memeorandum: The paranoid Carter Page transcript: What in God's name did I just read? (Alexandra Petri/Washington Post)

2:20 AM ET, November 8, 2017

Top Items:

Lisa Hagen / The Hill:

Northam wins big in Virginia, thrilling Democrats — FAIRFAX, Va. — Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) won the Virginia governor's race in a blowout Tuesday, fending off a potential gut punch for his party and giving Democrats a badly needed jolt of momentum ahead of the 2018 midterms.

Discussion: Politico and ABC News

New York Times:

Live Election Results and Estimates: Virginia Governor Race — Dem. — 1,390,597 — Ed Gillespie — Rep. — 1,160,314 — Lib. — 30,020 — 99% reporting (2,561 of 2,566 precincts) — Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, won a decisive victory in the race for governor of Virginia …

Discussion: Politico, Vox, viraltop1, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Signal and Mother Jones

New York Times:

Live Estimates of the Final Vote — Our estimates are based on the results reported so far, the results of the previous election and demographic data. Unlike reported results, they attempt to account for precincts that have not yet reported their votes. The shaded area in the gauge below shows the range of our forecasts.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Magazine and Politicus USA

New York Times:

With Virginia, Voters Give Democrats First Big Wins of the Trump Era — FAIRFAX, Va. — Voters delivered their first forceful rebuke of President Trump and his party on Tuesday night, with Democrats exploiting Mr. Trump's deep unpopularity to capture the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Fox News Insider, New Republic, The Atlantic and viraltop1

Eric Bradner / CNN:
Democrats sweep in Virginia, New Jersey

Discussion: New Jersey Online, Shareblue Media, Washington Post, WTVR-TV, KXLY-TV, Business Insider, Axios, IJR, Mother Jones, The Nation, WTKR-TV, BuzzFeed, The Guardian, HuffPost, New Republic, The Week and Mediaite

Gregory S. Schneider / Washington Post:
Democrat Ralph Northam defeats Ed Gillespie in race for Virginia governor closely watched by national parties

Discussion: CNBC, Townhall.com, New York Times, WTVR-TV and Business Insider

BuzzFeed:
Latino Victory Fund: We'll Double Down On Controversial Ad Strategy After Virginia Win

Discussion: Politico, Durango Herald and AOL

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:
Republicans seek new path after failure of Gillespie's ‘Trumpism without Trump’

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
Democrat Ralph Northam Wins Virginia Governor Race

Discussion: New Republic, Washington Post, viraltop1, The Gateway Pundit and Mickey Kaus

Antonio Olivo / Washington Post:

Danica Roem is Va.'s first openly transgender elected official, unseating conservative in House race — Democrat Danica Roem ousted longtime incumbent Del. Robert G. Marshall (R) Tuesday, becoming the first openly transgender elected official in Virginia — and one of very few in the nation.

Discussion: The Nation, TheBlaze, The Week, The FADER, Refinery29, Raw Story, The Slot, Shareblue Media, viraltop1 and Mother Jones

John Verhovek / ABC News:

Transgender Virginia candidate makes history and other races to watch — The first openly transgender person elected and seated in a state legislature defeated her conservative Republican opponent in a closely watched Virginia election. — In a historic bid, Democrat Danica Roem beat …

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, Axios and IJR

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:

Northam beats Gillespie in Virginia governor's race — Democrat Ralph Northam was elected governor of Virginia on Tuesday in a sweeping victory that defied the conventional wisdom of a tightening race. — The lieutenant governor's victory joins Democrat Phil Murphy's win …

Gary Langer / ABC News:
Voters' concern about health care boost Northam, corruption a top issue for NJ voters: exit polls

Discussion: Politico, Mother Jones, Vox, Associated Press and Axios

Brandon Carter / The Hill:
First openly transgender woman of color elected to public office in US

Discussion: Rewire and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Trudy Ring / Advocate:
Trans Woman Andrea Jenkins Elected to Minneapolis City Council

Discussion: Raw Story

Jen Kirby / Vox:
Virginia elects Danica Roem, the first openly transgender state legislator

Discussion: Joe.My.God., New Republic and Business Insider

Leigh Ann Caldwell / NBC News:

Trump Tells Democrats He'll ‘Get Killed’ Financially in GOP Tax Bill — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump called 12 Senate Democrats Tuesday, hoping to sway them in favor of the Republican tax cut bill, and told them he would personally “get killed” financially by the GOP bill.

