memeorandum: Thousands expected for Tax Day march calling for Trump to release his returns (Perry Stein/Washington Post)

4:25 PM ET, April 14, 2017

Top Items:

China Warns of ‘Storm Clouds Gathering’ in U.S.-North Korea Standoff — HONG KONG — North Korea said on Friday that nuclear war could break out on the Korean Peninsula “at any moment,” accusing the United States of escalating tensions that have set off fears of war and calls for calm by countries in the region.

Peter Baker / New York Times:

For Trump, a Steep Learning Curve Leads to Policy Reversals — WASHINGTON — For President Trump, the road to changing his mind on China included a discussion with corporate executives in the State Dining Room of the White House in February. When the conversation turned to China's currency …

Discussion: Townhall.com, The Atlantic, Washington Post, sandiegouniontribune.com, Talking Points Memo, NPR, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politicus USA, Wall Street Journal, Breitbart, Vox and Red Alert Politics

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:

Does Steve Bannon Have Something to Offer? — In 2014 the beleaguered White House aide raised important moral questions about today's capitalism. — My late friend Bill Safire, the tough and joyous New York Times columnist, once gave me good advice. I was not then a newspaper columnist, but he'd apparently decided I would be.

Bloomberg:

China Warns of War Risk as Trump Rattles Saber at North Korea — North Korean official threatens war if U.S. strikes first — World waits for possible nuclear test to mark April 15 holiday — China warned that a war on the Korean Peninsula would have devastating consequences …

Discussion: Axios

CNN:
As North Korea brews, Trump again in Mar-a-Lago

Discussion: The Root and NBC News

Julian Zelizer / CNN:
Bannon's departure would rip the mask off the ‘blue-collar Trump’

Discussion: Washington Post and Booman Tribune

John Pomfret / Washington Post:
China is suddenly leaning on North Korea — and it might be thanks to Trump

Discussion: RedState, neo-neocon, Fox News Insider, The Guardian and Infowars

Annie Waldman / ProPublica:

DeVos Pick to Head Civil Rights Office Once Said She Faced Discrimination for Being White — The new acting head of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights once complained that she experienced discrimination because she is white. — As an undergraduate studying calculus …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Slot, Daily Kos, The FADER and ED News

CNN:

36 ISIS fighters killed by US ‘mother of all bombs’: Afghan official — (CNN)In its second major display of military might in one week, the US dropped its most powerful non-nuclear bomb on ISIS positions in a remote part of Afghanistan. — Afghan officials said 36 militants were killed …

Discussion: Business Insider, neo-neocon, The Guardian, RT, New York Magazine, Al Jazeera English, The National Interest, Scared Monkeys, Fox News, Axios, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Times, Sputnik International, The Diplomat, twitchy.com and Foreign Policy

Ellen Mitchell / The Hill:
Why the US dropped the ‘mother of all bombs’ in Afghanistan

Discussion: Raw Story and The Daily Caller

Amanda Prestigiacomo / Daily Wire:
New Video: The Moment The ‘Mother Of All Bombs’ Killed 36 ISIS Members

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Sune Engel Rasmussen / The Guardian:
‘It felt like the heavens were falling’: Afghans reel from MOAB impact

Discussion: RedState, New York Times, RT and BGR

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

White House says it won't make visitor logs public — President Donald Trump's administration announced Friday that the White House won't release records of its visitors, raising new concerns from transparency advocates. — The decision not to voluntarily disclose White House visitor logs …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, ABC News, Mother Jones, Axios, Hit & Run, Hot Air, Engadget, twitchy.com, The Guardian, Shareblue and Joe.My.God., more at Mediagazer »

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Trump will keep list of White House visitors secret — The Trump administration announced Friday that it would not follow former president Barack Obama's policy of voluntarily disclosing the names of most visitors to the White House complex, citing “grave national security risks and privacy concerns.”

Discussion: RedState, Mother Jones, Sunlight Foundation, NBC News, Mediaite, Raw Story and Politicus USA

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

White House showdown on Paris deal set for next week — President Donald Trump's most senior advisers will huddle next week to resolve long-simmering tensions over whether the United States should stay in the Paris climate change agreement, a major point of dispute between the moderate …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post and Fox News

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

If Trump Fired Bannon, Would He Seek Revenge? — When Steve Bannon vacated a home in Florida in 2015, his landlord complained that an entire Jacuzzi had apparently been coated in acid. After conservative media star Dana Loesch left Bannon's employ at Breitbart News in 2012 …

Discussion: The Rush Limbaugh Show, No More Mister Nice Blog, dailyrushbo.com, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

Jee Lee / The Wellesley News:

Free speech is not violated at Wellesley — Many members of our community, including students, alumnae and faculty, have criticized the Wellesley community for becoming an environment where free speech is not allowed or is a violated right. Many outside sources have painted us as a bunch …

Discussion: RedState, Hot Air, The Federalist, Maggie's Farm and The Daily Caller

Andrew Sullivan / New York Magazine:

Why Do Democrats Feel Sorry for Hillary Clinton? — Every day, the incoherence deepens: He's going to cover “everyone,” but he's going to push 24 million people off their health insurance. He's going to wipe out the debt, but his tax cuts and spending spree will add trillions to it.

