memeorandum: J.K. Rowling falsely accuses Trump of not shaking disabled boy's hand (Joshua Gillin/@politifact)

1:20 AM ET, August 1, 2017

Top Items:

Jake Tapper / CNN:

White House officials tricked by email prankster — (CNN)A self-described “email prankster” in the UK fooled a number of White House officials into thinking he was other officials, including an episode where he convinced the White House official tasked with cyber security that he was Jared Kushner …

Discussion: Engadget, The Week, Gizmodo, The Guardian, Mashable, Raw Story, IJR and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

Trump Removes Anthony Scaramucci From Communications Director Role — WASHINGTON — President Trump has decided to remove Anthony Scaramucci from his position as communications director, three people close to the decision said Monday, relieving him just days after Mr. Scaramucci unloaded …

CNN:

EXCLUSIVE: Kelly called Comey to express anger over firing, sources say — Who is John Kelly? — Washington (CNN)New White House chief of staff John Kelly was so upset with how President Donald Trump handled the firing of FBI Director James Comey that Kelly called Comey afterward …

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Resurgent, The Gateway Pundit, The Root, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, Hullabaloo, TheBlaze, Axios, Political Wire, Business Insider and Mediaite

Ryan Lizza / New Yorker:

Anthony Scaramucci's Ouster May Show That John Kelly Has the Rare Ability to Rein In Trump — On Monday afternoon, John Kelly, the new White House chief of staff, made his first major staffing decision, forcing out the White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, after less than two weeks on the job.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Politico, Washington Post, Axios, Pacific Standard, New York Times, Just Security, Washington Free Beacon and AOL

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Inside Mooch's firing — Shortly after new White House Chief of Staff John Kelly was sworn in this morning, he brought Anthony Scaramucci to his office and told him that he had to go. A source familiar said Kelly needed to assert his influence over the staff, but was gracious in the way he did it.

Discussion: Politico, The Federalist, Politicus USA and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Emily Heil / Washington Post:
Anthony Scaramucci erroneously listed as dead in the new Harvard Law alumni directory

Discussion: The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Mashable and Political Wire

David Marcus / The Federalist: Why Anthony Scaramucci Is The Man Trump And America Need

Grace Hauck / CNN: Christie pleads for Trump to declare opioid crisis a national public health emergency

CNN:
Anthony Scaramucci out as White House communications director

Discussion: New York Magazine, NPR, Politico and The Atlantic

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Trump ousts Scaramucci as communications director

Axios:
Scaramucci out as White House communications director

Discussion: IJR, Washington Post, New York Times, Media Matters for America, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, Raw Story, Shareblue, The Guardian, Mashable, Vox, Business Insider and CNBC

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Donald Trump's shocking disloyalty

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, Politico, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit and RedState

Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:
Trump Ousts Scaramucci As Comms Chief Just 10 Days After Bringing Him On

Discussion: Politicus USA, IJR, Washington Post, TheBlaze and New York Magazine

Washington Post:

Trump dictated son's misleading statement on meeting with Russian lawyer … On the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Germany last month, President Trump's advisers discussed how to respond to a new revelation that Trump's oldest son had met with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign …

Discussion: ABC News, Vox, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, IJR, Business Insider, The Resurgent, The Guardian, Mother Jones, CNBC, Mediaite, VICE News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos, The Week, Politicus USA and Balloon Juice

Axios:

Report: Trump involvement in statement on son carries legal risks — The Washington Post reports tonight that President Trump's involvement in writing the statement on his son Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with Russians carries legal risks. Trump was responsible for the statement saying …

Discussion: Washington Post, Business Insider, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, IJR and Politicus USA

Jeff Flake / Politico:

My Party Is in Denial About Donald Trump — Who could blame the people who felt abandoned and ignored by the major parties for reaching in despair for a candidate who offered oversimplified answers to infinitely complex questions and managed to entertain them in the process?

Discussion: New York Times, Mother Jones, Business Insider, Balloon Juice, Politicus USA, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Vox, AOL, The Daily Caller, The Week and Talking Points Memo

Steve Inskeep / NPR.org:
Sen. Jeff Flake: ‘As Conservatives, Our First Obligation Is To Be Honest’

Discussion: Washington Monthly, LifeNews.com and The Hill

Jeannette Walls / CBS News:
Sen. Jeff Flake says Republican Party has “lost its way”

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

The Daily Beast:

Corey Lewandowski Has Been Fired From The One America News Network … Corey Lewandowski has been fired. Again. — Three sources with knowledge of the situation tell The Daily Beast that the former Trump campaign manager and current informal adviser to the president has been let go from …

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Jennifer Wishon / CBN.com:

Bible Studies at the White House: Who's at the Heart of This Spiritual Awakening? — WASHINGTON - A spiritual awakening is underway at the White House. — Some of the most powerful people in America have been gathering weekly to learn more about God's Word, and this Trump Cabinet Bible study is making history.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, The Daily Caller and IJR

Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story: Nearly all Cabinet officials attend Bible lessons with right-wing pastor who compares Trump to biblical heroes

Jenna McLaughlin / Foreign Policy:

Kushner to Interns: Trump Team Too Disorganized to Collude With Russia — In off-the-record remarks, the president's son-in-law offers a unique defense. — Donald Trump's election team could not have colluded with Russia because they were barely talking to each other, according to Jared Kushner …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, Politicus USA, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico:

Republicans ignore Trump's Obamacare taunts — Senate Republicans have no plans to revive their party-line attempts to repeal Obamacare this summer, despite President Donald Trump's increasing frustration over the chamber's failed attempts last week to gut the law.

