memeorandum: DeVos says she'll support ‘great’ public schools (Michael Stratford/Politico)

7:45 PM ET, January 17, 2017

Top Items:

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Obama Commutes Bulk of Chelsea Manning's Sentence — WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday largely commuted the remaining prison sentence of Chelsea Manning, the army intelligence analyst convicted of an enormous 2010 leak that revealed American military and diplomatic activities across the world …

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Obama commutes Chelsea Manning's sentence — President Obama on Tuesday commuted the prison sentence of former Army soldier Chelsea Manning, according to the White House. — Manning was convicted in 2013 of leaking classified information about U.S. national security activities that were later disclosed by WikiLeaks.

Discussion: Vox, ABC News, Politico, The Guardian, emptywheel, The Gateway Pundit, The Verge and Washington Free Beacon

Neil Eggleston / Blog Daily Listings RSS:

President Obama Has Now Granted More Commutations than Any President in this Nation's History — Today, 273 individuals learned that the President has given them a second chance. With today's 209 grants of commutation, the President has now commuted the sentences of 1,385 individuals …

Discussion: Mother Jones and Hit & Run

New York Times:
Mr. Obama, Pick Up Your Pardon Pen

Discussion: Politico, Common Dreams, Althouse and Washington Post

Mark Murray / NBC News:

As GOP Pushes Repeal, Obamacare Has Never Been More Popular: NBC News/WSJ poll — As Republicans get closer to repealing it, President Barack Obama's federal health-care law — or Obamacare — has never been more popular, according to results from a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, NPR, NBC News, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider, Vox, Mediaite, Politicus USA, The Week and New York Times

CNN:

CNN/ORC Poll: Confidence drops in Trump transition — Washington (CNN)Donald Trump will become president Friday with an approval rating of just 40%, according to a new CNN/ORC Poll, the lowest of any recent president and 44 points below that of President Barack Obama, the 44th president.

Discussion: neo-neocon, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, The Hill, Mediaite, alan.com, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, The Week, CBS Baltimore, Washington Times and Political Wire

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Poll: Trump will take office as most unpopular president in at least 4 decades

Discussion: CNN, New York Magazine, IJR, Politico, Hot Air, Fox News Insider, New Century Times, The Slot, Common Dreams, Shakesville, New York Times, The Week, The Hill and ABC News

Paulina Firozi / The Hill:
Poll: Obama leaves office with 58 percent favorability

Discussion: Gallup, Politico, alan.com and AOL

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Trump Says The Approval Ratings Polls Are Rigged!

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, FOX News Radio, Business Insider, Politicus USA, RedState, Sputnik International and Political Wire

Gary Langer / ABC News:
Trump Remains Unpopular, With the Presidency in Hand (POLL)

Discussion: zerohedge.com/fullrss2 …, The Hill, Althouse, Washington Monthly, Towleroad, Daily Kos and Common Dreams

CBO's Publications:

How Repealing Portions of the Affordable Care Act Would Affect Health Insurance Coverage and Premiums — CBO reports on the estimated changes in health insurance coverage and premiums that would result from leaving the Affordable Care Act's insurance market reforms in place while repealing the law's mandate penalties and subsidies.

Andrew Prokop / Vox:

CBO report: Obamacare repeal would lead to 32 million more uninsured by 2026 — And it would double insurance premiums in the individual market, a new report says. — Republicans have been getting more and more nervous about repealing Obamacare without having a replacement ready …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, Chris Jacobs on Healthcare, NPR, Politico, CNN and ACASignups.net

Scott Thistle / The Portland Press Herald:

LePage says civil rights icon John Lewis should thank Lincoln for freeing the slaves — During his weekly radio appearance, the governor said that U.S. Rep. John Lewis should also thank presidents Rutherford Hayes and Ulysses Grant. — Listen to Gov. LePage's comments on WVOM.

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, BostonGlobe.com, ThinkProgress, alan.com, The Week and Raw Story

Kayleigh McEnany / The Hill:
John Lewis, Democrats are boycotting America, not inauguration

Discussion: Occupy Democrats

Christopher Cousins / State & Capitol:
LePage: Chellie Pingree should resign, John Lewis should thank white presidents

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite and American Thinker

Elise Viebeck / Washington Post:
Nearly 60 Democratic lawmakers now skipping Trump's inauguration

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:

Former ‘Apprentice’ contestant sues Trump for defamation for denying alleged groping — A former contestant on the reality show “The Apprentice” filed a defamation lawsuit Tuesday against President-elect Donald Trump over his response to her allegations that he groped her during a job interview in 2007.

