memeorandum: Aetna CEO: Obamacare markets are in a ‘death spiral’ (Paul Demko/Politico)

11:20 AM ET, February 15, 2017

Top Items:

Trump Campaign Aides Had Repeated Contacts With Russian Intelligence — WASHINGTON — Phone records and intercepted calls show that members of Donald J. Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year …

CNN:

Trump aides were in constant touch with senior Russian officials during campaign — Trump campaign aides communicated with Russians — The communications stood out to investigators due to the frequency and the level of the Trump advisers involved — (CNN)High-level advisers close …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Politico, New York Times, The Root, Raw Story, Fox News Insider, NBC News, Washington Times, Axios, The Week, The Guardian, New York Magazine, Refinery29 and Rush

Mike Allen / Axios:

White House staff in “survival mode ... scared to death” — Here's a twist that has top GOP sources buzzing: — On Jan. 26, Sally Yates, then the acting attorney general, tells the White House that national security adviser Mike Flynn — who has just been grilled by FBI agents — had …

Eugene Scott / CNN:
King: Leakers should be ‘purged’ from intelligence community

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Week

John Podhoretz / New York Post:
Why you should fear the leaks that felled Mike Flynn

Discussion: RedState and The Week

Jake Sherman / Politico:

Poll: Trump trails generic Democrat, but not Warren, in 2020 — Donald Trump begins his presidency facing unprecedented polling headwinds: Roughly a quarter of voters think Donald Trump is the worst president in the past century. Forty-three percent of voters are ready to vote …

Discussion: Axios, Red Alert Politics, Mediaite, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, The Week and Morning Consult

Associated Press:

The Latest: Trump denounces ‘Russian connection non-sense’ — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local): — President Donald Trump appears to be faulting the Obama administration for being “too soft” on Russia, pointing to Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine on President Barack Obama's watch.

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

Corker: We Must Address WH Russia Ties So It Doesn't ‘Destabilize’ Country — Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) on Wednesday morning called for Congressional investigations into Michael Flynn and the Trump administration's ties to Russia, warning that failure to address the issue could “destabilize” …

Discussion: The Week

Elana Schor / Politico:
Capitol Hill consumed by reports on Trump-Russia ties

Discussion: New York Times and Joe.My.God.

Washington Post:
Pence remains above the fray, but is he outside the inner circle?

Discussion: Raw Story

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Rand Paul: Flynn probe would be ‘excessive’

Discussion: Vox, ThinkProgress, FOX News Radio, RedState and USA Today

Glenn Greenwald / The Intercept:
The Leakers Who Exposed Gen. Flynn's Lie Committed Serious — and Wholly Justified — Felonies

Kristina Wong / Breitbart:
House Intelligence Committee Chair: Leakers of Flynn Call ‘Belong in Jail’

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Lawfare, New York Times, USA Today, Salon, Washington Free Beacon and Infowars

Washington Post:
Flynn's swift downfall: From a phone call in the Dominican Republic to a forced resignation at the White House

Discussion: Foreign Policy, New York Times, TheBlaze, Raw Story, Daily Kos, CNN, Balloon Juice, The Week, Defense One, AOL, War in Context, Talking Points Memo, NPR, The Atlantic, Hot Air, New York Magazine, CNNMoney, The Nation and The Hill

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:
Rand Paul on Flynn: ‘Makes no sense’ to investigate fellow Republicans

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Times, The Resurgent, Lawyers, Guns & Money and NPR

Jill Lawrence / USA Today:
The Michael Flynn problem starts at the top: Jill Lawrence

Discussion: Washington Post, AOL, The Atlantic and twitchy.com

Daniel Benjamin / Politico:
Who Told Flynn to Call Russia?

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, ThinkProgress and New York Magazine

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times: What Trump Is Doing Is Not O.K.

Dan Rather / Facebook:
Watergate is the biggest political scandal of my lifetime, until maybe now.

Discussion: The Hill and twitchy.com

New York Times:
F.B.I. Interviewed Flynn in Trump's First Days in Office, Officials Say

J.D. Durkin / Mediaite:

Mika Brzezinski Firmly Says Conway Will No Longer Be Booked on Morning Joe: 'She's Not Credible Anymore' — Mika Brzezinski of Morning Joe revealed a tidbit that many may not know about the way Kellyanne Conway gets herself booked onto so many shows on behalf of the administration …

Discussion: twitchy.com and Joe.My.God., more at Mediagazer »

Dylan Byers / CNN:

Sean Spicer isn't finished — Washington (CNN)Sean Spicer has barely moved into his office. — Three weeks after the inauguration, the only things adorning the White House press secretary's shelves are a framed picture of himself at the podium, a book on Naval Special Warfare …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Tasneem Nashrulla / BuzzFeed:
Kellyanne Conway Claims She Doesn't Know Who Retweeted A White Nationalist From Her Twitter Account

Discussion: US News, RedState, The Hill, Media Matters for America, Washington Post, Gizmodo, Mother Jones, Mediaite, AOL, TheBlaze, Raw Story, Towleroad, Washington Monthly, Joe.My.God. and New York Magazine

Hadas Gold / Politico:
Have TV media had their fill of Kellyanne?

