memeorandum: Amazon didn't kill Toys ‘R’ Us. Here's what did (Chris Isidore/CNNMoney)

10:55 AM ET, March 15, 2018

Top Items:

In fundraising speech, Trump says he made up facts in meeting with Justin Trudeau … President Trump boasted in a fundraising speech Wednesday that he made up facts in a meeting with the leader of a top U.S ally, saying he insisted to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the United States runs …

Mike Allen / Axios:

Axios AM — Subscribe — Good Thursday morning. Situational awareness: “Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. told employees Wednesday the struggling big-box retailer will sell or close all its U.S. stores, a collapse that threatens up to 33,000 American jobs in the coming months.” (WSJ) — 1 big thing: Pelosi in peril

Discussion: Bloomberg, Betsy's Page, Althouse and Mediaite

Mike Allen / Axios:
Pelosi in peril — Top Democrats tell me that if they take …

Discussion: National Review and Politico

Wall Street Journal:

Trump Organization Tied to Deal to Keep Ex-Porn Star Quiet — An assistant general counsel at the president's flagship holding company intervened in arbitration proceeding in California to enforce a nondisclosure deal with former porn star — Documents marked “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL PROCEEDING” …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NBC News, JONATHAN TURLEY, Raw Story, Washington Times and Vox

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

BuzzFeed maneuver could free Stormy Daniels to speak on Trump — BuzzFeed may have found a legal opening to allow the porn actress Stormy Daniels to discuss her alleged relationship with President Donald Trump and a $130,000 payment she received just before the 2016 election as part …

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:

Another Trump attorney involved in Stormy Daniels case — (CNN)New documents obtained by CNN's “Anderson Cooper 360” on Wednesday suggest a deeper link than previously known between the Trump Organization and the company that Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen …

Discussion: News & Guts Media, New York Magazine, Splinter, VICE News, Axios, IJR, Politicus USA and Mashable

Jim Dalrymple II / BuzzFeed:
Stormy Daniels' Lawyer Says More Women Are Exploring Legal Cases Against President Trump

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Beast, Raw Story and Mediaite

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico: Trump lawyers prepping for potential Mueller interview

Dallas Morning News:
‘I would vote for him every time’: Stormy Daniels' mother hopes alleged affair doesn't hurt Trump

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Caller and thecut

Elaina Plott / The Atlantic:

Trump Says a Democrat Won in Pennsylvania Because He's ‘Like Trump’ — If Donald Trump is worried about Democrats using an upset victory in Pennsylvania as a blueprint for winning big in the midterms, he didn't let on. — Trump broke his silence on the election at a private fundraiser …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Washington Post, Politico, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, NBC News, Raw Story, The Stream, Hit & Run and Vox

New York Times:
Conor Lamb Wins Pennsylvania House Seat, Giving Democrats a Map for Trump Country

Discussion: Philly.com, New York Post, CNN, American Greatness, Raw Story, Vox, The Hill, NewsHounds blog, Talking Points Memo, The Savage Nation and Politico

Harry Enten / CNN:
Pennsylvania 18 is a reminder that polls are far from perfect. And that's OK.

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Vox and Washington Post

Gene J. Puskar / Washington Examiner: Democrats can take the House, if they just pick Conor Lamb over Hillary Clinton

Matthew Kelly / OpenSecrets.org: A Saccone vote cost twice as much as a vote for Lamb in Pennsylvania

Andrew Desiderio / The Daily Beast:

Trump Administration Imposes Sweeping New Sanctions Against Russia over Election Meddling … The Treasury Department on Thursday announced that it would roll out sweeping new sanctions against Russia and Kremlin-aligned entities over Moscow's election-meddling, including …

Discussion: Politico and Axios

CNN:

Trump administration finally announces Russia sanctions — Putin's ‘chef,’ the man behind the troll factory — Washington (CNN)The Trump administration announced Thursday it is enacting new sanctions on Russia for its election meddling, a month-and-a-half after missing a congressionally mandated deadline.

Discussion: Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump Administration Sanctions Russians for Election Meddling and Cyberattacks — WASHINGTON — President Trump's administration imposed sanctions on a series of Russian organizations and individuals on Thursday in retaliation for interference in the 2016 presidential elections and other “malicious” cyberattacks.

Andy Shain / Post and Courier:

Dylann Roof's sister arrested for carrying weapons to school on day of national walkout — COLUMBIA — The sister of Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof was arrested Wednesday for carrying weapons at her affluent Columbia-area high school, authorities said.

Discussion: WLTX-TV, Townhall.com, The Daily Caller and KTLA

Warren Stocker / WIS-TV:

Sister of Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof given $5,000 bond, not allowed to return to SC school — COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - — The younger sister of Charleston church shooter, Dylann Roof was given a $5,000 bond on Wednesday after she was arrested for bringing weapons and drugs onto the campus of A.C. Flora High School.