Discussion: Vox and Politico

Jeremy Stahl / Slate:
The New Trump Defamation Lawsuit Is Daring Trump to Incriminate Himself in Court

Discussion: The Atlantic and New York Times

Michael Stratford / Politico:

DeVos says she'll support ‘great’ public schools — Republican philanthropist and mega-donor Betsy DeVos portrayed herself Tuesday as an advocate for parents who dream of sending their children to schools with “rigor, challenges and safe environments,” if she is confirmed as Donald Trump's Education secretary.

Discussion: ABC News and Common Dreams

Kristina Rizga / Mother Jones:
Betsy DeVos Wants to Use America's Schools to Build “God's Kingdom”

Discussion: The Atlantic, Raw Story, The Guardian, Media Matters for America, NPR, twitchy.com, Washington Post and Politicus USA

Sarah McCammon / NPR:

U.S. Abortion Rate Falls To Lowest Level Since Roe v. Wade — The abortion rate in the United States fell to its lowest level since the historic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalized abortion nationwide, a new report finds. — The report by the Guttmacher Institute …

Discussion: The Guardian, Mediaite, Hot Air, AOL, Common Dreams, NBC News, Washington Free Beacon and KTLA

Guttmacher Institute:
U.S. Abortion Rate Continues to Decline, Hits Historic Low

Discussion: Mother Jones, Rewire, Washington Post, FOX News Radio, LifeNews.com and New York Magazine

Bloomberg:

Putin Says Doesn't Believe Trump Met Prostitutes in Russia — Attacks on Trump seek to undermine election result, Putin says — Unsubstantiated claims are ‘obvious fabrications,’ Putin says — Russian President Vladimir Putin said he doesn't believe that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump met …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Slate, RedState, Politico, The Slot, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, Political Wire and Balloon Juice

Bloomberg:
In Davos, Trump Aide Talks Deals With Sanctioned Kremlin Fund

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

Boom: Trump eyes 10% spending cuts, 20% slash of federal workers — Making good on a promise to slash government, President-elect Trump has asked his incoming team to pursue spending and staffing cuts. — Insiders said that the spending reductions in some departments could go as high …

Discussion: The Daily Signal

Brent Lang / Variety:

Michael Moore on Why Donald Trump Will Build a Wall and Ban Muslims — Michael Moore saw this coming. Last summer, when Hillary Clinton was enjoying a seemingly insurmountable lead over Donald Trump, the documentary filmmaker correctly predicted that the billionaire businessman would capture the White House.

Discussion: Washington Times, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Fox News Insider

Emily Heil / Washington Post:

Hair stylist to Marla Maples: No free services in exchange for Inauguration Day ‘exposure’ — Though Donald Trump and his family project an image of boundless wealth, a Washington-based hairstylist says the president-elect's second wife tried to get out of paying her to style her tresses …

Discussion: alan.com, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, AOL, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

The Alt-Right Comes to Washington — East Lansing, Michigan—Lounging at the back of his tour bus in a parking lot behind the Springhill Suites, Milo Yiannopoulos, the flamboyant right-wing British provocateur known for his bleach-blond frosted tips and relentless campaign against Islam …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Vox Popoli

CNN:

Fort Lauderdale shooter says he carried out attack for ISIS, FBI claims — Fort Lauderdale, Florida (CNN)Esteban Santiago, the man charged with killing five people at the Fort Lauderdale airport, told FBI agents he carried out the attack on behalf of ISIS, FBI special agent Michael Ferlazzo testified at Santiago's bond hearing Tuesday.

Discussion: Sun-Sentinel, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Bearing Arms, The Week, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Hot Air and RedState

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

‘Shattered’ to tell story of Clinton's failed presidential bid — Crown will release a new book about Hillary Clinton — 's failed bid for the White House on April 18 co-authored by The Hill's White House correspondent Amie Parnes. — “Shattered” is a follow-up to 'HRC …

Discussion: RedState

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:

‘He Is Going to Test Our Democracy as It Has Never Been Tested’ — Sometime early last fall, John Dean says he began having nightmares about a Trump presidency. He would wake in the middle of the night, agitated and alarmed, struggling to calm his nerves.

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Andrew Malcolm / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Disregard all those farewells: Obama isn't really leaving — Donald Trump will give his closely watched inaugural address this week. It will be a great one. Trust him. Fantastic, even. Possibly beyond belief. Because he's a great speech-giver. Everyone knows that. He does, too.

Discussion: Hot Air