memeorandum: FBI arrests Chinese national connected to malware used in OPM data breach (Evan Perez/CNN)

10:20 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: CNN, The Guardian, CNBC, The Week 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: Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, 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: Axios and Political Wire

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.

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Trump's top economic adviser just delivered an unprecedented rebuke of his boss over Charlottesville — President Trump will occasionally drop some public, not-so-veiled criticisms of his aides when they run afoul of him. And now one of his aides is doing it right back — in a pretty remarkable and unmistakable way.

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Week

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Gary Cohn criticizes Trump's Charlottesville response — Gary Cohn told the Financial Times that he felt “enormous pressure” following Trump's response to Charlottesville, where the president blamed “both sides” for the violence that broke out. … Why it matters: A source close to Trump predicts …

Discussion: New York Magazine and The Daily Caller

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

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

Mike Allen / Axios:
New: Trump to let House GOP write his tax plan

Discussion: Politico, CNBC and The Daily Caller

Financial Times:
Trump to push for tax reform passage by year's end, says Cohn

Discussion: ABC News and The Daily Caller

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

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

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

Discussion: Washington Post

Bipartisan Policy Center:
2017 Debt Limit Analysis

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

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: Talking Points Memo, Axios, CNN, Real Stories, AOL, Splinter and Balloon Juice

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:

The natural disaster test: Trump braces for Hurricane Harvey — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)As Hurricane Harvey swirls through the Gulf of Mexico, speeding toward the Texas coast, it could also bring a critical test of President Donald Trump's abilities as commander-in-chief.

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

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: New Republic, Politicus USA, Daily Kos and robertscribbler

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

Discussion: CNN and The Week

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

Discussion: Raw Story and Splinter

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.

John C. Danforth / Washington Post:

Trump is exactly what Republicans are not — (Jim Watson/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images) — 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, Just Security and Shakesville

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

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

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

New York Times:

Say No to Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Mr. Trump — It would be difficult for President Trump, who has insulted judges and tried to interfere with a federal investigation, to show much more disrespect for the rule of law. But if he makes good on his implicit vow to pardon Joe Arpaio …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Fox News, The Week, The Guardian and Media Matters for America

Caroline Randall Williams / New York Times:
President Obama, Where Are You?

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and The Daily Caller

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

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

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

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

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: 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

Economist:

The future of Bannonism — Donald Trump's adviser has gone, but his ideas stick around — TWO days after he ceased to be President Donald Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon explained why he had welcomed The Economist to his house on Capitol Hill for a chat.

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

CNN:

Duck Dynasty's Korie Robertson to Trump: ‘Say you were wrong’ on Charlottesville — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)"Duck Dynasty" star Korie Robertson says she doesn't understand why President Trump didn't speak out sooner and more forcefully against white supremacists after they rallied this month in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Discussion: TheBlaze and IJR

Ben Lefebvre / Politico:

Oil and gas allies to Trump: Slow down — President Donald Trump's aggressive drive to roll back environmental regulations is moving too fast even for some in the oil and gas industry. — Publicly, petroleum companies and their trade groups are cheering Trump's efforts …

Discussion: Axios