memeorandum: 'It's like someone with a lawn mower from the sky has gone over the island' (Washington Post)

1:20 PM ET, September 8, 2017

Top Items:

Limbaugh evacuates South Florida after claiming Hurricane Irma was a liberal hoax — Rush Limbaugh will be evacuating South Florida, just days after the popular conservative radio host claimed that Hurricane Irma would not hit the United States and that scientists and the liberal media …

Discussion: Mediaite, Mother Jones, Splinter and Raw Story

Daniella Diaz / CNN:

EPA chief on Irma: The time to talk climate change isn't now — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt told CNN in an interview about Hurricane Irma on Thursday that the time to talk about climate change isn't now.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Political Wire, Splinter and KFOR-TV

Nicholas Nehamas / miamiherald:
Hurricane Irma is forcing Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate to evacuate

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Bangor Daily News, Shareblue, CNN, Politicus USA and CNBC

Michael Daly / The Daily Beast:
Monster Hurricane Irma Barrels Toward Climate Change Deniers' Playground

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

CNN:
Evacuate now and avoid Irma's wrath: ‘You can always party later’

Discussion: ABC News, Gothamist, ROMPER, FOX2now.com, FOX6Now.com, KTLA, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, KFOR-TV, Mashable, WTVR-TV, Axios and IJR

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Kris Kobach's leap of logic on voter fraud in New Hampshire should be disqualifying — In the end, the conclusion that Kris Kobach should be kept as far as possible from any investigation into “voter fraud” — much less co-chairing President Trump's federal exercise — comes down to three words:

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Conservative News Today and MelaniePhillips.com, more at Mediagazer »

Zachary Roth / thedailydemocracy.org:

Debunking Kobach's latest voter fraud lie — Kris Kobach is at it again, claiming he's found “proof” of large scale voter fraud. — He hasn't. And he's doing something particularly sneaky that's worth explaining. — Kobach (pictured), who runs the White House's voting commission …

Kris W. Kobach / Breitbart:
Exclusive - Kobach: It Appears That Out-of-State Voters Changed the Outcome of the New Hampshire U.S. Senate Race

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, Washington Post, Political Wire, thedailydemocracy.org, Right Wing Watch, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and The Last Tradition

David Weigel / Washington Post:
Election Integrity Commission members accuse New Hampshire voters of fraud

Discussion: Fox News, Daily Wire and Clayton Cramer

CBS News:

Steve Bannon: Trump's leaked “Access Hollywood” tape was a “litmus test” — In his first extensive interview since leaving the Trump administration, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon tells “60 Minutes” about the fallout after the leaked “Access Hollywood” tape.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Business Insider, Political Wire, The Daily Caller and TheBlaze

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
Bannon: Christie lost cabinet spot after ‘Access Hollywood’ tape release

Discussion: RedState, Politico, IJR, Business Insider and The Daily Caller

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:

House passes Trump deal on majority Democratic vote — The House on Friday cleared a short-term measure to avoid a government shutdown and raise the debt limit through December, ratifying a deal President Trump struck with Democrats. — Lawmakers voted 316-90 for the package that includes …

Discussion: Politico and RedState

Erik Wasson / Bloomberg:

House GOP Rips Mnuchin for His ‘Vote for the Debt Ceiling for Me’ Sales Pitch — Conservative Republicans hissed, groaned at Treasury secretary — They laughed at White House budget director Mick Mulvaney — Conservative House Republicans hissed and groaned at Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin …

Discussion: Politicus USA

CNN:
The White House tried to calm furious House Republicans. It didn't go well.

Discussion: KFOR-TV

Mike Allen / Axios:

No regrets: Trump exuberant in Oval Office after deal with Dems — Among Republicans on Capitol Hill, “I've never heard members and senators so angry at the president of their own party,” one durable Washington hand told me after yesterday's round of check-in calls.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, New York Times, Mediaite, Althouse, Business Insider and Washington Post

Associated Press:

For Trump and Ryan, a tortured relationship grows more so — https://apnews.com/5020609d1ddb4eab9f8f f42fd9e03bd0 — Link copied! — WASHINGTON (AP) — It started out cold as ice, and then turned warm and friendly. Now the tortured relationship between President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Eschaton

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
The debt ceiling deal is a template for how Trump can get things done

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Mother Jones

New York Times:
Energized Trump Sees Bipartisan Path, at Least for Now

Washington Post:

'It's like someone with a lawn mower from the sky has gone over the island' … PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Apocalyptic scenes of flattened buildings and ruined airports emerged from once-lush Caribbean islands devastated by historic Hurricane Irma, as the deadly storm lashed vulnerable Haiti …

Discussion: CNN, The Guardian, The Verge, Faithwire and ROMPER

New York Times:
Hurricane Irma Live Updates: ‘Way Bigger Than Andrew,’ Florida Governor Warns

Discussion: FOX59, Above the Law, myfox8.com, al.com, FOX2now.com, Fox News, FiveThirtyEight, KTLA, KFOR-TV, NPR and Watts Up With That?

