memeorandum: Someone dressed like the Monopoly guy is photobombing the Senate's Equifax hearing (Liz Moyer/CNBC)

1:35 PM ET, October 4, 2017

Top Items:

Tillerson's Fury at Trump Required an Intervention From Pence — WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on the verge of resigning this past summer amid mounting policy disputes and clashes with the White House, according to multiple senior administration officials who were aware of the situation at the time.

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Furious Republicans are working hard to make Trump's Russia scandal disappear — THE MORNING PLUM: — The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a news conference on Wednesday afternoon to provide a “progress report” on its investigation into Russian sabotage …

Discussion: Politico and IJR

Nik Steinberg / Politico:
Rex Tillerson Is Running the State Department Into the Ground

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and IJR

Meghan Keneally / ABC News:
Tillerson sidesteps ‘petty’ allegations he called Trump a ‘moron’

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Jamie Dupree, IJR, Business Insider, The Guardian, Mediaite and Washington Times

CBS News:
Rex Tillerson refutes report that he was on verge of resigning over the summer

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo, Daily Wire, Deadline, Romper, Joe.My.God., Daily Kos, CBS Dallas, Mediaite, IJR and Mashable

David Reid / CNBC:
Tillerson reportedly described Trump as a ‘moron’ and was set to resign in July

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Business Insider, Romper, IJR, Mashable, New York Magazine, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, Towleroad, Boing Boing, Shareblue, Mediaite and TVNewser

Jeffrey Lewis / Foreign Policy:
Donald Trump Threatened North Korea After Completely Imaginary Negotiations

Discussion: The Daily Caller, New York Times, Just Security, Mediaite, CNBC, War on the Rocks and The Atlantic

ProPublica:

Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. Were Close to Being Charged With Felony Fraud — New York prosecutors were preparing a case. Then the D.A. overruled his staff after a visit from a top donor: Trump attorney Marc Kasowitz. — In the spring of 2012, Donald Trump's two eldest children …

Discussion: Shareblue, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Gothamist, IJR, Above the Law, AOL, Joe.My.God., Mediaite, Raw Story, The Week and USA Today

Brian Ross / ABC News:

Portrait emerging of Las Vegas shooter as man ‘descending into madness’ — In the months before his deadly rampage, 64-year old Stephen Paddock was a man “descending into madness,” according to a person briefed on new findings in the investigation. — New details are emerging …

Discussion: Associated Press

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

If Only Stephen Paddock Were a Muslim — If only Stephen Paddock had been a Muslim ... If only he had shouted “Allahu akbar” before he opened fire on all those concertgoers in Las Vegas ... If only he had been a member of ISIS ... If only we had a picture of him posing with a Quran in one hand and his semiautomatic rifle in another ...

Discussion: Althouse, Political Wire and National Review

Avi Selk / Washington Post:

What a macho, gun-packing Instagram star did when he was caught in the Las Vegas shooting … Guns and women got Dan Bilzerian where he is today — the so-called “King of Instagram,” with nearly 23 million followers, a mansion full of guns and a hot tub full of women.

Discussion: The Week and IJR

Washington Post:

New details emerge about Marilou Danley, girlfriend of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock — Marilou Danley, the longtime girlfriend of the Las Vegas gunman, returned to the United States Tuesday night and was met at the Los Angeles airport by FBI agents, according to the Associated Press.

Discussion: CBS Los Angeles, CBS Dallas, Mother Jones, NPR, The Week, The Daily Beast, NBC News, neo-neocon and Talking Points Memo

David Smith / The Guardian:

Las Vegas shooter's girlfriend returns to US as police reveal details of his planning — Authorities investigating the Las Vegas mass shooting, the deadliest in modern US history, are preparing to question the girlfriend of gunman Stephen Paddock who has flown back to America after being named …

Discussion: Raw Story, BillMoyers.com, IJR, Daily Wire, KXAN-TV and Shot in the Dark

Yahoo! News:

‘He sent her away’: Sisters of Las Vegas gunman's Australian girlfriend break their silence — Marilou Danley's sisters have said they believe she was “sent away” so she could not interfere with her boyfriend's plan to open-fire on thousands of people in the Las Vegas massacre.

Discussion: ABC News, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Conservative News Today and AOL

NBC News:
Marilou Danley, Girlfriend of Las Vegas Gunman, Back in the U.S. for Grilling

Discussion: New York Times, SARAH PALIN, Business Insider, Conservative News Today, AOL, Scared Monkeys, NBC News, TMZ.com, The Last Refuge, CANNONFIRE, Daily Wire, TheBlaze, RedState and Axios

Wesley Lowery / Washington Post:
Two strangers bond over country music and beer. Then the gunshots started.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, AOL, IJR, San Bernardino Sun and Daily Wire

CNN:
Las Vegas shooter's girlfriend ‘sent away’ before his massacre

Discussion: Townhall.com, Washington Post, FOX6Now.com, IJR, Guns.com, fox13now.com, WPMT FOX43, TheBlaze, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Mediaite, Snopes.com, ThinkProgress, Reuters, WTVR-TV and Daily Wire

Louis Sahagun / Los Angeles Times:
At his local Starbucks, Las Vegas shooter remembered for berating his girlfriend

