memeorandum: U.S. Travel Restrictions Would Damage 2026 World Cup Bid, UEFA President Says (Rory Smith/New York Times)

9:25 AM ET, February 27, 2017

Top Items:

GOP's New Plan to Repeal Obamacare: Dare Fellow Republicans to Block Effort — GOP lawmakers gamble that setting bill in motion to strike Affordable Care Act will help break through intraparty disagreements — WASHINGTON—Republican leaders are betting that the only way for Congress …

Discussion: CBS News, Axios and New York Magazine

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

A divided White House still offers little guidance on replacing Obamacare — A meeting Friday afternoon between President Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, his former rival in the GOP primaries, had no set agenda. But Kasich came armed with one anyway: his hope to blunt drastic changes …

Discussion: Politicus USA and Vox

Oren Cass / National Review:

No, Obamacare Has Not Saved American Lives — The arguments of the law's defenders don't stand up to scrutiny. — Repealing the Affordable Care Act, Democrats say, will “make America sick again.” Bernie Sanders warns “36,000 people will die yearly as a result.”

Discussion: Instapundit

Axios:

Exclusive: Spicer arranged CIA, GOP intelligence push-back — White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer personally picked up the phone and connected outside officials with reporters to try to discredit a New York Times article about Trump campaign aides' contact with Russia …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Raw Story, The Week, Washington Post, The Guardian, Politico and NBC News, more at Mediagazer »

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

Claim: Reporter laughs at Trump aide's emotion over SEAL death — A Sunday Politico story about President Trump's press secretary cracking down on media leaks included a claim that the top-ranked woman in the White House communications office cried in frustration.

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

The DNC isn't enough: Democrats demand more leadership changes — ATLANTA — The race for the Democratic National Committee leadership is over, resolved with a Tom Perez chairmanship and a deputy role for Keith Ellison that momentarily quelled even the angriest Bernie Sanders-wing protesters in the room.

Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
The Note: GOP congressman calls for special prosecutor for Trump-Russia

Discussion: Political Wire

Matt Bruenig:
Be clear about what happened to Keith Ellison

Discussion: Washington Post and Vox

Megan Garvey / Los Angeles Times:

Correction: ‘Moonlight’ wins best picture. ‘La La Land’ was read in error — In a moment that will go down as one of the strangest and most shocking in Oscar history, “Moonlight” was named Oscar winner for best picture only after “La La Land” was announced first. — The room was in disarray as they sorted out the error.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and Balloon Juice

Michael Rothman / ABC News:

‘Moonlight’ wins best picture after ‘La La Land’ mistakenly announced — “Moonlight” won best picture at the 2017 Oscars after “La La Land” was at first mistakenly announced as the winner. — The award's presenters read “La La Land” right after Emma Stone won best actress for her role in the modern-day musical.

Benny Johnson / IJR:

Inside Trump's Secret Dinner: A Side of the President You Don't Ever See — The animosity between the press and President Trump has reached a fever pitch in recent days. Much of the grudge match stems from access, or lack thereof, between the President and the press.

Discussion: AMERICAN DIGEST and twitchy.com

Patrick J. McDonnell / Los Angeles Times:

On the other side of the wall: Mexicans on the border are ‘psychologically traumatized’ — Where the 15-foot steel border fence ends, a barrier made of old locomotive rails and barbed wire begins between Arizona and Mexico. Police from Nogales, Mexico, often respond to incidents along this stretch of the border.

Discussion: The Week

Molly O'Toole / Foreign Policy:
Trump Administration Seeks to Loosen Hiring Requirements to Beef Up Border Patrol

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Guardian and New York Times

Monica Davey / New York Times:

He's a Local Pillar in a Trump Town. Now He Could Be Deported. — WEST FRANKFORT, Ill. — Ask residents of this coal-mining crossroads about President Trump's decision to crack down on undocumented immigrants and most offer no protest. Mr. Trump, who easily won this mostly white southern Illinois county …

Discussion: Raw Story

Philly.com:

‘Beyond belief’: 75-100 headstones toppled at Jewish cemetery — Stacy Silver prayed as she drove with her husband to Mount Carmel Cemetery in Philadelphia's Wissinoming section Sunday: Please don't let my mother and great-grandmother be among the victims. — When Silver, 50, of Cherry Hill …

Discussion: The Week, New York Times, Washington Post, New York Magazine and NBC New York

6abc.com:
Dozens of headstones damaged at Philadelphia Jewish cemetery

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Balloon Juice, Talking Points Memo and ThinkProgress

Alissa J. Rubin / New York Times:

Geert Wilders, Reclusive Provocateur, Rises Before Dutch Vote — SPIJKENISSE, the Netherlands — He wants to end immigration from Muslim countries, tax head scarves and ban the Quran. He is partly of Indonesian heritage, and dyes his hair bright blond. He is omnipresent on social media …

Lorne Cook / Associated Press:
EU lawmakers, in unusual move, pull the plug on racist talk

Discussion: Hot Air and The Daily Caller

Stu Woo / Wall Street Journal:

Supersmart Robots Will Outnumber Humans Within 30 Years, Says SoftBank CEO — Futuristic forecast spurs investment wave from Japanese telecommunications giant — BARCELONA—Within 30 years, artificial intelligence will be smarter than the human brain. — That is according to Masayoshi Son …

Discussion: Instapundit

New York Times:

Trump to Ask for Sharp Increases in Military Spending, Officials Say — WASHINGTON — President Trump will instruct federal agencies on Monday to assemble a budget for the coming fiscal year that would include sharp increases in Defense Department spending; major cuts to other agencies …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Fox News, The Atlantic, Politico, KTLA and Mother Jones

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:

Trump, Archenemy of Truth — Donald Trump's unrelenting assault on the media is in fact an assault on the implacability of truth, the notion of accountability and the power of free speech. It is also a bit of a bow to the conspiracy theorizing that Trump is wont to do.

Discussion: Raw Story

Kent Babb / Washington Post:

Transgender wrestler Mack Beggs identifies as a male. He just won the Texas state girls title. — CYPRESS, Tex. — Booed and bloody, Mack Beggs dropped to his knees to celebrate. He was, after four wins and two days and all the rest, a state champion. — In a 12-2 victory …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Off the Kuff and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Michael Florek / Dallas Morning News:
Transgender wrestler Mack Beggs ended contentious weekend with state title, but the controversy isn't going anywhere

Discussion: NBC News, Hot Air, The Guardian and Reuters

Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:

These Iowans voted for Trump. Many of them are already disappointed. — CLINTON, Iowa — Tom Godat, a union electrician who has always voted for Democrats, cast his ballot for Donald Trump last year as “the lesser of two evils” compared to Hillary Clinton. — He's already a little embarrassed about it.

Discussion: NBC News

Mike Parker / Daily Express:

OJ Simpson set to walk free 24 years early to enjoy pension millions — DISGRACED former American football star OJ Simpson is set to walk free from prison exactly nine years into his 33-year sentence. — A parole board hearing scheduled for the week beginning July 3 - six days before his 70th birthday …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Damian J. Penny