memeorandum: Tillerson launches personal diplomacy in Persian Gulf dispute (Karen DeYoung/Washington Post)

10:55 AM ET, July 9, 2017

Top Items:

Trump Team Met With Lawyer Linked to Kremlin During Campaign — Two weeks after Donald J. Trump clinched the Republican presidential nomination last year, his eldest son arranged a meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan with a Russian lawyer who has connections to the Kremlin …

Associated Press:

Trump says it's ‘time to move forward’ with Russia — President Donald Trump said Sunday that “it is time to move forward in working constructively with Russia” after his lengthy meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Germany. But he is still avoiding the question of whether …

Discussion: Axios, Politico and ABC News

David Cohen / Politico:

Trump vows ‘to move forward’ with Putin — Vowing “to move forward” in his administration's relations with Russia, President Donald Trump said Sunday that he and President Vladimir Putin talked about “forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit” to safeguard against election hacking when the two leaders met in Germany last week.

Discussion: Axios, The Hill, RedState and The Week

David Morgan / Reuters: Trump Jr., Kushner met with Russian lawyer: New York Times

Masha Gessen / New York Times:
Trump Gave Putin Exactly What He Wanted

Discussion: DCReport.org

Jen Psaki / CNN:
Putin set a trap and Trump fell into it

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:
Even Now, Does Mr. Trump Get It on Hacking?

Discussion: Sputnik International

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:

U.S. officials say Russian government hackers have penetrated energy and nuclear company business networks — Russian government hackers were behind recent cyber-intrusions into the business systems of U.S. nuclear power and other energy companies in what appears to be an effort to assess their networks …

Discussion: Axios and Political Wire

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

The New York Times Is In Trouble — We have noted here and elsewhere Sarah Palin's libel case against the New York Times. In a June 14 editorial, the Times accused Palin of being responsible for Jared Loughner's murder of six people in Tucson, Arizona. Since then, the Times has issued two corrections to the editorial.

Kaja Whitehouse / New York Post: NY Times says blaming Palin for shooting was ‘an honest mistake’

Joel S. Baden / Politico:

Marco Rubio Is Tweeting the Most Republican Part of the Bible — Marco Rubio had a message for his nearly 3 million Twitter followers on the morning of June 26: “As dogs return to their vomit, so fools repeat their folly. Proverbs 26:11.” — That one might have been his most head-snapping …

Graham Ambrose / Denver Post:

These Coloradans say Earth is flat. And gravity's a hoax. Now, they're being persecuted. — The Flat Earth movement is growing in Colorado, thanks to technology and skepticism about science … Every Tuesday at 6 p.m., three dozen Coloradans from every corner of the state assemble …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Peter Holley / Washington Post:

In Alexandria shooter's hometown, rage-filled radio host channels middle America's inner frustration — BELLEVILLE, Ill. — It's not yet 11 a.m., and Bob Romanik, sitting behind the microphone at his radio station in a rundown strip mall in the middle of America, already has said the “n-word” …

Discussion: The American Conservative, RedState, Mediaite and IJR

New York Times:

Seattle Shows the Way to Higher Pay — A recent study on Seattle's $15-an-hour minimum wage law reignited the debate over whether higher minimums help workers by lifting pay or harm them by leading employers to cut hours. The study, by University of Washington researchers, found more harm than good …

Discussion: Forbes

Jake Zuckerman / Charleston Gazette-Mail:

Capito opposes conservative amendment to ACA repeal bill — U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said Friday she wouldn't support an amendment to the GOP's health care overhaul pushed by far-right Senate conservatives, pouring cold water on prospects of unifying the party around any legislation.

Discussion: New York Magazine

Hiroko Tabuchi / New York Times:

Rooftop Solar Dims Under Pressure From Utility Lobbyists — Over the past six years, rooftop solar panel installations have seen explosive growth — as much as 900 percent by one estimate. — That growth has come to a shuddering stop this year, with a projected decline in new installations of 2 percent …

Jennifer Van Laar / Townhall.com:

California Dems Suing College Republicans in Latest Temper Tantrum — Despite Jerry Brown using “goon squads” to intimidate voters, and angry Democratic Party leaders verbally assaulting signature gatherers, organizers of the effort to recall California state Sen. Josh Newman (D-Orange County) …

Michelle Cottle / The Atlantic:

The Congressional War on Expertise — Talk about a lousy recess. — Even as members of Congress were sprinting out of town for the July 4th holiday, the hard-working nerds at the Congressional Budget Office were handed the number-crunching equivalent of a colonoscopy …

Ryan Parker / Hollywood Reporter:

‘True Blood’ Star Nelsan Ellis Dies at 39 — “He was a great talent, and his words and presence will be forever missed.” — Nelsan Ellis, the actor who starred in HBO's True Blood as Lafayette Reynolds, has died, his manager Emily Gerson Saines, told The Hollywood Reporter. — He was 39.

Discussion: Variety, NBC News, ABC News, Refinery29, Washington Post and The Root

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:

Pope Francis Says America Has ‘a Distorted Vision of the World’ — (CNSNews.com) - Pope Francis told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica on Thursday that the United States of America—and Russia, China, North Korea and Bashar al Assad's Syria—have “a distorted vision of the world” …

Discussion: Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story

Jeff Mason / Reuters:
Trump keeps it friendly with Xi at G20 on North Korea threat

Discussion: Bloomberg, Breaking News USA, The Week and Politico

Joseph Weber / Fox News:
Trump to China President Xi: N Korea nuclear threat will end ‘one way or another’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Josh Delk / The Hill:

Iowa woman pleads guilty for trying to vote twice for Trump — A woman in Des Moines, Iowa has pleaded guilty to an election misconduct charge for trying to vote twice for President Trump in the 2016 presidential election, according to court documents. — Terri Lynn Rote, 57 …