memeorandum: This Flu Season Is the Worst in Nearly a Decade (Donald G. McNeil Jr/New York Times)

5:30 PM ET, January 26, 2018

Top Items:

Issie Lapowsky / Wired:

Mueller's Team Has Interviewed Facebook Staff as Part of Russia Probe — THE DEPARTMENT OF Justice's special counsel Robert Mueller and his office have interviewed at least one member of Facebook's team that was associated with President Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Axios, Reuters, Political Wire and The Verge

New York Times:

Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit — WASHINGTON — President Trump ordered the firing last June of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation, according to four people told of the matter …

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:

Key Republican Dials Back Effort to Protect Robert Mueller From Donald Trump … One of the first Senate Republicans to call for legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller has stopped actively pushing that effort, sources on Capitol Hill say. — Sen. Thom Tillis …

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Hullabaloo, New York Times, Business Insider, IJR, Talking Points Memo and NPR

Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:

Trump Will Try to Fire Mueller. Again. — The president clearly believes he can do whatever he wants. Including obstruct justice. — Last summer, the president of the United States, who is the nation's chief law-enforcement officer, tried to fire the federal appointee overseeing …

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, The Atlantic, Business Insider, New Republic and Raw Story

Murray Waas / Foreign Policy:
Trump Launched Campaign to Discredit Potential FBI Witnesses

Discussion: New York Times

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
What Happens to Trump If He Fires Robert Mueller?

Discussion: New York Times, Fox News, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, IJR and The Daily Beast

Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:
Chris Ruddy: I Was Right About Trump Wanting to Fire Mueller

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, New York Times and Shareblue Media, more at Mediagazer »

Renato Mariotti / Politico:
It's Now Likely Mueller Thinks Trump Obstructed Justice

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, Axios, Raw Story, New York Times, The Atlantic, Lawfare, The Guardian and Washington Monthly

Fresno Bee:
Rep. Devin Nunes, Trump's stooge, attacks FBI

Discussion: Bloomberg and Raw Story

Tim Weiner / Politico: Donald Trump Wants to Fight the FBI? It's a Suicide Mission.

Washington Post:
Trump moved to fire special counsel Mueller in June, bringing the White House's top lawyer to the brink of quitting

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, ThinkProgress and CNN

Rick Klein / ABC News:
The Note: Mueller controls the clock as revelations come at a dizzying pace

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Politico, Breitbart and One America News Network

Wall Street Journal:

Dozens of People Recount Pattern of Sexual Misconduct by Las Vegas Mogul Steve Wynn — Wynn Resorts employees and others described a CEO who sexualized his workplace and pressured workers to perform sex acts. Mr. Wynn responded: ‘The idea that I ever assaulted any woman is preposterous.’

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:

Steve Wynn, RNC finance chairman, faces allegations of sexual misconduct — Casino mogul Steve Wynn has no immediate plans to relinquish his role as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee in the wake of reports detailing decades of alleged sexual misconduct, according to a company spokesman.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Political Wire and Business Insider

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress: These 6 GOP tweets just became very awkward

German Lopez / Vox:
Steve Wynn, Republican finance chair and Las Vegas mogul, accused of sexually abusing employees

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

New York Times:

Hillary Clinton Chose to Shield a Top Adviser Accused of Harassment in 2008 — WASHINGTON — A senior adviser to Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign who was accused of repeatedly sexually harassing a young subordinate was kept on the campaign at Mrs. Clinton's request, according to four people familiar with what took place.

ESPN:

OTL: Michigan State secrets extend far beyond Larry Nassar case — MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY administrators have long claimed, to the federal government and public, that they have handled sexual assault, violence, and gender discrimination complaints properly.

Discussion: Detroit Free Press, The Ringer, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Daily Caller, CBS Detroit, The Big Lead, The Comeback, Shareblue Media, AOL and New York Times

Rachael Denhollander / New York Times:

The Price I Paid for Taking On Larry Nassar — On Jan. 16, women and girls from across the country began congregating in a courtroom in Lansing, Mich. Some of us were athletes; some of us were not. Some of us were white; some of us were black. Some of us were married; some of us were still in high school.

Discussion: Detroit News, Glamour, Lansing State Journal, NBC News, Q13 FOX News and CNN

Matt Mencarini / Lansing State Journal: MSU hid full conclusions of 2014 Nassar report from victim

msuspartans.com:
Statement From Mark Hollis

Discussion: FOX6Now.com, Axios and AOL

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

An affair with Trump? Nikki Haley on ‘disgusting’ rumors and her rise to a top foreign policy role — NEW YORK — Nikki Haley became a trusted member of Donald Trump's inner circle over the past year, but she's recently refamiliarized herself with a downside of professional success …

Discussion: The Daily Signal, The Hill, One America News Network, myfox8.com, NewsBusters, Charleston City Paper, bizpacreview.com, RedState, Business Insider, The Guardian, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com and IJR

Alan Gomez / USA Today:

Jeb Bush warns Trump's character may drag down GOP in 2018 elections — MIAMI — Former Florida governor Jeb Bush warns that Republicans are in for a beating in the fall elections if congressional races focus on the rhetoric and character of President Trump.

