memeorandum: Lil Wayne Threatens Rowdy Concertgoers with Guns (TMZ.com)

11:40 PM ET, March 13, 2018

Top Items:

‘Rex, Eat the Salad:’ Inside the Awkward Relationship Between Rex Tillerson and Donald Trump — Cabinet post was a sharp change for a former Exxon Mobil CEO who was used to calling the shots — WASHINGTON—In a private room in China's Great Hall of the People in November …

Discussion: The American Spectator, The Root, Splinter, Raw Story, thecut, New York Magazine, The Atlantic and Mediaite

Michael C. Bender / Wall Street Journal:

Trump's Personal Assistant Is Fired — John McEntee was escorted out of White House for unspecified security issue — WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump's personal assistant, John McEntee, was escorted out of the White House on Monday, two senior administration officials said.

Matthew Rosenberg / New York Times:

New C.I.A. Deputy Director, Gina Haspel, Had Leading Role in Torture — WASHINGTON — As a clandestine officer at the Central Intelligence Agency in 2002, Gina Haspel oversaw the torture of two terrorism suspects and later took part in an order to destroy videotapes documenting …

mccain.senate.gov:

STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON LEADERSHIP CHANGES AT STATE DEPARTMENT & CIA — Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on the proposed leadership changes at the State Department and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA):

Discussion: Shadowproof and Vox

Washington Post:

Trump ousts Tillerson, will replace him as secretary of state with CIA chief Pompeo … President Trump said Tuesday he has ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and plans to nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him as the nation's top diplomat, orchestrating a major change …

CNN:

Longtime Trump aide fired over financial crime investigation — (CNN)President Donald Trump's longtime personal aide John McEntee was fired because he is currently under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for serious financial crimes, a source familiar with his firing told CNN.

Discussion: New York Times, ABC News, Politico, Donald J Trump, FOX 61, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, WPIX 11 New York, Shareblue Media, NBC News and Vox

Associated Press:
Trump fires Tillerson at State, replacing with CIA's Pompeo

Discussion: RT, Washington Post, New York Times, ABC News, NBC News, IJR, The Atlantic, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Washingtonian, CNN, Politico, New Republic, Diplopundit, Politicus USA, Mediaite, Lawfare, RedState and New York Magazine

The Daily Beast:
State Department Staffers Cry ‘Hallelujah’ Over Rex Tillerson's Downfall

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times and Spectator USA

Alex Ward / Vox:
Gina Haspel, Trump's CIA director pick, oversaw the torture of dozens of people

Discussion: CBS News, CNBC, CNN, Washington Post, Politico, New York Post, Online NewsHour, Axios, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Washington Free Beacon, FiveThirtyEight and France 24

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Tillerson doesn't thank Trump in post-firing speech

Discussion: RedState

Emily Stewart / Vox:
Rex Tillerson gets to keep the big tax break he got as secretary of state

Discussion: TechCrunch, theGrio and Raw Story

Washington Post:
Trump unrestrained: Recent moves show president listening to his gut more than advisers

Discussion: CNN, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Politico, Los Angeles Times, CNBC, Axios, ABC News, Quartz, One America News Network and Vox

New York Times:

Pennsylvania Special Election Results: 18th Congressional District — CandidatePartyVotesPct. — Dem. — Rick Saccone — Rep. — Lib. — First results expected around 8:20 p.m. Eastern time. — The Pennsylvania special election on Tuesday, in a Republican-leaning House district …

Discussion: Politico, The Gateway Pundit, NBC News, Joe.My.God., RRH Elections, Daily Kos and Washington Post

New York Times:
The Needle's Back. Maybe This Time, It Will Really Be Wrong.

Discussion: Mother Jones and Mediaite

Ella Nilsen / Vox: What happens if the Pennsylvania special election goes to a recount

Walter Shapiro / The Guardian: Why it's time for Democrats to ditch Nancy Pelosi

Tom Shortell / Morning Call:
Confused voters try to figure out who's voting in Pennsylvania's special election

Discussion: Political Wire

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

Stormy Daniels discussed alleged affair with Trump on 2007 radio show, host says — Radio Host: Stormy Daniels discussed alleged Trump affair on 2007 radio show — (CNN)Stephanie Clifford, the porn star known as Stormy Daniels, discussed her alleged affair with Donald Trump during …

Discussion: New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Mediaite

HuffPost:
Only Half Of Trump Voters Say Affair With Porn Actress Would Be Immoral

Discussion: New Republic, ThinkProgress, Wall Street Journal and Right Wing Watch

Washington Post: Stormy Daniels friend describes listening in on her phone calls with Trump

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:

Rep. Trey Gowdy disagrees with GOP colleagues in House probe, says Russia wanted to hurt Hillary Clinton — Rep. Trey Gowdy , R-S.C., says Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election was motivated at least in part “by a desire” to hurt Hillary Clinton's candidacy.

