memeorandum: Senator warns White House press secretary she could be indicted for obstruction of justice (Eric Boehlert/Shareblue)

2:45 PM ET, September 19, 2017

Top Items:

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

Kaili Joy Gray / Shareblue:

World leaders watch “stone faced” as Trump casually threatens nuclear war at UN — Trump not only disgraced himself and America in his speech to the United Nations, but he just recklessly escalated tensions with a casual threat to “totally destroy” North Korea.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, CNN, Mother Jones, Gothamist, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, IJR, Business Insider, NPR, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, The Week and CNBC

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, Daily Wire and Just Security

New York Times:

At the U.N., Debates Over ‘Rogue Nations’ and Climate Change — • 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: RedState, NPR, Balloon Juice, The American Conservative, Washington Post, Gothamist and Althouse

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, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Althouse

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

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

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

Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump's talks of UN ‘potential’ at luncheon

Discussion: ABC News, MichelleMalkin.com, Axios, USA Today and Daily Express

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 …

New York Times:

With a Picked Lock and a Threatened Indictment, Mueller's Inquiry Sets a Tone — WASHINGTON — Paul J. Manafort was in bed early one morning in July when federal agents bearing a search warrant picked the lock on his front door and raided his Virginia home.

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.

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

Discussion: Fox News Insider, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Politicus USA

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: Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, ABC News, New York Times and Axios

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, Reuters and IJR

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

Discussion: The Hill, ABC News and Political Wire

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Slate and Business Insider

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

Discussion: Vox, Politico, Politicus USA and Associated Press

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: CNN, The Daily Caller, Conservative News Today, 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

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Donald Trump Jr. wants to give up Secret Service protection

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Hill, USA Today, The Week and Balloon Juice

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: Talking Points Memo

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Roy Moore: US has ‘asked for shootings’ by taking ‘God out of everything’

Discussion: RedState

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

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

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, Media Matters for America, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller and Althouse

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 »

Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:

A chilling study shows how hostile college students are toward free speech — Demonstrators march during a free speech rally in Berkeley, Calif. (Josh Edelson/AP) — Here's the problem with suggesting that upsetting speech warrants “safe spaces,” or otherwise conflating mere words with physical assault …

Discussion: IJR, National Review, Raw Story, Hit & Run, The First Street Journal, American Thinker, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and TheBlaze

John Villasenor / The future of the West:
Views among college students regarding the First Amendment: Results from a new survey

Discussion: RedState, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, Red Alert Politics and Campus Reform

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 »

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, Lawfare, Washington Post and Taylor Marsh

Mary Katharine Ham / The Federalist:

After My Husband's Death, I'm Learning To Steward The Light He Left Behind — 'All of us who knew him and loved him are keepers of this fire. It's there, and it lives on, and it is something we can breathe life into every day.' — When you lose someone, you go through a lot of metaphors.

Kenneth Gleason / The Advocate:

Baton Rouge man to be booked in ‘brutal,’ possibly racially motivated killings, 3rd shooting — At the Violent Crime Unit, Kenneth Gleason is arrested in two killings Tuesday Sept. 19, 2017, in Baton Rouge, La.. — At the Violent Crime Unit, Kenneth Gleason is arrested in two killings Tuesday Sept. 19, 2017, in Baton Rouge, La..

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Root and Raw Story