Discussion: Raw Story

Bloomberg:

Senator Menendez Juror Asks Trial Judge: ‘What Is a Senator?’ — On their first full day of jury deliberations at the bribery trial of Senator Robert Menendez, a juror asked the judge a basic question: What is a senator? — U.S. District Judge William Walls declined to answer the question …

Discussion: Instapundit and twitchy.com

Laura Jarrett / CNN: Menendez jury's first question involves the role of a US senator

CBS News:

“The time for excuses is over,” Trump says in South Korea — President Trump told North Korea to “not underestimate us,” in a speech before the South Korea's National Assembly Wednesday morning local time. — “Do not underestimate us. Do not try us. We will defend our common security …

Discussion: The Hill

Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump ‘frustrated’ by cancelled visit to DMZ

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Devin Dwyer / ABC News:
Trump warns Kim ‘regime in grave danger ... we will not be intimidated’

Discussion: Axios and Associated Press

CNN:
Trump attempted to go to DMZ but had to turn back because of weather

Discussion: KTLA, WTVR-TV, The Week, New York's PIX11 and CBS Los Angeles

Sarah Kliff / Vox:

Maine just became the 33rd state to expand Medicaid — A ballot initiative will allow as many as 89,000 Maine residents to gain coverage. — Maine will become the 33rd state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, expanding coverage to as many as 89,000 low-income residents.

Discussion: Axios and Mother Jones

New York Times:
Maine Ballot Question 2: Expand Medicaid Eligibility

Discussion: Forbes, Rewire and Balloon Juice

Rachana Pradhan / Politico:
Maine voters approve expanding Medicaid under Obamacare

Discussion: NPR and The Week

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: Axios, The Root, The Slot, AOL, The Atlantic, Business Insider, Raw Story, Joe.My.God. and Mediaite

Reid Wilson / The Hill:

Dems win from coast to coast — Democrats roared back on Tuesday a year after suffering perhaps the most demoralizing defeat in modern political history, claiming big victories in races up and down the ballot and across the country. — The breadth of the Democratic wins surprised …

Discussion: Governing magazine and TalkLeft

Aaron Wische / Click2Houston.com:

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 …

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: IJR, TheBlaze, RedState, The Daily Caller and Washington Times

Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:

The paranoid Carter Page transcript: What in God's name did I just read? — Carter Page's testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the transcript of which was released Monday night, was like trying to read a magic eye painting.

Discussion: Weekly Standard

The Charlotte Observer:

Democrat Vi Lyles makes history in Charlotte mayoral win — Casting herself as a unifier after two years of tumult, Democrat Vi Lyles easily defeated Republican Kenny Smith on Tuesday to become Charlotte's first African-American female mayor. — Lyles took about 58 percent to Smith's 42 percent in unofficial returns.

Discussion: The Hill and The Root

Olivia Solon / The Guardian:

Facebook asks users for nude photos in project to combat revenge porn — In Australia pilot effort, company will ‘hash’ images, converting them into digital fingerprints that prevent any other attempts to upload the same pictures … Facebook is asking users to send the company their nude photos …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Verge and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

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: The Hill, Shareblue Media and Daily Kos

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: Politico, New York Times, ThinkProgress, IJR, New York Magazine, Axios and Balloon Juice

Kevin Poulsen / The Daily Beast:

Exclusive: Russia Activated Twitter Sleeper Cells for Election Day Blitz … As U.S. polling places opened last Nov. 8, Russian trolls in St. Petersburg began a final push on Twitter to elect Donald Trump. — They used a combination of high-profile accounts with large and influential followings …

Discussion: Raw Story

Corey W. McDonald / New Jersey Online:

Ravi Bhalla wins Hoboken election, becomes N.J.'s first Sikh mayor — HOBOKEN — City Councilman Ravi Bhalla has emerged victorious in the six-person mayoral race, becoming the first Sikh mayor of the Mile Square City — and the state of New Jersey. — Bhalla, an Indian-American born in New Jersey …

Discussion: The Hill

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Congresswoman tolerated abusive behavior by top aide, female ex-staffers say — A lawmaker pushing for a more aggressive response to sexual harassment on Capitol Hill has kept her chief of staff on payroll despite receiving multiple complaints by women in her office about his behavior toward them, according to several former aides.

Discussion: The Guardian, The Root, IJR, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller and Talking Points Memo

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.