memeorandum: Eric Holder joins the anti-Trump resistance — and mulls a presidential campaign of his own (Andrew Romano/Yahoo)

9:15 PM ET, June 20, 2017

Top Items:

Georgia's Special Election Comes to a Nail-Biting Finish — ATLANTA — Tuesday's runoff between Karen Handel and Jon Ossoff in Georgia's Sixth Congressional District will decide what has become the most expensive House campaign in history — and quite possibly the most consequential special election since Watergate.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Fusion and Washington Times

The Hill:

Georgia special election runoff: live coverage — Election Day is finally here in Georgia's 6th Congressional District, the closely watched special election runoff to fill the House seat left open by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel …

Discussion: Breitbart, Politico, FiveThirtyEight, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Media Matters for America

Tamar Hallerman / Political Insider blog:

Live updates: Early returns bode well for Handel in Georgia's 6th District — It's election day in the north Atlanta suburbs. — Welcome to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's live blog. We'll be tracking all things 6th District special election tonight in this closely-watched nail-biter …

Discussion: NPR, Refinery29, RedState, twitchy.com, myajc, WSB-TV, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon and The Daily Caller

New York Times:
Who Financed the Georgia Sixth, the Most Expensive House Election Ever

Discussion: TheStreet and The Gateway Pundit

Michelle Goldberg / Slate:
Georgia's high-stakes congressional runoff comes down to the wire.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Washington Times and Political Insider blog

Ben Jacobs / The Guardian:
Georgia special election candidate says journalism has fueled ‘lack of civility’

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Infowars, Daily Kos, Bipartisan Report, Washington Post, France 24, Talking Points Memo and The New Civil Rights Movement

Associated Press:
The Latest: Most Polls Close in Georgia House Race

Discussion: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

Karen Handel / New York Times:
Live Election Results and Estimates: Georgia's Sixth Congressional District

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Kos

Elena Schneider / Politico:
Georgia special election: 7 things to watch

Discussion: Axios, ABC News, Political Insider blog, The Atlantic, Daily Kos, NPR, USA Today and AOL

Rosie Gray / The Atlantic:

The White House Press Briefing Is Slowly Dying — Over the course of the Trump administration, the White House's daily press briefings have been pared progressively further back; they are now shorter, less frequent, and routinely held off-camera. — The daily briefing is a venerable …

Associated Press:

The Latest: Trump said to plan announcement on Comey tapes — The Latest on the investigation into Russia's actions in the U.S. election and possible ties to Trump campaign associates (all times EDT): — A Washington lawyer has confirmed that he's representing Attorney General Jeff Sessions but is not offering any more specifics.

Discussion: Politico and Liberal Values

Kevin Johnson / USA Today:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions retains private lawyer

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Mediaite

YouTube:

Squad dashcam video - Yanez case (WARNING: Graphic content) — Squad dashcam video of July 6, 2016 traffic stop of Philando Castile. — WARNING: Graphic content. — Evidence presented by Ramsey County Attorney's Office in State of Minnesota versus Jeronimo Yanez.

Discussion: The Guardian, WPMT FOX43 and The Week

Mark Berman / Washington Post:
Video footage shows Minn. traffic stop that ended with Philando Castile's death

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Brent Lang / Variety:

Shocker! Daniel Day-Lewis Quits Acting (EXCLUSIVE) — Senior Film and Media Editor @BrentALang — Three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis, widely considered one of the preeminent actors of his generation, is retiring from acting, Variety has learned. — The 60-year-old star …

Discussion: East Bay Times, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, TMZ.com and Mashable

Andrew Romano / Yahoo:

Eric Holder joins the anti-Trump resistance — and mulls a presidential campaign of his own … LOS ANGELES — More than two years after leaving the Obama administration, former Attorney General Eric Holder is reentering the political fray. — His goal: to lead the legal resistance …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Mediaite, The Atlantic, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Washington Free Beacon, The Root, Bipartisan Report, Political Wire and Washington Times

Laura Litvan / Bloomberg:

Senate Republicans Haven't Seen Their Health Bill Either — Collins, Flake and Toomey not ready to offer support for plan — McCain says he hasn't ‘met any American’ who has seen the bill — Senate Republicans may be asked to vote on a controversial health-care bill next week …

Discussion: Politico, New Republic, The Hill, Washington Post, Fusion, CNBC, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and The Week

Nathaniel Weixel / The Hill:
Health plans slam Medicaid cuts in emerging Senate bill

Discussion: Politico

Washington Post:
New sanctions on Russia and Iran hit House roadblock

Discussion: Politico and Lawfare

CBS News:

Trump's handling of Russia investigations weighs on approval ratings — President Trump's job approval rating has dipped in recent weeks, pushed down by negative reaction to his handling of the Russia investigations, and he's seen some slippage among Republicans as well.

