memeorandum: Ben Shapiro: Who died and made Jimmy Kimmel Jesus? (Joe Concha/The Hill)

2:55 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: New York Times, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, CNBC, The Hill, Axios, Business Insider, IJR, RedState, Romper and Boing Boing

Meghan Keneally / ABC News:
‘Issue of collusion’ with Russia still open, Senate intel chief says

Discussion: Politico, Axios and The Week

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Between the lines on Tillerson

Discussion: The Atlantic, Washington Post, Vox, ABC News and Political Wire

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, IJR and Mediaite

Newsweek:

RETRACTED: PADDOCK'S GIRLFRIEND USED TWO SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS AND WAS MARRIED TO TWO MEN AT THE SAME TIME — Newsweek has retracted its story that reviewed the public records of Marilou Danley, the girlfriend of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock. — The initial report was based …

Discussion: IJR, Conservative News Today, Daily Wire, The Last Refuge and TheBlaze

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

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, The Guardian, CBS Dallas, Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones, NPR, The Week, Raw Story, NBC News, FOX6Now.com, The Daily Beast and neo-neocon

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

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

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

Yahoo! News:
‘He sent her away’: Sisters of Las Vegas gunman's Australian girlfriend break their silence

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

David Smith / The Guardian:
Las Vegas shooter's girlfriend returns to US as police reveal details of his planning

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

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

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

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

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

Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump says it's a ‘sad day’

Discussion: Axios and ABC News

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

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

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

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

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: RedState, Vox, Shareblue, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Refinery29, Curbed NY - All, Gothamist, IJR, Above the Law, AOL, Mediaite, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, The Week and USA Today

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: Washington Post, The Intercept, Common Dreams, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, The Resurgent, twitchy.com, Daily Kos and Politico

Associated Press:

AP-NORC Poll: Low marks for Trump's Puerto Rico response — Americans are more likely to disapprove than approve of President Donald Trump's handling of the Puerto Rico hurricane relief effort. — According to a poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller, Politico, Washington Post, Deadline, Washington Times and The Week

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

Discussion: IJR, The Week, The Hill and miamiherald

Daniel Dale / Toronto Star:
In bizarre visit, Donald Trump compares Puerto Rico to ‘a real catastrophe like Katrina’ …

Discussion: twitchy.com, Booman Tribune and Washington Post

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, Joe.My.God., Mashable, Raw Story, 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, The Verge, Mashable, IJR, The Hill, The Atlantic, Washington Times, CNBC, Talking Points Memo, twitchy.com, Engadget, FOX6Now.com, Shareblue 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: Shareblue, Washington Post, Business Insider, Politico, Dispatches From the …, Joe.My.God. and Mashable

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

Matthew Chapman / Shareblue:

GOP secretly plotting huge cuts to health care for kids on Medicaid — Republicans in Congress have tried again and again to repeal health care for sick kids. Every time, public protest thwarted them. — House Speaker Paul Ryan's American Health Care Act was defeated.

Discussion: Center For Children …, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine and Washington Post

Sarah Ferris / Politico:
Democrats: Senate budget cuts nearly $500B from Medicare

Discussion: Axios, ThinkProgress and Vox

Joe Concha / The Hill:

Ben Shapiro: Who died and made Jimmy Kimmel Jesus? — Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro scolded Jimmy Kimmel for the late-night host's calls for stricter gun control measures in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. — “Jimmy Kimmel should not be cheered for what he did …

Discussion: twitchy.com and SARAH PALIN

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Jared Kushner fined again for late ethics form, Ivanka Trump fined too — WASHINGTON — Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, senior advisers to President Donald Trump, were both fined $200 for missing deadlines to submit financial reports required by government ethics rules, according to documents and interviews.

CNN:

Roy Moore's Facebook page shared inflammatory memes, article praising Russia's anti-gay laws — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — “Want to stop riots? Play the National Anthem. They'll all sit down,” a meme shared on Moore's Facebook page read. — Moore's page also shared an article with the headline …

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

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: Gizmodo and The Week

Brian Beutler / Crooked Media:

Fighting The Battle for Truth To A Draw — There is something uniquely obscene about President Donald Trump's character—evinced in his ignorance, abusiveness, lust for dominance, and magnetic effect on other sleazy individuals—that leaves his opponents in a constant struggle to recall …

Timothy Aeppel / Reuters:

Whirlpool's washer war is balancing act for Trump — Clyde, Ohio (Reuters) - In the middle of Whirlpool Corp's bustling washer factory in northern Ohio there is an empty patch of concrete floor - a reminder of a $60 million expansion plan the appliance maker says fell victim to unfair foreign competition.

Michael Moore:

My Proposal to Repeal the Second Amendment and Replace It With This: — PROPOSED 28th AMENDMENT TO THE US CONSTITUTION — “A well regulated State National Guard, being helpful to the safety and security of a State in times of need, along with the strictly regulated right of the people …

Discussion: Fox News Insider, NewsBusters and TheBlaze