memeorandum: Former Obama staffers launching anti-Trump site called ‘Crooked Media’ (Joe Concha/The Hill)

2:05 PM ET, January 9, 2017

Top Items:

Patrick Healy / New York Times:

Donald Trump Says He's Not Surprised by Meryl Streep's Golden Globes Speech — President-elect Donald J. Trump dismissed Meryl Streep as “a Hillary lover” early Monday morning after the actress, in a speech at the Golden Globes award ceremony, denounced him as a bully who disrespected and humiliated others.

Caroline Cunningham / Washingtonian:

Actually, Mr. Trump, Washington's Dress Shops Are Not All Sold Out — On Sunday night, President-elect Donald Trump gave a “heated” late-night interview to the New York Times' Patrick Healy following Meryl Streep's speech at the Golden Globes. “We are going to have an unbelievable …

Discussion: Washington Post, Infowars, The Guardian, New York Magazine and Mashable

Ian Schwartz / RealClearPolitics:

Kellyanne Conway: I Wish Meryl Streep Was As Concerned About Disabled Boy Tortured On Facebook Live — Senior Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway responds to Meryl Streep's diatribe against Donald Trump at the Golden Globes: — KELLYANNE CONWAY: I'm glad Meryl Streep has such a passion …

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Post, New York Magazine and The Guardian

New York Times:

Meryl Streep's Golden Globes Speech — Turning attention away from her and toward Donald J. Trump, Meryl Streep used her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes to call out the president-elect for mocking a disabled New York Times reporter in 2015, and warned that a free press would need to be defended.

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

Conway: What's In Trump's Heart More Important Than What He Says (VIDEO) — Top Donald Trump aide Kellyanne Conway on Monday morning defended Trump's 2015 campaign appearance during which he appeared to mock a disabled reporter. — Conway criticized members of the media for focusing …

Daily Mail:
Trump fires back at Meryl Streep and calls her 'one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Vox Popoli

Joe Concha / The Hill:

Former Obama staffers launching anti-Trump site called ‘Crooked Media’ — Three former staffers to President Obama are launching an anti-Donald Trump — media site called “Crooked Media.” — Tommy Vietor, Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett, who served as spokespeople and speechwriters for Obama …

Discussion: Heat Street

Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:
The ‘Keepin’ it 1600' Guys Launch Crooked Media to Counter Trump

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Peter Hockaday / San Francisco Chronicle:

Historic Pioneer Cabin Tree toppled in California storm — The historic Pioneer Cabin Tree, a former “drive-through” giant sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park in Calaveras County, was felled in California's weekend storms. — The tree was hollowed out in the 1880s to allow tourists …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Guardian, AOL, Associated Press and WTVR-TV

Camila Domonoske / NPR:
Iconic Sequoia ‘Tunnel Tree’ Brought Down By California Storm

Discussion: Gizmodo, Althouse and KTLA

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Rand Paul rolling out ObamaCare replacement this week — (R-Ky.) is pledging to roll out an ObamaCare replacement bill this week as GOP lawmakers rush to nix the healthcare law. — The Kentucky senator argued Monday that the law must be replaced with “real market reforms.”

Discussion: RedState and NBC News

Ashley Feinberg / Gizmodo:

Trump Just Dismissed the People in Charge of Maintaining Our Nuclear Arsenal — Between the Trump transition team's infighting, incompetence, and high-profile resignations, any decisions that signaled even a modicum of stability for the country would come as a relief at this point.

Discussion: Raw Story

Camilla Turner / Telegraph:

University students demand philosophers such as Plato and Kant are removed from syllabus because they are white — They are the said to be the founding fathers of Western philosophy, whose ideas underpin civilised society. — But students at a prestigious London university are demanding …

Discussion: TheBlaze, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Power Line

Jonathan Petre / Daily Mail:
They Kant be serious! PC students demand white philosophers including Plato and Descartes …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

New York Times:

Marches and Identity Politics Are Futile — Angie Morelli, a small business owner in Las Vegas and a student at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, is a Marine Corps veteran and a former delegate for Bernie Sanders at the Democratic convention. — I have been an activist for years.

Salena Zito / Washington Examiner:

Kellyanne Conway unplugged — NEW YORK — Kellyanne Fitzpatrick Conway's life has come full circle. — The little girl from Atco, N.J., raised in a collaborative effort by her mother, a grandmother and two aunts, all living under the same roof, now has her mother living in her home …

Discussion: TheBlaze and Instapundit

Brenda Goh / Reuters:

Chinese state tabloid warns Trump, end one China policy and China will take revenge — State-run Chinese tabloid Global Times sounded a warning to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday only hours after Taiwan's president transited Houston, saying that China would seek to “take revenge” should Trump renege on the one-China policy.

Discussion: CNBC, Ted Cruz, alan.com, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller and Japan Times

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

Obama retools his political operation for post-Trump — Barack Obama doesn't want his post-presidency to be all about Donald Trump, but he knows some of it's going to have to be. — Trump's win upended his plans for life after leaving office, and people who've been talking to him say he's …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Business Insider, AOL and ABC News

Sen. Mitch McConnell / Fox News:

Senate Majority Leader McConnell: ObamaCare failed Americans. Now it's time for relief — By nearly any measure, ObamaCare has failed: It didn't lower costs, it didn't increase choice, middle-class families continue to lose health plans they were promised they could keep, and Americans continue to call for ObamaCare's repeal.

Discussion: The Guardian, Vox, New York Times and The Week

John Bresnahan / Politico:

Democrats demand black lawmakers testify at Sessions hearing — Democratic senators are pushing to let Congressional Black Caucus members testify at the confirmation hearing for Jeff Sessions as attorney general this week — heightening the issue of race in what's already expected to be a contentious nomination battle.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos and New York Times

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:

Trump planning to give Cabinet unusually wide latitude — President-elect Donald Trump plans to give his Cabinet secretaries and top aides significant latitude to run their federal agencies, marking a sharp departure from Barack Obama's tightly controlled management style, according to people involved in and close to the transition.

Discussion: Associated Press

Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
The Note: Welcome to Confirmation Week

Discussion: Hot Air, Associated Press and AOL

Idrees Ali / Reuters:

U.S. says Navy ship fired warning shots at Iranian vessels — A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels after they closed in at a high rate of speed near the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Times of Israel and Instapundit

Andrew Rice / New York Magazine:

Jared Kushner's Rise to Unimaginable Power — Jared Kushner is more like his father-in-law than anyone imagines. — Until very recently, and to all outward appearances, Jared Kushner was just another socially striving young businessman with inoffensively Bloombergian political values.

Discussion: link.axios.com, Talking Points Memo, CNBC and Political Wire

Orlando Sentinel:

Orlando police officer killed, and massive manhunt underway for suspect — A flag-covered coffin being loaded into the back of a van at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Courtesy @orlandopolice. — Privacy Policy — An Orlando police officer was shot and killed this morning on Princeton Street …

Discussion: Townhall.com, The Gateway Pundit, IJR and Associated Press

Donald P. Moynihan / New York Times:

Who's Really Placing Limits on Free Speech? — MADISON, Wis. — At least three times in the past six months, state legislators have threatened to cut the budget of the University of Wisconsin at Madison for teaching about homosexuality, gender and race. As a faculty member who focuses …

Discussion: Althouse

The Hill:

What Trump can accomplish on day one — Judging by his campaign promises, Donald Trump — will be a busy man on his first day in the Oval Office. — Trump has pledged to take sweeping, unilateral actions on Jan. 20 to roll back President Obama's policies and set the course for his administration.