memeorandum: The mysterious group that's picking Breitbart apart, one tweet at a time (Paul Farhi/Washington Post)

8:40 AM ET, September 23, 2017

Top Items:

Jimmy Kimmel Got a Hand From Chuck Schumer in His Fight Against Obamacare Repeal … Over the past week, opposition to the latest Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare has been driven by a late-night talk show host who had expressed little interest in health care policy prior to this year.

Discussion: twitchy.com, NewsBusters, Conservative News Today, Daily Kos, MichelleMalkin.com, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite and Business Insider

Carl Hulse / New York Times:

Behind New Obamacare Repeal Vote: ‘Furious’ G.O.P. Donors — WASHINGTON — As more than 40 subdued Republican senators lunched on Chick-fil-A at a closed-door session last week, Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado painted a dire picture for his colleagues. Campaign fund-raising was drying up …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, Raw Story, ThinkProgress, The Week and New York Magazine

mccain.senate.gov:

SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON HEALTH CARE REFORM — Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released the following statement today on health care reform: — “As I have repeatedly stressed, health care reform legislation ought to be the product of regular order in the Senate.

Discussion: New York Times, Conservative News Today, TheBlaze, Big Think, Shareblue, Bloomberg, CBS Boston, Common Dreams, Washington Post, NBC News, The Atlantic, FOX News Radio, Mediaite, National Review, ACA Signups, Hot Air, PerezHilton, NPR, Hit & Run, AOL and KQED News

Amber Phillips / Washington Post:

The Cassidy-Graham bill probably won't become law. And more than half of America is good with that. — Republicans' last-ditch effort to repeal Obamacare was always a moonshot. — A bill proposed by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) looks like it doesn't have enough support …

Discussion: Political Wire

Joe Lawlorstaff / Press Herald:
Sen. Collins, a pivotal vote, says she's ‘leaning against’ Graham-Cassidy health care bill

Alice Ollstein / Talking Points Memo:
Shivving Repeal, McCain Tells Congress To Return To Bipartisan Obamacare Fix

Discussion: Politicus USA, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Monthly

Howard Koplowitz / al.com:

Trump claims he was first to call Strange ‘Big Luther’ — President Donald Trump claimed his branding genius extended to Sen. Luther Strange's “Big Luther” nickname, telling the crowd at Huntsville's Von Braun Center that he was the first person to give the senator that moniker.

Discussion: New York Magazine

Abby Phillip / Washington Post:

As Trump campaigns for Strange in Alabama, he expresses some doubts: ‘I might have made a mistake’ — HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — President Trump campaigned on Friday night for Alabama Senate candidate Luther Strange, in a race that has pitted him against his most loyal supporters and that holds …

Eric Bradner / CNN:

Trump touts 'Big Luther's' loyalty, electability at Alabama rally — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — (CNN)President Donald Trump sought to make the case to Alabama voters Friday night that Sen. Luther Strange is more electable than his opponent, Roy Moore. — At a raucous rally in Huntsville …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Politico, The Week, NPR, FOX6Now.com and KTLA

Sophie Tatum / CNN: Trump after ‘lock her up’ chant: Talk to Jeff Sessions

Henry C. Jackson / Politico:
45 After Dark: It's a Strange Night edition

Discussion: Axios, Wall Street Journal and CNN

Abby Phillip / Washington Post:
Ben Carson breaks with Trump, endorses Roy Moore in Alabama Senate nomination race

Discussion: Power Line, Dispatches From the …, Political Wire, Breitbart, No More Mister Nice Blog and WALA-TV

Neal Rothschild / Axios:
Ben Carson breaks with Trump, supports Roy Moore

Discussion: ABC News and Politico

Associated Press:

Federal government notifies 21 states of election hacking — https://apnews.com/cb8a753a9b0948589cc3 72a3c037a567 — Link copied! — The federal government on Friday told election officials in 21 states that hackers targeted their systems before last year's presidential election.

