memeorandum: Aziz Ansari Is Guilty. Of Not Being a Mind Reader. (Bari Weiss/New York Times)

10:25 AM ET, January 16, 2018

Top Items:

Inside the tense, profane White House meeting on immigration … When President Trump spoke by phone with Sen. Richard J. Durbin around 10:15 a.m. last Thursday, he expressed pleasure with Durbin's outline of a bipartisan immigration pact and praised the high-ranking Illinois Democrat's efforts …

Discussion: Vox, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Week, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Notes, Politico, ABC News, Axios, IJR, Splinter, Mediaite, Post and Courier, The Hill and Washington Press

Annie Karni / Politico:

The Democrat Trumpworld fears most — In early December, as President Donald Trump's approval rating reached a new low of 32 percent, the commander-in-chief was rating the 2020 Democratic field from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders …

Discussion: The Hill, The Week, Political Wire, Raw Story and Politicus USA

Mike Allen / Axios:

The recidivism presidency — After a triumphant end to 2017, White House sources tell Axios that they see a dangerous pattern forming for this year: a backslide into bad habits of the chaotic early days of the Trump presidency. — Be smart: The White House should be making the best use …

Discussion: ABC News, Raw Story and The Week

New York Times:

As Shutdown Talk Rises, Trump's Immigration Words Pose Risks for Both Parties — WASHINGTON — President Trump's incendiary words about immigration have dampened the prospects that a broad spending and immigration deal can be reached by the end of the week, raising the possibility …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Axios, Politico, Politicus USA, IJR, Jamie Dupree - AJC, Washington Press, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and The Last Tradition

Rick Klein / ABC News:
The Note: Shutdown is the new ‘s-word’ as blame game begins

Discussion: Politico, WPLG-TV, Roll Call and TheBlaze

CNN:
Hope Hicks expected to talk to Hill committee

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Weekly Standard, IJR, Raw Story and AOL

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
DNC overhaul struggles as Sanders-Clinton rivalries persist

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
Perez: GOP Must Answer for ‘Appalling Silence’ on Trump

Discussion: Washington Times

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
Shutdown looms as Republicans seek short-term spending deal for government

Discussion: Reuters, Jamie Dupree - AJC, NBC News, The Week, CBS New York, New York Magazine, RedState, Breitbart, Politicus USA, IJR, CNN, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Fox News Insider and Washington Press

Bari Weiss / New York Times:

Aziz Ansari Is Guilty. Of Not Being a Mind Reader. — I'm apparently the victim of sexual assault. And if you're a sexually active woman in the 21st century, chances are that you are, too. — That is what I learned from the “exposé” of Aziz Ansari published this weekend …

Discussion: National Review, Fox News, The Daily Beast, The Week, Betsy's Page, The Resurgent, Washington Post, Daily Wire, Refinery29, Althouse, twitchy.com, The Verge, babe, TheBlaze, KTLA, FOX6Now.com, Vox, Bangor Daily News and Breitbart

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Babe editor stands by Aziz Ansari story — Aziz Ansari responds to sexual assault accusation — Amid all the debate over an anonymous woman's account of a sexual encounter with Aziz Ansari, the editors at Babe.net who published the story have remained quiet.

Discussion: New York Post, The Guardian, Hollywood Reporter, babe and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
The President and the Porn Star

Discussion: Washington Post, babe, National Review and Daily Wire

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Warned Jared Kushner About Wendi Deng Murdoch — Officials said the businesswoman could be trying to further Beijing's interests, people familiar with the matter say — WASHINGTON—U.S. counterintelligence officials in early 2017 warned Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Business Insider, New York Magazine, AOL, Breitbart, CNBC, Splinter, The Week, RedState, Washington Press, Raw Story and Axios

Daniel Lippman / Politico: THREE DAYS until a shutdown, and we break down the stakes …

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Trump dossier probes now include possible State Department involvement — Congressional investigations into the Trump dossier have so far been focused on the FBI and Justice Department. They still are, but now investigators are also looking into a possible Obama State Department role …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Bloomberg:

