memeorandum: GOP leaders pile on sweeteners to sell Obamacare repeal (Josh Dawsey/Politico)

8:50 PM ET, March 20, 2017

Top Items:

President Trump faces his hardest truth: He was wrong — On the 60th day of his presidency came the hardest truth for Donald Trump. — He was wrong. — James B. Comey Jr. — the FBI director whom Trump celebrated on the campaign trail as a gutsy and honorable “Crooked Hillary” …

New York Times:

Comey Confirms F.B.I. Inquiry on Russia; Sees No Evidence of Wiretapping — The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, publicly confirmed an investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election and whether associates of the president were in contact with Moscow.

Louis Nelson / Politico:

Spicer digs in after FBI confirms Russia probe — The mere presence of an investigation into ties between the presidential campaign of Donald Trump and the Russian government does not indicate that such connections actually exist, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday …

Discussion: Associated Press and Daily Kos

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

Roger Stone responds to Comey hearing, denies claims of Russia collusion — “Chairman Schiff is engaging in the worst kind of red baiting, fear mongering, it's the new McCarthyism, and it's mudslinging,” Stone said. — (CNN)In a radio interview Monday, Roger Stone said that mentions …

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo and Axios

New York Times:
F.B.I. Is Investigating Trump's Russia Ties, Comey Confirms

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, Jamie Dupree, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Raw Story, Washington Monthly, Deadline, The Daily Signal, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, IJR, Mashable, Political Wire and Mother Jones

Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Mook: Trump aides ‘should be prosecuted for treason’ if they conspired with Russia

Discussion: Raw Story and Politicus USA

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
Clinton camp unloads on Comey

Discussion: RedState

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Comey: ‘No Information’ To Back Trump's Claim Obama Wiretapped Him

Martin Matishak / Politico:
Roger Stone takes center stage as Congress lines up Russia probe witnesses

Discussion: CNN, NBC News, Business Insider and Raw Story

Peter Hasson / The Daily Caller:

The Blaze Suspends Tomi Lahren — Conservative media company The Blaze has suspended political commentator Tomi Lahren, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Daily Caller. — Lahren's show is suspended for effect for at least one week starting Monday, according to TheDC's sources.

Discussion: Glenn Beck, Raw Story, The Federalist, Hot Air, Daily Wire, Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit, New York Magazine, Heat Street, Mediaite, The Resurgent, Business Insider, TVNewser, Axios, twitchy.com and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

Andrew Kirell / The Daily Beast:
Glenn Beck Publicly Battles Tomi Lahren, His Most Famous Employee

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Hit & Run and The Daily Caller

Arnie Seipel / NPR:

Amid Charges By Former Law Student On Gender Equality, Former Clerks Defend Gorsuch — Editors' note 12:55 p.m. ET: Since this story was first published, we have added material from another former student and former law clerks of Gorsuch, as well as more information about Jennifer Sisk's political affiliations.

NBC News:

Here's Judge Gorsuch's Full Opening Statement — Full Video: Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch's Opening Statement 16:47 — The text of Judge Neil Gorsuch's opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee as prepared for delivery. — Mr. Chairman, Sen. Feinstein, Members of the Committee:

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Hot Air, ERIC POSNER and Denver Post

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch faces extraordinary sexism allegation from former student

Discussion: Shareblue, Mother Jones, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Shakesville, NWLC, The Daily Signal, Washington Free Beacon and Washington Monthly

New York Times:
Six Highlights From the Gorsuch Confirmation Hearing

Discussion: Bloomberg, NBC News, New Republic, New York Magazine, NPR, The Daily Signal, Fox News, Fox News Insider, Economist, SCOTUSblog, Daily Wire, Raw Story, FOX31 Denver, Denver Post, Political Wire, Take Care Blog and Politico

Ariane de Vogue / CNN:
Neil Gorsuch on the issues

Discussion: FOX31 Denver, KFOR-TV, Raw Story and IJR

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

GOP leaders pile on sweeteners to sell Obamacare repeal — House Republican leaders are poised to release Monday evening an expansive series of changes to their Obamacare repeal bill in a last-ditch attempt to win enough support to get the bill passed. — Requested by President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Vox, Business Insider and Axios

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine: The Republican Health-Care Plan Has Disappeared Again

Jacob Gardenswartz / Vox:
Every House Republican who could sink the GOP health care bill

Discussion: Politico

Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:

Fox News pulls Judge Napolitano over his Trump wiretap claims — Judge Andrew Napolitano, the senior judicial analyst for Fox News, is being kept off the air indefinitely. (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images) — Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano is being kept off …

Discussion: Mediaite and twitchy.com

Media Matters for America:

The Bigotry And Idiocy Of Donald Trump's Favorite News Show — “For the record,” a top Fox News executive explained to the network's newsroom a decade ago, “seeing an item on a website does not mean it is right. Nor does it mean it is ready for air on FNC.”

