memeorandum: Nuking The Filibuster May Hurt Republicans In The Long Run (Nate Silver/FiveThirtyEight)

12:35 AM ET, April 7, 2017

Top Items:

U.S. Launches Missiles at Syrian Base After Chemical Weapons Attack — The United States launched dozens of cruise missiles Thursday night at a Syrian airfield in response to what it believes was the Syrian government's use of banned chemical weapons blamed for having killed at least 100 people on Tuesday …

Discussion: RedState, Little Green Footballs, BuzzFeed, NBC News, Taylor Marsh, Power Line, The Gateway Pundit, The Concourse, Hit & Run, Refinery29, Politicus USA, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and KFOR-TV

Matthew Cole / The Intercept:

U.S. WEIGHS “SATURATION STRIKE” AGAINST SYRIAN GOVERNMENT IN RESPONSE TO CHEMICAL ATTACK — The Pentagon has developed plans for an airstrike against Syrian government targets in response to this week's apparent chemical attack by Syrian government forces, according to two U.S. military officials.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Raw Story, Occupy Democrats, New York Magazine, Axios and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:

U.S. Said to Weigh Military Responses to Syrian Chemical Attack — WASHINGTON — Senior Defense Department officials are developing options for a military strike in response to the Syrian government's chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians on Tuesday, officials said on Thursday.

Discussion: The Atlantic, BuzzFeed, Reuters, Lawfare, The Daily Caller, NewsHounds blog, Business Insider, Infowars, Common Dreams, Shareblue, IJR, Daily Kos, The Concourse, Mediaite and Political Wire

Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:

Why the Navy's Tomahawk missiles were the weapon of choice in strikes in Syria — The U.S. Navy launched more than 50 Tomahawk missiles early Friday at military targets in Syria in response to a chemical-weapons attack this week on civilians, relying on a mainstay weapon when the Pentagon wants to attack from a safe distance.

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Daily Caller and Business Insider

CNN:

Trump launches military strike against Syria — (CNN)The United States launched a military strike Thursday on a Syrian government target in retaliation for their chemical weapons attack on civilians earlier in the week. — On President Donald Trump's orders, US warships launched between …

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, The Nation, Vocativ, USA Today, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, KTLA, The Slot, TheBlaze, ABC News, Business Insider, Infowars and Dispatches From the …

CBS News:

Watch Live: Trump orders airstrikes on Syria — BREAKING NEWS: The U.S. launched cruise missiles against a Syrian regime target in retaliation for a chemical attack. — In a televised statement, Mr. Trump said he authorized the airstrikes because “it is in the vital …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, RedState, Los Angeles Times, WREG-TV, The National Interest, CNN, Associated Press, CBS Pittsburgh, twitchy.com, Hot Air, CBS New York and CBS Boston

Washington Post:

Trump weighing military options following chemical weapons attack in Syria — The Trump administration is weighing military retaliation against the Syrian government following a chemical attack Tuesday that killed scores of civilians, but it is complicated by the presence of Russian forces …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Atlantic, Washington Free Beacon, National Review, The Root, Snopes.com, The White House and CNN

Barbara Goldberg / Reuters:

Hillary Clinton calls for U.S. to bomb Syrian air fields — In her first interview since her stunning presidential election defeat by Republican rival Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton on Thursday called for the United States to bomb Syrian air fields. — Clinton, in an interview at the Women …

Discussion: Mediaite

CNN:
Hillary Clinton: US should ‘take out’ Assad's air fields

Discussion: twitchy.com

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Tillerson: ‘No role’ for Assad in governing Syria

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, Infowars and The Atlantic

Sean Davis / The Federalist:
So You Want To Go To War In Syria To Depose Assad. Can You Answer These 14 Questions First?

Discussion: Defense One, Lawfare and Hot Air

Everett Rosenfeld / CNBC:
The US warned the Russians ahead of Syria missile strikes: Official

Discussion: Daily Wire and IJR

CNN:
Trump considering options for Syria retaliation, source says

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, Patterico's Pontifications, Business Insider, Hot Air, TheBlaze, Daily Wire, New York Magazine, Vox, Vocativ, The Atlantic, The Week, IJR and Axios

Adam Kelsey / ABC News:
Hillary Clinton calls for strikes against Syrian airfields

Discussion: The Guardian, Shadowproof and Washington Post

Courtney Kube / NBC News:
Defense Sec Mattis to Brief President Trump on Military Options in Syria

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Times, CNBC, RedState, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Politico and NBC News

Tom Vanden Brook / USA Today:
U.S. launches cruise missile strike on Syria after chemical weapons attack

Discussion: Vox, ThinkProgress, RedState, Washington Examiner, France 24, Mediaite, The Atlantic, Instapundit and Vocativ

Reuters:
Escalating U.S. role in Syria, Trump orders strikes on Assad airbase

Discussion: Towleroad and The Daily Caller

Everett Rosenfeld / CNBC:
US military has launched more than 50 missiles aimed at Syria: NBC News

Discussion: RedState, The Daily Signal, The Gateway Pundit and vice

Fox News:
US launches missiles into Syria in response to chemical weapons attack

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Last Tradition, Viking Pundit and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:
Banned Nerve Agent Sarin Used in Syria Chemical Attack, Turkey Says

Discussion: Vox, Financial Times, CNN, Hit & Run, WTVR-TV, FOX6Now.com and The Atlantic

