memeorandum: Ursula K. Le Guin, Acclaimed for Her Fantasy Fiction, Is Dead at 88 (Gerald Jonas/New York Times)

7:35 AM ET, January 24, 2018

Top Items:

Trump asked the acting FBI director whom he voted for during Oval Office meeting … Shortly after President Trump fired his FBI director in May, he summoned to the Oval Office the bureau's acting director for a get-to-know-you meeting. — The two men exchanged pleasantries, but before long …

Discussion: ABC News, Shareblue Media, CNN, New York Magazine, AOL, Palmer Report, Vox, IJR, Raw Story, Boing Boing, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider, Washington Press, Mediaite, Axios, KTLA and Politico

Washington Post:

Mueller seeks to question Trump about Flynn and Comey departures … Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is seeking to question President Trump in the coming weeks about his decisions to oust national security adviser Michael Flynn and FBI Director James B. Comey, according to two people familiar with his plans.

Discussion: ABC News, CNN, New York Magazine, Politico, Towleroad, The Hill, Washington Press, The Week, RedState, Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon, The Root, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo, Common Dreams, emptywheel, CNBC, Axios, 444, Mediaite and Balloon Juice

Carol E. Lee / NBC News:

Flynn kept FBI interview concealed from White House, Trump — WASHINGTON — A year ago today, Donald Trump's newly sworn-in national security adviser, Michael Flynn, met privately in his West Wing office with FBI investigators interested in his communications with Russia's ambassador …

Discussion: Raw Story and NBC News

Washington Post:

FBI director, under pressure to make changes, is replacing Comey aides … FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, who has been under political pressure to remove top officials at the bureau, is filling two senior positions previously held by people who served under former director James B. Comey.

Discussion: Palmer Report, Raw Story, WTVR-TV and Booman Tribune

New York Times: In Looking for Loyalty, Trump Asked F.B.I. Official How He Voted

Brandon Carter / The Hill:
Trump asked acting FBI chief whom he voted for during WH meeting: report

Discussion: RedState

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:

Exclusive: New signs Gates may be negotiating with Mueller's team — Who is Rick Gates? — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — At this stage, with Gates' charges filed and bail set, talks could concern the charges and Gates' plea — Washington (CNN)Former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates has quietly added …

Discussion: Raw Story, Palmer Report and Balloon Juice

Dan Merica / CNN: White House: Trump hasn't fired Mueller in part because of how the press would react

Jonathan Tamari / Philly.com:

Pat Meehan says he saw younger aide as ‘a soul mate’ but denies harassment — U.S. Rep Pat Meehan said Tuesday he had developed a deep “affection” for a younger aide and told her that he saw her as “a soul mate” as they talked over ice cream one night last year, but in an interview …

Lynn Sweet / Chicago Sun Times:

EXCLUSIVE: Tammy Duckworth is pregnant; will be 1st senator to give birth — Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is pregnant and will become the first sitting U.S. senator to give birth. Duckworth is holding her daughter, Abigail, during a ceremonial swearing in by Vice President Joe Biden on Jan. 3, 2017.

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

Schumer withdraws offer on Trump's wall — Chuck Schumer is taking his big spending boost for Donald Trump's border wall off the table. — The Senate minority leader, through an aide, informed the White House that he was retracting the offer he made last week to give Trump well north …

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Immigration talks quickly hit a wall

Discussion: Viking Pundit

David Shortell / CNN:

Sessions: Justice Dept. will get to the bottom of missing employee text messages — New texts from agent removed from Mueller probe — (CNN)Attorney General Jeff Sessions pledged Monday to get to the bottom of a question asked this week by a growing number of top Republicans …

Brian Beutler / Crooked Media:
Impeach Jeff Sessions

Discussion: Washington Post, The Federalist, Talking Points Memo, The Week, IJR, WTVR-TV, CNBC and The Gateway Pundit

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
FBI's Strzok allegedly dismissed Mueller probe: ‘no big there there’

Discussion: The Federalist, Business Insider, Truth Uncensored, IJR, The Gateway Pundit and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Gerald Jonas / New York Times:

Ursula K. Le Guin, Acclaimed for Her Fantasy Fiction, Is Dead at 88 — Ursula K. Le Guin, the immensely popular author who brought literary depth and a tough-minded feminist sensibility to science fiction and fantasy with books like “The Left Hand of Darkness” and the Earthsea series …

Discussion: Mashable, New Republic, The Verge, GeekWire, Boing Boing, Vox, Althouse, 444, Jezebel, AOL and The Guardian

Oregonian:
Ursula Le Guin on fiction vs. ‘alternative facts’: Letter to the editor

Discussion: The Guardian

mprnews.org:

Investigation: For some who lived in it, Keillor's world wasn't funny … When Minnesota Public Radio abruptly severed ties with Garrison Keillor in November, the sole explanation offered by the company was “inappropriate behavior” with a female colleague. — For his part, the creator …

