memeorandum: GOP Sen. Ron Johnson: McCain's brain tumor might have been factor in no vote on health care (Andrew Kaczynski/CNN)

3:50 PM ET, August 9, 2017

Top Items:

Trump's Threat to North Korea Was Improvised — BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Trump delivered his “fire and fury” threat to North Korea on Tuesday with arms folded, jaw set and eyes flitting on what appeared to be a single page of talking points set before him on the conference table at his New Jersey golf resort.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Weekly Standard, The Guardian, USA Today, CNBC, No More Mister Nice Blog, Business Insider, Mediaite, IJR, The Week, NPR, Politico, Washington Post, Shareblue, Defense One, FOX6Now.com, neo-neocon, BBC, New York Magazine, Vox, ABC News, NBC News and Common Dreams

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Ignore Our Crazy President, U.S. Government Tells North Korea — President Trump brought the United States and North Korea to the precipice of war by warning that any further threats would be met with a nuclear attack. ("North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States.

Discussion: New York Times, ThinkProgress, CNN, The Daily Caller, WGNO and The Week

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / New York Times:

Trump's Harsh Language on North Korea Has Little Precedent, Experts Say — WASHINGTON — President Trump's warning on Tuesday that North Korea would experience “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if it continued threatening the United States was a remarkable escalation of military rhetoric …

Discussion: BillMoyers.com, Althouse, Washington Post, Business Insider, Shakesville, Foreign Policy, HuffPost, The Moderate Voice, CNN, The Guardian, Scared Monkeys, The FADER, The Daily Caller, The Week, New York Magazine, Daily Kos and The Atlantic

Alberto Nardelli / BuzzFeed:

This Is What European Diplomats Really Think About Donald Trump — Interviews with six top officials paint a picture of a president who is regarded even by allies as erratic and limited, and whose shortcomings are compounded by the ongoing chaos beneath him in the White House. — Reporting From

Discussion: Washington Post, Business Insider, CNBC, Talking Points Memo, Gizmodo, The Atlantic, AOL, TheBlaze and The Week

John Hudson / BuzzFeed:

Trump Hasn't Appointed An Ambassador To South Korea And Now It's A Big Problem — North Korea is threatening war, Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson are sending mixed signals, and there's no US ambassador in South Korea to straighten things out. — Reporting From Washington, D.C.

Discussion: Political Wire, Washington Post and NPR

Sarah Pulliam Bailey / Washington Post:
‘God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong Un,’ evangelical adviser says

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Los Angeles Times, CNN, New York Magazine, Common Dreams, The New Civil Rights Movement, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, AOL, Right Wing Watch, IJR, Shakesville, CBN.com, The American Conservative, No More Mister Nice Blog, FOX6Now.com and Bangor Daily News

Alex Horton / Agence France-Presse:
Why North Korea threatened Guam, the tiny U.S. territory with big military power

Discussion: Washington Post, Weekly Standard, ThinkProgress, Politico, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Fox News, Hit & Run, Associated Press, Yonhap News Agency, Fox News Insider, Business Insider and The Atlantic

Kim Hjelmgaard / USA Today:
‘Not helpful,’ Donald: World reaction to Trump's ‘fire and fury’ comments

Discussion: politics.blog.myajc.com, The Week and Just Security

Aaron Rupar / ThinkProgress:
GOP senator endorses war with North Korea because the destruction will be in the Pacific

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, Weekly Standard and Washington Post

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: The GOP congressional majority may be too strong for Trump to break

Discussion: Breitbart, ABC News and Politico

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
Trump's Pointless Untruths About U.S. Nuclear Weapons

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, CNBC, Raw Story, Common Dreams, Business Insider and Daily Kos

CNN:
North Korea vows strikes on US as Trump warns of ‘fire and fury’

Nyshka Chandran / CNBC:
Trump just set his own, uncrossable ‘red line’ — and North Korea crossed it instantly

Discussion: Power Line

Henry Farrell / Washington Post:
North Korea just called Trump's bluff. So what happens now?

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and The Week

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Trump warns N. Korea: U.S. nuclear arsenal is ‘more powerful than ever before’

David Ignatius / Washington Post:
This is the moment of truth on North Korea

Discussion: CNBC, Politico, Reuters, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, ABC News and Bloomberg

Washington Post:

FBI conducted predawn raid of former Trump campaign chairman Manafort's home … FBI agents raided the Alexandria home of President Trump's former campaign chairman late last month, using a search warrant to seize documents and other materials, according to people familiar …

New York Times:

Manafort's Home Searched as Part of Mueller Inquiry — WASHINGTON — Investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, recently searched a home of President Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, for tax documents and foreign banking records, according to a person briefed on the matter.

