memeorandum: The Worst (and Best) Places to Be Gay in America (Frank Bruni/New York Times)

11:15 AM ET, August 25, 2017

Top Items:

Gary Cohn urges Trump team to do more to condemn neo-Nazis — Gary Cohn, the top White House economic official, said the Trump administration “must do better” in condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists following the violent protests in Charlottesville this month that sparked …

Discussion: HuffPost, ThinkProgress, Politico, CNN, The Guardian, CNBC, The Week and Mediaite

New York Times:

Gary Cohn, Trump's Adviser, Said to Have Drafted Resignation Letter After Charlottesville — WASHINGTON — A prominent Jewish member of President Trump's administration said that the White House “can and must do better” in consistently condemning hate groups.

Discussion: Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, IJR and Mediaite

Financial Times:

Transcript: Gary Cohn on tax reform and Charlottesville — This is an edited transcript of an interview with Gary Cohn, chief economic adviser to President Donald Trump, conducted on August 24 2017. — FINANCIAL TIMES: What is happening with tax reform? — GARY COHN: We are completely engaged in tax reform.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Business Insider, Joe.My.God., VICE News and Political Wire

Politico:

White House moves goalposts on tax reform — GARY COHN SPEAKS TO THE FT — A FEW INTERESTING NUGGETS YOU SHOULD READ ... — THE WHITE HOUSE IS MOVING THE GOALPOSTS ON TAX REFORM ... AGAIN: Cohn now says he believes tax reform will be done by the end of 2017.

Discussion: Financial Times, Axios and Political Wire

Damian Paletta / Washington Post:

Yellen rejects Trump approach to Wall Street regulation, says post-crisis banking rules make economy safer — Jackson Hole, Wyo. — Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet L. Yellen offered a forceful defense of broad new banking regulations enacted after the 2008 financial crisis …

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Trump's top economic adviser just delivered an unprecedented rebuke of his boss over Charlottesville

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Week

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Gary Cohn criticizes Trump's Charlottesville response

Discussion: New York Magazine and The Daily Caller

Peter Jacobs / Business Insider:
Gary Cohn speaks out: Trump ‘must do better’ in condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists after Charlottesville

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Wall Street Journal:

Trump Divorces the GOP Congress — Republicans need to think of Trump as a political independent. — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. — A biographer says Donald Trump once told him that he informed second wife Marla Maples …

Discussion: Raw Story

Carl Hulse / New York Times:

Trump Fences Himself In With Border Wall Spending Threat — WASHINGTON — President Trump handed Democrats a gift this week with his vow to shut down the government if he doesn't soon get money for his border wall. — Democrats may be only too happy to let him follow through on his threat since …

Discussion: Politico, The Resurgent and The Week

Bryce Covert / New York Times: Republicans Learn to Love Debt

Rachael Bade / Politico:
Ryan faces diciest stretch of his speakership

Discussion: Washington Post

Washington Post:
Trump distances himself from GOP lawmakers to avoid blame if agenda stalls

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, The Week and Political Wire

Bipartisan Policy Center:
2017 Debt Limit Analysis

Discussion: CNBC, Washington Post, TheStreet, CNN, CNNMoney and Discourse.net

Andrew Degrandpre / Washington Post:

From space, ‘astounding’ Hurricane Harvey looks like it's about to swallow all of Texas — A brief-but-haunting video released by NASA on Thursday night shows Hurricane Harvey's powerful churn toward Central Texas, where the slow-moving storm is expected to throttle coastal communities with high winds and up to 25 inches of rain.

Discussion: Gizmodo, New Republic, Politicus USA, Daily Kos and robertscribbler

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
The natural disaster test: Trump braces for Hurricane Harvey

Discussion: Mother Jones, Washington Post, Joe.My.God., Bloomberg, The Week, Daily Wire, AOL, Business Insider and Gizmodo

Houston Chronicle:
Hurricane Harvey intensifies into Category 2 hurricane, zeroes in on Texas Coast

Discussion: CNN and The Week

Alan Blinder / New York Times:
Live: Hurricane Lurking in the Gulf Takes Aim at Texas

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Grist and CBS Dallas

Julián Aguilar / The Texas Tribune:
Border Patrol says Texas checkpoints to remain open during Hurricane Harvey

Discussion: Shakesville, Raw Story and Splinter

Washington Post:

Mnuchin viewed eclipse from roof of Fort Knox — Louise Linton, wife of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, drew accusations of elitism this week for an Instagram glamour shot of her stepping off a government jet — and for her mockery of an online critic as “adorably out of touch.”

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Axios, Talking Points Memo, CNN, Real Stories, AOL, Business Insider, Splinter and Balloon Juice

Greg Miller / Washington Post:

At CIA, a watchful eye on Mike Pompeo, the president's ardent ally — As CIA director, Mike Pompeo has taken a special interest in an agency unit that is closely tied to the investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, requiring the Counterintelligence Mission Center to report directly to him.

Discussion: Raw Story and VICE

John C. Danforth / Washington Post:

The real reason Trump is not a Republican … John C. Danforth was a Republican U.S. senator from Missouri from 1976 to 1995. — Many have said that President Trump isn't a Republican. They are correct, but for a reason more fundamental than those usually given.

