memeorandum: United passenger David Dao says he's still in the hospital (Matt Pearce/Los Angeles Times)

6:45 PM ET, April 11, 2017

Top Items:

United passenger David Dao says he's still in the hospital — This image made from a video provided by Audra D. Bridges shows David Dao, the passenger who was forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight in Chicago on Sunday. (Associated Press) — David Dao, a Kentucky physician …

Avi Selk / Washington Post:

United CEO, facing boycott calls, defends booting passenger so crew could take his seat — United Airlines' chief executive is defending his employees after a passenger who refused to give up his plane seat to a crew member was pulled screaming into the aisle by security, battered …

Daily Mail:

PICTURED: The internal medicine specialist father-of-five who was beaten and dragged off an overbooked United flight as CEO pens ‘tone deaf’ email DEFENDING staff — The 69-year-old Vietnamese-American is married to a pediatrician who has a clinic in Elizabethtown, Kentucky - about 40 miles south of Louisville

Discussion: New York Post, Heavy.com, Washington Times, Hollywood Life, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., View from the Wing, TMZ.com, IJR and AOL

USA Today:

United Airlines CEO doubles down, says employees followed procedures, flier was ‘belligerent’ — LOUISVILLE — The intense firestorm roaring against United Airlines and its unrepentant CEO raged on Tuesday after his letter to the airline's employees lauded the behavior of the flight's crew when a …

Discussion: CNBC, Associated Press, Hit & Run, CNN, Above the Law, Refinery29, CBS Chicago, IJR, AOL, The Federalist, twitchy.com and Chicago Tribune, more at Mediagazer »

David Lazarus / Los Angeles Times:

Column United passenger threatened with handcuffs to make room for ‘higher-priority’ traveler — Geoff Fearns, an Irvine investment manager, was threatened with being handcuffed when he refused to vacate his first-class seat on a United flight to Los Angeles. (Valerie Fearns)

Discussion: CBS Boston, New York Magazine, IJR and East Bay Times

Melanie Zanona / The Hill:
Petition calls for United CEO to resign after passenger dragged off flight

Discussion: Axios, ABC News, Politico, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

Justin Bachman / Bloomberg:
United Airlines Tumbles After Social-Media Storm Goes Global

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Victor Reklaitis / MarketWatch:
United's stock is falling 3.1% and wiping $700million off the airline's market cap

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, BGR, Heat Street and Patterico's Pontifications

Madeline Conway / Politico:

Spicer under fire for claiming Hitler didn't use chemical weapons — White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday again found himself in hot water, after ham-handedly claiming that Adolf Hitler did not use chemical weapons, seemingly minimizing the atrocities of the Holocaust.

Discussion: ABC News, No More Mister Nice Blog, Axios and Balloon Juice

Alexander Smith / NBC News:

Eric Trump Says Syria Strike Was Swayed By ‘Heartbroken’ Ivanka — Donald Trump's decision to bomb Syria was influenced by his daughter, Ivanka, being “heartbroken and outraged” at the country's alleged chemical weapons attack, one of the president's sons told a British newspaper.

Discussion: Salon, Business Insider, Joe.My.God., Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Hot Air, Daily Wire, Politicus USA, Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Politico, The Daily Caller, Infowars, The Gateway Pundit, Balloon Juice, Political Wire and Axios

Simon Johnson / Telegraph:

Ivanka Trump encouraged my father to launch air strikes against Assad in Syria after chemical weapons attack, says Eric Trump — Eric Trump has said he is “sure” his sister Ivanka used her influence over their father to encourage the US president to launch military action against Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

Discussion: Mother Jones, CNN, Business Insider, Washington Post, Hot Air, Washington Examiner, The Atlantic, Sputnik International, IJR, ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, KTLA, RedState, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, RT, Raw Story and CNBC

CNN:

Spicer: Hitler ‘was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing’ — (CNN)White House press secretary Sean Spicer, in an effort to shame Russia's alliance with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his use of chemical weapons, said Tuesday Adolf Hitler …

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, RT, New York Magazine, The Root, Mediaite, NPR, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, NBC News, Joe.My.God., TVNewser, Washington Free Beacon and Refinery29, more at Mediagazer »

Joy Lee / Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi:

Pelosi Statement on White House Press Secretary's Statements on Holocaust — Washington, D.C. - Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's statements regarding the Holocaust: — “While Jewish families across America celebrate Passover …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, The Federalist, The Guardian, twitchy.com, Mediaite and CBS Pittsburgh

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Putin: US plans to fake chemical weapons in Syria

Discussion: Politico, CNN, RedState, Reuters and ABC News

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: Reflexive partisanship drives polling lurch on Syria strikes

Discussion: New Republic, al.com, Daily Wire, Politico, New York Magazine, Friendly Atheist, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air and Latest from Crooks and Liars

Nick Giampia / Fox Business:
Assad is Worse Than Hitler: Syrian Chemical Weapon Survivor

Discussion: Washington Post

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Sean Spicer Draws Backlash by Comparing Hitler and Assad

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Media Matters for America, CBS San Francisco, FOX6Now.com, Mediaite, Raw Story, KTLA, CBS New York, Washington Times, The Slot, Mashable and The Daily Caller

New York Times:
On Trump's Syria Strategy, One Voice Is Missing: Trump's

Discussion: The Atlantic, NPR, Vox, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Infowars, Just Security, Politicus USA and New York Magazine

