memeorandum: ‘Horrific murder spree’ leaves 5 dead in Kentucky: Sheriff (Christal Hayes/USA Today)

11:00 AM ET, February 11, 2018

Top Items:

Scoop: Rob Porter telling different story than John Kelly — White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter is telling associates that some senior White House officials strongly encouraged him to “stay and fight,” and claims he “never misrepresented anything” to Chief of Staff John Kelly.

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Political Wire, Washington Post and The Mahablog

Jonathan Lemire / Talking Points Memo:

Conway: Trump Has Full Confidence In John Kelly Amid Rob Porter Fallout — Several of President Donald Trump's senior advisers fanned out on the Sunday morning talk shows to defend the response and seemingly to soften some of the president's comments. — Kellyanne Conway said on CNN's …

William J. Antholis / Politico:

Rob Porter Is a National Security Scandal, Too — The allegations against Rob Porter, the recently departed White House staff secretary, are morally disturbing. Multiple ex-wives have accused him of abusive behavior, and while he disputes those accusations, the FBI found them credible enough …

Discussion: ABC News, The Guardian, Washington Post and Business Insider

Michael A. Cohen / BostonGlobe.com: John Kelly was supposed to be ‘the adult in the room.’ He's anything but

New York Times:

‘No Fire, No Fury?’ Trump Is on Board With a Jeanine Pirro Book to Rebut Michael Wolff — Jeanine Pirro, the Fox News personality and longtime friend and champion of President Trump, has discussed with him the possibility of a book project to counter the damning portrayal of his presidency …

Discussion: RedState, Business Insider, The Guardian, TheBlaze and Mediaite

Eric W. Dolan / Raw Story:

Fox News host Jeanine Pirro blames Barack Obama for Rob Porter wife-beating scandal — Fox News host Jeanine Pirro suggested that former President Barack Obama was to blame for the scandal surrounding ex-Trump aide Rob Porter. — Porter never received full security clearance and was ousted …

Fox News:

John Kelly faces pressure over handling of Rob Porter allegations — White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is facing continued scrutiny over his handling of domestic abuse accusations against a former senior aide. — A GOP source told Fox News that President Trump spoke to former chief …

Discussion: The Hill

New York Times:

New York Faces an Easy Test on Voting — In his proposed budget for the coming year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says New York must at long last bring its elections into the 21st century by, among other things, joining the large majority of states that permit early voting. — He's right.

Maureen Dowd / New York Times: Trump Shows Us the Way

Frank Bruni / New York Times:
Corporations Will Inherit the Earth

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Christal Hayes / USA Today:

‘Horrific murder spree’ leaves 5 dead in Kentucky: Sheriff — Five people, including a suspect, are dead after a string of killings Saturday in northeast Kentucky, authorities said. — Deputies in Johnson County, Ky., found two bodies in a home, then in the search for the suspect …

Anna Fifield / Washington Post:

The ‘Ivanka Trump of North Korea’ captivates people in the South at the Olympics … GANGNEUNG, South Korea — They marveled at her barely-there makeup and her lack of bling. They commented on her plain black outfits and simple purse. They noted the flower-shaped clip that kept her hair back in a no-nonsense style.

Discussion: Jezebel and New York Times

CNN:
Kim Jong Un's sister is stealing the show at the Winter Olympics

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Townhall.com, Mediaite, Associated Press, Power Line, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Korea JoongAng Daily, NewsBusters, The Guardian, RedState, TheBlaze, twitchy.com, The Gateway Pundit and AOL

Matthew Dessem / Slate:

I Am the Very Model of a New York Times Contrarian — A tragic opera.

New York Times:

G.O.P. Squirms as Trump Veers Off Script With Abuse Remarks — WASHINGTON — President Trump's approval ratings have been nudging upward and his party's political standing is improving, but the president's unceasing habit of making inflammatory and insensitive remarks is galvanizing opposition against him …

Discussion: New York Post, ABC News, Washington Post, Mediaite, Deadline, Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, Axios, FOX40 and Common Dreams

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
Gillibrand: If Trump wants due process, we'll have hearings on allegations against him

Discussion: Washington Post, The Root, CBS New York, Breitbart, twitchy.com, Bangor Daily News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Times and ThinkProgress

Caroline Orr / Shareblue Media:
America shames Trump for smearing domestic violence victims

Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story, Dan Rather, Chicago Tribune, Mashable and Vox

Brian Bennett / Los Angeles Times:

White House floats an offer to keep legal immigration at 1 million per year instead of cutting it … As the Senate prepares to begin a free-wheeling debate over immigration next week, White House officials have begun floating a possible compromise idea — a pledge to maintain legal immigration …

Discussion: Political Wire, The Week and Mother Jones

CNNMoney:

Why the bond market is freaking out Wall Street — Dow plunges 1,000 points and sinks into correction — 1. Blame the bonds: The normally boring bond market is causing serious drama on Wall Street. — An avalanche of selling sent the Dow and S&P 500 careening 5% lower last week …

Eric W. Dolan / Raw Story:

Meghan McCain: Calling Republicans racist does a disservice to ‘real racism’ — Meghan McCain, the daughter of Senator John McCain and co-host on ABC's The View, on Saturday night accused liberals of throwing the word “racist” around too often. — Her comments came after CNN host Van Jones asked …

Dean Baker / cepr.net:

NYT Misleads Readers: “Ballooning Deficits” Do Not Add Urgency to Republican Efforts to Cut Medicaid and Other Programs — The NYT should have its presses washed out with soap. In an article about plans to impose work requirements for Medicaid it told readers:

Abby Goodnough / New York Times: Kentucky Rushes to Remake Medicaid as Other States Prepare to Follow