memeorandum: Richard Cordray is stepping down as head of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Renae Merle/Washington Post)

2:20 PM ET, November 15, 2017

Top Items:

Fox News's Shepard Smith debunks his network's favorite Hillary Clinton ‘scandal,’ infuriates viewers — Fox News anchor Shepard Smith debunked what his own network has called the Hillary Clinton uranium “scandal,” infuriating Fox viewers, some of whom suggested that he ought to work for CNN or MSNBC.

Discussion: The Guardian, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Business Insider, Mediaite, Shareblue Media, bizpacreview.com, Joe.My.God. and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Jonah Goldberg / National Review:

Good for Shep Smith — I was going to do this as a column for tomorrow, but since Shep beat me to the punch I'll do it as a Corner post. Shep is right. The Uranium One story is crap. — Now let me say that I have no problem believing that Hillary Clinton sold influence or the appearance of influence.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Politico

Alvin Chang / Vox:
Sean Hannity has become the media's top conspiracy theorist

Discussion: Hit & Run, IJR, Washington Post and Bangor Daily News, more at Mediagazer »

Samantha Schmidt / Washington Post:
Even Sean Hannity has had it with Roy Moore, gives candidate 24 hours to explain ‘inconsistencies’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, HuffPost, American Prospect and Balloon Juice

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

Bill Clinton should have resigned — What he did to Monica Lewinsky was wrong, and he should have paid the price. — Many years ago, when I was a high school student making my first visit to Washington for a two-week summer camp for weird politics dorks, the dominant news story …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and THE WARREN (HENRY) REPORT

Jeff Greenfield / Politico:
How Roy Moore's Misdeeds Are Forcing an Awakening on the Left

Discussion: Althouse, dailyrushbo.com, Washington Free Beacon, twitchy.com and Axios

David Harsanyi / The Federalist:
Liberals' Sudden Concern About Bill Clinton's Behavior Is Cynical And Self-Serving

Discussion: Power Line, Fox News, New York Post, twitchy.com, Weekly Standard and Mediaite

Jim Geraghty / National Review: Kennedy, Clinton, and Weinstein: A Convenient Reckoning

Brandon Carter / The Hill:

Limbaugh: Moore was a Democrat at time of sexual misconduct allegations — Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday criticized Republicans for distancing themselves from Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore, while saying that Moore was a Democrat at the time he allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct with teenage girls.

Discussion: dailyrushbo.com, RedState and The Rush Limbaugh Show

Bill Riales / WKRG-TV:

LISTEN: Curious Robocall Seeks ‘Damaging’ Information on Moore — UPDATE 3:31 p.m. (WKRG) — The Executive Editor, Marty Baron, of the Washington Post released the following statement: — “The Post has just learned that at least one person in Alabama has received a call from someone falsely claiming to be from The Washington Post.

Steve Deace:

Judge Roy Moore initiates first legal action against media for defamation, starting with local outlet Alabama Media Group. — UPDATE....similar version of this letter also sent to Washington Post.

Discussion: Washington Post, IJR, The Resurgent and The Gateway Pundit

Brandy Zadrozny / The Daily Beast:

‘Unsafe and Just Plain Dirty’: Women Accuse Vice of ‘Toxic’ Sexual-Harassment Culture … In the summer of 2015, Phoebe Barghouty was 23 years old and had a new master's degree in journalism from Stanford—but little other experience—when she landed what most of her peers would consider a dream job …

Discussion: Axios, The Daily Caller and Page Six

Julian Borger / The Guardian:

Christopher Steele believes his dossier on Trump-Russia is 70-90% accurate — The respected ex-MI6 officer told Guardian journalist and author Luke Harding that his FBI contacts greeted his intelligence report with ‘shock and horror’ … Christopher Steele, the former British intelligence officer …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Politicus USA

Renae Merle / Washington Post:

Richard Cordray is stepping down as head of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Richard Cordray, one of the few remaining Obama-era banking regulators, said on Wednesday that he plans to step down as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by the end of the month …

Alayna Treene / Axios:
Richard Cordray is leaving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Discussion: Politico

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:

Republicans May Target Entitlement Programs to Reduce Deficit — WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers have largely dismissed concerns about how their $1.5 trillion tax cut will add to the federal deficit. Now, some Democrats are warning the tax rewrite will ultimately be financed …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Sam Baker / Axios:
The GOP makes another run at repealing the individual mandate

Discussion: Politico, RedState and Associated Press

Jonathan Cohn / HuffPost:
The GOP Tax Cut Plan Opens A New Front In The War On Obamacare

Discussion: CNBC, The United States …, Business Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Refinery29

Jeff Gammage / Philly.com:

Judge rules for Philly in ‘sanctuary city’ case — A federal judge has granted Philadelphia officials an injunction against the Trump administration, blocking the federal government's attempt to withhold law-enforcement money from so-called sanctuary cities.