Discussion: The Guardian and The Hill

Annie Karni / Politico:

Ivanka Trump set to get West Wing office as role expands — Ivanka Trump, who moved to Washington, D.C., saying she would play no formal role in her father's administration, is now officially setting up shop in the White House. — The powerful first daughter has secured her own office …

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, Business Insider, Occupy Democrats, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Mediaite, NBC News and Axios

Jon Ostrower / CNNMoney:

Electronics banned from cabins on some Middle Eastern and African flights to U.S. — Airlines that fly from certain countries in the Middle East and Africa to the U.S. must require passengers to check in almost all electronic devices rather than carry them into the cabin, said a U.S. official.

Discussion: The Guardian, Business Insider and TheBlaze, more at Techmeme »

Jon Fingas / Engadget:
US temporarily bans most electronics on Middle Eastern airlines

Discussion: RedState, The Stranger …, NBC News and The Verge

Melanie Zanona / The Hill:
Feds temporarily ban electronics on certain flights to US

Discussion: NBC News and The Daily Caller

Jonathan O'Connell / Washington Post:

Trump drops 208 spots on Forbes list of billionaires — Donald Trump is $1 billion poorer since becoming president, according to Forbes's latest list of the world's billionaires. — The magazine's newest ranking, released Monday, estimated that Trump's net worth has fallen from $4.5 billion …

Discussion: Forbes and CNBC

Rupert Neate Wealth / The Guardian:
Forbes billionaire list: Trump loses $1bn as elite club gets 233 new members

Discussion: Occupy Democrats and AOL

Erica Orden / Wall Street Journal:

New York Attorney General Steps Up Scrutiny of White House — Eric Schneiderman hires a public-corruption prosecutor to target the Trump administration — New York state's attorney general, to date one of the most vocal antagonists of President Donald Trump, is preparing to escalate …

Discussion: Liberal Values, ThinkProgress, Occupy Democrats, New York Magazine, Raw Story and Political Wire

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
NY attorney general hires prosecutor likely to target Trump administration: report

Discussion: Hullabaloo and The Daily Caller

Avi Selk / Washington Post:

Trump wants to defund PBS. ‘Sesame Street’ brutally parodied him for decades. — You should know a couple of things before we embark on a recap of “Sesame Street's” surprisingly vicious takedowns of Donald Trump, which span three decades leading up to his political rise.

Discussion: Mashable

Frank Rich / New York Magazine:

The Trump Voters Who Don't Deserve Democrats' Sympathy — Democrats need to stop trying to feel everyone's pain, and hold on to their own anger. — On the morning after, traumatized liberals set out hunting for answers as if Election Day were 9/11 all over again.

Discussion: Washington Post, Power Line and Hullabaloo

Pew Research Center:

A wider partisan and ideological gap between younger, older generations — The generation gap in American politics is dividing two younger age groups, Millennials and Generation X, from the two older groups, Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation. — In 2016, as in recent years …

Discussion: Washington Post

TMZ.com:

Huma Abedin and Tony Goldwyn Do Disneyland Together (PHOTO GALLERY + VIDEO) — Huma Abedin's hanging out with the president — not the one she was hoping to be with, but a day at Disneyland with Tony Goldwyn from “Scandal” is a damn good plan B. — Hillary Clinton's right-hand woman hit Disney …

Discussion: Heat Street and New York Magazine

zpolitics:

Exclusive poll: Ossoff strengthens his lead, GOP candidates battle for runoff — With just less than 30 days until the special election to replace Tom Price, an exclusive new poll from zpolitics and Clout Research has found that Democrat Jon Ossoff is greatly solidifying his base of support.

Discussion: Political Wire, Political Insider blog, Daily Kos and rubber hose

Rolando Pujol / New York's PIX11:

EXCLUSIVE: 9/11 families sue Saudi Arabia, accuse the U.S. ally of complicity in the terrorist attacks — NEW YORK — In a stunning lawsuit seeking to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for 9/11, the families of 800 victims have filed a lawsuit accusing the Saudis of complicity in the worst terror attacks on American soil.

Discussion: New York Magazine