memeorandum: Route to Air Travel Discomfort Starts on Wall Street (Nelson D. Schwartz/New York Times)

1:35 PM 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: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic, Daily Wire, War in Context, Washington Free Beacon, Power Line and National Review

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump Returns to U.S., and to Berating News Media on Twitter — WASHINGTON — John F. Kelly, President Trump's Homeland Security secretary, on Sunday defended a reported effort by Jared Kushner, the president's embattled son-in-law and key adviser, to establish a secret channel with Russia during …

Discussion: Politico, NBC News, Political Wire, Washington Post, Business Insider, Mediaite, Politicus USA, Raw Story, The Resurgent, Talking Points Memo and Associated Press

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:

Former CIA Director: ‘Now we know’ why Trump officials talking to the Russians may have been ‘unmasked’ — Michael Hayden, the former director of the NSA and the CIA, told CNN on Saturday that the reported content of Jared Kushner's conversations with Russia's ambassador in December …

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 and The Last Tradition

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:

Assange: ‘Kushner correct to create channels with everyone’ — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Sunday said he thinks President Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner was “correct” if he attempted to set up backchannel communication with Russian leadership.

Discussion: Sputnik International

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Trump: Many leaks are ‘fabricated lies’ made up by ‘fake news’ media

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Business Insider, ABC News, Washington Post, CNBC, MichelleMalkin.com, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze, RedState and The Week

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 5-28-17: DHS Secretary John Kelly and Rep. Adam Schiff

Discussion: Politicus USA

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Russia scandal casts uncertainty over Kushner's future role

Discussion: Axios, Daily Mail, Raw Story, Mediaite and New York Times

Michael Kranish / Washington Post: A high-stakes gamble: How Jared Kushner reacted to previous crises

Miguel Medina / Agence France-Presse:

Merkel warns US, Britain no longer reliable partners — German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Europe must fight for its own destiny in a western alliance divided by Brexit and the presidency of Donald Trump, with whom she did not see eye to eye at the “six against one” G7 summit

Discussion: Bloomberg, ThinkProgress, RT, CANNONFIRE, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and The Week

Therese Apel / The Clarion Ledger:

Exclusive: Suspect confesses to C-L reporter; 8 dead, including deputy — Authorities from multiple agencies took Cory Godbolt into custody on East Lincoln Road in Brookhaven Sunday morning after they say he killed eight people, including a Lincoln County deputy.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Friendly Atheist, The Root and The Right Scoop

Donna Campbell / Daily Leader:
Lincoln County deputy, several others killed in shooting spree; suspect in custody

Discussion: The Week

The Guardian:

Emmanuel Macron: my handshake with Trump was ‘a moment of truth’ — French president says his white-knuckle prolonged handshake with US counterpart was designed to show he's no pushover — The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has said his now-famous white-knuckle handshake showdown …

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

Pentagon chief: War with North Korea would be ‘catastrophic’ … Defense Secretary James Mattis warned on Sunday that a war with North Korea would be “catastrophic,” and would place United States allies in the region at extreme risk. — “The North Korean regime has hundreds of artillery cannons …

Discussion: The Week

Jack Kim / Reuters:
North Korea leader Kim guides test of new anti-aircraft weapon

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Week

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: Mashable, Raw Story and Shareblue

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.

BuzzFeed:

These Are The Victims Of The Portland Train Stabbing Attack — Ricky Best, 53, and Taliesin Namkai-Meche, 23 were killed when they tried to stop a man hurling abuse at two women of Muslim appearance, police said. Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, was injured but expected to survive.

Discussion: New York Magazine and twitchy.com