Tracy Wilkinson / Los Angeles Times:
U.S. has ‘no doubt’ Syrian President Bashar Assad ordered gas attack, Secretary of State Tillerson says

Discussion: Business Insider and IJR

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:

Steve Bannon Calls Jared Kushner a ‘Cuck’ and ‘Globalist’ Behind His Back — Donald Trump's chief strategist Stephen Bannon has called the president's senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner a “cuck” and a “globalist” during a time of high tension between the two top aides …

Washington Post:

Bannon wants a war on Washington. Now he's part of one inside the White House. — Stephen K. Bannon — the combative architect of the nationalistic strategy that delivered President Trump to the White House — now finds himself losing ground in an internecine battle within the West Wing …

Discussion: Lawfare

Axios:
Bannon to associates: “I love a gunfight”

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, Media Matters for America, Politico, The Times of Israel, Raw Story, Hullabaloo and IJR

Eamon Javers / CNBC:
Bannon attended National Security Council meeting after his removal from top committee

Discussion: Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Bannon ready for White House ‘gunfight’: report

Discussion: Politico and BillMoyers.com

Rosie Gray / The Atlantic:
Kushner and Bannon Battle for the Soul of the Trump White House

Discussion: Axios, Hot Air, Occupy Democrats, Dispatches From the …, Breitbart, The Guardian, NPR, Daily Kos and Fox News

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Nuking The Filibuster May Hurt Republicans In The Long Run — The Supreme Court filibuster just died. Having failed to break a Democratic filibuster on the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, Republicans voted 52-48 to invoke the so-called nuclear option …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, RedState, Sputnik International, New York Times, NPR and Washington Free Beacon

Ari Berman / The Nation:
The GOP Has Declared War on Democracy

Discussion: Common Dreams

Bob Dole / Washington Post:
Bob Dole and Trent Lott: The Senate has changed. It's time to use the nuclear option.

Discussion: Townhall.com, The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:
Senate Republicans Deploy ‘Nuclear Option’ to Clear Path for Gorsuch

Discussion: Politico, IJR, Washington Free Beacon, Outside the Beltway, Power Line, Shakesville, TheBlaze, Political Wire and Taylor Marsh

Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:

C.I.A. Had Evidence of Russian Effort to Help Trump Earlier Than Believed — WASHINGTON — The C.I.A. told senior lawmakers in classified briefings last summer that it had information indicating that Russia was working to help elect Donald J. Trump president, a finding that did not emerge publicly until …

Discussion: Political Wire and Daily Kos

New York Times:

Kushner Omitted Meeting With Russians on Security Clearance Forms — When Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, sought the top-secret security clearance that would give him access to some of the nation's most closely guarded secrets, he was required to disclose …

Discussion: The Slot

David Ingram / Reuters:

Twitter refuses U.S. order to disclose user behind anti-Trump account — Twitter Inc on Thursday refused to reveal the user behind an account opposed to President Donald Trump's tough immigration policies and said it was challenging the demand for records by the U.S. government in court, according to a lawsuit.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, Occupy Democrats, Snopes.com and TheBlaze, more at Mediagazer »

Kartikay Mehrotra / Bloomberg:
Trump Bid to Unmask @Alt Critic User Met by Twitter Lawsuit

Discussion: The Week

Sam Biddle / The Intercept:
The U.S. Government Is Trying to Unmask an Anonymous Anti-Trump Twitter Account

Discussion: Refinery29, Liberal Values and Gizmodo

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:

Senator Mitt Romney? — Republican leaders and high-powered donors in Utah are waging a quiet but concerted campaign to convince 83-year-old incumbent Senator Orrin Hatch not to seek reelection next year—and now, they may have found a successor. Mitt Romney, the one-time presidential nominee …

Discussion: fox13now.com, RedState, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA and Axios

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

Clinton: ‘Misogyny played a role’ in 2016 … Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton — said on Thursday that misogyny “played a role” her 2016 defeat. — “Certainly, misogyny played a role,” Clinton said at the Women of the World Summit in New York. “I mean, that just has to be admitted.

Discussion: Breitbart, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire, twitchy.com, Hot Air, Mediaite and Mashable

Yahoo: Misogyny ‘played role’ in election loss: Clinton

Niamh McIntyre / The Independent:

Donald Trump's travel expenses in 10 weeks cost US taxpayers as much as Barack Obama spent in two years — US President has spent seven weekends at Mar-a-Lago since taking office 10 weeks ago — Donald Trump's trips to his luxury Florida resort have already cost the US taxpayer at least $24 million …

New York Times:

Preet Bharara Links Firing to Trump Team's ‘Helter-Skelter Incompetence’ — Nearly a month after he was fired by the Trump administration, Preet Bharara, the former United States attorney in Manhattan, remains mystified by the circumstances of his ouster, saying he had never been told …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Raw Story and Business Insider

NEWS.com.au:

North Korea vows ‘most ruthless blow’ on United States after Donald Trump pledges to build up defences against Pyongyang — NORTH Korea is ready to deliver the “most ruthless blow” if provoked by the United States, its ambassador to Moscow said overnight, after US President Donald Trump pledged …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Mattie Kahn / ELLE:

Shonda Rhimes Has Never Been Afraid to Tell Abortion Stories. Now She's Joining the Board of Planned Parenthood — Shonda Rhimes isn't a doctor. She doesn't even play one on TV (though, at this point, she probably knows more about obscure diseases than your internist).