memeorandum: Hurricane Nate strengthens on its path to Gulf Coast landfall Saturday evening (Washington Post)

10:10 PM ET, October 7, 2017

Top Items:

Hoping to Have Trump Cleared, Legal Team Eases Resistance to Inquiry — WASHINGTON — White House officials once debated a scorched-earth strategy of publicly criticizing and undercutting Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russian efforts to disrupt last year's election.

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:

Collusion and the Trump Dossier — If the Trump dossier is a tissue of lies, why are the Justice Department and FBI, now controlled by Trump appointees, concealing information about it? — It is an article of faith among the president's most ardent supporters: The Trump dossier is a completely discredited piece of garbage.

Discussion: Last Men and OverMen, Politico and The Guardian

New York Times:

Lisa Bloom, Lawyer Advising Harvey Weinstein, Resigns Amid Criticism From Board Members — The lawyer Lisa Bloom resigned on Saturday as an adviser to Harvey Weinstein, the high-powered film producer facing allegations of rampant sexual harassment, amid harsh criticism of her handling of his defense.

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The Pigs of Liberalism — If you are surprised by the news that Harvey Weinstein of Miramax fame, a man well known for profane tirades and physical altercations and scrounging M&Ms off movie theater floors, is also the sort of charmer who loafs around semi-nude while asking subordinates for …

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Magazine, IndieWire, Variety, The Hill, Gothamist and NewsBusters, more at Mediagazer »

Angelina Chapin / HuffPost:
Attorney Lisa Bloom Drops Harvey Weinstein As Sexual Harassment Allegations Escalate

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, The Guardian, New York Times, Patterico's Pontifications and NPR, more at Mediagazer »

Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:

Trump on North Korea: ‘Only one thing will work’ — President Donald Trump on Saturday lamented decades of “failed” foreign policy with North Korea, saying “only one thing” will work. — “Presidents and their administrations have been talking to North Korea for 25 years …

Discussion: Axios, TalkLeft and CANNONFIRE

Mike Martindale / Detroit News:

Michigan rapist gets joint custody — A Sanilac County Circuit judge has granted parenting time and joint legal custody of an 8-year-old boy to a convicted sex offender who allegedly raped the child's mother nine years ago. — Christopher Mirasolo, 27, of Brown City was awarded joint legal custody …

Discussion: Raw Story

Daily Mail:

Eleven injured as taxi driver ‘deliberately mows down pedestrians’ after mounting the pavement outside London's Natural History Museum before being pinned to the ground and arrested in front of stunned tourists — Man arrested in the heart of capital's museum land after several pedestrians were mowed down by a vehicle

Discussion: The Last Refuge

The Guardian:
Natural History Museum crash that injured 11 ‘not terror-related’ - police

Discussion: Mother Jones and The Week

Jon Sharman / The Independent:
Natural History Museum: Police incident after ‘car mounts pavement’, injuring number …

Discussion: IJR and SARAH PALIN

Washington Post:

Hurricane Nate strengthens on its path to Gulf Coast landfall Saturday evening — Hurricane Nate is approaching the northern Gulf Coast on Saturday afternoon, predicted to make landfall somewhere between New Orleans and Mobile on Saturday evening as a Category 2.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Reuters, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, Sputnik International, ThinkProgress and TalkLeft

NHC Webmaster / NHC Atlantic Wallet 1:
Hurricane Nate Public Advisory

Discussion: Fox News, CNN, NPR, Shareblue, FOX6Now.com, Common Dreams, SARAH PALIN and IJR

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

Shock poll: NFL now least liked sport, core fans down 31% — Over just one month of player, coach, and owner protests of the flag and National Anthem, the National Football League has gone from America's sport to the least liked of top professional and college sports, according to a new poll.

Discussion: The Hill, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller and NewsBusters

Louise Radnofsky / Wall Street Journal:

Trump to Sign Order Easing Health Plan Rules, Official Says — Executive action expected next week would roll back some Obamacare requirements — WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump will sign an executive order next week to start lifting some insurance rules set by his predecessor's Affordable Care Act …

Discussion: New York Times

Christine Dunn / providencejournal.com:

James Woods to sell home in Exeter — PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Oscar-nominated actor James Woods is selling one of his four homes in Rhode Island, a property on Boone Lake in Exeter, for $1.39 million, according to the listing real-estate agent, Allen Gammons. — Gammons said the property …

Discussion: Conservative News Today, Washington Post, IJR, SARAH PALIN, Los Angeles Times and Deadline

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:

Watergate legend Carl Bernstein reveals GOP Congress has ‘lost confidence’ in Trump's fitness for office — Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Carl Bernstein described the Trump administration as “unlike anything I have seen in 50 years in Washington” while reporting that Republicans …

Kenneth P. Vogel / New York Times:

The ‘Resistance,’ Raising Big Money, Upends Liberal Politics — WASHINGTON — It started as a scrappy grass-roots protest movement against President Trump, but now the so-called resistance is attracting six- and seven-figure checks from major liberal donors, posing an insurgent challenge …

TMZ.com:

Nelly — Arrested for Rape — EXCLUSIVE — 9:25 AM PT — Nelly's lawyer tells TMZ, “Nelly is the victim of a completely fabricated allegation. Our initial investigation, clearly establishes the allegation is devoid of credibility and is motivated by greed and vindictiveness.

Discussion: Q13 FOX News, Associated Press, RedState, Refinery29, Fort Smith/Fayetteville News, The Root, IJR and The FADER

Patrick McGreevy / Los Angeles Times:

Knowingly exposing others to HIV will no longer be a felony in California — Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Friday that lowers from a felony to a misdemeanor the crime of knowingly exposing a sexual partner to HIV without disclosing the infection. — The measure also applies …

Discussion: twitchy.com and National Review

Damian Paletta / Washington Post:

In a switch, GOP deserts its budget-cutting mantra — The Republican Party has largely abandoned its platform of fiscal restraint, pivoting sharply in a way that could add trillions of dollars in federal debt over the next decade. — Cutting spending to balance the budget was almost religion …

Discussion: Political Wire

Franco Ordoñez / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Leadership fears Trump staff undermining president on Dreamers — WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders fear President Donald Trump's staff are exploiting the president's busy schedule to push their own agenda and undermine his pledge to protect Dreamers. — According to four political …

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Political Wire

Michael Tackett / New York Times:

An Exodus From Puerto Rico Could Remake Florida Politics — ORLANDO, Fla. — Every day dozens of Puerto Ricans straggle into the Orlando area, fleeing their homes and lives ravaged by Hurricane Maria. In the months to come, officials here said, that number could surge to more than 100,000.

Megan McArdle / Bloomberg:
Debt Alone Won't Crush Puerto Rico. Depopulation Is the Curse.

Discussion: Instapundit

Foreign Policy:

As U.S. Retreats From World Organizations, China Steps in to Fill the Void — Beijing is trying to repurpose abandoned international agencies like UNESCO to serve its strategic interests — such as controlling the internet. — China's latest bid to flex its diplomatic muscles …