Discussion: Liberal Values and The Gateway Pundit

Dan Nowicki / Arizona Republic:

Sen. Jeff Flake weathers brutal, 2 1/2-hour Mesa town hall — The Arizona senator was battered with questions about Trump's proposed border wall; internet privacy; taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood; and his opposition to ‘Obamacare.’ — U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake endured a brutal face …

Discussion: Associated Press, Refinery29, ThinkProgress, Washington Examiner, naked capitalism, Business Insider, AOL, Common Dreams, Washington Times, Talking Points Memo and Politico

Ezra Klein / Vox:

How to fix the Supreme Court — The way we choose Supreme Court nominees is broken. Here's how to fix it. — It's worth taking a step back to realize just how broken the process for selecting Supreme Court justices now is. — In 2016, Senate Republicans responded to Antonin Scalia's death …

Richard Wolf / USA Today:
For Neil Gorsuch, Supreme Court job may seem subordinate

Discussion: SCOTUSblog

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Donald Trump Is Just George W. Bush But Racist — Donald Trump ran an ethnonationalist cult-of-personality presidential campaign, in which his status as a (real) nonpolitician and (imaginary) business genius would allow him to transcend and solve every policy problem.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Raw Story and Washington Post

Matthew Chapman / Shareblue:

Small-town resistance: Dems pull off shocking red-seat wins across Illinois — This week saw an amazingly close race in the special election for Kansas's 4th Congressional District, one of the most conservative parts of the country. Democrat James Thompson came within 7 points of Republican Ron Estes …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Media Matters for America:

Trump Ally Alex Jones: “The Word Is” President Obama's Daughters “Aren't Even His Kids” — ALEX JONES (HOST): This is out of The Hill, Obama reportedly spending a month in French Polynesia, where there is no criminal extradition to the United States and it's funny they just brought …

Brian Ross / ABC News:

Analysts identify #SyriaHoax as Russian-fueled propaganda — As Syrian president Bashar al-Assad called videos of last week's chemical attack a “fabrication,” a piece of propaganda promoted by a Russian cyber operation and bearing the hashtag #SyriaHoax has gained traction in the United States, analysts tell ABC News.

Caren Chesler / Popular Mechanics:

The Blood of the Crab — Horseshoe crab blood is an irreplaceable medical marvel—and so biomedical companies are bleeding 500,000 every year. Can this creature that's been around since the dinosaurs be saved? — Meghan Owings plucks a horseshoe crab out of a tank and bends …

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight

Anthony Breznican / EW.com:

Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer makes its long-awaited debut — “It's time for the Jedi to end.” — The trailer for The Last Jedi just dropped at Star Wars Celebration, sending chills across the fandom and providing our first glimpse into the galaxy after civil war was reignited in The Force Awakens.

Bloomberg:

Russia Says Evidence Growing Syria Chemical Attack Was Staged — U.S. actions in Syria seek regime change, Lavrov says — Foreign ministers of Russia, Iran, Syria meet in Moscow — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a chemical-weapons attack in Syria that provoked U.S. missile strikes …

Discussion: RedState, Fox News Insider and Forbes

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:

Justice Department drops North Carolina bathroom lawsuit — The Trump Justice Department is dropping the federal lawsuit against North Carolina's “bathroom law” after the state agreed to replace the controversial measure. — Sandra Hairston, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District …

Discussion: RedState

Scott McConnell / Vox:

I voted for Trump. After the Syria strikes, I'm second-guessing my choice. — What happened to “America First”? — This is how the Beltway establishment, Republicans and Democrats alike, think about American foreign policy: — America's role is to lead the world.

Discussion: Raw Story

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Stealth caucus gains ground in Trump White House — In President Trump's White House, it's better to not be seen or heard — at least in public. — A cadre of Trump's top aides from New York City — economic adviser Gary Cohn, deputy national security adviser Dina Powell and Trump family members Ivanka …

Discussion: RedState and Daily Wire

MA Towery / Opinion Savvy:

Poll: Ossoff Increases Lead in GA6; Runoff Likely — In our final poll of the GA6 jungle primary-style special election, some slight movement indicates that Ossoff's well-funded machine is gradually increasing his support, while Handel has maintained her status as the leading Republican. — Toplines:

Discussion: Political Wire

Science:

Cassini finds molecular hydrogen in the Enceladus plume: Evidence for hydrothermal processes — 1Space Science and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA. — 2Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD 20723, USA.

Discussion: Raw Story, Engadget, GeekWire, New York Times, NPR, NBC News, The Atlantic and Washington Post

Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:

Over 550 Amazon Employees Are Pressuring Leadership To Cut Advertising Ties With Breitbart — “It is something we are looking ... at very regularly, we have our eyes on it,” Amazon SVP Jeff Blackburn told Amazon employees, according to an email obtained by BuzzFeed News.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller and Joe.My.God.