Discussion: ABC News, Fox News Insider, The Daily Beast, Congressman Trey Gowdy, Shareblue Media, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Al Jazeera English and The Daily Caller

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Gowdy breaks from GOP committee, says Russia worked to undermine Clinton

Discussion: Axios

Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:
Intel panel Republicans seem to back away from finding that Russia was not trying to help Trump

Discussion: Daily Wire

CNN:
Top Democrat wants 30 more witnesses to be called for House intel investigation

Discussion: Shareblue Media

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The Republican coverup for Trump just got much worse

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Vox, CNN, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, CBS News, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Towleroad, Politico, IJR and Shakesville

New York Times:

Trump Eyes Replacing His Veterans Affairs Secretary With His Energy Chief — WASHINGTON — President Trump, fresh off replacing his secretary of state and C.I.A. director, is considering firing his secretary of veterans affairs and installing Energy Secretary Rick Perry in the post, according to two people close to the White House.

Discussion: Politico, RedState, CNN, Raw Story and Mediaite

Michael Del Moro / ABC News:

Family of slain DNC staffer sues Fox News over retracted story — The family of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, who was killed in 2016, has filed a lawsuit against Fox News, an investigative reporter and one of the network's contributors over a story about Rich and allegations …

Discussion: Splinter and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Manafort could face ‘rest of life in prison,’ judge says — Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, runs a significant risk of spending the rest of his life in prison and the evidence against him by special counsel Robert Mueller's office seems strong, a federal judge declared in an order made public on Tuesday.

Discussion: Raw Story, IJR, Mediaite and Political Wire

Katelyn Polantz / CNN: Paul Manafort faces 305 years

Kevin Daley / The Daily Caller:
Judge Thomas Ellis III, who is presiding over the second prosecution …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Luke Harding / The Guardian:

Russian exile Nikolai Glushkov found dead at his London home — Close friend of late oligarch Boris Berezovsky claimed political asylum in UK after being convicted of fraud … A Russian exile who was close friends with the late oligarch Boris Berezovsky has been found dead in his London home, his lawyer has said.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, NPR and The Daily Caller

Roland Oliphant / Telegraph:
Russian businessman and close associate of Boris Berezovsky found dead in Britain, lawyer says

Discussion: Daily Mail, Home Page Rotator, The Daily Caller, RedState and Politico

Debra Birnbaum / Variety:

Claire Foy Was Paid Less Than Matt Smith on ‘The Crown’ — JERUSALEM — With two critically acclaimed seasons of “The Crown” behind them, the drama's producers acknowledged that they face some hurdles for the third season. — “It's called libel,” quipped Andy Harries, CEO of Left Bank …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Vox, The Mary Sue and NBC News

Julie Miller / Vanity Fair:
The Crown Paid Its Queen Elizabeth Less Than Its Prince Philip

Discussion: The Guardian, RedState and Daily Wire

Jeremy Roebuck / Philly.com:

Feds: Ex-aide to U.S. Rep. Bob Brady targeted in murder-for-hire plot — A former political strategist for U.S. Rep. Bob Brady was targeted in a murder-for-hire plot to stop him from cooperating with an ongoing corruption probe in Arkansas and Missouri, federal authorities said.

Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:

Elon Musk Wanted to Buy ‘The Onion,’ Now His Team's Hiring Its Staffers for a Secret Project … Early in February, the satirical news publication The Onion published a story about Elon Musk, titled, “Elon Musk Offering $1.2 Billion in Grants to Any Project That Promises to Make Him Feel Complete.”

Discussion: Mashable, Engadget and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Christian Gollayan / New York Post:

Dog dies after United flight attendant forces it into overhead bin — On Monday night, a dog died in a plane after a United Airlines flight attendant forced the dog into an overhead bin. — Maggie Gremminger, a passenger on a flight from Houston to New York's LaGuardia Airport, uploaded a photo of the dog's owners on Twitter.

Discussion: New York Times, Dallas Morning News, twitchy.com, Reuters, CBS New York, The Daily Caller, FOX 61, KTLA, CBS San Francisco, Gizmodo, CBS Denver, WGN-TV, FOX6Now.com, WGNO, CBS Los Angeles and fox13now.com

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:

‘Fifty-Fifty’: Christopher Steele Is Unsure About Trump ‘Golden Showers’ Tape — Christopher Steele is not convinced that the most salacious claim in his infamous dossier is accurate. — Steele's business partner at their private intelligence firm is even less certain, and the founder of Fusion GPS …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, ABC News, Front Page Magazine and RedState

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
REVEALED: Obama Campaign Hired Fusion GPS To Investigate Romney

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and The Rush Limbaugh Show

Connor Sheets / al.com:

Etowah sheriff pockets $750k in jail food funds, buys $740k beach house — Etowah sheriff pocketed over $750,000 in inmate-feeding funds — In September, Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin and his wife Karen purchased an orange four-bedroom house with an in-ground pool and canal access …

Discussion: Mother Jones, National Review and The Root

Elisha Brown / The Daily Beast:

Trump in California Says 'You Wouldn't Even Have a Country' Without Border Wall … President Donald Trump said the country would not survive long unless a wall is built on the border with Mexico during a Tuesday visit to California to look at prototypes of the wall.

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, ABC News and NBC News