memeorandum: Tillerson: Kim Jong Un ‘is not crazy’ (Cristiano Lima/Politico)

10:50 PM ET, April 27, 2017

Top Items:

Exclusive: Trump says ‘major, major’ conflict with North Korea possible, but seeks diplomacy — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday a major conflict with North Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile programs, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute.

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire, Mediaite, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, The Week and Axios

Cristiano Lima / Politico:

Tillerson: Kim Jong Un ‘is not crazy’ — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Thursday that while North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be a ruthless, murderous dictator, he is not mentally insane. — “All indications are that he is not crazy,” Tillerson told Fox News. “He may be ruthless.

Discussion: ABC News

Associated Press: The Latest: US wants early results from NKorea pressure

Anna Fifield / Washington Post:
North Korea puts out new video showing the White House in crosshairs and carriers exploding

Discussion: New York Post, Daily Mail, Hot Air, AOL, SARAH PALIN and New York Times

Ilya Arkhipov / Bloomberg:
Putin Warns North Korea Situation Has ‘Seriously Deteriorated’

Discussion: Daily Mail

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Exclusive: Federal probe of Fox News expands — Fox News still under grand jury probe — The U.S. Justice Department's investigation of Fox News has widened to include a second law enforcement agency. — Financial crimes experts from the United States Postal Inspection Service are now involved …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Axios, more at Mediagazer »

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

Is a Management Shake-up Looming at Fox News? — As Fox News is roiled by lawsuits and the ouster of Bill O'Reilly, the network's co-president Bill Shine has retained the backing of the Murdochs. On Monday, Rupert Murdoch took network co-presidents Shine and Jack Abernethy to lunch at Marea …

Discussion: CNNMoney, New York Times, TheBlaze, Deadline, TVNewser, Bloomberg, Mediaite, Daily Wire, IJR, Business Insider, Media Matters for America and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

‘I was all set to terminate’: Inside Trump's sudden shift on NAFTA — President Trump was set to announce Saturday, on the 100th day of his presidency, that he was withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement — the sort of disruptive proclamation that would upend both global …

Wall Street Journal:

Trump Says Nafta Partners Persuaded Him to Keep U.S. in Trade Pact — Though president says he's ready to withdraw from accord if unable to get a fair deal in talks with Mexico and Canada — President Donald Trump said he was preparing to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement …

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

The education of Donald Trump — The 70-year-old leader of the free world sat behind his desk in the Oval Office last Friday afternoon, doing what he's done for years: selling himself. His 100th day in office was approaching, and Trump was eager to reshape the hardening narrative of a White House veering off course.

Discussion: The Week, Washington Monthly, Vox, The Atlantic, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, Politicus USA, Shakesville, AOL, Business Insider, portal.liberalamerica.org, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Axios, Hullabaloo and Mother Jones

New York Times:
A Poised Mexico Sees Trump Anew: a ‘Bluffer’ at the Poker Table

Discussion: Mother Jones

Scott Wong / The Hill:

New ObamaCare repeal bill on life support — The tide is quickly turning against the new ObamaCare repeal legislation. — At least 21 Republicans have said they would vote no on the revised GOP healthcare bill negotiated by centrist Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) and conservative Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.).

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, Associated Press, Political Wire and Hot Air

Mike Lillis / The Hill:

Dems threaten to oppose short-term spending bill if GOP pushes healthcare vote — House Democrats will oppose a short-term spending bill if Republican leaders attempt to expedite an ObamaCare repeal bill this week, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) warned Thursday. — Hoyer, the Democratic whip …

Discussion: Politico, BizPac Review, Occupy Democrats, FITSNews, Daily Kos, ABC News, New York Magazine, SARAH PALIN and Political Wire

Chris Cillizza / CNN:

This photo of Donald Trump and kids is epic — (CNN)Thursday, as you likely know by now, is “Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work” day. The White House, like CNN and virtually every other company, celebrates this day with a special program of activities. Except, at the White House …

Discussion: twitchy.com

CNN:
Michelle Obama says she won't run for office

Discussion: Political Wire and Refinery29

Paulina Firozi / The Hill:
House Dems to force vote on bill demanding Trump taxes, visitor logs: report

Discussion: Common Dreams and Washington Post

Victoria McGrane GLOBE / BostonGlobe.com:

Warren ‘troubled’ by $400,000 Wall Street speaking fee for Obama — WASHINGTON — Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren gently criticized former president Barack Obama Thursday for his decision to accept $400,000 from a Wall Street firm to speak at a health care conference this fall.

