memeorandum: MAX stabbing victim was Portland employee, Army veteran (Elliot Njus/Oregonian)

2:05 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, Associated Press and Raw Story

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

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 …

New York Times:
Reported Talks by Jared Kushner With Russia Would Be ‘Good Thing,’ Trump Official Says

Discussion: Politico, NBC News, Washington Post, Political Wire, Mashable, Business Insider, RedState, Mediaite, Politicus USA, Raw Story, The Resurgent, Talking Points Memo and National Review

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Assange: ‘Kushner correct to create channels with everyone’

Discussion: Sputnik International

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

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, ABC News, Business Insider, CNBC, The Right Scoop, MichelleMalkin.com, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze 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

New York Times:

Merkel, After Discordant G-7 Meeting, Is Looking Past Trump — BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe's most influential leader, has apparently concluded that the United States of President Trump is not the reliable partner her country and continent have automatically depended on in the past.

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Political Wire

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

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

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 …

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.

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Russia scandal ices government lawyer hiring — President Donald Trump was already struggling to fill hundreds of top legal jobs throughout the federal government. — Over the past two weeks, that task became exponentially more difficult, according to top GOP lawyers.

Discussion: Raw Story

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, twitchy.com, IJR and Portland Mercury