …

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:

Dam Breaks For Bob Menendez: Senate Democrats Pile On In Calls For Resignation — Jon Tester and Tammy Baldwin are among those up for reelection in 2024 and facing pressure to distance themselves from their indicted colleague. — LOADING — The dam broke open Tuesday morning …

Discussion: The Hill, Bloomberg, Washington Free Beacon, Axios, UPI, The Daily Caller, The Messenger, Raw Story, Rolling Stone, Insider, Sputnik News, Daily Kos, NRSC, Politico, Roll Call, Washington Examiner, Associated Press and Political Wire

Filip Timotija / The Hill:

Rep. Watson Coleman will give back Menendez PAC money — Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) says she will return 2022 campaign donations she received from Sen. Bob Menendez's (D-N.J.) political action committee. — The congresswoman's office told The Hill she will be returning $5,000 …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Examiner, The Messenger, Florida Politics, HuffPost, KTSM-TV, New Jersey Monitor and CNBC

Matt Friedman / Politico:
Bob Menendez's defiance could be an electoral nightmare for Democrats

Discussion: CNBC, HotAir, IJR, Vanity Fair, RedState, CNN, New Jersey Globe, Political Wire and Ballotpedia

Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:

Supreme Court rejects Alabama's bid to use congressional map with just one majority-Black district — The court's decision is in line with its June ruling in the same case that reaffirmed key protections for minority voters. — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday handed a defeat …

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, The Messenger, Politico, CBS News, New Republic, Law Dork, SCOTUSblog, Mother Jones, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, al.com and The Daily Caller

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:

Supreme Court won't let Alabama use disputed House map for 2024 — The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused Alabama's request to hold 2024 elections under a new congressional map judged to be an unlawful attempt to diminish the power of the state's Black voters.

Discussion: The Hill, Fox News, Vox, USA Today, Bloomberg, Roll Call, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Raw Story, Wisconsin Examiner, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, NPR, Alabama Daily News, al.com and CNN

CNN:
Supreme Court rejects Alabama's attempt to avoid creating a second Black majority congressional district

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, al.com, CBS News and Tallahassee Democrat

Federal Trade Commission:

FTC Sues Amazon for Illegally Maintaining Monopoly Power — Amazon's ongoing pattern of illegal conduct blocks competition, allowing it to wield monopoly power to inflate prices, degrade quality, and stifle innovation for consumers and businesses — The Federal Trade Commission …

Kevin Collier / NBC News:

Amazon used market power to warp prices of goods across the internet, FTC alleges — The FTC said it filed an antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, backed by the attorneys general of 17 states, including two Republicans.

Discussion: The Verge, Bloomberg, Variety, Associated Press, American Economic …, ABC7 and Crooks and Liars

Libby Cathey / ABC News:

Asa Hutchinson sets new goal for 2024 campaign after missing debate requirement — “If that goal is met, then I remain competitive,” he said in a statement. — Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson will continue his 2024 campaign for president despite failing to qualify …

Discussion: The Hill, Fox Business, NBC News, Breitbart, CNN, USA Today, STEPHANIE MILLER SHOW, New York Times, HuffPost, New York Post, The Daily Caller and Washington Post

NBC News:
NBC News poll shows GOP with largest-ever lead on the economy

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, WMUR, Bloomberg and The Hill

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult Pro:
1 in 3 Voters Would Blame Congressional Republicans for a Shutdown

Discussion: HuffPost, Washington Examiner and The Hill

Alexandra Marquez / NBC News:
Poll: Republicans have advantages on immigration, crime and the economy

Discussion: The Hill

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

Hunter Biden sues former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani over infamous laptop — Hunter Biden sued former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and another attorney over alleged violations of computer fraud and data access related to a laptop computer Biden is said to have left at a Delaware repair shop.

CNN:
Hunter Biden sues Rudy Giuliani and his former attorney, alleging they tried to hack his devices

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, ABC News, HotAir, Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, UPROXX and Crooks and Liars

Politico:
Hunter Biden claims in lawsuit that Rudy Giuliani hacked his data

Discussion: ZeroHedge News, Associated Press, emptywheel and CBS News

Michelle Cottle / New York Times:

What Is J.D. Vance's Angle? — J.D. Vance was trying to find his groove. I had just shown up at his office last week to interview the Ohio Republican about his first nine months in the Senate, where he has proved curiously hard to pigeonhole. As we sat down, Mr. Vance — at 39 …

Discussion: Associated Press and The Nation

Christopher Cadelago / Politico:
Trump is crushing it in California. His rivals are ‘in denial.’

Discussion: Associated Press

Washington Post:

Bending to far right, McCarthy pushes steep safety net cuts in shutdown battle — Republican House speaker embraces major spending reductions in trying to win conservative support for funding bill — Cutting housing subsidies for the poor by 33 percent as soaring rents drive a national affordability crisis.

Discussion: The Hill and Reuters

Thomas Catenacci / Fox News:

Republicans open probe into Biden's energy secretary after police called on her EV road trip — Granholm's EV road trip ‘illustrates yet again how out of touch the Biden Administration is,’ Republicans write — Republicans on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Hill, RedState, New York Post, Washington Times and The Gateway Pundit

Mariam Zuhaib / Washington Examiner:
House Oversight launches investigation into Granholm electric vehicle road trip

Discussion: National Review and The Daily Caller

Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:

Judge Cannon Enters a Minute Order — Today, Judge Aileen Cannon in the Southern District of Florida finally ruled on the special counsel's request to hold Garcia hearings to resolve potential conflicts of interest the lawyers for Trump's two co-defendants in the Mar-a-Lago case may have …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, UPI, Sun-Sentinel and Washington Examiner

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

Florida school district orders librarians to purge all books with LGBTQ characters — Librarians in public schools in Charlotte County, Florida, were instructed by the school district superintendent to remove all books with LGBTQ characters or themes from school and classroom libraries.

Discussion: New Republic

Charlie Sykes / Morning Shots:

Cassidy and the Guys — Plus: Menendez is an old-school crook. — Catching up: — Biden Heads to UAW Picket Line in Michigan - The New York Times — New Poll by Saint Anselm College Survey Center shows Nikki Haley surging ahead of Ron DeSantis in New Hampshir e

Discussion: New York Times

Politico:
Playbook: Will Senate Dems turn on Bob Menendez?

Discussion: The Hill, Fox News, Bloomberg, The Messenger, Punchbowl News, RedState, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Reuters, New Jersey Globe, New York Post, HuffPost and Wall Street Journal

Kimberly Wehle / The Atlantic:

The Coming Attack on an Essential Element of Women's Freedom — No-fault divorce has improved the lives of millions. Now some extreme Republicans want to abandon it. — For the past half century, many women in America have enjoyed an unprecedented degree of freedom and legal protection …

Discussion: The Sun

Matthew Goldstein / New York Times:

JPMorgan Settles Epstein Suits With U.S. Virgin Islands and James Staley — The bank agreed to pay $75 million to settle with the U.S. Virgin Islands and also reached a confidential settlement with a former top banker who pushed to keep the disgraced financier as a client.

Discussion: Raw Story