memeorandum: Opioid Addiction Knows No Color, but Its Treatment Does (Jose A. Del Real/New York Times)

4:10 PM ET, January 12, 2018

Top Items:

Trump's history of breaking decorum with remarks on race, ethnicity — A career intelligence analyst who is an expert in hostage policy stood before President Donald Trump in the Oval Office last fall to brief him on the impending release of a family long held in Pakistan under uncertain circumstances.

Discussion: CNBC, Raw Story, Mother Jones, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, Mediaite and Axios

Alex Horton / Washington Post:

The U.S. ambassador in London contradicted just about everything Trump said about the new embassy — The United States and United Kingdom have enjoyed close ties that Winston Churchill called “the special relationship” — a camaraderie that transcends the Atlantic and the roots of America as Britain's breakaway colony.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New York Times, BBC, The Root, ABC News, Telegraph, The Guardian, Associated Press, IJR, NBC News, Al Jazeera English, Washington Times, The Atlantic, Mashable, The Week, CNBC, Talking Points Memo, The Poke and Mediaite

Samantha Schmidt / Washington Post:

'This is CNN Tonight. I'm Don Lemon. The president of the United States is racist.' — It's not every day you hear a television news anchor unabashedly calling a public figure “racist.” Broadcast journalists tend to tread lightly when describing racism, using terms such as “racially charged” or “racially tinged.”

Discussion: The Nation, New York Times, Washington Times, Washingtonian, IJR, Ethics & Public Policy Center, CBS News and America's Voice

Adam Edelman / NBC News:

Trump denies Haiti slur amid fallout from ‘shithole’ comment — President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to deny he insulted Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries” but admitted he used “tough” language during a discussion about an immigration deal with lawmakers.

Washington Post:

‘Here is what my #shithole looks like’: African countries and Haiti react to Trump's remark … ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — President Trump's dismissal of Haiti, El Salvador and African nations as “shithole countries” whose inhabitants are not desirable for U.S. immigration shocked people around the world and provoked swift condemnation.

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, Washingtonian, USA Today, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Los Angeles Times, Washington Free Beacon, NPR, The Week, Portland Mercury and thecut

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:

There's No Way Out — Last week, which brought the release of Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury, was rough for the White House. But this week has been worse still, and the damage has been almost entirely inflicted by the president himself. — Consider the highlights:

Discussion: Breitbart, The Guardian, Raw Story, FOX6Now.com, 89.3 KPCC, ABC News, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Post

Christina Wilkie / CNBC:
Mar-a-Lago, Trump's exclusive club, reportedly hires more of its seasonal foreign workers …

Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News, Vox, New York Times, Shareblue Media, Talking Points Memo, Fox News Insider and Washington Times, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:
Trump Alarms Lawmakers With Disparaging Words for Haiti and Africa

Jeremy Carl / National Review:
Of Trump, Holes, and Our Real Immigration Scandals

Discussion: Power Line, Mashable, The Poke, Associated Press and Washington Free Beacon

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:
Trump says he canceled trip to London

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, The Guardian, CNBC, Mashable, IJR, The Poke and Politico

Henrik Pryser Libell / New York Times:
From Norway to Haiti, Trump's Comments Stir Fresh Outrage

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Talking Points Memo, The Hill and New Republic

Robert Johnson / London Evening Standard:
Our Nine Elms US embassy is the most advanced we've ever built

Discussion: The Atlantic and CBS Baltimore

Wall Street Journal:

Trump Lawyer Arranged $130,000 Payment for Adult-Film Star's Silence — Agreement just before election required woman to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, people familiar with the matter say — A lawyer for President Donald Trump arranged a $130,000 payment …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and The Week

Post and Courier:

Sen. Tim Scott: Graham says reports of Trump's ‘shithole countries’ comment ‘basically accurate’ — U.S. Sen. Tim Scott said he talked to fellow South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham about hearing President Donald Trump's “shithole countries” comment and Graham confirmed to him the president said it.

Discussion: Hot Air, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Vox, Chicago Tribune, Axios, Political Wire, Refinery29, Mediaite, Splinter, The Daily Caller, Politico and Washington Post

Thomas Frank / BuzzFeed:

Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers — A BuzzFeed News review of every sale of a Trump-branded condominium in the United States provides the first comprehensive look at how many went to unidentified buyers who paid cash, an indication of possible money laundering.

Discussion: IJR, Raw Story and The Week

Harriet Alexander / Telegraph:

US ambassador to Panama resigns, saying he can no longer serve under Trump administration — US Ambassador to Panama John Feeley, a career diplomat and former Marine Corps helicopter pilot, has resigned, telling the State Department he no longer feels able to serve President Donald Trump.

Discussion: Washington Post, Shakesville, Weekly Standard, Mother Jones and Axios

Reuters:
U.S. ambassador to Panama resigns, says cannot serve Trump

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and Washington Blade

Jon Sharman / The Independent: US ambassador to Panama resigns because he can ‘no longer work for Trump’

Raphael Satter / Associated Press:

Cybersecurity firm: US Senate in Russian hackers' crosshairs — PARIS (AP) — The same Russian government-aligned hackers who penetrated the Democratic Party have spent the past few months laying the groundwork for an espionage campaign against the U.S. Senate, a cybersecurity firm said Friday.