Discussion: Business Insider, New York Magazine, KTLA and WTVR-TV, more at Techmeme »

USA Today:
Russians tried to hack election systems of 21 states in 2016, Wisconsin officials say

Discussion: Daily Kos

Joe Uchill / The Hill:
DHS tells 21 states they were Russia hacking targets before 2016 election

Discussion: Political Wire

Wisconsin Elections Commission:
Wisconsin Notified of Unsuccessful Russian Hacking Attempt

Discussion: Axios and IJR

Pam Fessler / NPR:
10 Months After Election Day, Feds Tell States More About Russian Hacking

Discussion: Boing Boing, GeekWire, Mashable, Talking Points Memo and sos.state.co.us

Joseph O'Sullivan / The Seattle Times:
Russian hackers tried to access Washington state's voting systems, officials say

Discussion: Raw Story

Brian Bennett / Los Angeles Times:

Aides warned Trump not to attack North Korea's leader personally before his fiery U.N. address — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called President Trump “mentally deranged” and said Trump will “pay dearly” for his threat to destroy North Korea. (STR / AFP/Getty Images)

Discussion: The BRAD BLOG, Mediaite, FOX6Now.com and New York Times

Tara Fowler / ABC News:
Trump fires back at Kim Jong Un: ‘Little Rocket Man’ will be handled

Discussion: Politico

Michael S. Rosenwald / Washington Post:
Beyond ‘dotard’: A history of epic North Korean insults

Discussion: IJR

Jeffrey Lewis / Washington Post:
If Trump kills the Iran deal, he may give the world another Rocket Man

Discussion: The Hill, Arms Control Wonk and RT

New York Times:

Betsy DeVos Reverses Obama-era Policy on Campus Sexual Assault Investigations — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Friday scrapped a key part of government policy on campus sexual assault, saying she was giving colleges more freedom to balance the rights of accused students with the need to crack down on serious misconduct.

Discussion: CNN, The Stranger …, The Tab, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Los Angeles Times, twitchy.com and ThinkProgress

ED News:
Department of Education Issues New Interim Guidance on Campus Sexual Misconduct

Discussion: Human Rights Campaign, Mashable, The College Fix, Common Dreams, RT, twitchy.com and IJR

Lara Bazelon / New York Times:
California's Sexual Assault Law Will Hurt Black Kids

Discussion: Althouse

Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:

GOP Funds Donald Trump's Defense in Russia Probe With Help From a Handful of Wealthy People — Payment arrangement is legal, but ethics experts warn that reliance on party and campaign accounts could raise thorny political issues — President Donald Trump's attorneys in the probe …

Discussion: Politicus USA, Raw Story, Washington Monthly and Political Wire

Dan Diamond / Politico:

New details cast doubt on why Tom Price needed a private jet — HHS Secretary Tom Price has been taking private jets because an unreliable commercial flight once forced him to cancel an important meeting, an HHS spokesperson says, part of his agenda to meet with average Americans outside of Washington.

Discussion: Business Insider, Mashable, FierceHealthcare, Political Wire, Daily Kos, Washington Post, The Week, Shareblue, IJR and Vox

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

The mysterious group that's picking Breitbart apart, one tweet at a time — Hardly anyone paid attention last November when a strangely named Twitter account, Sleeping Giants, sent its first tweet into the digisphere. “Are you aware that you're advertising on Breitbart, the alt-right's biggest champion …

Ashley Parker / Washington Post:

Enforcer or ‘choke point’? Kelly seeks to bring order to chaotic White House. — White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has a new evening routine: He periodically strolls the perimeter of the White House grounds late at night, inspecting the compound and chatting with Secret Service agents to see if they have what they need.

Discussion: theGrio

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:

Trump is ‘prepping his base’ for a constitutional crisis to stop the Russia probe: Dem lawmaker — President Donald Trump is preparing his base for the constitutional crisis he'll trigger by firing special counsel Robert Mueller, according to a congressional investigator.

Discussion: Daily Kos