GOP Access to FBI Files Rattles Agents Caught in Political Fight — Sensitive sources or material may be exposed, agents say — Republicans question FBI amid probe into Russian collusion — The Justice Department's decision to give congressional Republicans access to documents …

Discussion: Raw Story

Matthew Haag / New York Times:

13 Siblings, Some Shackled to Beds, Were Held Captive by Parents, Police Say — A 17-year old girl who said she was being held captive by her parents in her home in Perris, Calif., escaped on Sunday and alerted the authorities, who then rescued her 12 siblings — several of whom were found shackled …

Discussion: CNN, KTLA, The Gateway Pundit and FOX40

Kelly Whitney / NBC Southern California:
13 Children Hospitalized, Parents Jailed on Torture Charges

Discussion: fox5sandiego.com, CBS Los Angeles, twitchy.com, Breitbart, Daily Wire and TheBlaze

abc7.com:
13 victims, ages 2 to 29, kept shackled in foul Perris home by parents, officials say

Discussion: IJR

Niraj Warikoo / USA Today:

Too old for DACA, man who spent 30 years of his life in U.S. is deported … Jorge Garcia, 39, of Lincoln Park, hugs his wife and two kids before being escorted by ICE agents to be deported to Mexico, on Jan. 15, 2018, at Detroit Metro Airport. Erik Shelley

Niraj Warikoo / Detroit Free Press:
After 30 years in U.S., metro Detroit immigrant deported to Mexico

Discussion: CNN, Media Matters for America, Splinter, The Resurgent, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Raw Story

Zac Auter / Gallup:

U.S. Uninsured Rate Steady at 12.2% in Fourth Quarter of 2017 — WASHINGTON, D.C. — The percentage of U.S. adults without health insurance was essentially unchanged in the fourth quarter of 2017, at 12.2%, but it is up 1.3 percentage points from the record low of 10.9% found in the last quarter of 2016.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, The Week and Balloon Juice

Jonah Goldberg / Los Angeles Times:

Column What if diversity isn't America's strength? — Sen. Lindsey Graham says he scolded the president for saying something scatological about certain countries and their immigrants. “Diversity has always been our strength,” he allegedly said. By my count, this makes Graham …

CNN:

Steve Bannon to face House Russia investigators Tuesday — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Bannon's interview will be his first appearance before any committee investigating Russian election meddling — Washington (CNN)Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump's former chief strategist whose political fortunes …

Ariel Edwards-Levy / HuffPost:
Trump Voters Have Turned On Steve Bannon

Discussion: Daily Wire

Brian Fung / Washington Post:

The Senate's push to overrule the FCC on net neutrality now has 50 votes, Democrats say — Fifty senators have endorsed a legislative measure to override the Federal Communications Commission's recent decision to deregulate the broadband industry, top Democrats said Monday.

Discussion: Bangor Daily News, Engadget and TheBlaze

Jose Lambiet / miamiherald:

Trump's Mar-a Lago cited by state inspectors for poor maintenance — A year after the discovery of foods that could sicken people at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, his Winter White House was just cited by inspectors for poor maintenance.

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Washington Press, AOL, Raw Story and Politicus USA

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:

Devin Nunes is under mounting pressure to release the transcript of a House Intel interview with Fusion GPS — Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee want its Republican chairman, Devin Nunes, to release the transcript of the panel's interview with Fusion GPS cofounder Glenn Simpson.

Discussion: The Hill, Roll Call and TheBlaze

Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times:

BlackRock's Message: Contribute to Society, or Risk Losing Our Support — On Tuesday, the chief executives of the world's largest public companies will be receiving a letter from one of the most influential investors in the world. And what it says is likely to cause a firestorm …

Ronald Brownstein / CNN:

Why Trump voters need the immigrants they want to turn away — What does Trump's immigration stance mean for GOP? — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — (CNN)The irony in President Donald Trump's hostility to immigration, expressed again in reports of his vulgar comments about Africa and Haiti last week …