memeorandum: As Some Got Free Health Care, Gwen Got Squeezed: An Obamacare Dilemma (Abby Goodnough/New York Times)

9:15 AM ET, February 20, 2018

Top Items:

Jason Leopold / BuzzFeed:

Manafort Under Scrutiny For $40 Million In “Suspicious” Transactions — As the special counsel investigated President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, authorities obtained details on “suspicious” banking activity that was first unearthed in 2014 and 2015.

Discussion: Political Wire, The Week, Daily Kos, Washington Times, The Daily Caller and The Mahablog

David Brooks / New York Times:

Respect First, Then Gun Control — This has been an emotional week. We greet tragedies like the school shooting in Florida with shock, sadness, mourning and grief that turns into indignation and rage. The anger inevitably gets directed at the N.R.A., those who support gun rights …

Discussion: Mediaite and Splinter

Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:

Don't blame ‘Washington.’ Blame the GOP. — Dysfunctional Washington refuses to work out its differences to solve problems that matter to Americans. — So say pundits and policy activists, perhaps hoping that diffuse criticism, rather than finger-pointing, will yield a government willing to govern.

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Daily Kos

Washington Post:

Most Americans say Trump, Congress not doing enough to stop mass shootings, Post-ABC poll finds … More than 6 in 10 Americans fault Congress and President Trump for not doing enough to prevent mass shootings, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, with most Americans continuing …

Discussion: Political Wire and ABC News

Washington Post:
Reactions to Florida mass shooting, views of Trump and Congress' efforts at preventing mass shootings

Discussion: Politico

Nicholas Thompson / Wired:

A Facebook Executive Apologizes To His Company—And To Robert Mueller — ON FRIDAY MORNING, just before 10am on the West Coast, the office of special counsel Robert Mueller published his indictment of 13 Russian operatives for interfering in the US election. The document was 37 pages, and it mentioned Facebook 35 times.

Discussion: USA Today, The Stranger …, Vox, The Daily Caller, Deadline, Washington Post, TheBlaze and emptywheel, more at Mediagazer »

Kevin Roose / New York Times:

On Russia, Facebook Sends a Message It Wishes It Hadn't — On most days, Facebook doesn't have much in common with President Trump. But at the moment, both are in the damage-control business, as they try to get out from under the cloud of suspicion related to Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Allen / Axios:
5 clues to Mueller's roadmap

Discussion: Raw Story and Politico

CNN:

Exclusive: Mueller's interest in Kushner grows to include foreign financing efforts — Washington (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller's interest in Jared Kushner has expanded beyond his contacts with Russia and now includes his efforts to secure financing for his company from foreign investors during …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Shareblue Media, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, The Week, Mediaite, Raw Story and Political Wire

Margot Cleveland / The Federalist:
How A Plea Reversal From Michael Flynn Could Uncover More Federal Corruption

Discussion: Daily Wire and The Gateway Pundit

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Fox News Plans a Streaming Service for ‘Superfans’ — Thanks to a relentless news cycle — and a dedicated fan in the Oval Office — Fox News has defied the downward trends in the television business, notching its highest-rated year in 2017 even as audiences dwindled for many networks.

Discussion: myfox8.com and Deadline, more at Mediagazer »

Brad Reed / Raw Story:
‘How much are they being paid?’ Fox News fans trash teen Parkland survivors who demand stronger gun laws

Discussion: The FADER, IJR and Mediaite

Valerie Richardson / Washington Times:
Columbine survivor introduces bill to expand concealed-carry in schools

Discussion: theGrio, People.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Progressives Everywhere, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, RT, HuffPost, The Daily Caller, thecut, AOL, Daily Wire and Mashable

Alvin Chang / Vox:
Fox News's appalling past 72 hours, analyzed

Discussion: The Guardian, Weekly Standard, Mediaite and Power Line

Joshua Douglas / CNN:
Parkland students show why 16-year-olds should be able to vote

Discussion: Washington Post, KTLA, IJR, RedState, The Daily Caller, NBC News and New York Times

New York Times:

The New Pennsylvania House Districts Are In. We Review the Mapmakers' Choices. — Reviewing the decisions made to redraw the map in one of the country's most gerrymandered states.