Rafael Bernal / The Hill: Judge rules DOJ can't withhold money from Philadelphia over ‘sanctuary city’ policies

Randy Krehbiel Tulsa / Tulsa World:

Democrat pulls off special election victory for Senate seat in west Tulsa County — A year ago, Democrats threw $200,000 and a first-tier candidate at Senate District 37, trying to unseat incumbent Republican Dan Newberry. — They lost the conservative west Tulsa County district by 15 percentage points.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Shareblue Media

Associated Press:
Democrats add to win column in deep-red Oklahoma

Discussion: Washington Blade and Balloon Juice

Kyle Swenson / Washington Post:

His brother died mysteriously when they were toddlers. Years later, a Facebook photo changed everything. — It was an old photo, the original sharp black and white tones worn down into the same muddy gray as television static. — The young man, David Dearlove, sits against a brick wall …

Discussion: Telegraph

Sam Baker / Axios:

Nearly 1.5 million have signed up for ACA coverage in 2 weeks — Nearly 1.5 million people have signed up for coverage through HealthCare.gov in the first two weeks of this year's open enrollment period — up from just over 1 million at the same point in the last enrollment window.

Jessie Hellmann / The Hill:
Nearly 1.5 million sign up for ObamaCare in first 11 days

Discussion: Politico

Bethany Mandel / New York Times:

Roy Moore Reminds Me of My Rabbi — In 2014, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Rabbi Barry Freundel led the congregation of his Washington synagogue in pursuit of humble repentance before God. Ten days later, he was arrested and charged with dozens of counts of voyeurism.

Discussion: Snopes.com

David Rutz / Washington Free Beacon:

Leahy Berates Federal Judicial Nominee Over Joke Tweet About Marrying Bacon — Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.) on Wednesday grilled Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett over a tweet he sent in 2015 saying he would support a constitutional right to “marry bacon.”

Discussion: RedState, Business Insider and twitchy.com

Joe Concha / The Hill:

Fox's Cavuto: I won't have Trump on my show — Neil Cavuto said he's “just not interested” in interviewing President Trump on his Fox News or Fox Business weekday programs, stating that sitting down with the former real estate mogul “probably would not add” value.

Discussion: IJR and Washington Times

Steven Shepard / Politico:

Poll: Biden leads Trump in prospective 2020 matchup — Former Vice President Joe Biden would lead President Donald Trump in a 2020 general election, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. — Only 35 percent of voters would choose to reelect Trump in 2020, the poll shows …

Discussion: AOL, TheBlaze and IJR

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Alabama's senior senator will ‘probably’ write in candidate rather than vote for Moore — The senior senator from Alabama, Sen. Richard Shelby — (R), said on Wednesday that he will likely write in a name during next month's Alabama special election rather than support GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore.

Discussion: Axios

James Hohmann / Washington Post:

The Daily 202: Inside Scott Walker's comeback strategy — (Matthew DeFour/Wisconsin State Journal/AP) — THE BIG IDEA: — GREEN BAY, Wis. — Scott Walker hit political rock bottom in September 2015, soon after his presidential campaign flamed out. It was depressing to be one of the first candidates …

Discussion: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Althouse

Ruth Maclean / The Guardian:

A swarm of motorbikes, then heavy fire: testimony sheds new light on Niger attack — According to locals, ambushed US special forces faced overwhelming, sustained attack from militants - and Nigerien authorities failed to react when alerted … ew details of the attack in which four US special forces …

Discussion: Shareblue Media

US Food and Drug Administration:

Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. on FDA advisory about deadly risks associated with kratom — For Immediate Release — The FDA has issued a public health advisory related to mounting concerns regarding risks associated with the use of kratom.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, CNBC, AOL, NPR, WQAD-TV, The Verge, Hit & Run, CBS Boston, Snopes.com and STAT

Rick Stengel / Politico:

What Hillary Knew About Putin's Propaganda Machine — I was a magazine guy. — After eight years as managing editor of Time, I left at the end of 2013 to become under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. It's a fancy title, but that job is one of the few …

WBUR:

WBUR Poll Finds Warren And Baker Are Up Big Over Their Challengers 05:26 — Play — One's a Democrat, the other a Republican. But both incumbents seem to be sitting pretty, at least at this early stage of their respective re-election campaigns. — Now less than a year before Election Day 2018 …

Judy Kurtz / The Hill:

Porn star, Coolio launching 2020 White House bid — A porn star and a rapper say they have what it takes to win the White House in 2020. — Cherie DeVille, who's starred in such videos as “Ass Planet” and “Hot Tub Hottie,” says she was inspired to run for office out of her “personal frustration for the current political climate.”

Discussion: RedState

Cleve R. Wootson Jr. / Washington Post:

‘Who are they gonna believe you or me?’: Texas prosecutor fired after drunken Uber tirade — In what is probably Exhibit A for a one-star passenger rating, a Dallas assistant district attorney was fired after she drunkenly insulted and threatened an Uber driver, then said police officers …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Dallas Morning News, The Daily Caller, ABC News, WCTX-TV and TheBlaze