Discussion: Shakesville, NBC News, The Week, Raw Story and FOX6Now.com

New York Times:
Meticulous Planning by Las Vegas Gunman Before He Opened Fire

Discussion: The Guardian, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Business Insider, Bangor Daily News, Gothamist, Daily Wire, New York Daily News, Guns.com, Democrats.com and Hit & Run

Justin Sink / Bloomberg:

Trump Suggests Puerto Rico's Debt May Need to Be ‘Wiped Out’ — ‘We are going to work something out,’ president says on Fox — Trump visited island earlier Tuesday to survey storm damage — President Donald Trump suggested that the government debt accumulated by bankrupt Puerto Rico …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Toronto Star, Common Dreams, The Resurgent, Business Insider, twitchy.com and Politico

Associated Press:

AP-NORC Poll: Few approve of Trump's Puerto Rico response — Americans are more likely to approve than disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling hurricane relief in Florida and Texas, but it's a different story when it comes to Puerto Rico. — According to a new poll …

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Axios, Deadline and The Week

New York Times:
White House Dials Back Trump's Vow to Clear Puerto Rico's Debt

Discussion: IJR, The Hill, The Week and miamiherald

Liz Moyer / CNBC:

Someone dressed like the Monopoly guy is photobombing the Senate's Equifax hearing — A person dressed in a black top hat and bushy white mustache, occasionally putting a monocle on, sat in the audience of the Senate Banking Committee hearing on the Equifax data breach. — The Monopoly guy has gone to Washington.

Discussion: Boing Boing, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Mashable, Krebs on Security, The Week and Common Dreams, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:
Equifax Breach Caused by Lone Employee's Error, Former C.E.O. Says

Discussion: RedState and Associated Press

CNN:

Exclusive: Russian-linked Facebook ads targeted Michigan and Wisconsin — (CNN)A number of Russian-linked Facebook ads specifically targeted Michigan and Wisconsin, two states crucial to Donald Trump's victory last November, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

Discussion: Washington Post, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, The Hill, The Atlantic, CNBC, Engadget, FOX6Now.com, twitchy.com, Shareblue, Mashable and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:
Hill investigators to tell public what they've learned about Russia's interference and what happens next

Discussion: Washington Post, Dispatches From the … and Joe.My.God.

Leah Libresco / Washington Post:

I used to think gun control was the answer. My research told me otherwise. — Leah Libresco is a statistician and former newswriter at FiveThirtyEight, a data journalism site. She is the author of “Arriving at Amen.” — Before I started researching gun deaths, gun-control policy used to frustrate me.

Discussion: Townhall.com, Content Archive, Hit & Run, CNN, NewsBusters, New York Times, Cafe Hayek, Axios, Washington Free Beacon, Daily Wire and FiveThirtyEight

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Rep. Lewis: ‘No amount of blood’ will push Congress on gun control

Discussion: ABC News, Vox, KTFT and The Trace

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
Scalise: Shooting ‘fortified’ my view on gun rights

Discussion: RedState, Fox News Insider, SARAH PALIN, Washington Times, Business Insider, Conservative News Today, twitchy.com, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and Joe.My.God.

Statesman Journal:

Ex-Trump adviser Paul Manafort conspired to mislead bankruptcy court, son-in-law charges — Special Counsel Robert Mueller has issued two new subpoena in the investigation into President Trump's campaign ties to Russia. Nathan Rousseau Smith (@FantasticMrNate) reports. Buzz60 — CONNECT

U.S. Senator for Florida, Marco Rubio:

Rubio Seeks Answers from Army about Anti-American West Point Graduate — Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) is seeking answers from the Army about Second Lieutenant Spenser Rapone, an avowed communist who expressed his desire to infiltrate and sabotage the military and harm the United States.

Discussion: IJR and The Daily Caller

The Roanoke Times:

Progressive political group obtains cellphone numbers from Virginia Tech, Radford students for electoral campaigns … Radford University and Virginia Tech turned over documents containing personal information, including names, addresses and cellphone numbers of about 40,000 current students …

Reuters:

Catalonia moves to declare independence from Spain on Monday — BARCELONA/MADRID (Reuters) - Catalonia will move on Monday to declare independence from Spain following Oct. 1's banned referendum as the European Union nation nears a rupture that threatens the foundations of its young democracy.

Discussion: RedState

Kareem Shaheen / The Guardian:

Santa Claus's tomb may have been uncovered beneath Turkish church — Archaeologists say they have found almost fully intact temple and burial grounds of Saint Nicholas in Antalya — Turkish archaeologists have dashed the hopes of millions of children by claiming to have uncovered the likely burial place of Saint Nicholas.

Discussion: The Week

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

More GOP senators willing to tell Trump to take a hike — There's a growing faction inside the Senate Republican Conference, and it looks like bad news for Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump: The devil-may-care caucus. — Unbeholden to Republican orthodoxy and freed from the burdens …

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:

Ginsburg Slaps Gorsuch in Gerrymandering Case — Toward the end of the Supreme Court's argument in Gill v. Whitford, about the future of partisan gerrymandering, there was a revealing moment about the place of the newest Justice in the esteem of at least one of his peers.