Alayna Treene / Axios:
Jose gains strength as Category 4 Irma barrels toward Florida

Discussion: Politico and New York Times

Anders Melin / Bloomberg:

Three Equifax Managers Sold Stock Before Cyber Hack Was Revealed — Three Equifax Inc. senior executives sold shares worth almost $1.8 million in the days after the company discovered a security breach that may have compromised information on about 143 million U.S. consumers.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Resurgent, The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, BillMoyers.com, Patterico's Pontifications, Mashable, Associated Press, Raw Story, Gizmodo, CTVNews and The Atlantic, more at Techmeme »

Ines Gutzmer / Cybersecurity Incident & …:

Cybersecurity Incident & Important Consumer Information — Equifax Announces Cybersecurity Incident Involving Consumer Information — No Evidence of Unauthorized Access to Core Consumer or Commercial Credit Reporting Databases — Company to Offer Free Identity Theft Protection and Credit File Monitoring to All U.S. Consumers

Polly Mosendz / Bloomberg:
Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

Discussion: Mashable, more at Techmeme »

The Daily Beast:

Russia's Facebook Fake News Could Have Reached 70 Million Americans … Russian-funded covert propaganda posts on Facebook were likely seen by a minimum of 23 million people and might have reached as many as 70 million, according to analysis by an expert on the social-media giant's complex advertising systems.

Discussion: Bloomberg, NPR, Just Security, Politico, Washington Post, BuzzFeed, New York Magazine, KQED News and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Jose Lambiet / miamiherald:

Broward GOP uncovers a nasty secret about its young party secretary — The Broward County Republicans are in turmoil today after revelations that a freshly elected member of their executive board is a man who once was charged with attempted murder in the savage claw-hammer beating …

Reuters:

Trump anger at Cohn raises doubts about his White House tenure: sources — Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Jeff Mason — BOSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A newly fraying relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and top White House economic adviser Gary Cohn has raised questions about how long Cohn …

Discussion: RedState

CNN:
King on Trump and Schumer: ‘It was almost like a love-in at times’

Discussion: New York Times, Mother Jones and Gizmodo

Sean Illing / Vox:

Can these Democratic attorneys general save DACA? I asked 9 legal experts. — Almost immediately after the administration announced its plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — thereby removing deportation protection and work permits from roughly 800,000 …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post and ImmigrationProf Blog

Jess Bravin / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Backs Baker Who Refused to Make Wedding Cake for Gay Couple

Discussion: Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CNN, KTLA and SCOTUSblog

Evan Osnos / New Yorker:

The Risk of Nuclear War with North Korea — On the ground in Pyongyang: Could Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump goad each other into a devastating confrontation? — 1. The Madman Theory — The United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, so there is no embassy in Washington …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Washington Post, Business Insider, The Daily Caller and Axios

Matt Apuzzo / New York Times:

‘I Smell Cash’: How the A.T.F. Spent Millions Unchecked — A pair of informants got $6 million and agents spent freely. The Justice Department fought to keep records of the operation secret. — BRISTOL, Va. — For seven years, agents at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco …

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:

Ted Cruz 2.0? Senator Adjusts With Trump in Office and Houston Under Water — WASHINGTON — Senator Ted Cruz of Texas was just getting going, summoning his down-home artillery from the Senate floor — the faith-flecked tales, the weathered statesman's gaze, the theatrical pauses deployed not so long ago before caucus-inclined Iowans.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

NBC News:

Homeland Security Plans Massive Roundups of Undocumented Immigrants — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security is planning nationwide raids to target 8,400 undocumented immigrants later this month, according to three law enforcement officials and an internal document …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, ICE, The Hill, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Wire, New York Magazine, The Gateway Pundit, Splinter, RedState, Raw Story and ImmigrationProf Blog

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:

Bernie backers' attacks on Democrats infuriate the party — Prominent Democrats are increasingly riled by attacks from Bernie Sanders' supporters, whose demands for ideological purity are hurting the party ahead of the 2018 midterms and 2020 presidential election, they say.

Sarah Kliff / Vox:

This is the most brazen act of Obamacare sabotage yet — Trump has quietly stopped funding Obamacare's outreach budget. — The Trump administration has let funding for Obamacare's $63 million in-person outreach program lapse, leading to layoffs and confusion among nonprofits that enroll vulnerable populations in coverage.

Discussion: New York Magazine