Discussion: Shareblue, ABC News, Raw Story, Just Security, Shakesville and Mediaite

BuzzFeed:

Pro-Trump Media Bristles As John Kelly Limits What Gets To The President's Desk — The new White House chief of staff is on an info war, peeving some on the far right. — Pro-Trump media personalities and websites are worried they may be losing a dear reader: President Trump.

Discussion: Mediaite, Gizmodo, New York Times, Little Green Footballs, Business Insider, Politico, Infowars, New York Magazine and Talking Points Memo

Washington Post:

Interior secretary recommends Trump alter at least three national monuments, including Bears Ears … Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recommended Thursday that President Trump alter at least three national monuments established by his immediate predecessors, including two in Utah …

Discussion: Associated Press, Axios, New York Times, VICE News, The Nevada Independent, New York Magazine and Washington Monthly

Mike Allen / Axios:

New: Trump to let House GOP write his tax plan — Beginning next week, President Trump plans to spend several weeks selling the benefits of tax reform, with a flurry of speeches on the road, rallies (including the Rust Belt), and meetings at the White House.

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller and CNBC

Sahil Kapur / Bloomberg:
GOP Leaders Don't Expect White House Tax-Plan Details

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hill, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, Washington Monthly and Political Wire

Mike Allen / Axios:

Kasich, Hickenlooper eye joint 2020 bid — Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) — “the Johns,” as insiders are calling them — have been making a flurry of joint appearances to talk about state-driven improvements to health care.

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

The Hill:

Franken seen as reluctant 2020 candidate — say they believe the Minnesota senator could be talked into running for the White House if he believes he's the Democrat best positioned to defeat President Trump. — But they say Franken would need to be convinced, and argue that the former …

Discussion: Political Wire and The Daily Caller

Frank Bruni / New York Times:

The Worst (and Best) Places to Be Gay in America … Dennis Williams with his son, Elan, considers his neighborhood in Brooklyn a welcoming haven for gay parents like him. — All my life I've loved Texas: those big skies, big steaks and big attitudes. I'm there several times a year.

Discussion: The Resurgent

Hadley Freeman / The Guardian:

James Cameron: 'The downside of being attracted to independent women is that they don't need you' — As the 3D version of Terminator 2 hits screens, he talks about how he will never reproduce the shock of the original film - and how he has learned to be nice on set

Discussion: Daily Wire, EW.com, Associated Press, AOL, IndieWire, IJR, Consequence of Sound, Mediaite, ABC News, Mashable and The Last Tradition

Seth Mandel / New York Post:

The obscene effort to shame 'Trump's Jews' — Allow me a moment of pride: The hot new criticism of my fellow Jews is that we don't complain enough. — SEE ALSO — Really. A host of pundits, concerned about President Trump's baffling unwillingness to single out neo-Nazis for criticism …

Discussion: New York Times

Callum Borchers / Washington Post:

Is Sean Hannity's endorsement a kiss of death? — Kelli Ward was so excited to receive Sean Hannity's endorsement that upon learning of it on Wednesday, she reportedly interrupted a radio interview to announce the news to a crowd gathered for a campaign event in Sun Lakes, Ariz.

Discussion: Weekly Standard and RedState

Brandon Ambrosino / Politico:

My Weekend at the Falwells' South Beach Flophouse — “It's actually that one,” our Uber driver said, pointing with one hand and shifting into reverse with the other. “Right here?” I asked, thinking he must have gotten the address wrong. All I saw was a liquor store. — “That's it,” he said, crawling to a stop.

Discussion: RedState

Kaila White / Arizona Republic:

Photos: President Trump holds Arizona rally, August 2017 … It started with a comment on Facebook for people looking to protest President Donald Trump's rally Tuesday in downtown Phoenix. — Among many posts about where to meet up and what to bring to the “Protest Trump Downtown Phoenix” …

Discussion: Raw Story and The Root

Tegna / KUSA-TV:

Videos show East High cheerleaders repeatedly forced into splits, police investigating … DENVER - Editor's note: the video included in this story is difficult to watch and may not be suitable for all viewers. — Denver Police are now investigating incidents involving multiple cheerleaders …

Discussion: New York Times, Refinery29, Conservative News Today, myfox8.com, Mediaite, Infowars, Deadspin, Daily Wire, AOL and IJR

Julia Carrie Wong / The Guardian:

Turd Reich: San Francisco dog owners lay minefield of poo for rightwing rally — ‘I just had this image of alt-right people stomping around in the poop,’ says the organizer of an unusual protest ahead of Saturday's Patriot Prayer rally … When a group of far-right activists come …

Discussion: New York Times, Mercury News, Al Jazeera English, The Week and The Daily Caller

Diamond Naga Siu / Politico:

Flake: Trump's border wall plan is ‘out there’ — Sen. Jeff Flake is throwing punches back at President Donald Trump, this time bashing his proposal for a massive wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. — “This notion of a 2,000-mile wall has always been just — for anybody who spends time on the border …

Discussion: ABC News and The Week