Discussion: CNN, RedState, ABC News, Washington Post, Bipartisan Report, IJR, New York Magazine, Hullabaloo, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Week, Vox, Axios, Scared Monkeys, Washington Times, Talking Points Memo and Politico

John Wagner / Washington Post:
‘He loves rallies’: Trump looks beyond Washington to get a boost

Discussion: Political Wire

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:

David Brooks Didn't Do the Reading. Look What Happened. — And now he's rewriting the Whitewater history to absolve himself. — Moral Hazard, the Irish setter owned for photo-op purposes by New York Times columnist David Brooks, searched the Young Fogies Club in midtown Manhattan …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

David Brooks / New York Times:
Let's Not Get Carried Away

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, NBC News, TheBlaze, RedState, Balloon Juice, Shakesville, The Daily Caller and Althouse

William Turton / The Outline:

Leaked recording: Inside Apple's global war on leakers — SECRECY AT APPLE — Former NSA agents, secrecy members on product teams, and a screening apparatus bigger than the TSA. — A recording of an internal briefing at Apple earlier this month obtained by The Outline sheds new light …

Discussion: Power Line, Mashable, New York Magazine and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Jason Leopold / BuzzFeed:

Secret Government Report: Chelsea Manning Leaks Caused No Real Harm — Prosecutors said WikiLeaks' disclosures about Iraq and Afghanistan posed a major threat to US national security. But it turns out the classified document they cited — newly obtained by BuzzFeed News — said almost the exact opposite.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Guardian, The Week, AOL and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »

Cyd Zeigler / Outsports:

Former Patriots and Chiefs tackle Ryan O'Callaghan comes out as gay — O'Callaghan had always planned to commit suicide after football, until Kansas City Chiefs staffers stepped in. — Editor's note: This story contains conversation and description of suicide.

Discussion: Daily Mail, ThinkProgress, Joe.My.God., The Guardian, TMZ.com, East Bay Times and Forbes

Eamon Javers / CNBC:

Tim Cook told Trump tech employees are ‘nervous’ about immigration — Tech employees are “nervous” about the Trump administration's approach on immigration, Tim Cook says. — Behind the scenes at the White House tech CEO meeting, Apple CEO Tim Cook told President Donald Trump …

Discussion: ABC News, Mediaite, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, GeekWire, Daily Kos, IJR, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Politicus USA and Axios, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

Despite Concerns About Blackmail, Flynn Heard C.I.A. Secrets — WASHINGTON — Senior officials across the government became convinced in January that the incoming national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, had become vulnerable to Russian blackmail. — At the F.B.I., the C.I.A. …

Discussion: Political Wire

Los Angeles Times:

Bodyguard for well-known alt-right figure stabbed several times in Santa Monica — A man who works as a bodyguard for a nationally known figure popular among the alt-right was stabbed multiple times in Santa Monica on Saturday night following a dispute in a parking lot, police said.

Discussion: Raw Story, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Wire

Shawn Boburg / Washington Post:

Trump seeks sharp cuts to housing aid, except for program that brings him millions — President Trump's budget calls for sharply reducing funding to programs that shelter the poor and combat homelessness — with a notable exception: It leaves intact the type of federal housing subsidy that is paid directly to private landlords.

Daily Mail:

Brussels central station suicide bomber shot down — A suspected suicide bomber has blown himself up in the Belgium capital's Central Station tonight — Shots rang out soon after 9pm as police and soldiers moved in ‘to neutralise a suspect threatening civilians’

Discussion: ABC News, Infowars, The Gateway Pundit and TheBlaze

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic:

How the Democrats Lost Their Way on Immigration — the myth, which liberals like myself find tempting, is that only the right has changed. In June 2015, we tell ourselves, Donald Trump rode down his golden escalator and pretty soon nativism, long a feature of conservative politics, had engulfed it.

Discussion: Power Line and Viking Pundit

Zachary Hansen / Arizona Republic:

Nearly 50 flights canceled Tuesday as Phoenix nears 120-degree day … The extreme heat forecast for Phoenix on Tuesday now has caused the cancellation of nearly 50 American Airlines regional airline flights out of Sky Harbor International Airport. — According to a statement from American Airlines …

Discussion: BBC, CNN, twitchy.com, Fox News, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Verge, AOL and The Daily Caller

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

FBI Director nominee removed reference to case involving Russian government from law firm bio — Christopher Wray represented an American energy executive in 2006 who was being criminally investigated by the Russian government. — The detail, which was included on Wray's biography …

Discussion: WNYC News, Gothamist, Daily Kos, The Root, Axios, Shakesville, Raw Story and The Week

Todd Van Luling / HuffPost:

New Moby Video Depicts Donald Trump's Rise And A Violent Demise — Moby spoke with HuffPost about activism and becoming a reluctant mouthpiece for anti-Trump intel. — Moby believes it is “obvious” the world is “a millimeter away from collapse.” — That fearful idea may already be seared …

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Times, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, IJR and TheBlaze

Steven Shepard / Politico:

Flooding hits Georgia special election — The heaviest rain across Georgia's 6th District tapered off Tuesday afternoon, but voters participating in the closely watched special congressional election in Atlanta's northern suburbs are still dealing with flooding that could impact the vote.

Discussion: New York Magazine

Bloomberg:

Ford's Big Bet: Americans, and Trump, Are Ready for Chinese Cars — Focus poised to be the top car exported to the U.S. from China — Nixed plans for North American production to save $1 billion — Americans buy millions of dollars of stuff made in China every day. — So why not add the Ford Focus to the mix?

Discussion: The Hill, IJR, Business Insider and Bipartisan Report

Adam Boult / Telegraph:

‘A magical experience’: Beautiful images capture rare bioluminescent plankton off the coast of Wales — Photographer Alyn Wallace captured these stunning images of rare bioluminescent plankton in the sea at Three Cliffs Bay in Swansea this week. — “I had to pinch myself this morning,” he wrote on Facebook.

Caitlin Owens / Axios:

Senate Medicaid spending limits may lose moderate Republicans — A key moderate Senate Republican says she's uncomfortable with the emerging Senate health care plan, which is likely to cap Medicaid spending and shift it to a lower growth rate in 2025. “I think that's a problem.