Discussion: Political Wire

Susan Cornwell / Reuters:

Exclusive: Senate too divided to keep up healthcare push - Senator Hatch — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch said on Monday that senators for now are too divided to keep working on healthcare overhaul legislation and that he and other senior Republicans will take that message to the White House.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Caller, The Week and Political Wire

David Morgan / Reuters: U.S. Senator Hatch says 25 percent corporate rate a challenge in tax reform

Joshua Gillin / @politifact:

J.K. Rowling falsely accuses Trump of not shaking disabled boy's hand … Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling took to Twitter to accuse President Donald Trump of ignoring a disabled child at a press conference, but she was basing her outrage on a highly edited video that left out Trump's greeting.

Discussion: twitchy.com, Mediaite, Washington Times, Mashable, Washington Free Beacon and The Federalist

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:
J.K. Rowling apologizes for falsely accusing Trump of ignoring boy in wheelchair

Discussion: Washington Post, Sputnik International, The Resurgent and IJR

Alex Pfeiffer / The Daily Caller:

EXCLUSIVE: Kellyanne Conway May Be The Next Communications Director — REVOLVING DOOR: 11 People Who Have Joined And Left The Chaotic Trump Administration — POLITICS | PETER HASSON — Smashed Hard Drives Can Still Talk — INVESTIGATIVE GROUP | MARK TAPSCOTT — ‘Even if it is hit with a hammer’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and TheBlaze

James Hibberd / EW.com:

HBO hacked: Upcoming episodes, Game of Thrones data leaked online — HBO chairman: ‘Disruptive, unsettling, and disturbing for all of us’ — HBO has joined the ranks of Hollywood entertainment companies to suffer a major cyber attack. — EW has learned that upcoming episodes …

Discussion: AOL, CNNMoney, New York Times, BuzzFeed, NBC News, IndieWire, Gothamist, The Guardian, The Week, The Daily Caller, The Verge, NPR, Engadget, Raw Story, Gizmodo and Mother Jones, more at Mediagazer »

Megan Cassidy / Arizona Republic:

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio found guilty of criminal contempt of court — The immigration policies that elevated former Sheriff Joe Arpaio to fame were the same that would ultimately lead to his political demise, and now have convicted him of a federal crime.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Above the Law and The Week

J. Weston Phippen / The Atlantic:
Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Convicted Criminal

Discussion: VICE News and Balloon Juice

Associated Press:

Zinke: ‘Laughable’ to suggest he threatened Alaska senators — https://apnews.com/41c2797793b24c71a88f 429ea8626ee5 — Link copied! — BUNKERVILLE, Nev. (AP) — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said it is “laughable” to suggest he threatened Alaska's U.S. senators over a vote by one of them involving health care.

Discussion: Political Wire

Richie Bernardo / WalletHub:

2017's States with the Best & Worst School Systems — Securing a child's academic success begins with choosing the right schools. But how can parents decide where best to enroll their kids? Because children develop and learn at different rates, the ideal answer to that question varies based on each student's needs.

Discussion: Axios, KOIN-TV and CBS Boston

Joe Bilello / Mediaite:

Jill Stein Slams ‘Demonization of North Korea’ in Bizarre MSNBC Interview — Political activist and former Green Party nominee for President, Jill Stein, appeared on MSNBC on Sunday to provide an impassioned defense for the rogue dictatorship of North Korea and Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Discussion: TheBlaze and Instapundit

Henry J. Gomez / BuzzFeed:

Rebekah Mercer's Pro-Trump Group Goes Silent — President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump at a campaign rally last week in Youngstown, Ohio. — Justin Merriman / Getty Images — Making America Great, the political nonprofit formed by Republican mega-donor Rebekah Mercer …

Billy House / Bloomberg:

Capitol Police Responded to Wrong Site in Scalise Shooting — Elite tactical unit first sent to Pelosi's Georgetown house — Squad eventually arrived at scene of shooting in Virginia — The U.S. Capitol Police department opened an internal investigation into why its elite tactical team …

Discussion: AOL, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com

Christopher Ingraham / Washington Post:

White House opioid commission to Trump: “Declare a national emergency” on drug overdoses — The White House Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis issued a preliminary report on Monday stating that its “first and most urgent recommendation” is for the president to …

Discussion: Raw Story