Discussion: Real Clear Politics

Sam Levine / HuffPost:
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Issues New Congressional Map To Replace Gerrymandered One

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight

Rick Hasen / electionlawblog.org:
Pa Supreme Court on 4-3 Vote Adopts Advisor Nate Persily's Maps for Pennsylvania Congressional …

Discussion: Washington Post and The Week

Jonathan Lai / Philly.com:
Pa. gerrymandering case: State Supreme Court releases new congressional map for 2018 elections

Discussion: The Week, BuzzFeed and NBC News

Elena Schneider / Politico:
New Pennsylvania map gives Democrats big boost in midterms

Discussion: Axios and electionlawblog.org

New York Times:

After Florida School Shooting, Russian ‘Bot’ Army Pounced — SAN FRANCISCO — One hour after news broke about the school shooting in Florida last week, Twitter accounts suspected of having links to Russia released hundreds of posts taking up the gun control debate.

Discussion: The Week and The Atlantic

New York Times:

Tax Overhaul Gains Public Support, Buoying Republicans — The tax overhaul that President Trump signed into law now has more supporters than opponents, buoying Republican hopes for this year's congressional elections. — The growing public support for the law coincides with an eroding Democratic lead …

Discussion: RedState, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit, Front Page Magazine and The Daily Caller

Dave Lawler / Axios:
Poll: Most Americans now support GOP tax law

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times:

How Banks Could Control Gun Sales if Washington Won't — For the past year, chief executives have often talked about the new sense of moral responsibility that corporations have to help their communities and confront social challenges even when Washington won't.

Bill Scher / Politico:
Why the NRA Always Wins

Discussion: Front Page Magazine and New York Times

Lucian Wintrich / The Gateway Pundit:

EXPOSED: School Shooting Survivor Turned Activist David Hogg's Father in FBI, Appears To Have Been Coached On Anti-Trump Lines [VIDEO] — As previously reported: — In less than a week since they survived a mass murdering gunman attack on their school, two student who quickly became media stars …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, CNN, Mediaite, RedState and Joe.My.God.

Katie Rogers / New York Times:

Rob Porter's Charisma and Ambition Disguised Flare-ups of Anger — WASHINGTON — People who crossed paths with Rob Porter in Harvard classrooms or the hallways of Capitol Hill describe him in glowing terms: He was articulate enough to be secretary of state. Intelligent enough to be a Supreme Court justice.

Gregg Re / Fox News:

Michael Moore participated in anti-Trump rally allegedly organized by Russians — Michael Moore attends Russia-sponsored anti-Trump rally — Michael Moore, the polemical filmmaker who has long accused President Trump of colluding with Russians, posted videos and pictures of himself participating …

Discussion: twitchy.com, The Daily Caller, Power Line and Front Page Magazine

CBS News:

5 things that are more complicated than buying a gun in Florida — The 19-year-old accused of killing 17 people on Valentine's Day at his former high school in Parkland, Florida, allegedly bought seven rifles in the last year, a federal law enforcement source has told CBS News.

Discussion: RedState, Breitbart and twitchy.com

Kareem Shaheen / The Guardian:

'It's not a war. It's a massacre': scores killed in Syrian enclave — Assad regime uses barrel bombs and attacks hospitals in rebel-held eastern Ghouta … Play Video — Pro-regime forces continued to bombard the opposition-controlled enclave of eastern Ghouta in Syria on Tuesday …

Discussion: Just Security, VICE News and Al Jazeera English

NBC Bay Area:

THE LATEST NEWS FROM AROUND SAN FRANCISCO — How dirty is San Francisco? An NBC Bay Area Investigation reveals a dangerous mix of drug needles, garbage, and feces throughout downtown San Francisco. The Investigative Unit surveyed 153 blocks of the city - the more than 20-mile stretch …

Discussion: Betsy's Page and Instapundit

Bob Jordan / USA Today:

History experts in New York Times op-ed: Trump worst president ever, Obama in top 10 — Donald Trump is America's worst president, says a New York Times opinion piece that's based on a survey of 170 members of the American Political Science Association's Presidents and Executive Politics section.

Discussion: PinkNews, Daily Kos, Washington Times, IJR, New York Magazine, Mother Jones, Washington Free Beacon, Axios, Daily Wire and Mediaite

Alexei Koseff / Sacramento Bee:

Spin the bottle game among newest allegations against female lawmaker — A former employee of Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia filed a complaint with the state on Saturday, seeking to sue the Bell Gardens Democrat for allegedly firing him after he refused to play “spin the bottle” with her.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Politico