Discussion: Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and The Stranger …

Aaron Rupar / ThinkProgress:

Trump called for acting FBI director's firing hours after FBI agents raided Paul Manafort's home — On Wednesday, the Washington Post broke news that “FBI agents raided the Alexandria home of President Trump's former campaign chairman late last month, using a search warrant to seize documents …

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, IJR and The New Civil Rights Movement

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson: McCain's brain tumor might have been factor in no vote on health care — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — (CNN)Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said Tuesday that he thinks that Sen. John McCain's brain tumor and the early morning hours may have affected the Arizona Republican's …

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios, Politico, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Business Insider, Raw Story, New York Magazine, TheBlaze, Political Wire, The Week and Mediaite

Wall Street Journal:

McMaster and the Commander — The NSC adviser is the latest target of Steve Bannon's media friends. — National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster listens during the daily press briefing at the White House, July 31. — Chief of Staff John Kelly is by all accounts imposing more discipline …

Discussion: Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

Even in North Korea crisis, retired general John Kelly is an apolitical force in a White House divided by ideology — When John F. Kelly attended one of his first policy meetings last week, the other officials in attendance tried to suss out where the newly minted White House chief of staff stood …

Discussion: Vox and Washington Free Beacon

John Bresnahan / Politico: White House pitches deal for wall money — and no shutdown

Tegna / WXIA-TV:

Atlanta gym owner makes no apologies for ‘No Cops’ sign … A shocking and vulgar sign about police officers has been posted in front of a local business in Atlanta. The sign could be seen from the street with the curse word blurred out, but the message is clear: It says no cops allowed.

Discussion: Fox News, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, AOL and CBS Dallas

National Enquirer:

Trump Advisor Sex Scandal — Paul Manafort's Sick Affair — Target in FBI-Russia probe also cheated with woman half his age!

Discussion: emptywheel and Raw Story

Jane Mayer / New Yorker:

Has James O'Keefe Accidentally Stung Himself Again? — James O'Keefe III, the conservative activist famous for undercover stings, has dedicated his life to exposing the “misconduct” of others. But he's developed a side business in accidentally exposing his own.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Raw Story

Ashley Killough / CNN:

White House official goes after McConnell over ‘excessive expectations’ comment — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — (CNN)A close aide to President Donald Trump hit back Wednesday against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, exhibiting further tension between the White House and Congress …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, RedState, Business Insider, The Washington Journal and Joe.My.God.

Andrew Prokop / Vox:
Trump allies are taking aim at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

Discussion: Courier-Journal, Washington Post, Politico, RedState, Associated Press, Axios and CNBC

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:

Are Mercenaries Really a Cheaper Way of War? — The world is sliding in a strange direction when a Prince wishes to become a viceroy. — That's Erik Prince, the founder of the mercenary Academi, previously Xe, né Blackwater, who has been pushing a plan to privatize the war in Afghanistan.

Discussion: Washington Post, USA Today, ThinkProgress and Balloon Juice

The Daily Beast:
Pentagon to Bannon's Blackwater Buddy Erik Prince: GTFO

Discussion: Washington Post and Raw Story

Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:

Conservative Koch Brothers Are Secret Investors in ‘Wonder Woman’ (Exclusive) — Steven Mnuchin brought in the right-wing power brokers, as well as Bill Gates, to help fund such Hollywood projects as ‘Dunkirk’ and Steven Spielberg's upcoming ‘Ready Player One.’

Discussion: Slate, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, The Week, Washington Free Beacon and twitchy.com

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Top Trump donor ponies up to take out Flake — One of Donald Trump's most generous political benefactors is providing a six-figure donation to a super PAC devoted to unseating Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who has been fiercely critical of the president.

Discussion: Breaking News USA, New Republic and Vox

John Crudele / New York Post:

There's something unusual about the job growth numbers — MORE FROM: … Job growth was decent in July — the fourth straight month of just-OK results on that front, which probably led to high fives at the White House. — But there's something unusual in the numbers.

Daniel Squadron / New York Daily News:

Why I'm leaving the N.Y. Senate — On election night 2008, as our taxi crept through Times Square's spontaneous celebration, my fiance and I whooped out the window. We were inspired by Barack Obama's election and excited about my own. I had defeated a 30-year incumbent to become …

Discussion: CBS New York, Capitol Confidential and Gothamist

D.C. McAllister / The Federalist:

Anti-Trumpers Need To Fire On The Real Enemy Instead Of On Conservatives — We hoped they would go away after the election. We hoped they would stop their whining and grandstanding once Donald Trump took office. We hoped they would accept defeat and embrace our Republican president …

Michael Gartland / New York Post:

Emails reveal de Blasio bullies his staffers — Mayor de Blasio is an imperious bully of a boss who threatens his underlings with dire punishment if they fail to meet his demands, emails obtained by The Post reveal. — “What do I need to get you guys to follow a direct order?

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Front Page Magazine, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Gizmodo and Mediaite

Henry J. Gomez / BuzzFeed:

The Confederate Flag Fight Is Back — Then-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at the July 2015 bill signing that removed the Confederate flag from Statehouse grounds. — Sean Rayford / Getty Images — Two years ago last month, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley pulled down the Confederate flag …