memeorandum: How Trump came around to an accused child molester (Alex Isenstadt/Politico)

2:55 PM ET, December 11, 2017

Top Items:

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Enthused Democrats give Jones lead over Moore in Alabama — Democrat Doug Jones holds a 10-point lead over Republican Roy Moore among likely voters in deep red Alabama. — Greater party loyalty plus higher interest in the election among Democrats combined …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, ThinkProgress, CBS News, RedState, Weekly Standard, Washington Post, Business Insider, No More Mister Nice Blog, NBC News, TheBlaze, Outside the Beltway, AOL, IJR, The Right Scoop, Politicus USA, Washington Times and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Jeff Zeleny / CNN:

First on CNN: Obama tells Alabama voters to reject Roy Moore — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — (CNN)Former President Barack Obama is adding his voice to the Alabama Senate race, imploring voters to go to the polls Tuesday to reject the candidacy of Roy Moore as part of an aggressive effort by Democrats …

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Washington Free Beacon, theGrio, Raw Story, Axios, Washington Times and The Week

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

How Trump came around to an accused child molester — Mitch McConnell had publicly disavowed Roy Moore when the Senate majority leader received one of several phone calls from President Donald Trump. McConnell wanted Trump's help to push Moore out of the Alabama Senate race after he'd been accused …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Hill, AOL, Raw Story, The Week, Mediaite and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Jeremy Gray / al.com:

Condoleezza Rice: Alabama Senate election one of history's most significant — Former U.S. Secretary of State and Birmingham native Condoleezza Rice today urged Alabamians to vote in tomorrow's special Senate election. — “This week's special election will be one of the most significant in Alabama's history.

Discussion: The Hill and Talking Points Memo

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:

Rise of the Roypublicans — If Alabama voters on Tuesday elect Roy Moore to the Senate, the Donald Trump-diseased party once known as the Republicans may as well call themselves Roypublicans. — There will be no way to shake the stench of this homophobic, Islamophobic, sexist, racist apologist and accused pedophile.

Discussion: Weekly Standard and al.com

Scott Douglas / New York Times:

The Alabama Senate Race May Have Already Been Decided — BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Senate election in Alabama on Tuesday is not just about the choice between Doug Jones and Roy Moore. It's also about a voter suppression campaign that may well sway the result of a close race.

Monmouth University:

Monmouth University Polling Institute — Alabama — Turnout Big Question in Senate Race — Voters' fundamental partisanship helps Moore — West Long Branch, NJ - Slight differences in turnout could change the outcome of tomorrow's special U.S. Senate election in Alabama.

Discussion: Political Wire

Jamelle Bouie / Slate:
The Doug Jones Coalition

Discussion: Washington Post, New Republic, Politico, Washington Monthly, VICE News, BuzzFeed and New York Times

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Nebraska RNC official resigns to protest support of Moore

Discussion: Fox News, Vox, Axios and The Week

Associated Press:
The Latest: Jones says Moore hiding in Alabama Senate race

Discussion: Politico and ABC News

New York Post:

Suspected bomber in custody after explosion at Port Authority — A suicide bomber set off a device at the Port Authority bus terminal Monday morning, law enforcement sources said. — The suspected bomber - who had wires attached to him - was armed with a pipe bomb and a battery pack, sources said.

New York Times:

Pipe Bomb Explodes in New York Subway Walkway — A 27-year-old man set off a pipe bomb strapped to his body during the morning rush hour on Monday, deep inside one of Manhattan's busiest commuter corridors, the police said. — The blast echoed through the subway tunnels just off Times Square …

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Beast, Business Insider, CityLab, Hollywood Life, Althouse, The Root, Shakesville and Fox News Insider

Washington Post:
Explosion reported in Manhattan; New York police say one person is in custody

Discussion: CBS News, CBS New York, The Outline, Townhall.com, Politico, Sputnik International, CNBC, Balloon Juice and The Daily Caller

Eliott C. McLaughlin / CNN:
New York explosion: 1 in custody after blast at Port Authority bus station

Discussion: Washington Times, NPR, American Greatness, Hollywood Life, Shareblue Media and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Aaron Katersky / ABC News:
Explosive detonates below Port Authority bus terminal in New York City, suspect in custody

Discussion: Mother Jones, VICE News, twitchy.com, Hollywood Life, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Daily Signal, TheBlaze, Index, CBS Boston and Faithwire

NBC News:

18 crucial days: What did the president know and when did he know it? — WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller is trying to piece together what happened inside the White House over a critical 18-day period that began when senior officials were told that National Security Adviser Michael Flynn …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, CNBC, Booman Tribune, BillMoyers.com, Raw Story, Axios and The Week

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

This big development in the Mueller probe could put Trump in danger — THE MORNING PLUM: — On Jan. 24, President Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, lied to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the transition.