Discussion: Vogue, New York Times, Raw Story and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »

Reuters:

U.S. detains Mexican immigrant in Seattle covered by Obama program — U.S. immigration authorities have detained a 23-year-old Mexican man who was brought to the United States illegally as a child and given a work permit during the Obama administration, according to a lawsuit challenging the detention in Seattle federal court.

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, The Week and The Stranger …

Adolfo Flores / BuzzFeed:
A DREAMer Was Arrested During A Raid And Now Immigration Officials Have Been Ordered To Explain Why

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Josh Blackman's Blog

Peter Suderman / Hit & Run:

Major Blow to Obamacare Mandate: IRS Won't Reject Tax Returns That Don't Answer Health Insurance Question — How much difference does a single line on a tax form make? For Obamacare's individual mandate, the answer might be quite a lot. — Following President Donald Trump's executive …

Discussion: RedState, Hot Air, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Washington Times

Paul Demko / Politico:
Aetna CEO: Obamacare markets are in a ‘death spiral’

Discussion: Business Insider

Tami Luhby / CNNMoney:
Humana pulls out of Obamacare for 2018

Discussion: The Resurgent

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

‘This is . . . Nixonian’: Reporter was taped by White House in heated exchange — A top aide to President Trump said she has a recording of a dispute with a White House reporter, and has shared parts of it with journalists. — Omarosa Manigault, a communications official …

Discussion: Mediaite, Althouse, Raw Story, New York Magazine and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Wall Street Journal:

Mike Flynn Is First Casualty of Turmoil in Trump Administration — Senior ranks of the administration are creating headlines of their own as they jockey for power and influence with the president — WASHINGTON—Dining at his oceanside resort in Florida on Friday, President Donald …

Discussion: The Week, Need To Know Network and Axios

Wall Street Journal:
Mike Flynn Was Probed by FBI Over Calls With Russian Official

Discussion: Daily Wire and NPR

Jeff Poor / Breitbart:
Limbaugh on Flynn Resignation: ‘The Question Is What Did Barack Obama Know and When Did He Know It?’

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and BizPac Review

NBC News:

Harrison Ford in Incident With Passenger Plane at California Airport — Actor Harrison Ford was involved in a potentially serious incident Monday in California as he was piloting his private plane, a single-engine Husky, NBC News has learned. — Ford, an experienced pilot who collects vintage planes …

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, NPR, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Mashable, New York's PIX11, TMZ.com, Mediaite, KTLA, The Week, Full Feed, NBC News, Joe.My.God. and Fox News Insider

Thomas E. Ricks / Foreign Policy:

Robert Harward plans a housecleaning of Trump's National Security Council staff — President Donald Trump offered the job of national security advisor to retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward on Monday night, and was a bit surprised when Harward responded by saying he needed a couple of days to think it over.

CNN:

Suspect arrested over death of Kim Jong Un's half-brother — Hong Kong (CNN)A woman has been arrested in connection with the death of Kim Jong Un's half-brother, Malaysian police said. — She was detained Wednesday at Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 carrying a Vietnamese travel document.

Discussion: AOL and Business Insider

Akil Yunus / The Star Online:
Clearer image of Jong-nam's alleged killer caught on CCTV

Discussion: New York Times

Timothy Noah / Politico:

Exclusive: Puzder's ex-wife told Oprah he threatened ‘you will pay for this’ — The ex-wife of President Donald Trump's labor secretary nominee told “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that he “vowed revenge” when she made public spousal abuse allegations, according to a 1990 tape reviewed by POLITICO on Tuesday night.

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, The Week, Hot Air and ThinkProgress

Jason Noble / Des Moines Register:

Iowa Poll: Trump's approval rating is underwater with Iowans — Donald Trump is starting his presidency underwater with Iowans. — Forty-two percent of Iowans approve of the job the newly inaugurated Republican is doing as president, while 49 percent disapprove, according to the latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll.

Discussion: BizPac Review