memeorandum: White House taking down petition website, pledges to launch new one (Jacqueline Thomsen/The Hill)

10:15 PM ET, December 18, 2017

Top Items:

Emma Loop / BuzzFeed:

The Senate's Russia Investigation Is Now Looking Into Jill Stein, A Former Campaign Staffer Says — The Senate Intelligence Committee has asked Green Party candidate Jill Stein's campaign to turn over documents, a former employee says. Stein is expected to release them publicly as well.

Discussion: The Intercept, ThinkProgress, The Right Scoop, The Week, Balloon Juice, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Blue Mass Group

NBC News:

FBI warned Trump in 2016 Russians would try to infiltrate his campaign — WASHINGTON — In the weeks after he became the Republican nominee on July 19, 2016, Donald Trump was warned that foreign adversaries, including Russia, would probably try to spy on and infiltrate his campaign …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Raw Story, Business Insider, The Week, IJR, RedState, Vox, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Washington Post:

Trump team's meeting with Mueller's office poised to ratchet up tensions … White House lawyers are expected to meet with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's office late this week seeking good news: that his sprawling investigation's focus on President Trump will soon end and their client will be cleared.

Discussion: Axios, Politicus USA, Raw Story, Salon, Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, The Week and Balloon Juice

CNN:

Trump predicts exoneration in Russia investigation as allies fear a ‘meltdown’ — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump is privately striking a less agitated tone on the Russia investigation, sources say, even insisting he'll soon be cleared in writing.

Discussion: Axios, The Right Scoop, The Hill, New York Magazine, Shareblue Media, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Project Republic, AOL, Paste, IJR, Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo, CBS San Francisco, Shakesville, No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story and Eschaton

Asha Rangappa / Just Security:

Why it's Far Worse for Trump to Fire Rosenstein than to Fire Mueller — All eyes are on what Donald Trump will do, as the oracles on Twitter and the Hill have predicted that the president may fire Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller around the holidays. Trump's lawyers have denied …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Shareblue Media, Shakesville, Vox, Talking Points Memo, New Republic and RedState

Anchorage Daily News:

Track Palin, son of former Gov. Sarah Palin, arrested for assaulting his father — PALMER — Track Palin, the 28-year-old son of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, was arrested on assault and burglary charges after he repeatedly hit his father, Todd Palin, at the family home Saturday, charging documents say.

Discussion: Mediaite, The American Conservative and AOL

Seema Mehta / Los Angeles Times:

Track Palin charged with beating his father, who court documents say confronted him with a gun — Track Palin, oldest son of Sarah Palin, appears during the Republican National Convention in September 2008 in St Paul, Minn. (Emmanuel Dunand / AFP/Getty Images)

Discussion: The Week, The Root, New York Post and CBS Los Angeles

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Palin's son charged after allegedly beating his father

Discussion: RedState and Los Angeles Times

Ashley Parker / Washington Post:

Trump talked about rescinding Gorsuch's nomination — President Trump welcomes Neil M. Gorsuch during a the announcement of his nomination to the Supreme Court on Jan. 31. The judge is kissing his wife, Marie Louise. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Discussion: Axios, The Week and Raw Story

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:

Trump Judicial Nominee Drops Out After Embarrassing Hearing, Per Senate Aide — Matthew Petersen is the president's third court pick to crash and burn over not being qualified to be a federal judge. — WASHINGTON President Donald Trump's judicial nominee Matthew Petersen has withdrawn …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, The Atlantic, LAW.com, BuzzFeed, Politico, Raw Story, The Week, New York Magazine and Washington Post

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Trump judicial nominee Matthew Petersen pulls out after struggling to answer basic questions

Discussion: ABC News, Outside the Beltway and TalkLeft

Dan Merica / CNN:
Trump judicial nominee Matthew Petersen withdraws after viral hearing video

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Tegna / WWL-TV:
Sen. Kennedy on Trump judicial nominee: ‘He has no litigation experience.’

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, New York Times, NPR, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, Splinter, TheBlaze, Bangor Daily News, Mother Jones, Raw Story and Mediaite

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:

U.S. declares North Korea carried out massive WannaCry cyberattack — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (Korea News Service via Associated Press) — The U.S. government is publicly acknowledging that North Korea was behind the WannaCry computer worm that affected more than 230,000 computers in over 150 countries earlier this year.

Discussion: Axios and The Verge

Thomas P. Bossert / Wall Street Journal:

It's Official: North Korea Is Behind WannaCry — The massive cyberattack cost billions and put lives at risk. Pyongyang will be held accountable. — Cybersecurity isn't easy, but simple principles still apply. Accountability is one, cooperation another. They are the cornerstones of security and resilience in any society.

Discussion: Politico, emptywheel, Gizmodo, IJR and BBC, more at Techmeme »

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:

White House taking down petition website, pledges to launch new one — The White House says it will take down a website that hosts petitions to the federal government, with a promise to restore it as a new site next year. — The “We The People” website, launched by then-President Obama in 2011 …

Discussion: Politicus USA

Zeke Miller / Associated Press: White House temporarily removes petition tool

Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:
Pence delays trip to Middle East

Discussion: Politico, Axios and Washington Free Beacon

Associated Press:

Amtrak train hurtles off overpass; at least 6 people killed — DUPONT, Wash. (AP) — An Amtrak train making the first-ever run along a faster new route hurtled off an overpass at an estimated 80 mph Monday south of Seattle and spilled some of its cars onto the highway below, killing at least six people, authorities said.

