memeorandum: Tax officials reduce Trump's tax bill on D.C. hotel by nearly $1 million (Jonathan O'Connell/Washington Post)

5:55 PM ET, January 12, 2018

Top Items:

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: Washington Press, Shareblue Media, Raw Story, ThinkProgress, RedState, Vox, The Root, New Republic, Axios, Mediaite, New York Times, The Daily Caller, IJR, Balloon Juice, thecut, AOL, twitchy.com, Political Wire, The Week and The Guardian

Avery Anapol / The Hill: Lawyer paid $130k to silence adult-film star over sexual encounter with Trump: report

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
WSJ: Michael Cohen Paid Off Porn Star To Stay Mum On Trump Sex Allegations

Discussion: Mediaite and The Daily Caller

NBC News:

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: Vox, CNBC, Mother Jones, Raw Story, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, Washington Press, The Week, The Guardian, thecut, Mediaite, Shareblue Media, Axios, Washington Post and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

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.

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

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
There's No Way Out — Last week, which brought the release …

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

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

Discussion: Washington Blade and Washington Free Beacon

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

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

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

Discussion: The Atlantic

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

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

Ben White / Politico:

Demoralized Trump aides grapple with 'shithole'-gate — White House aides were demoralized on Thursday night, watching the word “shithole” slink across the cable news chyrons. — In the wake of the administration's tax reform coup, Fiat Chrysler had just announced it planned to spend …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Vox, Raw Story and The Daily Beast

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: ThinkProgress, CNBC, IJR, AOL, The Nation, New York Times, Daily Wire 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.

Reuters:
‘Thanks, but no thanks’ - Norwegians reject Trump's immigration offer

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Washington Post

Washington Post:
‘Here is what my #shithole looks like’: African countries and Haiti react to Trump's remark

Discussion: Foreign Policy, Washington Times, Associated Press, CBS News, Daily Mail, ABC News, Vox, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, CBS New York, Ethics & Public Policy Center, Talking Points Memo, The Week, NPR, Portland Mercury and thecut

John Bowden / The Hill:
Reporter asks Trump ‘Are you a racist?’ after MLK event

Discussion: Daily Wire and The Root

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

Noreen Malone / thecut:

Exclusive: Watch Chris Matthews Joke About His ‘Bill Cosby Pill’ Before Interviewing Hillary Clinton — On January 5, 2016, MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews interviewed Hillary Clinton in an Iowa fire station during the Democratic primary season. Network footage obtained by the Cut shows Matthews …

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, The Week, IJR, TVNewser, AOL, Washington Times and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

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, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, New Republic, The Week, Vox, Chicago Tribune, Refinery29, Axios, Mediaite, Political Wire, Splinter, The Daily Caller and Politico

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: Washington Press, IJR, Raw Story and The Week

CBS News:

White House struggles with muting function for 22 minutes on Iran conference call with reporters — It took the White House twenty-two minutes to figure out how to enable the “listening only” feature on a conference call on Thursday in which senior administration officials announced …

Discussion: RedState, Washington Press, Gizmodo, Politicus USA, Mediaite, thecut and Political Wire

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: Media Matters for America and Shakesville

ABC News:
Trump ignores shouted questions from reporters while signing MLK Day proclamation

Discussion: Politico and Breitbart

Peter Baker / New York Times: A President Who Fans, Rather Than Douses, the Nation's Racial Fires

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: Politico, ThinkProgress, 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 »

Jonathan O'Connell / Washington Post:

Tax officials reduce Trump's tax bill on D.C. hotel by nearly $1 million — President Trump's D.C. hotel received a $53.6 million reduction in its 2018 assessment from the District of Columbia tax office, saving his company nearly $1 million. — The District tax office initially valued …

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

Jason Noble / Des Moines Register:

Trump criticism dominates Chuck Grassley town meeting in rural Iowa — LOGAN, Ia. — U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley faced relentless questioning about President Donald Trump's fitness for office and his own handling of the investigation into Russian election meddling at a rural town meeting here Friday morning.

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

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, Washington Post, CNBC, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Mashable and The Daily Caller, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: Splinter and Politico

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 …

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

CNN:

President Trump today: Live updates — President Trump is facing backlash for his “shithole countries” slur as he's set to undergo a physical today. Follow here for live updates.

Discussion: RedState, twitchy.com, Booman Tribune, Washington Monthly and AOL