Discussion: USA Today, IJR, 89.3 KPCC and NPR

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
As Russia probes progress, one name is missing: Bannon's

Discussion: Raw Story

Irene Plagianos / Eater NY:

Mario Batali Steps Away From Restaurant Empire Following Sexual Misconduct Allegations — Four women accuse the chef of inappropriate touching in a pattern of behavior that spans at least two decades, according to dozens of Eater interviews — About 10 years ago, at the after-party …

Discussion: Page Six, Axios, Fox News, Eater SF, Washington Post, NPR, CNNMoney, USA Today, Eater, grubstreet, NBC News, Infowars, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Refinery29, Shakesville, Instapundit, RedState, twitchy.com, IJR, Mediaite, Hollywood Life, AOL, Splinter, The Week, Mashable and TMZ.com

Mark Berman / Washington Post:

Trump accusers say it was ‘heartbreaking’ to see him elected despite sexual misconduct allegations — As the country grapples with a national reckoning over sexual misconduct allegations against powerful men from Hollywood to Capitol Hill, three women who accused the most high-profile man …

Discussion: Vox, Mother Jones, ThinkProgress, New Republic, Breitbart, Shakesville, Infowars, TheBlaze, IJR, The Week and twitchy.com

Andrew Kirell / The Daily Beast:
Woman: Donald Trump Groped Me and Called Me a ‘C*nt’

Discussion: ABC News, Politico and Axios

The Daily Beast:
Trump's Accusers to Demand Probe at Monday Press Conference

Discussion: IJR, Politico and The Week

HuffPost:
4 Trump Accusers Call On Congress To Investigate Sexual Misconduct Claims

Discussion: Fox News, IJR and Shareblue Media

Emily Tillett / CBS News:
Female accusers of Trump call for Congressional investigation into misconduct

Discussion: RedState, VICE News, Politicus USA, FOX6Now.com, CBS New York and KTLA

Bloomberg:

Trump Takes Credit for Killing Hundreds of Regulations That Were Already Dead — As the Trump administration nears its one-year mark, White House officials are touting cuts to regulations as one of their top achievements. — “In the history of our country, no president, during their entire term …

Eric Boehlert / Shareblue Media: White House brags about repealing 834 fake regulations

Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press:

APNewsBreak: Transgender people can enlist in military Jan 1 — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is allowing transgender people to enlist in the military beginning Jan. 1, despite President Donald Trump's opposition. — The new policy reflects growing legal pressure on the issue …

Discussion: Axios and New York Times

Julia Ioffe / The Atlantic:

What Putin Really Wants — I. The Hack — The large, sunny room at Volgograd State University smelled like its contents: 45 college students, all but one of them male, hunched over keyboards, whispering and quietly clacking away among empty cans of Juicy energy drink.

Discussion: Raw Story

Richard L. Hasen / Los Angeles Times:

Op-Ed Is the Supreme Court finally ready to tackle partisan gerrymandering? Signs suggest yes — The Supreme Court in Washington. (Olivier Douliery / TNS) — Is the Supreme Court about to cause great political upheaval by getting into the business of policing the worst partisan gerrymanders?

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and SCOTUSblog

Joshua Green / Bloomberg:

How Steve Bannon Rescued Roy Moore's Campaign Against All Odds — Alabama Senate candidate calls Bannon ‘the master strategist’ — Polls show most Republicans now don't believe Moore's accusers — On the night of Nov. 14, Roy Moore's campaign for an Alabama Senate seat looked all but finished.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Vox, Politico, Roll Call, Talking Points Memo, National Review, Media Matters for America, AOL, The Federalist, NBC News, Washington Post and HuffPost

Daniel W. Drezner / Washington Post:

Four thoughts on the story that almost broke the #ToddlerinChief thread — Regarding the sixty-source New York Times story confirming that the president has the emotional maturity of a four-year old. — The hard-working staff here at Spoiler Alerts has taken great pains to curate …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon, IJR and AOL

Helena Bottemiller Evich / Politico:

Behind Trump's plan to target the federal safety net — The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are hoping to make the most sweeping changes to federal safety net programs in a generation, using legislation and executive actions to target recipients of food stamps, Medicaid and housing benefits.

Discussion: RedState, Vanity Fair and Politicus USA

Washington Post:

New CDC head faces questions about financial conflicts of interest — ATLANTA — After five months in office, President Trump's new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been unable to divest financial holdings that pose potential conflicts of interest, hindering her ability to fully perform her job.

Ralph Peters / New York Post:

Why the ‘Arab street’ didn't just explode — In the wake of President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital last week, the “experts” crowding the media predicted strategic calamity: Vast, violent protests and a wave of terror would sweep the Muslim world in the coming days.

Discussion: Instapundit