Discussion: The Seattle Times, CBS News, CNN, WSDOT, ThinkProgress, Politico, CNBC, Media Matters for America, NPR, IJR, RedState, Fox News Insider, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon, The Week, mikeallen, Mediaite, Q13 FOX News and Reuters

Tanya Sinkovits / Q13 FOX News:
At least six dead after Amtrak train derails, leaving rail cars dangling above I-5

Discussion: New York Post, ABC News, Fox News, Washington Post, NBC News, CNBC, AOL and The Gateway Pundit

Del Quentin Wilber / Wall Street Journal:

In FBI Agent's Account, ‘Insurance Policy’ Text Referred to Russia Probe — Agent's text was meant to convey the FBI needed to aggressively investigate allegations of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia — An FBI agent's reference to “an insurance policy” in a much-debated text message …

Discussion: Axios, Raw Story, Townhall.com, Project Republic, emptywheel, Washington Post and twitchy.com

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

Franken urged to reverse his resignation — At least four senators are urging Al Franken to reconsider resigning, including two who issued statements calling for the resignation two weeks ago and said they now feel remorse over what they feel was a rush to judgment.

Dylan Matthews / Vox:

The Republican tax bill got worse: now the top 1% gets 83% of the gains — In its last year, the bill raises taxes on more than 53 percent of Americans. — By 2027, more than half of all Americans — 53 percent — would pay more in taxes under the tax bill agreed to by House and Senate Republicans …

Discussion: USA Today, New York Magazine, taxpolicycenter.org and Business Insider

David Leonhardt / New York Times:
A Tax Plan to Turbocharge Inequality, in 3 Charts

Discussion: Washington Post, Splinter, Washington Monthly and Viking Pundit

Thomas Smith / Disney Parks Blog:

The Hall of Presidents Reopens at the Walt Disney World Resort After Year-Long Transformation — Following a year-long transformation, The Hall of Presidents will officially reopen at Magic Kingdom Park on Tuesday, December 19, with enhancements that will bring the story of the American presidency to life as never before.

Discussion: abc7ny.com, Gizmodo and Mediaite

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
President Trump, the Animatronic Version, Comes to Disney World

Discussion: Orlando Sentinel and Business Insider

Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:

Senate intel committee investigating Jill Stein campaign for possible collusion with the Russians — (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik, Kremlin/Pool/AP) — The Senate Intelligence Committee is looking at the presidential campaign of the Green Party's Jill Stein for potential “collusion with the Russians …

Discussion: RedState

Jason Zengerle / New York Times: What (if Anything) Does Carter Page Know?

ESPN MediaZone:

News Regarding John Skipper — ESPN President John Skipper announced today that he is resigning from his position, citing a substance addiction problem. Former ESPN President and Executive Chairman George Bodenheimer (who worked at ESPN from 1981-2014) will serve as Acting Chair of the company …

Discussion: Japan Times, NBC News, Deadspin, The Ringer, IJR, New York Times, Politico, NPR and The Week

ESPN:
John Skipper resigns as ESPN president, George Bodenheimer takes over as acting chairman

Discussion: The Ringer, Bloomberg, NewsBusters, USA Today, ProFootballTalk, TheBlaze, Mediaite, TMZ.com and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

CRFB Papers and Blog Posts:

Final Tax Bill Could End Up Costing $2.2 Trillion — The final conference committee agreement of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) would cost $1.46 trillion under conventional scoring and over $1 trillion on a dynamic basis over ten years, leading debt to rise to between 95 percent and 98 percent …

Discussion: Tax Foundation, National Review, Hit & Run, ThinkProgress, Axios, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg

Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:

Jennifer Rubin Is Everything She Hates about Trump Worshippers — The Washington Post columnist stands out among Trump-obsessed zealots who add nothing to our discourse. — The era of Trump has been as hard on the mind as it has been good for the muscles in the chest.

Discussion: alicublog

Jeremy Hallock / GuideLive:

Dallas restaurant owner ‘betrayed and sad’ after Donald Trump Jr. and Ted Cruz photographed with Barack Obama cookie cake — Sharing really is caring... Join the conversation... President Donald Trump's oldest son lit up the Internet with an Instagram post that seemed to mock former president Barack Obama.

Discussion: TheBlaze and Raw Story

Chad Felix Greene / The Federalist:

I Turned My Coworker Into HR When She Gave Me A Christmas Card, And She Changed My Heart — For years I have been one of the only Jewish people at my places of employment. I am currently the only Jew who wears a kippah at my office every day. In my heavily Southern Baptist and rural town …

John Bresnahan / Politico:

House to unveil massive $81 billion disaster aid package — The House plans to release a staggering $81 billion disaster aid package, the largest single funding request for natural calamities in U.S. history. — If approved, Congress will have spent more than $130 billion on a spate …

Discussion: ABC News and Axios

New York Times:

Rebelling Republican Suburbs Offer Democrats Path to House Control — HOUSTON — As she sat with a glass of sauvignon blanc waiting for a women-focused Democratic fund-raiser to begin, Nancy Sharp let loose in a Texas-seasoned drawl why she and so many other onetime supporters of the Bush family were abandoning the Republicans.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Jason Guerrasio / Business Insider:

Matt Damon says we aren't talking enough about all the men in Hollywood who aren't sexual predators — Matt Damon says the men not involved in sexual misconduct in Hollywood aren't being talked about enough. — He says most people he knows “don't do that.”

Discussion: Mashable, IndieWire, Splinter and The Guardian

Fred Imbert / CNBC:

Dow rises 5,000 points in a year for the first time ever — “It's getting a bit extended, but I think it has more room to run,” says MKM Partners' Jonathan Krinsky. — The Dow Jones industrial average just did something it has never done in its 121-year history.

Discussion: IJR