memeorandum: Trump's voting commission asked states to hand over election data. Some are pushing back. (Mark Berman/Washington Post)

10:00 AM ET, July 1, 2017

Top Items:

Mtait / Lawfare:

The Time I Got Recruited to Collude with the Russians — View of the Kremlin from the Bolshoy Kammeny Bridge (Alexander Gusev) — I read the Wall Street Journal's article yesterday on attempts by a GOP operative to recover missing Hillary Clinton emails with more than usual interest.

Discussion: Political Wire, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, Balloon Juice, IJR, ThinkProgress, Media Matters for America, Booman Tribune, Salon, CNBC, Hullabaloo, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, NBC News and CBS San Francisco

Wall Street Journal:

GOP Activist Who Sought Clinton Emails Cited Trump Campaign Officials — Peter W. Smith listed Bannon, Conway and Clovis, besides Flynn, in a recruiting document; his purpose isn't clear and there's no indication he asked for or received any coordination with them.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Washington Post:

Why some inside the White House see Trump's media feud as ‘winning’ — To President Trump, no place is more comfortable than the middle of a fight. — This week had it all: Vicious tweets, nasty nicknames, an entrenched foe in the mainstream media and the reprisal by Trump of one of his favorite roles — the victim.

Discussion: Political Wire, Orlando Political Observer, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, Mediaite, The Stranger …, The Hill, Business Insider, New York Times and Politicus USA, more at Mediagazer »

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

‘Morning Joe’ Row Is Fresh Sign of TV's Iron Grip on Trump — There are a lot of insights to be drawn from the latest media maelstrom involving President Trump: about his sensitivity to criticism, his impulsivity, the way he talks about women and the ease with which he can still hurl the basest of insults.

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, IJR and The Week

Emily Jane Fox / Vanity Fair:

Exclusive: Mika Speaks! A Day After Trump's Horrific Tweet, Brzezinski Reveals How It All Went Down — And how they said Trump begged her for the name of the doctor who performed her procedure. — At 6:56 A.M. on Friday morning, Mika Brzezinski was hustling down a fluorescent-lit hallway at 30 Rock …

Joe Bilello / Mediaite:

President Trump Deserves Credit For Taking On Bullies Like Mika Brzezinski — There is a perfectly legitimate argument to be made that the President of the United States should just sit back and take all attacks and insults hurled his way, even when the magnitude of the attacks is unprecedented.

Discussion: The Last Tradition

New York Times:
President Trump, Melting Under Criticism

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Matthew Sheffield / Salon:
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are angry at Donald Trump now — but they've never apologized for promoting him

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, Mediaite, Conservative News Today and The Guardian

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:
What Really Happened Between Donald Trump, the Hosts of Morning Joe, and the National Enquirer

Fox News:
Trump, Kushner never blackmailed Scarborough, source says

Discussion: The Last Tradition, Mediaite and Daily Wire

Peter Hasson / The Daily Caller:
EXCLUSIVE: Kellyanne Conway Blasts CNN's Anti-Trump Culture

Discussion: NewsBusters, Raw Story and IJR

Bryan Lowry / Kansas City Star:

Kobach: Kansas won't give Social Security info to Kobach-led voter commission at this time — Multiple states plan to buck Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach's request for personal information on voters on behalf of a presidential commission. — Kobach said Friday that Kansas …

The Hill:

24 states refusing to provide voter data to Trump election panel — At least 24 states are pushing back or outright refusing to comply with the Trump administration's request for voter registration data. — The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, formed by President Trump …

Discussion: ABC News and Politicus USA

Richard L. Hasen / Slate:

Trump's Voter Fraud Endgame — His “election integrity” investigation is a pretext to repeal the National Voter Registration Act. It won't work. — Donald Trump's attempt at voter suppression through his “election integrity” commission is a voting rights nightmare that is being enacted so clumsily it just might backfire.

Discussion: Washington Post, Mother Jones, Route Fifty, Business Insider, The Nevada Independent, Axios, Shareblue, ThinkProgress, IJR, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Hartford Courant, electionlawblog.org, Washington Monthly, The Atlantic, Lawyers, Guns & Money and ProPublica

Mark Berman / Washington Post:
Trump's voting commission asked states to hand over election data. Some are pushing back.