Discussion: thecut and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:
MPR: Allegations against Keillor far beyond single touch

Discussion: Power Line

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Manchin Will Seek Re-Election but Sends Democrats a Stern Warning — WASHINGTON — Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia told colleagues on Tuesday that he intended to run for re-election this year after all, ending an anxiety-making flirtation with retirement and easing Democratic fears …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, New York Magazine and The Daily Caller

Madison Marriage / Financial Times:

Men Only: Inside the charity fundraiser where hostesses are put on show — At 10pm last Thursday night, Jonny Gould took to the stage in the ballroom at London's Dorchester Hotel. “Welcome to the most un-PC event of the year,” he roared. — The sports broadcaster was there to host a charity auction …

Discussion: Business Insider, The Guardian and thecut

Marc Tracy / New York Times:

N.C.A.A. Opens Investigation of Michigan State Over Nassar Case — The N.C.A.A. sent a letter of inquiry to Michigan State University, formally opening an investigation into how the university handled the case of Lawrence G. Nassar, the doctor who sexually assaulted scores of female athletes.

Discussion: WOOD-TV, WCMH-TV, thecut and The Comeback

Brian Manzullo / Detroit Free Press:
Trustee: More to worry about at Michigan State than ‘just this Nassar thing’

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, USA Today and Indianapolis Star

Jacques Billeaud / KPNX:

Border Patrol arrests ASU instructor who gave food, water to immigrants — The arrest came hours after the group released videos showing some Border Patrol agents kicking over water bottles left for immigrants. — PHOENIX (AP) - A volunteer for group that offers aid to immigrants crossing …

Discussion: Arizona Republic, Hit & Run, IJR, Splinter and Associated Press

NBC News:

Poll: Democrats, Trump to blame for government shutdown — Americans blame President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats about equally for the three-day government shutdown that ended Monday with another stopgap spending measure, according to a new NBC News| SurveyMonkey poll.

Discussion: NBC News, New York Magazine, Vox, IJR, CNBC, Talking Points Memo and NTK Network

Marc A. Thiessen / Washington Post:
Democrats just got rolled. They can blame Barack Obama.

Discussion: Power Line and New York Post

Emily Guskin / Washington Post:

Republicans fuel sharp rise in concerns about sexual harassment, Post-ABC poll finds — Concerns about workplace sexual harassment are up once again, after reaching a high point in October, with Republicans driving the latest push in labeling harassment a serious national problem.

Brian Lyman / The Montgomery Advertiser:

Alabama House votes to end special U.S. Senate elections — The crowd cheers as Democratic candidate Doug Jones is declared the projected winner of the U.S. Senate race against Republican Roy Moore on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017, in Birmingham. Shannon Heupel/Advertiser

Discussion: Axios, Splinter, Washington Press and Shareblue Media

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:

Hannity Goes Off on DOJ/FBI: People Must Be Investigated, Indicted, and Probably ‘Thrown in Jail!’ — Sean Hannity concluded yet another fiery monologue on corruption at the FBI and DOJ by saying that high-ranking people should probably be “thrown in jail.”

Tierney McAfee / People.com:

Where Were the Cutesy Tweets from Melania and Donald Trump on Their 13th Wedding Anniversary? — Past presidents and first ladies have often taken to social media to celebrate their birthdays and wedding anniversaries, giving the American people rare glimpses into their private lives and marriages.

Discussion: Washington Press, Addicting Info, New York Post and Women in the World

Shaun King / The Intercept:

The Bigot Threatening CNN Got Out of Jail in Time for Dinner — Early Tuesday morning, we learned that Brandon Griesemer, a 19-year-old grocery store clerk from Novi, Michigan, made at least 22 calls to CNN's Atlanta headquarters where he not only threatened to shoot and kill employees …

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story, IJR, Deadline, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Shareblue Media, Washington Free Beacon, Breitbart and AOL

Josh Keefe / International Business Times:

CFPB Drops Investigation Into Payday Lender That Contributed To Mick Mulvaney's Campaigns — Mick Mulvaney's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) quietly closed an investigation into a payday lender headquartered in Mulvaney's home state Monday. The company previously donated to the former congressman's political campaigns.

Discussion: Mother Jones and The Week

Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed:

This Is Facebook's News Survey — Last week, Facebook said its News Feed would prioritize links from publications its users deemed “trustworthy” in an upcoming survey. Turns out that survey isn't a particularly lengthy or nuanced one. In fact, it's just two questions.

Discussion: Business Insider, The Verge, PinkNews, Mashable and Engadget, more at Mediagazer »

Andy Newman / New York Times:

The #MeToo Movement Hits the Circus: ‘Grandma’ the Clown Resigns — One of America's most revered circus performers, Grandma the clown, has resigned from the world-renowned Big Apple Circus after it was revealed that he pressured a 16-year-old aerialist into posing for pornographic photos in 2004.

Discussion: CBS New York