memeorandum: Manchester Bomber Met With ISIS Unit in Libya, Officials Say (New York Times)

3:10 PM ET, June 3, 2017

Top Items:

Alicia Cohn / The Hill:

‘Pittsburgh Not Paris’ rally at White House thanks Trump — Republicans and Republican supporters gathered near the White House on Saturday for a “Pittsburgh Not Paris” rally supporting President Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.

Discussion: The Week and TheBlaze

Brandon Carter / The Hill:

Protestors spell out ‘investigate Trump’ on National Mall — Protestors in Washington, D.C. at Saturday's “#MarchForTruth” rally gathered for an aerial photo spelling out “INVESTIGATE TRUMP.” … The protestors were demanding an independent investigation into possible collusion between President Trump's election campaign and Russia.

Miranda Green / CNN:
Haley: ‘President Trump believes the climate is changing’

Discussion: Hot Air, Common Dreams and Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Landon Thomas Jr / New York Times:

Small Businesses Cheer ‘New Sheriff in Town’ After Climate Pact Exit — As news that President Trump was pulling out of the Paris climate accord hit at a luncheon for small-business owners in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday, an already happy crowd suddenly turned euphoric.

Discussion: IJR, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Independent, Axios and The Last Tradition

Editorials / New York Daily News:
Trump to World: Drop Dead! Donald's jobs con won't bring back the economy of the past

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Politicus USA, Fox News Insider and CityLab

Evan Halper / Los Angeles Times:
A California-led alliance of cities and states vows to keep the Paris climate accord intact

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and CNN

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Does Donald Trump Still Think Climate Change Is a Hoax? No One Can Say

Discussion: Politico, Gizmodo, Mediaite, War in Context, CNN, Mother Jones, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, ABC News, CBS Miami, ThinkProgress and AOL

Ryan Parker / Hollywood Reporter:

HBO Says Bill Maher's Use of the N-Word “Completely Inexcusable” — The comment will be removed from future episode airings. — HBO officials on Saturday morning said Bill Maher's use of the N-word on Friday night's show was “completely inexcusable.” — The network also said in a statement …

Discussion: Raw Story, IndieWire, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, twitchy.com, IJR, The Gateway Pundit and Scripting News, more at Mediagazer »

Monique Judge / The Root:
White Habitual Line-Stepper Bill Maher Calls Himself ‘House Nigger’ on Live TV

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, Vox, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze, RedState and The Week

Colby Hall / Mediaite:
'I'm A House N*gga': Did Bill Maher Cross a Line During Ben Sasse Interview?

Discussion: Hot Air

New York Times:

How G.O.P. Leaders Came to View Climate Change as Fake Science — WASHINGTON — The campaign ad appeared during the presidential contest of 2008. Rapid-fire images of belching smokestacks and melting ice sheets were followed by a soothing narrator who praised a candidate who had stood …

Annie Karni / Politico:

America's CEOs fall out of love with Trump — NEW YORK - The relationship between corporate America and Donald Trump's White House has chilled. — The regular parades of business titans into the West Wing are gone. A gathering of executives led by Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman initially planned …

Discussion: Raw Story

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:

Trump Appears Unlikely to Hinder Comey's Testimony About Russia Inquiry — WASHINGTON — President Trump does not plan to invoke executive privilege to try to prevent James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, from providing potentially damaging testimony to Congress on statements the president …

Discussion: RedState, ABC News, Fox News, IJR, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Hot Air, New York Magazine, The Last Tradition, AOL and Political Wire

The Intercept:

STANDING ROCK DOCUMENTS EXPOSE INNER WORKINGS OF “SURVEILLANCE-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX” — Leaked Documents Reveal Counterterrorism Tactics Used at Standing Rock to “Defeat Pipeline Insurgencies” — On a freezing night in November, as police sprayed nonviolent Dakota Access Pipeline opponents …

Wall Street Journal:

Connecticut's Tax Comeuppance — With the rich tapped out, the state may resort to Puerto Rico bonds.

Discussion: Instapundit

New York Times:

First Rule of Far-Right Fight Clubs: Be White and Proud — Kyle Chapman expected he might find a fight. And he did — with a teenage girl. — The girl was waving an anti-fascist placard last week at a protest against Shariah law in Midtown Manhattan when a scuffle broke out and she knocked an older woman to the ground.

Discussion: JustOneMinute and The Smoking Gun

Keith Edwardsstaff / Kennebec Journal & …:

Augusta City Center closes after angry man unleashes 100 live bedbugs — A man upset that he didn't qualify for General Assistance reportedly slammed a cup of 100 or so bugs on a counter, prompting City Hall's closure and pest control measures. — AUGUSTA — A reportedly disgruntled man slammed …

Discussion: The Guardian and CBS Pittsburgh

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Trump plans week-long focus on infrastructure, starting with privatizing air traffic control — President Trump will seek to put a spotlight on his vows to privatize the nation's air traffic control system and spur $1 trillion in new investment in roads, waterways and other infrastructure …

Associated Press:

THE LATEST: SPECIAL COUNSEL'S TRUMP PROBE ADDS MANAFORT CASE — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on ongoing investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election (all times local): — The Associated Press has learned that the special counsel running the U.S. investigation …

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Robert Burns / Star Tribune:

Mattis: North Korea a ‘clear and present danger’ to world — SINGAPORE — North Korea is accelerating its push to acquire a nuclear-armed missile capable of threatening the United States and other nations, and the U.S. regards this as a “clear and present danger,” U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Saturday.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Robert Burns / Associated Press: PENTAGON CHIEF SAYS NKOREA'S NUCLEAR PURSUITS A ‘DANGER’

Susan E. Rice / New York Times:
To Be Great, America Must Be Good

Discussion: twitchy.com

Wall Street Journal:

With Russia Probe, Trump Legal Fighter Takes On Battle in Unfamiliar Arena — Marc Kasowitz, the lawyer tapped to represent President Donald Trump in the Russia probe, has been his legal advocate for years, but veterans of Washington crises say he will face a task unlike the fights he's seen before.

Discussion: Axios

Holly K. Michels / Missoulian:

Gianforte gives 1st interview since election-eve assault, does not address campaign statement — Greg Gianforte thanks his supporters during a poll-watching event May 25. Just 24 hours after being charged with assaulting a reporter, Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist …

Discussion: IJR

New York Times:

Manchester Bomber Met With ISIS Unit in Libya, Officials Say — The bomber who killed 22 people at a pop concert in Manchester, England, last month had met in Libya with members of an Islamic State unit linked to the 2015 Paris terrorist attack, according to current and retired intelligence officials.

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:

Ted Cruz crushes bizarre attack on Paris withdrawal — It is beyond my power of discernment to identify the most over-the-top comment criticizing President Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord. But this tweet by a Harvard professor named Joyce Chaplin is surely a contender:

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Last Tradition