memeorandum: Kim Jong Un highlights his ‘nuclear button,’ offers Olympic talks (NBC News)

7:35 AM ET, January 2, 2018

Top Items:

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:

Anthony Scaramucci Is Telling Pals That Donald Trump Wants Him Back … Losing your job in a fit of self-immolation after a mere ten days may seem like the type of professional stumble that doesn't lend itself to a comeback. But Anthony Scaramucci, a.k.a. the Mooch, appears to be positioning himself to give politics another go.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and New York Magazine

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:

White House aides already anxious about 2018 — President Donald Trump returned to Washington from his sunny holiday break in Florida in an upbeat mood, relaxed and rested — but many of his top aides are dreading what's to come in 2018. — After ending their first year on a high …

Discussion: The Week

Jake Sherman / Politico:

AND WE'RE BACK: Washington kicks into gear for bruising January ... ADVANTAGE DEMOCRATS? — TRUMP losing ground in Iowa — SCARAMUCCI telling people TRUMP wants him back — B'DAY: Mike Zapler — DRIVING THE DAY — Good Tuesday morning. THIS WEEK: The Senate is out. The House is in.

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump confronts 2018's harsh political reality

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Hullabaloo and Washington Post

Washington Post:

The West should support the protesters in Iran — FIVE DAYS of street protests in cities across Iran have underlined the fundamental weakness of a regime sometimes portrayed in Washington as a regional juggernaut. Despite the lifting of most Western economic sanctions after 2015 …

Discussion: Bloomberg, israpundit.org, NBC News, Common Dreams, The Moderate Voice, IJR, National Review, CNN, Business Insider, The Atlantic and Al Jazeera English

Michael Georgy / Reuters:

Iranian protesters attack police stations, raise stakes in unrest — DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian protesters attacked police stations late into the night on Monday, news agency and social media reports said, as security forces struggled to contain the boldest challenge to the clerical leadership since unrest in 2009.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Wall Street Journal, The Times of Israel and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Thomas Erdbrink / New York Times:

Iranians Protest Across Country, Defying a Crackdown — TEHRAN — Iranian security forces clamped down on Tehran on Monday after demonstrators across the country ignored calls for calm by President Hassan Rouhani in the most significant venting of pent-up economic and political frustrations in years.

Discussion: RedState

Brad Reed / Raw Story:

Colorado shooting suspect was an Iraq War vet who posted alt-right ‘Pepe’ memes on social media — Matthew Riehl, the man accused of killing a suburban Denver sheriff's deputy and wounding four others, is a veteran of the Iraq War who is also fond of posting alt-right memes on his Facebook account.

CNN:
Colorado gunman who killed deputy was an Iraq veteran, official says

Discussion: KTLA, TheBlaze, Breitbart and Mediaite

Raf Sanchez / Telegraph:

Defiant Iran protesters steal Revolutionary Guard's trousers even as death toll mounts — The Basij militiaman, a paramilitary storm trooper of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, was reportedly swinging an electric shock baton when the crowd of angry protesters closed in around him.

Discussion: RedState, TheBlaze, Common Dreams, Washington Post, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Fox News, KTLA and IJR

Sue Surkes / The Times of Israel:
Kuwaiti report: US gives Israel go-ahead to kill powerful Iranian general

Discussion: RedState

Daniel Serwer / peacefare.net:
Unwise — In response to protests in Iran, President Trump is calling for regime change:

Discussion: The Last Refuge, The Gateway Pundit and Breitbart

Bwittes / Lawfare:

Why Trump's War on the Deep State Is Failing—So Far — In May of 2016, when Donald Trump was still a long-shot candidate for president, I warned with some specificity about what he would try to do to the U.S. Department of Justice and the law enforcement apparatus of the United States:

Discussion: CANNONFIRE

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:

GOP lawmakers surprised to learn no black soldiers served under Confederacy in South Carolina — The justification for building a monument to black Confederate soldiers is crumbling as historians point out there's no evidence such combatants ever existed. — State Rep. Bill Chumley …

Associated Press:
Records show no black armed Confederates

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:

As the Dossier Scandal Looms, the New York Times Struggles to Save Its Collusion Tale — The totality of the evidence undermines the Times' collusion narrative. — rump Adviser's Visit to Moscow Got the F.B.I.'s Attention. " That was the page-one headline the New York Times ran on April 20 …

Discussion: emptywheel, Washington Post and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:

Pence's office says VP visit to Israel remains in plans — JERUSALEM (AP) — Mike Pence's office on Monday said the U.S. vice president still plans on visiting Israel this month, despite an apparent delay in the schedule. — Pence had been scheduled to come during the week of Jan. 14.

Raphael Ahren / The Times of IsraelRaphael Ahren:
Pence visit indefinitely postponed due to ‘scheduling conflicts’

Discussion: Breitbart, The Hill and Politico

Robin Pogrebin / New York Times:

Peter Martins Retires From New York City Ballet After Misconduct Allegations — After accusations of sexual harassment and physical and verbal abuse, Peter Martins, the powerful leader of New York City Ballet who shaped the company for more than three decades, has decided to retire.

Discussion: The Week and NPR

A. G. Sulzberger / New York Times:

A Note From Our New Publisher — IN 1896 my great-great-grandfather left his hometown, Chattanooga, and traveled north to purchase a small, fading newspaper in New York. — The moment was not unlike our own. Technological, economic and social turmoil were upending the traditions of the country.

David M. Halbfinger / New York Times:

Emboldened Israeli Right Presses Moves to Doom 2-State Solution — JERUSALEM — An emboldened Israeli right wing is moving quickly in the new year to make it far more difficult to create a Palestinian state, signaling its intention to doom hopes for a two-state solution to the conflict.

Kelly Heyboer / New Jersey Online:

Teen killed parents, sister, family friend with semi-automatic rifle, cops say — Gallery: Investigators at crime scene, teen accused of killing parents, sister, family friend with semi-automatic — A 16-year-old armed with a semi-automatic rifle shot and killed his parents …

Discussion: Breitbart and ABC News

Chris Swendeman / Office of the Monmouth …:
Four Dead Following Shooting Inside Long Branch Home

Discussion: KTLA, New York's PIX11, abc7.com, The Daily Caller and New York Times

NBC News:

Kim Jong Un highlights his ‘nuclear button,’ offers Olympic talks — SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used his New Year's Day address to warn the U.S. not to test him while striking a softer tone with South Korea, including the possibility of sending a delegation to next month's Winter Olympics.

Discussion: Korea JoongAng Daily, NBC News, Yonhap News Agency, Breitbart, Big Think and The Diplomat

Associated Press:
On Trump's plate: Congress, midterm elections, North Korea

Discussion: Axios

Zachary Cohen / CNN:
Former Joint Chiefs chairman: Nuclear war with North Korea closer than ever

Discussion: New York Magazine, KTLA, IJR and Althouse

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette / Arkansas Online:

Arkansas woman who declared her gun range a ‘Muslim Free Zone’ enters governor's race — A Hot Springs Republican has entered the governor's race and will challenge Gov. Asa Hutchinson in the GOP primary in May. — Jan Morgan, 54, announced her candidacy in a new release sent Sunday night and at an event in Hot Springs.

Discussion: Raw Story