memeorandum: Nikki Haley defends Trump's ‘Rocket man’ speech to United Nations: He ‘was being honest’ (Morgan Winsor/ABC News)

9:05 AM ET, September 20, 2017

Top Items:

Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson Bill Would Reduce Federal Funding to States by $215 Billion — New analysis from Avalere finds that the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson (GCHJ) bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would lead to a reduction in federal funding to states …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Jeff Stein / Vox:

GOP senators are rushing to pass Graham-Cassidy. We asked 9 to explain what it does. — Republican senators are struggling to articulate why they are rushing to pass their last-ditch effort to repeal and replace Obamacare over the next 10 days before running into their September 30 deadline.

Discussion: The Week, National Review, Business Insider, BostonGlobe.com, ThinkProgress, Common Dreams, The Nation, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo and Los Angeles Times

Sarah Frostenson / Politico:

Graham-Cassidy health care bill: What you need to know — Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana have drafted the latest Republican attempt to repeal Obamacare. The bill would overhaul or eliminate major sections of the health care law, including its subsidized insurance coverage and Medicaid expansion.

Discussion: Raw Story

Dylan Scott / Vox:
Jimmy Kimmel: new Obamacare repeal bill flunks the Jimmy Kimmel Test

Discussion: Axios, Shareblue and Mediaite

Axios:
What's missing from the latest ACA repeal bill

Discussion: Politico and Vox

Miranda Green / CNN:
Why Rand Paul opposes the GOP Obamacare repeal bill

Discussion: Shareblue, CNNMoney, The Daily Signal, Weekly Standard and IJR

Caitlin Owens / Axios:
Senate likely to start voting on GOP health plan next Wednesday

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, The Week, Politicus USA and Political Wire

Caitlin Owens / Axios:
Repeal first, ask questions later

Discussion: ABC News, Mother Jones, New York Times, Politico, Los Angeles Times, Informed Comment, VTDigger, CNBC, Gothamist, Washington Post, USA Today and Business Insider

Emily Yahr / Washington Post:
Jimmy Kimmel gets heated about health-care bill, says Sen. Bill Cassidy ‘lied right to my face’

Discussion: twitchy.com, The Hill, The Week, CNN, Townhall.com, ACA Signups and Business Insider

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

Discussion: Washington Times, Vox, CNN, TheStreet, Refinery29, RedState and New York Magazine

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: Axios, Real Clear Politics, Just Security, CNN, Mediaite, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, The Hill, Power Line, VDARE, TheBlaze, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, NPR, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, IJR, Althouse, TalkLeft, Balloon Juice, twitchy.com and Scripting News

Rich Lowry / National Review:

‘Holy Sh**’: Trump at the U.N. — A Jacksonian speech in Turtle Bay — As someone said on Twitter, never before has been there so much murmuring of “holy sh**” in so many different languages. Donald Trump's speech at the United Nations was a sometimes awkward marriage …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, Washington Times, Baltimore Sun, Wall Street Journal, Hot Air, The Week, Vox, JustOneMinute and New Republic

Morgan Winsor / ABC News:

Nikki Haley defends Trump's ‘Rocket man’ speech to United Nations: He ‘was being honest’ — U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley today defended President Donald Trump's first speech to the U.N. General Assembly, in which he dubbed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “Rocket man.”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Washington Post

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

Clinton criticizes Trump's ‘rocket man’ nickname for North Korean leader … late Tuesday tore into President Trump's “very dark” and “dangerous” speech at the United Nations General Assembly earlier in the day, arguing he took the wrong tact in condemning North Korea's nuclear pursuits.

