memeorandum: Half of 8th grade class from New Jersey refuses to pose with Speaker Ryan (N.J. Burkett/abc7ny.com)

10:35 AM ET, May 28, 2017

Top Items:

Thomas E. Ricks / Politico:

General McMaster, Step Down—and Let Trump Be Trump — During the presidential transition, when a friend called me to discuss whether he should accept a national security post in the Trump administration, I advised him to do so. My thinking was that the more mature, thoughtful people we had in the administration, the better.

Discussion: The Atlantic, War in Context, Power Line, National Review, Associated Press, New York Magazine, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider and Mother Jones

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:

Kelly: Any channel of communication with a country like Russia a ‘good thing’ — Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Sunday said he doesn't think the reports that White House senior adviser Jared Kushner sought to establish a backchannel line of communication between the Trump transition team and Moscow are a cause for concern.

Discussion: Politico

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Trump considers major changes amid escalating Russia crisis — President Trump and his advisers, seeking to contain the escalating Russia crisis that threatens to consume his presidency, are considering a retooling of his senior staff and the creation of a “war room” within the White House …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Week, Mediaite, Business Insider, Political Wire and Raw Story

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

Russia scandal casts uncertainty over Kushner's future role — Once the untouchable son-in-law in a White House where top aides jockey for the president's ear, Jared Kushner has now been cast in a new role: reassuring people that he's not going to resign, while colleagues question whether he can survive politically.

Discussion: Axios, Daily Mail, Raw Story and Mediaite

New York Times:

Trump Returns to Crisis Over Kushner as White House Tries to Contain It — President Trump headed home on Saturday to confront a growing political and legal threat, as his top aides tried to contain the fallout from reports that his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is a focus of investigations …

Discussion: War in Context, Daily Mail and Mediaite

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
Trump family members met with GOP leaders to discuss strategy

Discussion: Balloon Juice, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Raw Story, Hullabaloo and Political Wire

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Trump's Hand-to-Hand Combat

Discussion: Vanity Fair

N.J. Burkett / abc7ny.com:

Half of 8th grade class from New Jersey refuses to pose with Speaker Ryan … <iframe width="476" height="267" src="http://abc7ny.com/video/embed/ ?pid=2042084" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> — A group of middle school students from New Jersey caused quite a flap …

Discussion: Raw Story

Dr. Keith Ablow / Fox News:

Trumping your life: How to be a better, stronger person by being more like the president — Weeks ago, I wrote the first installment of TRUMPING YOUR LIFE, delivering three ways you can change your life by following the example of President Trump. — This is the second of five installments I plan to share.

Derek Hunter / Townhall.com:

Wasn't That Election “Special”? — Each successive special election has been like watching a kid get socks under the Christmas tree. Democrats get all excited at the prospect of something happening, but it is always dashed by the reality crashing down around them.

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line: When Al Franken body-slammed a demonstrator

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: Trump tells confidants U.S. will quit Paris climate deal — President Trump has privately told multiple people, including EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, that he plans to leave the Paris agreement on climate change, according to three sources with direct knowledge.

Nelson D. Schwartz / New York Times:

Route to Air Travel Discomfort Starts on Wall Street — When an unlucky passenger was violently dragged off a full United Airlines flight in Chicago in April, setting off a public-relations nightmare for the company, the blame naturally fell on the cabin crew, the police and eventually airline executives.

ZeroPointNow / Zero Hedge:

NYC Mayor De Blasio Staffer Arrested On Child Pornography Charges — Content originally generated at iBankCoin.com — A 29 year old staffer for NYC mayor Bill De Blasio's office has been arrested and charged with two felonies after police found a massive collection of child porn on his laptop, according to court documents.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Vox Popoli, The Gateway Pundit, The Right Scoop and Breitbart

Noor Al-Sibai / Raw Story:

DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Yale psychiatrist Dr. Brandy Lee recently hosted a conference on the mental health community's response to the apparent psychological disorders of President Donald Trump — and in a recent interview with Salon, she explained why she and some of her colleagues …

Julia Reinstein / BuzzFeed:

Here's What We Know About The Suspect In The Portland Train Stabbing Attack — Two men were stabbed to death on a Portland, Oregon train Friday night, and another man injured, after they tried to intervene as a man shouted hate speech at two young women who appeared to be Muslim.