memeorandum: In U.N. speech, Trump threatens to ‘totally destroy North Korea’ and calls Kim Jong Un ‘Rocket Man’ (David Nakamura/Washington Post)

6:15 PM ET, September 19, 2017

Top Items:

Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:

Trump Uses Putin's Arguments to Undermine the World … The leader stepped to the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, as close to a literal world stage as exists, and issued a stringent defense of the principle of national sovereignty. — “What is the state sovereignty, after all …

Discussion: Raw Story

Politico:

Full text: Trump's 2017 U.N. speech transcript — President Donald Trump's statement to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 19, 2017, as prepared for delivery. — Mr. Secretary General, Mr. President, world leaders, and distinguished delegates: Welcome to New York.

Discussion: The Hill, Power Line, ABC News, Washington Post, NPR, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, TalkLeft, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Scripting News, IJR, Althouse, twitchy.com and Balloon Juice

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Trump warns that major portions of the world ‘are going to hell’ — UNITED NATIONS — President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to “totally destroy” North Korea and its “Rocket Man” leader, warned the “murderous” Iranian government that it cannot endure, and declared that much of the world is “going to hell.”

Discussion: Power Line, ABC News, Hullabaloo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Wire, Just Security and IJR

Kaili Joy Gray / Shareblue:

World leaders watch “stone faced” as Trump casually threatens nuclear war at UN — In what might be his most unpresidential moment yet, Donald Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea while addressing the United Nations. — It was not a carefully planned part of his speech …

Discussion: CNN, Vox, Mediaite, The Nation, NBC News, Washington Post, The Hill, CNBC, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, NPR, Gothamist, Washington Free Beacon, Mother Jones, Business Insider, IJR, The Week, RT, CBS Dallas and ABC News

New York Times:

At U.N., Trump Singles Out ‘Rogue’ Nations North Korea and Iran — Leaders from around the globe took the lectern at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday — a particularly big moment for President Trump, who addressed the world gathering for the first time.

Discussion: The Atlantic, NPR, The American Conservative, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, RedState, Gothamist and Althouse

David Nakamura / Washington Post:
In U.N. speech, Trump threatens to ‘totally destroy North Korea’ and calls Kim Jong Un ‘Rocket Man’

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Guardian, Refinery29, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, FITSNews, The Mahablog, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, IJR and Balloon Juice

Kelly Swanson / Vox:
Read: Trump's full speech to the UN General Assembly

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Root, Daily Wire, Faithwire, ABC News and New York Times

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
GOP rep: North Korea wants Iran-type nuclear deal

Discussion: Politico, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Axios and CNN

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Ryan, White House reject bipartisan health fix — House Speaker Paul Ryan and the White House have informed Senate Republican leaders that they oppose a bipartisan plan to stabilize Obamacare being written in the Senate, according to Trump administration and congressional sources …

Discussion: RedState, Axios, Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, New York Times, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Vox, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Weekly Standard, The Atlantic and Fox News

Benjy Sarlin / NBC News:

Obamacare Is Suddenly in Grave Danger. Here's Why. — WASHINGTON — A last-ditch Republican effort to repeal Obamacare picked up steam on Monday as a key senator opened the door to supporting the bill, which is popularly known as Graham-Cassidy. — The GOP got a boost when Sen. John McCain …

Discussion: NBC News, Reuters, IJR, ThinkProgress and Scripting News

Kaitlan Collins / CNN:
Trump, White House go all-out for Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal bill

Discussion: Shareblue, Axios, Weekly Standard, Hit & Run, TheStreet, Washington Free Beacon, CNNMoney, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, IJR, The Hill and Political Wire

Erin Granger / Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:
Walker airs concern about latest GOP health care bill

Discussion: The Hill, Slate and Talking Points Memo

Nathaniel Weixel / The Hill:
Kasich, Sandoval, Alaska governor oppose new ObamaCare repeal bill

Discussion: The Atlantic, IJR and Politico

Matt Fuller / HuffPost:
Senators Who Had Voted Against Obamacare Repeal Are Now Wavering

Discussion: CNN, Vox, The Daily Signal, Refinery29, New York Magazine, New York Times and Politicus USA

CNBC:

Trump using campaign, RNC funds to pay Russia probe legal bills: Reuters, citing sources — The U.S. Federal Election Commission allows the use of private campaign funds to pay legal bills arising from being a candidate or elected official. — Trump would be the first U.S. president …

Discussion: RedState, Axios, Mother Jones, Political Wire, The Week and Eschaton

New York Times:

Trump Administration Rejects Study Showing Positive Impact of Refugees — WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials, under pressure from the White House to provide a rationale for reducing the number of refugees allowed into the United States next year, rejected a study by the Department …

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Axios, Vox, Washington Blade, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Common Dreams, Jezebel, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, IJR and Raw Story

CNN:

READ: Michael Cohen's statement to the Senate intelligence committee — (CNN)Statement of Michael D. Cohen, Esq. to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on September 19, 2017 — Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today. — As part of this statement, I would like to accomplish two things.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Axios, RedState and Mediaite

Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:
Trump's former lawyer to testify in public next month in Senate's Russia probe

Discussion: Axios, ABC News, Shakesville, Politico and Political Wire

Katie Bo Williams / The Hill:
Senate investigators postpone interview with Trump's lawyer

