memeorandum: Trump Administration Rejects Study Showing Positive Impact of Refugees (New York Times)

3:50 PM ET, September 19, 2017

Top Items:

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: Axios, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, ABC News, New York Times, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and The Atlantic

CNN:

Exclusive: US government wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman — Washington (CNN)US investigators wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders before and after the election, sources tell CNN, an extraordinary step involving a high-ranking campaign official …

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: ThinkProgress, IJR and Reuters

SHennessey / Lawfare:

The Latest Scoops from CNN and the New York Times: A Quick and Dirty Analysis — CNN and the New York Times this evening published dueling scoops on former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. — As Jim Comey might put it: Lordy, there appear to be tapes.

Discussion: Power Line, The Hill, Washington Monthly, JustOneMinute, The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Just Security, Shakesville, The Gateway Pundit, Politicus USA, RedState, Washington Post, AOL, New York Times, Raw Story, The Stranger … and Talking Points Memo

New York Times:
With a Picked Lock and a Threatened Indictment, Mueller's Inquiry Sets a Tone

Fox News Insider:
‘#TrumpVindicated’? Manafort Wiretap Report Could Boost Trump's Claim After Months of Media Mocking

Discussion: The Atlantic, Washington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Daily Wire, Politicus USA, The Week, Raw Story and Mediaite

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Slate and Business Insider

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Pence to Senate Republicans: Now's your chance for repeal

Discussion: The Hill, ABC News and Political Wire

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:
Raids, warrants, and wiretaps: The Trump-Russia probe ‘has reached a critical stage’

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Fox News Insider, Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA and IJR

Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
The Note: The Obamacare-gutting bill that is sneaking through Congress...without Trump

Discussion: Axios, Vox, Politico and Associated Press

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: ABC News, Hullabaloo, 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: Washington Post, CNBC, Mediaite, Mother Jones, Gothamist, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, NPR, Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider, The Week, IJR, RT and Wall Street Journal

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: ABC News, TalkLeft, Scripting News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, IJR, Althouse, twitchy.com and Balloon Juice

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

New York Times:

At U.N., Macron Challenges Trump on Iran, North Korea and Climate — • Leaders from around the globe are taking the lectern at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. It's a particularly big moment for President Trump, who addressed the world gathering for the first time.

Discussion: NPR, RedState, The American Conservative, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, 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: Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Outside the Beltway, FITSNews, Mediaite, Business Insider, The Mahablog, IJR and Balloon Juice

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

Discussion: Axios, Wall Street Journal, CNN and ABC News

CNN:
President Trump at the UN: Live updates

Discussion: The Hill, Business Insider, Bloomberg and IJR

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

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
An internal report undercut one of Trump's biggest goals. So the study was scrapped.

Discussion: New York Times, Hit & Run, USA Today, Bloomberg, Gothamist, Los Angeles Times and Business Insider

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:

Senate Intelligence Committee interview with Trump lawyer abruptly canceled — The Senate Intelligence Committee has unexpectedly canceled a Tuesday session to interview Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for President Trump's business and a close associate of the president.

Discussion: Axios, ABC News, Politico and Political Wire

CNN:
READ: Michael Cohen's statement to the Senate intelligence committee

Discussion: Axios, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

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: Power Line, The Times & The Sunday Times, MelaniePhillips.com 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, Daily Wire, Media Matters for America, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller and Althouse

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

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

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

New York Times:

Donald Trump Jr. Gives Up Secret Service Protection, Seeking Privacy — WASHINGTON — Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, has elected for forgo protection by the Secret Service, according to a senior administration official. — The agency ceased protecting Mr. Trump …

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, USA Today, The Daily Caller, Conservative News Today, The Week, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider, The Root, Raw Story and Mediaite

Fox News:
Donald Trump Jr., Conway to end Secret Service protection

Discussion: RedState, IJR, Talking Points Memo and Washington Times

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, The Daily Caller and Deadspin, more at Mediagazer »

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 …

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

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 and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

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 and Lawfare, more at Mediagazer »

Heather Mac Donald / Wall Street Journal:

Higher Ed's Latest Taboo Is ‘Bourgeois Norms’ — An op-ed praising 1950s values provokes another campus meltdown— from the deans on down. — To the list of forbidden ideas on American college campuses, add “bourgeois norms”—hard work, self-discipline, marriage and respect for authority.

Discussion: The Rush Limbaugh Show