Discussion: Politico, Axios, The Week, TheBlaze, Still4Hill, IJR, Raw Story and Mediaite

Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:
Trump Uses Putin's Arguments to Undermine the World

Discussion: Washington Post and Raw Story

USA Today:
At the United Nations, Trump tries to out-bluff ‘rocket man’

Discussion: Mediaite, Washington Post, Power Line and IJR

Max Boot / USA Today:
At U.N., Trump's ‘me first’ doctrine abandons Truman's postwar ‘security for all’

Discussion: Foreign Policy, The Week, Washington Post and Politico

Mark Landler / New York Times:
Trump Offers a Selective View of Sovereignty in U.N. Speech

Discussion: RT, Politicus USA, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, Gothamist, Shakesville, PerezHilton, RedState and The American Conservative

Wall Street Journal:

Special Counsel's Office Interviewed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — Interview could be a sign that Rosenstein isn't seen as a central witness, as he hasn't withdrawn himself from his oversight role — Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office has interviewed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNN, Weekly Standard, Raw Story and The Week

CNN:

Exclusive: Mueller team's focus on Manafort spans 11 years — Washington (CNN)Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team is reaching back more than a decade in its investigation of Paul Manafort, a sign of the pressure Mueller is placing on President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman.

Benjamin Haas / Politico: The Electoral College Is a National Security Threat

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: Politico, Wall Street Journal, ThinkProgress, IJR, The Atlantic, RedState and Eschaton

Shannon Pettypiece / Bloomberg:

For Trump Aides Caught in Russia Probe, Legal Bills and Paranoia — Communications adviser says he bought guns after threats — Probes cast ‘dark shadow’ over White House, Panetta says — Follow @bpolitics for all the latest news, and sign up for our daily Balance of Power newsletter.

Discussion: The Week

Reuters:
Trump using campaign, RNC funds to pay legal bills from Russia probe: sources

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Daily Beast, KTLA, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Jezebel, Axios, Mother Jones, Occupy Democrats, Political Wire and The Week

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
RNC covering more than $230,000 in Trump legal fees

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, New York Magazine, RT, Raw Story, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Business Insider and Fox News Insider

Matea Gold / Washington Post: RNC taps legal account to help pay for President Trump's lawyers in Russia probes

Claire Atkinson / NBC News:

Networks Pass on Sean Spicer for Paid Contributor Role — The big five news organizations have passed on offering former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer a job as an exclusive paid contributor, network sources confirmed to NBC News Tuesday. — Since Spicer exited the White House …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, Axios, Mediaite and Political Wire

Rachana Pradhan / Politico:

Price's private-jet travel breaks precedent — In a sharp departure from his predecessors, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price last week took private jets on five separate flights for official business, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars more than commercial travel.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Week, Mediaite, Raw Story and Axios

Wall Street Journal:

Death Toll From Mexico Earthquake Surpasses 200 — At one primary school that collapsed, 20 children died — MEXICO CITY—Soldiers, rescue workers and volunteers worked late into the night Tuesday, searching for the living and the dead beneath rubble left by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times:
At least 105 killed as powerful 7.1 earthquake strikes central Mexico

Discussion: KTLA, Daily Wire and Deadspin

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:

Bannon orders Breitbart to step up negative coverage of Trump-backed candidate — What you need to know about Steve Bannon — Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon on Tuesday morning ordered top editors at Breitbart to step up its overwhelmingly negative coverage …

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

Jerrod Laber / The Federalist:

Your Refusal To Date Conservatives Is One Reason We Have Donald Trump — The popular dating website OkCupid announced Wednesday that it would make the online dating scene a little easier for progressives who can't risk interacting with someone with whom they disagree (imagine the horror!).

Discussion: Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Mediaite

Dana Ferguson / Argus Leader:

S.D. GOP whip shares meme endorsing vehicular assault on protesters — RAPID CITY — A Republican state lawmaker faced calls to apologize Tuesday after she shared an image on Facebook depicting protesters being hit by a vehicle under the caption, “All Lives Splatter.”

Discussion: Rapid City Journal and Talking Points Memo

CNN:

Hurricane Maria makes landfall in Puerto Rico with 155-mph winds — San Juan, Puerto Rico (CNN)Hurricane Maria made landfall Wednesday morning in southeast Puerto Rico as a strong Category 4 storm, the National Hurricane Center said. — Maria slammed the island with winds of 155 mph …