Jim O’Sullivan / BostonGlobe.com:

Remember Mitt Romney's ‘binders full of women?’ They're real. And we got them. — In the world of important political documents — from the Magna Carta to the Pentagon Papers — there are also those known for more pedestrian reasons. Count Mitt Romney's “binders full of women” in that category.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Associated Press, IJR, Washington Post, National Review, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine and Axios

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / New York Times:

The Latest Test for the White House? Pulling Off Its Easter Egg Roll — WASHINGTON — President Trump received an urgent warning in February, informing him of a crucial date he was about to miss. — “FYI manufacturing deadlines for the Easter eggs are near,” said a Twitter post directed at Mr. Trump …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Progress Pond, Mashable, New York Magazine, Raw Story, AOL, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, Heat Street, The Slot and twitchy.com

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:

What Reset? White House to Call Out Russia's Fake News on Syria — President Donald Trump's Russian reset is in big trouble. — That's one message of a four-page dossier on the Syrian government's April 4 chemical weapons attack that killed up to 100 people and injured many more.

Discussion: Hot Air

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / New York Times:
White House Accuses Russia of Cover-up in Syria Chemical Attack

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, UPI, IJR, Mediaite and Associated Press

Eliza Collins / USA Today:

Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows pursues health care deal with Speaker Ryan — HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — Rep. Mark Meadows intends to deliver an Obamacare repeal and replacement plan to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on Tuesday that would leave in place the existing law's mandates …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Political Wire and Axios

Jessie Hellmann / The Hill:
Freedom Caucus chair: Deal ‘close’ on ObamaCare repeal

Discussion: Daily Kos, Hot Air, Infowars and Washington Post

Maya T. Prabhu / Post and Courier:

Attendees chant ‘you lie’ at U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson during Graniteville town hall … GRANITEVILLE — U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson received some protests Monday like other Republican congressmen nationwide during town halls this year, getting drowned out at times with loud boos and receiving 30 seconds of “You Lie” chants.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Fox News Insider, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times and Balloon Juice

Ben Billmyer / Associated Press:
Town hall meeting erupts into shouts, boos as Congressman Joe Wilson addresses healthcare repeal

Discussion: Shareblue and Common Dreams

Jacqueline Alemany / CBS News:

Pennsylvania congressman to be named drug czar by Trump — Pennsylvania Congressman Tom Marino is expected to step down from his seat to take on a new role in the Trump administration. Multiple sources tell CBS News that Marino will head up the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), assuming the informal title of drug czar.

Discussion: Washington Post, STAT and Hit & Run

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:

Schumer: If Trump doesn't release his tax returns, 'it's going to make tax reform much harder' — Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) is warning that President Trump needs to release his personal tax returns if he hopes to achieve comprehensive tax reform in the coming months.

Discussion: New York Post, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, ABC News, RT, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, New York Times, Daily Kos and rubber hose

Reuters:
Exclusive: North Korean ships head home after China orders coal returned

Discussion: Axios, The Huffington Post, FITSNews and Hot Air

New York Times:

Think New York Transit Is Bad? Just Wait — In the past few weeks, commuters in New York and New Jersey have been dealing with the chaos caused by the derailments of an Amtrak train and a New Jersey Transit train in New York's Penn Station. While the accidents themselves were minor …

Alan Gomez / USA Today:

Errors prompt Trump to halt reports shaming ‘sanctuary cities’ — After just three weeks, the Trump administration has stopped publishing a weekly report designed to publicly shame “sanctuary cities” that fail to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts after local police agencies complained …

William McGurn / Wall Street Journal:

The Silencing of Heather Mac Donald — Lofty college statements on free speech are worthless without enforcement. — No one who knows her could ever describe Heather Mac Donald as a victim. — Still, last Thursday night the Manhattan Institute scholar became the latest target of the latter …

Discussion: American Power, ProfessorBainbridge.com and National Review

Bloomberg:

Tillerson Asks Why U.S. Taxpayers Should Care About Ukraine — Offhand remark an unexpected moment as foreign ministers meet — Top diplomat still finding footing in protocol-rich meetings — With one offhand remark, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson left European diplomats befuddled at a gathering in Italy.

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

Donald Trump and Paul Ryan are the problem — a staff shake-up won't fix anything — It's not Steve Bannon's fault the GOP's policy agenda is incoherent. — The Trump administration knows it hasn't gotten off to a very impressive start, with Shane Goldmacher reporting that officials …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hullabaloo and Balloon Juice

Richard Whitmire / USA Today:

Dreamers aren't about to self-deport: Richard Whitmire — If anti-immigration hard liners thought these undocumented kids were going away quietly, they were wrong. — Something surprising happened last month when officials at a little-known program that offers modest college scholarships to undocumented …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Sean Trende / Real Clear Politics:

Does Kansas Special Election Signal Trouble for GOP? — Since the inauguration of Donald Trump, speculation has abounded as to whether his unpopularity could drag down the Republican House majority in 2018. We've seen massive protests in liberal enclaves, but we haven't had a whole lot …

Discussion: NPR, Raw Story, New York Magazine, Washington Post and The Cook Political Report

Maya Lau / Los Angeles Times:

He was a pastor and a gentleman: ‘She thought she had a wonderful husband’ — A school shooting has left San Bernardino reeling from violence once again. (April 11, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR) — Karen Smith tied the knot in January with a man she had known for years.