Discussion: Town Talk Feed, CNN, Hullabaloo, Althouse, RedState, Albany Times Union, New York Magazine and The Week

Adam Ganucheau / Mississippi Today:
Hosemann on Trump voter ID request: ‘Go jump in the Gulf’

Discussion: The Hill and Politicus USA

Michael Isikoff / Yahoo:

Bill to create panel that could remove Trump from office quietly picks up Democratic support — For months, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have privately counseled their more militant members to forswear talk of impeaching President Trump …

Discussion: Axios, Political Wire, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, CNN, AOL, Washington Free Beacon and IJR

Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:

Manhattan Prosecutor Joins Inquiry Into Russian Meddling in Election — One federal prosecutor in Manhattan is being promoted to become the new chief of the public corruption unit, while another is departing to join Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel overseeing the investigation …

Discussion: The Hill and NBC News

Binyamin Appelbaum / New York Times:

American Companies Still Make Aluminum. In Iceland. — REYDARFJORDUR, Iceland — Where did the United States' aluminum smelters go? — More than 30 of the giant factories once dotted the American landscape, sucking down huge amounts of electricity to produce the metal for car parts, beer cans and aluminum foil.

Abigail Tracy / Vanity Fair:

The Republican Plot to Kill Obamacare Isn't as Dead as It Seems — The Senate bill is in trouble, but insiders warn against underestimating Mitch McConnell. — With the July Fourth recess looming, Mitch McConnell and Republican leadership spent Thursday scrambling to cobble together …

Discussion: CNNMoney, Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, Daily Kos and Business Insider

The Hill:

White House releases salaries of top Trump staffers — The White House on Friday released a list of salary information for nearly 400 employees of President Trump's executive office. — The 16-page document details the annual salaries of top staffers and advisors to the president.

Hadas Gold / Politico:
Conservative outlets get more official seats in White House briefing room

Discussion: Washington Times

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
White House releases salary info for Trump's aides

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hullabaloo and Raw Story

Sarah Maslin Nir / New York Times:

Doctor Opens Fire at Bronx Hospital, Killing Woman and Wounding 6 Others — A disgruntled doctor armed with an AR-15 rifle and wearing a lab coat went on a rampage on Friday in the Bronx hospital where he had worked, killing a doctor and wounding six other people — five of them seriously …

Discussion: The Week, CBS New York, The Atlantic, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, Daily Mail, Business Insider, Mediaite, Bearing Arms and Fox News

CNN:
Shooter kills 1, wounds others at NYC hospital; officials say he was doctor

Discussion: New York's PIX11, The Daily Caller, NBC News, Refinery29, twitchy.com, UPI, New York Magazine and KFOR-TV

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

The biggest winner in the current health-care debate: Single-payer — We still don't know who will ultimately prevail in the debate over the future of American health care: the Republicans who want to overhaul Obamacare, or the Democrats who want to keep it in place.

Discussion: Salon

Rachel Kurzius / DCist:

Russian-Funded News Station Replaces Bluegrass on 105.5 FM — Those who've become accustomed to hearing bluegrass music when they turn the dial to 105.5 FM are in for a surprise—the bandwidth now broadcasts Sputnik, a “global wire, radio and digital news service” funded by the Russian government.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Naaman Zhou / The Guardian:

Volvo admits its self-driving cars are confused by kangaroos — Swedish company's animal detection system can identify and avoid deer, elk and caribou, but is yet to work against the marsupials' movements — Volvo's self-driving car is unable to detect kangaroos because hopping confounds its systems, the Swedish carmaker says.

Discussion: Telegraph

Eric Bradner / CNN:

First on CNN: Kamala Harris maneuvers to help 2018 Democrats — and build a national profile — Senator interrupted by chair in two hearings — The fundraising and travel comes after a quick star turn for the freshman senator, who took office in January

Sean Illing / Vox:

I think health care is a right. I asked an expert to tell me why I'm wrong. — “You've got to be willing to accept that there's a trade-off here.” —Craig Garthwaite — “I believe that health care should be regarded as a public good, not a marketplace commodity. Tell me why I'm wrong.”

Katie Benner / New York Times:

Women in Tech Speak Frankly on Culture of Harassment — Their stories came out slowly, even hesitantly, at first. Then in a rush. — One female entrepreneur recounted how she had been propositioned by a Silicon Valley venture capitalist while seeking a job with him, which she did not land after rebuffing him.