memeorandum: Red-state Democrats posture for donors instead of working for voters (Salena Zito/Washington Examiner)

9:10 AM ET, January 15, 2018

Top Items:

Donald Trump's Racism: The Definitive List — Donald Trump has been obsessed with race for the entire time he has been a public figure. He had a history of making racist comments as a New York real-estate developer in the 1970s and '80s. More recently, his political rise was built …

Discussion: Washington Press

Will Wilkinson / New York Times:

Democrats, Make a Deal With Trump to Protect Dreamers — The six-month window to arrive at a permanent replacement for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is about to close, and Congress is scrambling to reach a deal acceptable to the White House. — But the president isn't making it easy.

Discussion: Marginal REVOLUTION

New York Times:
Hopes Dim for DACA Deal as Lawmakers Battle Over Trump's Immigration Remarks

Discussion: Politico, Vox, The Guardian, NPR, The Root, Althouse, Roll Call, RedState, Patterico's Pontifications, AOL and Washington Post

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
GOP senator: Trump did not make ‘s—hole’ comment

Discussion: Power Line

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:

'I'm Not a Racist,' Trump Says in Denying Vulgar Comment — PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump declared on Sunday night that he was “not a racist” and insisted that the derogatory comment attributed to him during an Oval Office meeting on immigration last week did not occur. — “I'm not a racist.

Don Walton / Lincoln Journal Star:

Hagel says Trump ‘an embarrassment’ — Chuck Hagel believes we have entered “a defining year, a year of volatility and uncertainty and great danger” for the United States and the world. — A year that will determine whether America continues to “walk away from its indispensable leadership position” in the world.

Discussion: CNN

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 1-14-18: Rep. John Lewis, Sen. David Perdue and Sen. Jeff Flake

Discussion: Weekly Standard, CNN, The Daily Beast, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Politico, The Week and AOL

Amy B Wang / Washington Post:

Hawaii missile alert: How one employee ‘pushed the wrong button’ and caused a wave of panic — Shortly after 8 a.m. local time Saturday morning, an employee at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency settled in at the start of his shift. Among his duties that day was to initiate an internal test …

Discussion: National Review, CANNONFIRE, EW.com, CBS New York, YouTube, Vox, CNN, AOL, Honolulu Star-Advertiser and The Gateway Pundit

Alia Wong / The Atlantic:
Pandemonium and Rage in Hawaii

Discussion: FOX6Now.com, New York Magazine, The Irish Times, The Verge, Breitbart, Hindustan Times, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Outside the Beltway, NBC News, CNN, The Hill and IJR

Associated Press:

APNewsBreak: US set to cut UN money for Palestinian refugees — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is preparing to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, cutting the year's first contribution by more than half or perhaps entirely …

Discussion: IJR, Splinter and Axios

Axios:
Palestinian president slams Trump over Jerusalem move

Discussion: Breitbart

CBS News:

Nation Tracker: Americans weigh in on Trump immigration remarks, first year in office — Trump's first year — One year into Donald Trump's presidency, Americans feel more positive about the economy but not as good about the state of the country overall — and the latter is closely tied to views of the president.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

New York Times:

Military Quietly Prepares for a Last Resort: War With North Korea — WASHINGTON — Across the military, officers and troops are quietly preparing for a war they hope will not come. — At Fort Bragg in North Carolina last month, a mix of 48 Apache gunships and Chinook cargo helicopters took off …

Katie Way / babe:

I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into the worst night of my life — She approached him because she recognized his camera flash — Aziz Ansari was taking pictures at the 2017 Emmy Awards after-party with a film camera, not a digital one. “I stood up, and I'm like tipsy at this point and feeling really confident.

Discussion: The FADER, Mashable, Refinery29, AOL, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Week, theGrio, IndieWire, TMZ.com, The Daily Caller and Consequence of Sound

David Weigel / Washington Post:

Incoming N.J. governor plans a swing to the left — and a model for the country — TRENTON, N.J. — Days before his inauguration as New Jersey's 56th governor, Phil Murphy had Hollywood on his mind. The 60-year old Democrat had just read a headline about reshoots on “All the Money in the World …

Discussion: Politico

Igor Bobic / HuffPost:

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Is Offended People Think Donald Trump Is Racist — “I would certainly say undoubtedly the president will use continue to use strong language when it comes to this issue.” — Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Sunday bristled at the notion that her boss, President Donald Trump, is racist.

Discussion: WCTX-TV, FOX40, Washington Post, AOL, Balloon Juice, Splinter and Vox

Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump declares 'I'm not a racist'

Discussion: Axios, ABC News, Politico and Breitbart

Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:

Flake compares Trump's treatment of press to Stalin's — Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said Sunday that President Donald Trump's declaration that media is “the enemy of the people” is a throwback to Josef Stalin that should have no place in political discourse.

Discussion: Washington Times and Breitbart

Haley Britzky / Axios:
Flake to invoke Stalin in speech on Trump's anti-media attacks

Discussion: AOL and RedState

Jack Khoury / Haaretz:

Abbas Declares Oslo Accords Dead: 'Trump's Peace Plan Is a Slap, We'll Slap Back' — Abbas: ‘Israel killed Oslo Accords. Future negotiations to take place within context of international community’ Deputy chief of Fatah: ‘freezing recognition of Israel is an option’

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, israpundit.org and RedState

BBC:

Turkey plane: Panic as jet skids off runway at Trabzon — Panic broke out on a passenger jet when it skidded off the runway at a Turkish airport and plunged down the side of a cliff overlooking the sea. — The Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-80 with 168 passengers and crew had flown from Ankara …

Discussion: The Resurgent and 89.3 KPCC