Discussion: Washington Times and Political Wire

Feike Hacquebord / blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs …:
Update on Pawn Storm: New Targets and Politically Motivated Campaigns

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Politico, Balloon Juice, Gizmodo, Axios, Tampa Bay Times and Wired

Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:

How The Alt-Right — And Paul Ryan's Challenger — Coordinate To Fight The “Jewish Media” — When Steve Bannon, Breitbart, and other conservatives cut ties with far-right activist and congressional candidate Paul Nehlen, he turned to his private Twitter direct message group, CityRevoltVoteNehlen.

Discussion: The Week and twitchy.com, more at Mediagazer »

Eve Peyser / VICE:

Biden Trashes Millennials in His Quest to Become Even Less Likable — In an apparent effort to make himself an even less appealing 2020 contender, former Vice President Joe Biden had some harsh words for millennials while promoting his new book on Wednesday. Here's what he said in a conversation with Patt Morrison of the LA Times:

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and thecut

Gaby Pacheco / TheDream.Us:

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos to Fund 1,000 College Scholarships for Dreamers $33 million donation the largest ever for TheDream.US — Jeff Holmes jholmes@skdknick.com 860-575-6870 — Desiree Vodounon dvodounon@skdknick.com 917-499-5101

Discussion: CNNMoney, CNBC, Talking Points Memo and IJR, more at Techmeme »

Nick Wingfield / New York Times:
Jeff Bezos Jumps Into ‘Dreamer’ Fight With Gift for Scholarships

Discussion: Splinter

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:
Jeff Bezos donates $33 million to scholarship fund for ‘dreamers’

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller and Mashable

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

Time to Say It: Trump Is a Racist — When it comes to President Trump and race, there is a predictable cycle. He makes a remark that seems racist, and people engage in an extended debate about whether he is personally racist. His critics say he is. His defenders argue for an interpretation …

Discussion: Shakesville

Rebecca Kheel / The Hill:

Trump waives Iran sanctions for what administration says is last time — will again waive sanctions against Iran that were lifted as part of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, the White House said Friday. — But the Trump administration is imposing new, nonnuclear sanctions in response …

Discussion: IJR

Michael Crowley / Politico:
Trump extends Iran nuclear deal again

Discussion: Reuters, BBC, Fox News, Washington Post, ABC News, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and CNBC

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

David Brooks Picked a Bad Week to Say Trump ‘Runs a Normal, Good Meeting’ — Four days ago, David Brooks broke the news in the New York Times that President Trump is actually a sober-minded and competent public servant. “People who go into the White House to have a meeting …

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, Shareblue Media, Lawyers, Guns & Money, No More Mister Nice Blog, Talking Points Memo, Townhall.com and Politico

Wall Street Journal:
Transcript of Donald Trump Interview With The Wall Street Journal

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, New Republic, Breitbart, Boing Boing, The Week, CNBC, AOL, The Guardian, Reuters, Just Security, Politico, The Daily Caller, emptywheel, Axios and Mediaite

Greg Bluestein / politics.myajc:

AJC poll: Trump's approval ratings in Georgia erode — President Donald Trump's approval ratings have crumbled in Georgia over his first year in the White House, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released Friday that shows nearly six in 10 registered voters disapprove of his performance.

Jesse Singal / New York Times:

Social Media Is Making Us Dumber. Here's Exhibit A. — This week, a video surfaced of a Harvard professor, Steven Pinker, which appeared to show him lauding members of a racist movement. The clip, which was pulled from a November event at Harvard put on by Spiked magazine …

Jose A. Del Real / New York Times:

Opioid Addiction Knows No Color, but Its Treatment Does … On a street lined with garbage trucks, in an industrial edge of Brooklyn, dozens of people started filing into an unmarked building before the winter sun rose. Patients gather here every day to visit the Vincent Dole Clinic …

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

The Dossier Rehab Campaign — Congress should work quickly to declassify documents and let the public decide. — There's no such thing as a coincidence in Washington, so why the sudden, furious effort by Democrats and the media to give cover to the Steele dossier?

Discussion: Tablet Magazine, Raw Story and Power Line

Daniel Lippman / Politico:

JUST when you thought things were calming, TRUMP's THURS was wild from wire to wire — POTUS says he won't go to UK embassy opening because of bad Obama deal, but BUSH cut the deal — DINA POWELL's going away party — DRIVING THE DAY — A HEADLINE TRUMP WON'T LIKE — “Obama …

Discussion: New York Times, Detroit Free Press and Axios

Fast Company:

The Other Scary Foreign Hacking Threat Trump Is Ignoring — Russia didn't just meddle in the U.S. election: it's trying to hack our critical infrastructure-and Trump may be keeping Americans in the dark. — BY SARAH KENDZIOR5 MINUTE READ — On June 13, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified …