memeorandum: Nashville Mayor Megan Barry is expected to announce her resignation Tuesday morning (Natalie Neysa Alund/Tennessean.com)

12:15 PM ET, March 6, 2018

Top Items:

Awful scandal porn: Nunberg gone wild — MSNBC dubbed it “a historic interview.” CNN's Jake Tapper called it “a wild edition of ‘The Lead.’” Drudge's banner headline, with a cable screengrab: “cRaZy!” — Here's what it was: A sad, epic meltdown — a troubled Trump flunky …

Discussion: National Review, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, Splinter, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite, Fox News, twitchy.com, Washington Post, Townhall.com, JONATHAN TURLEY, TVNewser, Raw Story, NPR, emptywheel, AOL, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo and IJR

Associated Press:

Ex-Trump aide says he'll likely cooperate with Mueller — WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Trump campaign aide spent much of Monday promising to defy a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller, even throwing down the challenge to “arrest me,” then backed off his defiance by saying he would probably cooperate in the end.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, CNN, Politico, Splinter, Mediaite and Political Wire

Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:

Sam Nunberg on Mueller, His Media Spree, and His Message for Trump — At 11:30 on Monday night, Sam Nunberg returned a call from New York. Usually easy to get ahold of, Nunberg had been tied up for hours, busy creating absolute mayhem of a variety not enjoyed by American media consumers since the brief era of Anthony Scaramucci.

Discussion: Mediaite, Vox, Bustle and Weekly Standard

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:

Sam Nunberg's Spectacular Stunt — “By the way, you know I'm the number one trending person on Twitter?” — It was just after 8:00 p.m. on Monday night, and the suddenly-famous Sam Nunberg had phoned me from Dorrian's Red Hand Restaurant, a yuppie hangout on Manhattan's Upper East Side, where he was reveling in his triumph.

Discussion: CNN, Lawfare, Daily Wire, NBC News, WGN-TV, Mediaite, Mother Jones, Towleroad, Axios and Politicus USA

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
Sam Nunberg goes dark on Tuesday after his spectacular media meltdown

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite and New York Magazine

Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:
Trump Doesn't Have a Best-and-Brightest Problem

Discussion: Politico, Daily Wire and The Root

The Daily Beast:
‘What The F*ck?’ Former Trump Aide Sam Nunberg's Mueller Meltdown Leaves Friends Petrified

Discussion: New Republic, Associated Press, NewsBusters, Raw Story, Vox, Hullabaloo, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, RedState and The Atlantic

Eli Watkins / CNN:
Former Trump aide refusing Mueller subpoena: ‘Screw that’

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
The 42 craziest quotes from Sam Nunberg's absolutely bonkers CNN interviews

Discussion: Axios, The Guardian, Mediaite, Fox News Insider, Bustle, Gizmodo, TheBlaze, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, WGNO and East Bay Times

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: Peter Navarro gets his 15 minutes of fame as the salesman for the Trump tariffs

Discussion: Politico, RedState, Dealbreaker and CNN

Natalie Neysa Alund / Tennessean.com:

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry is expected to announce her resignation Tuesday morning — Nashville Mayor Megan Barry speaks to the press in Old Hickory after a ribbon cutting ceremony Michael Schwab — Nashville Mayor Megan Barry is expected to announce her resignation at a press conference Tuesday morning.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, MusicRow, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, Washington Free Beacon and Mediaite

Jonathan Mattise / Associated Press:
Nashville mayor resigns after affair, pleads guilty to theft

Discussion: Tennessean.com

New York Times: Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Pleads Guilty to Theft and Agrees to Resign

Wkrn Web / WKRN-TV:
Mayor Megan Barry thanks Nashville as she resigns from office

Discussion: Breitbart

James Gordon Meek / ABC News:

Flynn selling house to pay legal bills in Trump probe — Michael Flynn, the retired Army general and ex-Trump national security adviser who pleaded guilty last year to lying to FBI agents about his Russian contacts, has put his Virginia home up for sale to pay mounting legal fees, friends and family members told ABC News.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, New York Post, Axios, Talking Points Memo, IJR and Mediaite

Jonathan Turley / The Hill:
If Andrew McCabe lied, could he be charged like Michael Flynn?

Discussion: ABC News and Instapundit

Choe Sang-Hun / New York Times:

North Korea Is Willing to Discuss Giving Up Nuclear Weapons, South Says — SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, has told South Korean envoys that his country is willing to begin negotiations with the United States on abandoning its nuclear weapons and that it would suspend …

TheHill:

Australian diplomat whose tip prompted FBI's Russia-probe has tie to Clintons — The Australian diplomat whose tip in 2016 prompted the Russia-Trump investigation previously arranged one of the largest foreign donations to Bill and Hillary Clinton's charitable efforts, documents show.

Discussion: Power Line, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, The Resurgent and The American Spectator

Fox News:
FBI agent Peter Strzok was told of possible breach into Clinton's server but didn't follow up, sources say

Discussion: Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Wire

Mike Konczal / New York Times:

Why Are Democrats Helping Trump Dismantle Dodd-Frank? — This week, the Senate begins debate on the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, known as the Crapo bill for its primary sponsor, Mike Crapo, a Republican senator from Idaho. The bill would roll back or eliminate parts of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Discussion: Vox

Andrew Ackerman / Wall Street Journal:
Big Banks Get a Big Win in Senate Rollback Bill

Discussion: Splinter

Jeff Stein / Washington Post:
Senate banking bill likely to boost chances of bank bailouts, CBO says

Discussion: Bloomberg

Nathaniel Rakich / FiveThirtyEight:

How Things Could Go Wrong For Republicans In Mississippi's New Senate Race — On Monday afternoon, Sen. Thad Cochran, the first Republican in over a century to win a statewide race in Mississippi and the longest-serving member currently in Congress, announced he would resign from office on April 1.

Discussion: New York Times, NPR, CNN, Weekly Standard, Lawyers, Guns & Money and KTLA

Harry Enten / CNN:
Can a blue wave take down Ted Cruz in Texas?

Discussion: Washington Post and CNBC

Geoff Pender / The Clarion Ledger:
Mike Espy announces run for Thad Cochran Senate seat

Discussion: Washington Press, TheBlaze, Political Wire, Daily Kos and Washington Times

New York Times:

Trump Reaffirms Commitment to Tariffs but Opens Door to Compromise — WASHINGTON — President Trump, facing an angry chorus of protests from leaders of his own party, including the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, insisted on Monday that he would not back down from his plan to impose across-the-board tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Discussion: Politico, CNBC, Washington Post, The Atlantic, ABC News, IJR, Jamie Dupree - AJC, Infowars, Bustle, Breitbart, Roll Call, RedState, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, TheBlaze, Vox, Mother Jones and Wall Street Journal

Bloomberg:
EU Raises Stakes for Trump With Tariffs Targeting GOP Heartland

Discussion: Weekly Standard, ThinkProgress, CNBC, Axios and The Committee …

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Chaos After Trump — What happens to American politics after Donald Trump? Do we snap back to normal or do things spin ever more widely out of control? — The best indicator we have so far is the example of Italy since the reign of Silvio Berlusconi.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Ronald Brownstein / CNN:

The lemongrass burrito is the new America. Can either party keep up? — Irvine, California (CNN)If recent population trends continue at their current pace, it's likely that by Election Day this November, minorities will constitute the majority of the population in the Congressional District centered …

Discussion: Axios

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

'It's almost nasty': Dems seek crackdown on sleeping in the Capitol — A bloc of House Democrats is calling for an ethics investigation into the widespread practice of lawmakers sleeping in their offices, arguing it's an abuse of taxpayer funds. — More than two dozen members …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, thecut, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Bloomberg:

Trump Believes Cohn Will Leave If Tariffs Instituted, Sources Say — President says turnover, debate are part of governing strategy — Economic adviser Cohn has mounted effort to thwart tariffs — President Donald Trump has told advisers that he believes economic adviser Gary Cohn …

Discussion: Political Wire

CNN:

West Virginia lawmakers reach deal to give striking teachers pay raise — Charleston, West Virginia (CNN)West Virginia lawmakers said Tuesday morning that a deal has been reached to deliver a 5% pay raise for all state employees, including striking teachers, according to the state committee meeting on the matter.

Discussion: Associated Press, ABC News, WV MetroNews, ThinkProgress and Balloon Juice

Jake Zuckerman / Charleston Gazette-Mail:
Gov. Justice says WV teacher strike is over, teachers want to see bill signed

Discussion: The Daily Beast and WOWK-TV

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:

Instead Of Thoughts And Prayers, Oregon Passes New Gun Safety Law — Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill to stop convicted stalkers and domestic abusers from buying and keeping firearms. — WASHINGTON Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) signed new gun safety legislation into law on Monday …

Discussion: Axios and TheBlaze

New York Times:

New Foils for the Right: Google and Facebook — Conservatives are zeroing in on a new enemy in the political culture wars: Big Tech. — Arguing that Silicon Valley is stifling their speech and suppressing right-wing content, publishers and provocateurs on the right are eyeing …

more at Mediagazer »

Christian Red / New York Daily News:

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross on national anthem protests: ‘All our players will be standing’ — If any Miami Dolphins player wants to kneel during the national anthem during the 2018 season — and beyond — team owner Stephen Ross has news for them: don't even think about it.

Discussion: ProFootballTalk, FOX31 Denver, AOL and The Daily Caller

Michael Biesecker / Associated Press:

EPA appointee gets approval to consult for outside clients — WASHINGTON (AP) — A key aide to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has been granted permission to make extra money moonlighting for private clients whose identities are being kept secret.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Jerome Solomon / Houston Chronicle:

Texans would miss out if they aren't interested in players who protested — A week from now, the Astros will head to Washington, D.C., for a visit to the White House. Good for them. — It is a special honor afforded to sports teams in celebration of a championship. I would have accepted the invite, too.

Discussion: KTLA, AOL, IJR, The Daily Caller, ProFootballTalk, Breitbart, Bleacher Report and Deadspin

Marwa Eltagouri / Washington Post:

The ‘anti-Trump’ Oscars were a ratings disaster. Conservatives are delighted. … The 90th Academy Awards on Sunday was two things: an evening of pointed political statements and one with record-low viewership. — And many on the right have been quick to claim that those things went hand in hand.