memeorandum: GOP lawmaker: Donors are pushing me to get tax reform done (Cristina Marcos/The Hill)

3:15 PM ET, November 7, 2017

Top Items:

Sutherland Springs church shooter escaped mental health facility months after attack on wife, child — Police report shows Kelley made death threats against military superiors — HOUSTON - Channel 2 Investigates uncovered law enforcement documents showing Devin Kelley escaped …

Discussion: Business Insider, KXAN-TV, The Daily Caller, National Review, Mediaite, The Root and The Week

Richard Pérez-Peña / New York Times:

Texas Gunman Once Escaped From Mental Health Facility — The gunman who killed 26 people in a rural Texas church on Sunday escaped from a psychiatric hospital while he was in the Air Force, after making death threats against his superiors and trying to smuggle weapons onto the base where he was stationed, a 2012 police report shows.

Discussion: Axios, The Root and The Week

Tegna / WFAA-TV:

Texas church shooter previously escaped mental health institution while facing military charges — Tuesday update on Texas church shooting … The gunman in the worst mass killing in Texas history escaped from a mental health institution in New Mexico, threatened his Air Force chain …

Discussion: Raw Story, IJR and RT

Washington Post:
Texas church gunman escaped from mental health facility in 2012 after threatening military superiors

Discussion: New Republic, Breitbart, The Root, New York Magazine, San Antonio Current and New York Times

Alex Yablon / The Trace:
The Military Is Reporting Almost No Domestic Abusers to the Main Gun Background Check Database

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

Omarosa's West Wing bridal adventure highlights broader dysfunction — One Saturday in early April, Omarosa Manigault caused a stir in the White House. — The “Apprentice” villain turned senior White House official brought members of her 39-person bridal party to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Annie Karni / Politico:
Trump's ‘loyal lieutenant’ to testify on 2013 Russia visit

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Axios, Business Insider, Raw Story, Mashable, The Week and Mediaite

Axios: Omarosa used the White House for wedding photo shoot

NBC News:

Carter Page Coordinated Russia Trip With Top Trump Campaign Officials — WASHINGTON — Former Trump campaign volunteer Carter Page, who has come under scrutiny in the investigation of Russian election interference, told a House committee that he sought permission for a July 2016 trip to Moscow …

Discussion: CNN, The Week, JustOneMinute, Outside the Beltway, Politico, RedState and Axios

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:
Carter Page's testimony is filled with bombshells — and supports key portions of the Steele dossier

Discussion: Vox, SHUGERBLOG, Shakesville, Raw Story, Balloon Juice and Just Security

U.S. House of Representatives Permanent …:
Carter Page hearing transcript released

Discussion: Washington Post and Balloon Juice

Bloomberg:
What Carter Page Told House Russia Investigators

Discussion: Above the Law

Washington Post:
Trump adviser sent email describing ‘private conversation’ with Russian official

Discussion: The Hill, The Week and ABC News

The Intercept:

CIA Director Met Advocate of Disputed DNC Hack Theory — at Trump's Request — CIA Director Mike Pompeo met late last month with a former U.S. intelligence official who has become an advocate for a disputed theory that the theft of the Democratic National Committee's emails during …

Discussion: RedState, Mother Jones, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, New Republic, The Daily Caller, The Week and Raw Story

Dan Alexander / Forbes:

The Case Of Wilbur Ross' Phantom $2 Billion — Fresh off a tour through Thailand, Laos and China, United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross Jr. picked up the phone on a Sunday afternoon in October to discuss something deeply personal: how much money he has.

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Shareblue Media, The Week, Mediaite, AOL, New York Magazine, IJR, Politico, Bloomberg, The Mahablog and CNBC

Ronan Farrow / New Yorker:

Harvey Weinstein's Army of Spies — In the fall of 2016, Harvey Weinstein set out to suppress allegations that he had sexually harassed or assaulted numerous women. He began to hire private security agencies to collect information on the women and the journalists trying to expose the allegations.

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
Report Details Weinstein's Covert Attempt to Halt Publication of Accusations

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Above the Law, The Daily Caller, AOL, Washington Free Beacon, The Guardian, twitchy.com, Mediaite, Business Insider, Vox Popoli and New Yorker, more at Mediagazer »

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:

Ryan: Praying the right thing to do after mass shootings because it ‘works’ — (R-Wis.) in an interview broadcast Monday dismissed criticism of his tweet saying the Texas shooting victims “need our prayers,” arguing “prayer works.” — “It's disappointing. It's sad, and this is what you'll get from the far secular left.