Discussion: RedState

Fox News Insider:

‘#TrumpVindicated’? Manafort Wiretap Report Could Boost Trump's Claim After Months of Media Mocking — A new report that former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was wiretapped under secret court order could bolster President Trump's explosive March claim about surveillance under the previous administration …

Discussion: Raw Story, Slate, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, Breitbart, Media Matters for America, Daily Kos and The Gateway Pundit

SHennessey / Lawfare:
The Latest Scoops from CNN and the New York Times: A Quick and Dirty Analysis

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Democratic lawmakers arrested for protesting outside Trump Tower

Discussion: The Hill and IJR

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

Roy Moore says 'we've asked for' shootings and killings by turning away from God — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — “You wonder why we're having shootings, and killings here in 2017? Because we've asked for it,” Moore said in video reviewed by KFile. — “We've taken God out of everything.

Discussion: The Hill, RedState, Boing Boing and Talking Points Memo

Nathan L. Gonzales / Roll Call:
Moore Campaign Removes Endorsement From Deceased Conservative Leader

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Morning Consult and Political Wire

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Gorka's new gig — Sebastian Gorka has found a new home.

Discussion: Shareblue, Right Wing Watch, Politico, WHNT-TV, Raw Story and The Week

David Agren / The Guardian:

Mexico earthquake: more than 60 dead as powerful tremor hits southern region — The 7.1 magnitude earthquake has reportedly killed more than 60 people and caused serious damage to buildings in the capital, spreading panic — More than 60 people have have been killed in a powerful earthquake …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, Reuters, Mediaite, Hullabaloo, NBC News, KQED News, RT, CBS New York, CBS Dallas, Shakesville, FOX2now.com, KTLA and Deadspin

New York Times:
Powerful Earthquake Strikes Mexico, Killing Dozens

Discussion: Townhall.com, The Stranger …, NPR, The Week, The Daily Caller and Daily Kos

Bill Barrow / Associated Press:

Republican governors get into the ‘news’ business — https://apnews.com/f97fbf53c0c84468ae04 6f861ecf3b64 — Link copied! — ATLANTA (AP) — Republican governors are getting into the “news” business. — The Republican Governors Association has quietly launched an online publication …

Discussion: Salon, New York Times, Raw Story and Politicus USA, more at Mediagazer »

Harry Cockburn / The Independent:

Global warming may be occurring more slowly than previously thought, study suggests — Previous climate models may have been ‘on the hot side’ — Computer modelling used a decade ago to predict how quickly global average temperatures would rise may have forecast too much warming, a study has found.

Discussion: The Times & The Sunday Times, MelaniePhillips.com, Power Line and Samizdata

Chris Mooney / Washington Post:
New climate change calculations could buy the Earth some time — if they're right

Discussion: Telegraph, cicero.uio.no, Media Matters for America, Daily Wire, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller and Althouse

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

The fight over Jemele Hill's tweets won't go away. It's about truth and race in the Trump era. — I love words, but sometimes they just aren't up to the job. — Like the word “inappropriate,” which has been applied to certain tweets last week by Jemele Hill, the ESPN commentator …

Discussion: The Hill and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Austin Ramzy / New York Times:

Hurricane Maria Does ‘Mind Boggling’ Damage to Dominica, Leader Says — MEXICO CITY — The Caribbean island nation of Dominica sustained “mind boggling” damage from Hurricane Maria, its prime minister said Tuesday, after the storm hit with maximum sustained winds of nearly 160 miles per hour …

Discussion: Vox, The Guardian, TalkLeft, The Verge and New York Magazine

Roosevelt Skerrit:
Initial reports are of widespread devastation.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, CNN, Gothamist, Axios and The Daily Caller

Eric Boehlert / Shareblue:

Senator warns White House press secretary she could be indicted for obstruction of justice — White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders may be the next administration official who needs to lawyer up as Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation accelerates.

Discussion: Latest from Crooks and Liars

Mary Katharine Ham / The Federalist:

After My Husband's Death, I'm Learning To Steward The Light He Left Behind — When you lose someone, you go through a lot of metaphors. Our vocabulary falters in the face of death. — Today is the two-year anniversary of the death of my husband, Jake. It took me about a year to come …

Tara Bahrampour / Washington Post:

Not drinking or driving, teens increasingly put off traditional markers of adulthood — When 17-year-old Quattro Musser hangs out with friends, they don't drink beer or cruise around in cars with their dates. Rather, they stick to G-rated activities such as rock-climbing or talking about books.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Daily Caller, Jezebel and Althouse

Kenneth P. Vogel / New York Times:

'Isn't That the Trump Lawyer?': A Reporter's Accidental Scoop — WASHINGTON — I have always thought of overhearing conversations as an underappreciated journalistic tool. — When political donors, lobbyists and politicians gather at hotels for meetings and strategy sessions, they often keep out reporters.

Discussion: Just Security, NPR, Lawfare and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Page Six:

Billy Bush and wife splitting after 20 years … Billy Bush has split with his wife, Sydney Davis, after nearly 20 years of marriage. — “I can confirm they are now separated, and on a short-term break,” his lawyer, Marshall Grossman, told Page Six in an exclusive statement.

Discussion: AOL and Washington Post