Claire Atkinson / New York Post:

Obama scores another $400K speaking fee amid criticism … Even as President Obama faced criticism for getting $400,000 for a speech to a Wall Street bank, he pocketed the same amount of money for a second speech, The Post has learned. — Obama made another $400,000 on Thursday when he appeared …

Discussion: TMZ.com

Eugene Scott / CNN:
Warren ‘troubled’ by Obama's big Wall Street speech payday

Discussion: TheBlaze

Abby Livingston / The Texas Tribune:

Brian Babin becomes second Texan to quit Freedom Caucus since March — U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Woodville, joins Ted Poe of Humble in publicly ending his ties to the arch conservative group in Congress, the Freedom Caucus. — WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Woodville …

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
The new health-care bill may be little more than an exercise in blame-shifting

Discussion: Politico and Daily Kos

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: Trump is setting up Paul Ryan to be his fall guy

Discussion: The Atlantic, Booman Tribune, Axios, The Stranger … and Daily Kos

New York Times: How Trump Could Save Obamacare, and Help Himself

Brianna Sacks / BuzzFeed:

People Are Trolling Trump's New Anti-Immigrant Hotline With Reports Of Space Aliens And The Government Is Not Amused — On Wednesday, the Trump administration launched a new office called the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VOICE), to assist victims of crimes committed …

Discussion: Fusion, Raw Story, Shareblue, ThinkProgress, Hot Air, Liberal Values, Daily Kos, Common Dreams, The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo and The FADER

Julián Aguilar / The Texas Tribune:

After emotional debate, Texas House tentatively passes “sanctuary” legislation — The 93-54 vote fell along party lines and came after one of the slowest moving but most emotional legislative days at the state Capitol. — Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout.

Discussion: The Texas Observer, Dallas Morning News, Mother Jones, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com

AP Story / Associated Press:
Texas House OKs ‘sanctuary city’ ban with tough jail penalty

Discussion: The Daily Caller and BizPac Review

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Democrats exploring lawsuit against Trump — Senate Democrats are exploring a lawsuit against President Trump on the grounds that his vast business empire has created conflicts of interest that violate the Constitution. — The effort is being led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal

Discussion: Political Wire and Occupy Democrats

Henry J. Gomez / BuzzFeed:

John Kasich Sounds Like He's Over The Republican Party — MANCHESTER, N.H. — Is John Kasich still a Republican? — The Ohio governor and mainstay of the party's mainstream is out this week with a book that at times reads like an angry breakup letter. — “Oh yeah, I'm a Repub... ,” …

Brandon Cockerham / Judicial Watch:

Judicial Watch: FBI Court Filing Reveals Grand Jury Targeted Hillary Clinton — Assigned to ‘counterintelligence and counterespionage matters’ — (Washington, DC) — Judicial Watch today released new State Department documents including a declaration from FBI Special Agent E.W. Priestap …

Discussion: Townhall.com and The Gateway Pundit

Bonnie Tsui / New York Times:

Why Is Asian Salad Still on the Menu? — One Friday night at a bar in San Francisco, I took a look at the menu and found myself face to face once again with the curious modern-day ubiquity of the Asian salad. The “Asian Emperor Salad,” with its “31 ingredients representing the tastes …

Discussion: Althouse

Gideon Resnick / The Daily Beast:

Alex Jones Turns on Ivanka Trump and Her ‘Democrat’ Husband Jared Kushner Over Syrian Refugees — InfoWars host Alex Jones, an avid supporter of President Trump during the campaign and his administration, said in a video posted to his Facebook on Thursday that Ivanka Trump's policies …

Discussion: Mediaite and Raw Story

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Trump caves on the wall — and Democrats think he will again — President Donald Trump was supposedly girding for battle. Not even a week ago, ahead of a possible government shutdown, his aides said the president would insist on funding his border wall and the president himself was prepared to sabotage Obamacare to gain leverage.

Discussion: Raw Story

Tom Nichols / USA Today:

Are Trump voters ruining America for all of us?: Tom Nichols — First 100 days suggest our democracy is more likely to die in dumbness than in darkness. — President Trump's record in his first 100 days, by any standard of presidential first terms, is one of failure.

Discussion: Washington Post

Morgan True / VTDigger:

Emails reveal FBI, Justice probe of Burlington College — BURLINGTON — The Justice Department was investigating the activities of the now-defunct Burlington College as recently as February, according to emails obtained through a public records request. — The emails show the U.S. attorney …

Azi Paybarah / Politico:

Dietl, apologizing about McCray remark, brings attention to past comments — Independent mayoral candidate Bo Dietl, in the course of defending Wednesday night remarks about First Lady Chirlane McCray, offered a blanket apology Thursday for comments he's made over three decades on Don Imus' radio show.

Discussion: CBS New York

Bloomberg:

Jeff Bezos Is Just $5 Billion Away From Being the World's Richest Person — Amazon founder's fortune has risen $65.2 billion in five years — Gates has been the world's No. 1 billionaire since May 2013 — A surge in after hours trading for Amazon.com Inc. added $3.3 billion to the fortune …

New York Times:

State Department Wants to Clear Nikki Haley's Remarks Before She Speaks — UNITED NATIONS — The United States ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, has often been the first, most outspoken member of the Trump administration to weigh in on key foreign policy issues …

John Bresnahan / Politico:

House Democrats bury 2016 autopsy — House Democrats are going to extreme lengths to conceal a report on the party's problems. — After nearly five months, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) will present his investigative report to lawmakers during a members-only gathering …

Mark Hensch / The Hill:

Cruz: Breaking up 9th Circuit Court ‘a possibility’ — (R-Texas) says that breaking up the 9th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals is “certainly a possibility.” — “The 9th Circuit is the largest federal court of appeals,” he said Thursday on “The Jack Riccardi Show.”

Discussion: RedState and Joe.My.God.