memeorandum: This Tax Bill Is Now a Health Care Bill (David Leonhardt/New York Times)

3:10 PM ET, November 15, 2017

Top Items:

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

NRSC poll: Moore trails Jones by 12 — Republican Roy Moore is trailing Democrat Doug Jones by 12 points in the Alabama special Senate election, according to a poll conducted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee after five women accused Moore of pursuing them as teenagers.

CNN:

Trump takes cautious approach on Roy Moore — Steve Bannon comments on Roy Moore accusations — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)It's been five days since the White House said President Donald Trump believes Alabama Senate Republican candidate Roy Moore should drop out if the allegations …

Discussion: Raw Story

Brandon Carter / The Hill:
Limbaugh: Moore was a Democrat at time of sexual misconduct allegations

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

Steve Deace:
Judge Roy Moore initiates first legal action against media …

Discussion: WBMA-TV, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, IJR, The Resurgent, The Gateway Pundit and Slate

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, New York Times and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »

Steven Nelson / Washington Examiner:
Luther Strange's campaign tried and failed to confirm Roy Moore allegations

Discussion: Politico, The Gateway Pundit, JONATHAN TURLEY, Alabama Political Reporter and TheBlaze

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Alabama's senior senator will ‘probably’ write in candidate rather than vote for Moore

Discussion: Axios

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Trump faces wrenching call on Moore

Discussion: Daily Kos, Media Matters for America, CNBC, No More Mister Nice Blog, Shakesville, CNN, Balloon Juice and Breitbart

Fred Barbash / Washington Post:

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, Daily Kos, 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, Bangor Daily News and Washington Post

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: RedState, Washington Free Beacon and THE WARREN (HENRY) REPORT

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

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

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

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 …

Jack Torry / The Columbus Dispatch:
Cordray quits federal post to run for Ohio governor

Discussion: NBC News

Bloomberg:
Cordray to Resign From CFPB, Allowing Trump to Remake Watchdog

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and Instapundit

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

Discussion: Politico

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

Luke Harding / The Guardian:
How Trump walked into Putin's web

Discussion: Raw Story

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, Page Six and The Daily Caller

MacDonald Dzirutwe / Reuters:

Zimbabwe's army seizes power, Mugabe confined but “safe” — HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's military seized power on Wednesday saying it was holding President Robert Mugabe and his family safe while targeting “criminals” in the entourage of the man who has ruled the nation since independence 37 years ago.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Globe and Mail

New York Times:
Zimbabwe's Military, in Apparent Takeover, Says It Has Custody of Mugabe

Discussion: Townhall.com and twitchy.com

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: Balloon Juice and Washington Blade

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

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: Townhall.com, Weekly Standard, RedState, Business Insider and twitchy.com

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

Greg Ip / Wall Street Journal:

How a New Inflation Measure Would Raise Taxes on the Middle Class — Switch to chained consumer-price index would shift burden after several years as people move into higher brackets — Tucked into Republicans' tax overhaul bill is a technical tweak to how inflation is measured.

Discussion: The Atlantic and Axios

Neil Strauss / Rolling Stone:

Elon Musk: The Architect of Tomorrow — Inside the inventor's world-changing plans to inhabit outer space, revolutionize high-speed transportation, reinvent cars - and hopefully find love along the way — It's mid-afternoon on a Friday at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, AOL, The Verge and New York Magazine

Martin Crutsinger / Associated Press:

New money: Mnuchin and Carranza now on the dollar bill — WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Treasurer Jovita Carranza are now on the money, literally. — The two officials took a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on Wednesday to see firsthand …

Discussion: Axios

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: Big League Politics, AOL, IJR, TheBlaze and The Gateway Pundit

The Hill:

House Dems introduce articles of impeachment against Trump — Six House Democrats on Wednesday launched the latest official effort to oust President Trump, introducing five new articles of impeachment revolving around the central theme that the president is a danger to the country.

Discussion: ABC News and IJR

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

Alice Ollstein / Talking Points Memo:

Collins Warns GOP That Mandate Repeal Will Hike Premiums, Slam Middle Class — Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) has crunched the numbers on repealing Obamacare's individual mandate, and she does not like what she sees. — The morning after Senate Republican leaders gave their blessing for the tax bill …