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Nicole Lafond / Talking Points Memo:
Ryan: Those Critical Of Church Shooting Response 'Don't Understand' Faith

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Daily Signal, San Antonio Current, Daily Kos, The Atlantic, IJR and The Federalist

Jill Lawrence / USA Today: On gun control, there's nothing and everything left to say: Jill Lawrence

Gregg Re / Fox News:
Democrat walks out of moment of silence for Texas massacre victims

Discussion: New York Times, bizpacreview.com, Townhall.com, The Gateway Pundit, Blunt Force Truth, IJR, The Daily Caller, Shareblue Media and Washington Free Beacon

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
Dem walks out of moment of silence for Texas shooting: 'I can't do this again'

Discussion: twitchy.com, Washington Free Beacon and TheBlaze

Ryan Struyk / CNN:

Poll: Views of Democratic Party hit lowest mark in 25 years — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)Favorable views of the Democratic Party have dropped to their lowest mark in more than a quarter century of polling, according to new numbers from a CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

Discussion: RedState, IJR, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, Politico and Political Wire

Sean McElwee / The Nation: Pandering to Racists Won't Get Democrats Anywhere

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:

GOP lawmaker: Donors are pushing me to get tax reform done — A House Republican lawmaker acknowledged on Tuesday that he's facing pressure from donors to ensure the GOP tax-reform proposal gets done. — Rep. Chris Collins — (R-N.Y.) had been describing the flurry of lobbying …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Shareblue Media and Vox

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Cruz: It's a mistake for House bill to raise taxes

Discussion: IJR

Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:

Jeff Sessions' DOJ Drops Prosecution Of Woman Who Laughed At Jeff Sessions — Desiree Fairooz was set to face her second trial in connection with her arrest for laughing during Sessions' confirmation hearing for attorney general. — WASHINGTON Justice Department prosecutors have dropped …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and IJR

Reuters:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions to face House judiciary panel November 14

Discussion: Axios

James Bridle:

Something is wrong on the internet — I'm James Bridle. I'm a writer and artist concerned with technology and culture. I usually write on my own blog, but frankly I don't want what I'm talking about here anywhere near my own site. Please be advised: this essay describes disturbing things …

Discussion: The Guardian, Boing Boing and Crooked Timber

Jon Swaine / The Guardian:

Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon's attacks on Hillary Clinton — Robert Mercer, whose spending assisted Donald Trump's election win, used tax haven of Bermuda to avoid US taxes — Eighteen months before guiding Donald Trump to election victory, Steve Bannon delivered the opening shot …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Axios, Mediaite and WTKR-TV

New York Times:

What Explains U.S. Mass Shootings? International Comparisons Suggest an Answer — mass — shooters … mass — shooters … 100 — mass — shooters … 80 — 60 — 40 … The New York Times | Source: Adam Lankford, The University of Alabama (shooters); Small Arms Survey (guns).

Discussion: National Review

Ronald.Hansen / Arizona Republic:

Others steer clear of Senate race — The four other Republicans in Arizona's House delegation have also steered clear of the Senate race. — Rep. Paul Gosar has flirted with running for the Senate — mentioning it after Flake's retirement speech — but has remained out of the race so far.

Discussion: USA Today, Political Wire and Washington Free Beacon

Carrie Dann / NBC News:

NBC/WSJ Poll: In ‘Trump Counties,’ More Say U.S. Is Worse Off Than Better Off — WASHINGTON — One year after Donald Trump's shocking election upset, many Americans who live in the key counties that propelled him to victory remain unconvinced that the country is better off now that he's in the White House …

Discussion: Shareblue Media and The Hill

New York Times:

Disney Ends Ban on Los Angeles Times Amid Fierce Backlash — Amid a growing backlash, the Walt Disney Company on Tuesday reversed its decision to bar The Los Angeles Times from press screenings of its movies following an investigation by the newspaper into the media giant's business dealings in Anaheim.

Discussion: Deadline, The A.V. Club, The Ringer, The Week, Mediaite, The Guardian, IJR and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Fox News:

Fusion GPS official met with Russian operative before and after Trump Jr. sit-down — The co-founder of Fusion GPS, the firm behind the unverified Trump dossier, met with a Russian lawyer before and after a key meeting she had last year with Trump's son, Fox News has learned.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, bizpacreview.com and The Gateway Pundit

Kristina Cohen:

The last month has been incredibly difficult. Like so many women I too have a story of sexual assault, and the outpouring of stories have been both triggering and emotionally exhausting. I've gone back and forth over and over again, unsure if I should speak up. If I could speak. And if so, will I be heard?

Discussion: Jezebel, The Daily Caller, AOL, The Guardian, Mediaite and Mashable