memeorandum: An Unknown ‘Void’ Found in the Great Pyramid Using Cosmic Rays (Sarah Zhang/The Atlantic)

3:55 PM ET, November 2, 2017

Top Items:

Donna Brazile / Politico:

Inside Hillary Clinton's Secret Takeover of the DNC — Before I called Bernie Sanders, I lit a candle in my living room and put on some gospel music. I wanted to center myself for what I knew would be an emotional phone call. — I had promised Bernie when I took the helm …

Richard Rubin / Wall Street Journal:

Republicans Stick With Big Corporate Tax Cuts in House Bill — The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act seeks the biggest transformation of tax code in more than 30 years; leaves top individual tax rate at 39.6% — WASHINGTON—House Republicans, seeking the biggest transformation of the U.S. tax code …

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Week, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Business Insider, Daily Kos, The Guardian, Politicus USA, Mediaite and Vox

New York Times:

Republican Plan Delivers Permanent Corporate Tax Cut — WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers unveiled the most sweeping rewrite of the tax code in decades on Thursday, outlining a $1.51 trillion plan to cut taxes for corporations, reduce them for some middle-class families and tilt the United States closer …

Discussion: Mother Jones, New York Magazine, The Week, Outside the Beltway, JustOneMinute, Politico and Daily Kos

Brian Faler / Politico:

House GOP tax plan filled with tough tradeoffs — House Republicans unveiled plans Thursday for a sweeping overhaul of the tax system calling for fundamental changes in business and individual taxes, including big cuts in rates and new breaks for families. — It also includes provisions sure …

Discussion: Axios, RedState, ABC News, The Daily Caller, IJR and The Resurgent

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Senate Democrats falsely claim GOP tax plan will raise taxes for most working-class families

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Fox News Insider, The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon

Kim Dixon / The Hill:
Left criticizes permanent corporate cut, temporary family credit

Discussion: Washington Post, Business Insider and Democrats.com

Wall Street Journal:
Small-Business Lobby Not Supporting House Tax Bill

Discussion: Axios, The Guardian and The Daily Caller

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Conservatives want GOP tax cuts to be retroactive

Discussion: Politico and RedState

Washington Post:
GOP tax plan would shrink mortgage interest benefit, slash corporate tax rate

Discussion: The White House, Axios, FiveThirtyEight, Mother Jones and Balloon Juice

Washington Post:

Post-ABC poll: Most Americans approve of Trump-Russia probe, and nearly half think Trump committed a crime — More than twice as many Americans approve as disapprove of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation of possible coordination between Donald Trump's 2016 campaign …

Discussion: Lawfare, Axios, Political Wire, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, bizpacreview.com and The Week

CNN:

Sessions under renewed scrutiny on Capitol Hill — Washington (CNN)Attorney General Jeff Sessions is once again under scrutiny on Capitol Hill regarding his candor about Russia and the Trump campaign amid revelations that he rejected a suggestion to convene a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump last year.

Discussion: Axios, Raw Story, Politicus USA, Washington Post and ThinkProgress

NBC News:
Sessions Rejected Russian Proposal by Campaign Adviser, Source Says

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

Sam Clovis, Trump's nominee for USDA's top scientist, confirms he has no hard science credentials — The U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientist nominee, Sam Clovis, who now serves as the agency's senior White House adviser, confirmed in an Oct. 17 letter obtained by The Washington Post …

Discussion: Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, Axios, NBC News, Business Insider, Salon, The Week, NPR, Daily Kos and Splinter

Washington Post:
Sam Clovis withdraws from consideration for Agriculture post after his name surfaced in Russia probe

Discussion: Mother Jones

CNN:
Russia probe could derail Trump nominee for top Agriculture post

Discussion: Raw Story, KTLA, ThinkProgress, The Week, Shareblue Media, Des Moines Register, emptywheel, IJR, Talking Points Memo, The Hill and Vox

Avery Anapol / The Hill:
Trump nominee in danger of being pulled after Russia revelations: report

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Avery Anapol / The Hill:

Rick Perry suggests fossil fuels help prevent sexual assault — suggested Thursday that expanding the use of fossil fuels could help prevent sexual assault. — Speaking during an energy policy discussion about energy policy with “Meet the Press'” Chuck Todd and Axios CEO and founder Jim VandeHei …

Discussion: Business Insider, RedState, Shareblue Media, Washington Examiner, NBC News, CBS Dallas, VICE, Raw Story, The Slot and Splinter

Shannon Vavra / Axios:

Rick Perry claims fossil fuels can help prevent sexual assault — At an Axios and NBC discussion about the administration's energy policy priorities Thursday morning, Energy Secretary Rick Perry indicated he thinks using fossil fuels can help prevent sexual assault. The quote, in full:

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ABC News, The Daily Caller, Mashable, Shakesville and twitchy.com

Devin Henry / The Hill:
Sierra Club calls for Perry to resign over sexual assault comments

Discussion: The Week

Darius Dixon / Politico:
Perry: Fossil fuels help prevent sexual assault in Africa

Discussion: Let's Talk Development and Outside the Beltway

Shannon Vavra / Axios:
Rick Perry: “science is out” on man-made climate change

Discussion: Mother Jones and AOL

Joseph Bernstein / BuzzFeed:

Hedge Fund Billionaire Robert Mercer Will Step Down As CEO Of His Company Following BuzzFeed News Exposé — Mercer, whose money helped elect Donald Trump, will also sell his stake in Breitbart News to his daughters after a BuzzFeed News report linked the site to white nationalists.

Discussion: The Hill, Business Insider, The Week, Mediaite, Raw Story and Althouse, more at Mediagazer »

Matthew Goldstein / New York Times:

Robert Mercer to Step Down as Head of Renaissance Technologies — Robert Mercer, a billionaire investor who is a big backer of many conservative causes and a patron of former White House adviser Steve Bannon, is stepping down as co-chief executive of Renaissance Technologies, the giant hedge fund.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, RedState, Business Insider, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

Gregory Zuckerman / Wall Street Journal:
Robert Mercer Resigns as CEO of Renaissance Technologies

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Wall Street Journal:

Prosecutors Consider Bringing Charges in DNC Hacking Case — At least six Russian government officials are identified as part of ongoing investigation — The Justice Department has identified more than six members of the Russian government involved in hacking the Democratic National Committee's computers …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Engadget, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, BillMoyers.com, Shareblue Media, Raw Story, Politicus USA, The Week, East Bay Times and Axios, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Weighs Suit Against AT&T's Deal for Time Warner

Discussion: CNBC, Bloomberg, Deadline, Splinter and Engadget

Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:

The Trumpification of Ed Gillespie — It would be hard to find a better example of the “corrupt Washington establishment” that President Trump calls “the swamp” than Ed Gillespie. — The Republican nominee in Virginia's gubernatorial election, Gillespie is an insider's insider …

Discussion: Mother Jones and The Week

The Roanoke Times: Why the Latino Victory Fund ad is so damaging

Suffolk University: Suffolk Poll of Virginia Governor's Race Shows Democrat Northam with an Edge over Republican …

Seth Barron / City Journal: Right Truck, Wrong Driver

Associated Press:

Russia hackers had targets worldwide, beyond US election — WASHINGTON (AP) — The hackers who upended the U.S. presidential election had ambitions well beyond Hillary Clinton's campaign, targeting the emails of Ukrainian officers, Russian opposition figures, U.S. defense contractors …

Discussion: Mashable, The Week, Engadget and Raw Story, more at Techmeme »

Associated Press:

Trump announces company's return to US — WASHINGTON (AP) — A $100 billion semiconductor company based in Singapore will legally relocate its home address to the United States, President Donald Trump announced Thursday. — Broadcom Limited, which manufactures communications chips around the world …

Discussion: Axios, Washington Free Beacon and The Gateway Pundit, more at Techmeme »

Jeffrey Cook / ABC News:

Trump nominates Jerome Powell for Federal Reserve chair — In an address from the Rose Garden at the White House Thursday, President Donald Trump has announced his nomination of Jerome H. Powell as the next chair of the Federal Reserve. — Powell is known as a centrist Republican …

Discussion: Politico, Axios and Associated Press

Mohamed A. El-Erian / Bloomberg:
Powell Brings Continuity and Experience

Discussion: CNBC, Hit & Run, New York Times and The Week

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:

Mueller Reveals New Manafort Link to Organized Crime … Buried deep in Robert Mueller's indictment of Paul Manafort is a new link between Donald Trump's former campaign and Russian organized crime. — The indictment (PDF), unsealed on Monday, includes an extensive look into Paul Manafort's byzantine financial dealings.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Business Insider, CANNONFIRE and The Guardian

Abby Livingston / The Texas Tribune:

Lamar Smith retiring from Congress — U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, is retiring from Congress, two sources close to the congressman told The Texas Tribune on Thursday. — WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, is retiring from Congress, two sources close to the congressman told The Texas Tribune on Thursday.

Pew Research Center:

Declining Confidence in Trump, Lower Job Ratings for Congressional Leaders — Deficit concerns plummet among members of both parties — Growing numbers of Americans express little or no confidence in Donald Trump to handle an international crisis, manage the executive branch effectively and work effectively with Congress.