Discussion: Florida Politics and The Week

Gideon Resnick / The Daily Beast: Jeb Bush Reams Marco Rubio on Immigration: ‘God Forbid’ You Do Anything Controversial

Russell Brandom / The Verge:

Exclusive: ICE is about to start tracking license plates across the US — The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has officially gained agency-wide access to a nationwide license plate recognition database, according to a contract finalized earlier this month.

Discussion: ACLU, Hit & Run, Jezebel, Axios, ThinkProgress, Gizmodo, The Daily Caller, The Week, Common Dreams and East Bay Times

Kim Janssen / Chicago Tribune:

Trump EPA pick for Chicago office wore false nose to help me beat driving test, daughter says — Incoming Midwest Environmental Protection Agency chief Cathy Stepp faced a skeptical audience when she addressed her staff in Chicago for the first time earlier this month.

Discussion: Joe.My.God., thecut, FOX6Now.com, CBS Detroit and The Week

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Schumer rejects Trump's immigration proposal — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer opposes the immigration framework released by the White House — a potentially fatal blow for the prospective legislation in the closely divided Senate. — The New York Democrat on Friday accused President Donald Trump …

Discussion: National Review, Breitbart and The Nation

Aaron Rupar / ThinkProgress:

Trump is laughed at, booed in Davos — The president's attacks on “fake news” didn't go over well in Europe. — After delivering a speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Trump did a brief question-and-answer sessions with WEF Chair Klaus Schwab.

Discussion: AOL, Breitbart, Towleroad, Shareblue Media and Common Dreams

Politico:
Full text: Trump Davos speech transcript

Discussion: RedState, New York Times, Breitbart, IJR, The Guardian, TheBlaze, Washington Post and Althouse

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

Trump's latest interview shows he's not really the president — He's holding the office but not doing the job. — President Donald Trump's first non-Fox television interview in a long time, conducted with CNBC's Joe Kernen from Davos, Switzerland, is in many respects weirdly devoid of substance.

CNBC:
The America First president comes to Davos: Read Trump's full interview with CNBC

Discussion: Mother Jones

Elise Labott / CNN:

Exclusive: Frustrated State Department employees hire attorneys, charging ‘political retribution’ — Ex diplomat: US ability to ‘avert disasters’ at risk — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Several officials tell CNN they have retained attorneys after repeatedly trying unsuccessfully to raise concerns

Discussion: Axios and Raw Story

Kim Willsher / The Guardian:

Paris zoo shut after 50 baboons escape — Visitors to Paris Zoological Park evacuated as workers try to lure animals back to enclosures — The Paris Zoological Park has been evacuated and closed after dozens of baboons escaped their enclosure. — As zookeepers raced to round up the animals …

Discussion: Gizmodo

Richard Deitsch / SI.com:

Jemele Hill is Leaving SC6 for The Undefeated — ESPN's SportsCenter will need a new co-host as Jemele Hill is expected to leave the show for a position with The Undefeated. — ESPN SportsCenter anchor Jemele Hill is leaving the 6:00 p.m. SC6 edition of SportsCenter to join the staff of The Undefeated …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, CNNMoney, Fox News, Vox, Breitbart, Decider, IJR, NESN.com, NewsBusters, AOL, Awful Announcing and theGrio, more at Mediagazer »

Ariel Zilber / Daily Mail:

'I'm basically a liberal Jew': Barack Obama makes rare public appearance at a New York synagogue and laments ‘truth decay’ in US politics while defending his record on Israel — Former President Barack Obama gave an address to a packed synagogue in New York City on Wednesday

Discussion: Front Page Magazine and Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Washington Post:

Trump plans to ask for $716 billion for national defense in 2019 — a major increase … President Trump is expected to ask for $716 billion in defense spending when he unveils his 2019 budget next month, a major increase that signals a shift away from concerns about rising deficits, U.S. officials said.

Discussion: Axios and CNBC

Donald G. McNeil Jr / New York Times:

This Flu Season Is the Worst in Nearly a Decade — This year's flu season is now more intense than any since the 2009 swine flu pandemic and still getting worse, federal health officials said on Friday. — Nationally, the number of people falling ill with flu is increasing.

Discussion: Shareblue Media

NPR:

A Father, A Husband, An Immigrant: Detained And Facing Deportation — The day was going to be perfect. — Alex figured he would wake up at 6:30 a.m., help get his little brothers up and off to school and catch the bus by 7. After school, the 14-year-old would do something …

Deanese Williams-Harris / Chicago Tribune:

Accused of assaulting 3 young girls, man says he's boy trapped in adult's body — A Chicago man accused of sexually assaulting three young girls told prosecutors he considered himself a boy in a man's body, according to Cook County court documents. — Joseph Roman, 38, is charged …

Discussion: TheBlaze, Breitbart, IJR and Women in the World

Virginia Postrel / Bloomberg:

Youth! Street Life! The Case for Crowded Neighborhoods — This Angeleno is thrilled with a plan to ease California's urban housing crisis. — California Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, has introduced a bill that could significantly ease the state's urban housing crisis.