Discussion: NBC News, theGrio, WGN-TV and CNN

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“Trump Wants Them Out of There”: After Swinging the Axe at Tillerson, Trump Mulls What to Do with McMaster, Sessions, Jared, and Ivanka — With tariffs done, Trump's sights are now on the Iran deal—and, possibly, the Russia investigation. “The president is finally realizing he is the president …

Discussion: Breitbart, Fox News, Mediaite, CBS News, The American Conservative, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Hullabaloo, Common Dreams, Splinter, CNBC and New York Times

Marty Lederman / Just Security:
How Trump Might Replace Sessions with Pruitt as Attorney General

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Political Wire

CNN:
Trump eyes purging Cabinet ‘deadweight’

Discussion: israpundit.org, Washington Monthly, Splinter and Shareblue Media

Chris Isidore / CNNMoney:

Amazon didn't kill Toys ‘R’ Us. Here's what did — You won't be hearing the Toys ‘R’ Us jingle anymore — Don't blame Amazon for the death of Toys “R” Us. — It's true, online shopping didn't help matters, but the struggles of Toys “R” Us predate the boom in online shopping.

Discussion: National Review, Motley Fool and WQAD-TV

Wall Street Journal:
Toys ‘R’ Us Tells Workers It Will Likely Close All U.S. Stores

Discussion: Washington Post, KTLA, WIS-TV, The Root, NPR, Polygon and fox13now.com

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:

Time's Up: Trump Can't Have It Both Ways on Russia — It will be damning if the president continues to equivocate about Russia's role in the death of a former spy. — For the first 14 months of the Donald Trump administration, a fair analysis of its handling of Russia had to include some important caveats.

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press, New York Times and Outside the Beltway

David Roberts / Vox:

The real problem with the New York Times op-ed page: it's not honest about US conservatism — It wants to challenge its readers, but not with the ugly truth. — The New York Times editorial page has come in for a great deal of criticism since it fell under the leadership of James Bennet …

Philippe Reines / Washington Post:

Trump is a freak of political nature. Here's how you can beat him. — Philippe Reines has been a spokesman and adviser to Hillary Clinton since 2002, including during the 2016 campaign. — Campaigned in the wrong states. Ineffective message. Uninspiring orator. Represented all that is wrong with Washington.

Discussion: New Republic

The Guardian:

Dog gone: United Airlines mistakenly flies family German shepherd to Japan … United Airlines is investigating after mistakenly flying a Kansas family's dog to Japan. — KCTV reports that Kara Swindle and her two children flew from Oregon to Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday on a United flight.

Discussion: TalkLeft, Boing Boing, Mashable, Mediaite, CNN and Reuters

Michael Sasso / Bloomberg:
Outcry Over Dead Dog Intensifies Pressure on United CEO

Discussion: HuffPost and Common Dreams

Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed:

Paul Manafort Takes Another Crack At Challenging Robert Mueller's Appointment As Special Counsel — Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort on Wednesday night asked a judge to dismiss the criminal case filed against him in federal court in Washington, DC, arguing that special counsel …

Discussion: Political Wire

New York Times:
Beware of Devin Nunes's Next Move

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Larry Kudlow may have been more wrong about the economy than anyone alive — It was the eve of the biggest economic collapse since the Great Depression. Many on Wall Street worried that a recession loomed and that the housing bubble was bursting. — And then there was Larry Kudlow …

Discussion: Vox, The Federalist, Calculated Risk, Mediaite, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, Balloon Juice, Splinter, Instapundit, New York Magazine, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CNBC and Mother Jones

Maggie Astor / New York Times:

White Supremacists Are Increasingly Spreading Their Message With Public Banners — White supremacists are increasingly hanging banners in public places, such as from highway overpasses and rooftops, to promote their views, according to a report released on Thursday by the Anti-Defamation League.

Bloomberg:

This Is What Record-Low Unemployment Looks Like in America — What will happen when the U.S. unemployment rate falls below 4 percent, which is expected to occur by this summer? One way to tell is to look at cities where joblessness is already lower than that. Bloomberg News reporters traveled to Iowa, Georgia, and Maine.

Annie Karni / Politico:

Extreme secrecy surrounds Comey book manuscript — James Comey's book is getting the Harry Potter treatment. — “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership,” the upcoming memoir from former FBI Director James Comey, is set for publication on April 18 — and with anticipation rivaling …

Discussion: Political Wire

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

In Trumpworld, nobody knows anything — Yesterday was crazy. The rumor mill was in overdrive with reports that President Trump could replace as many as four senior administration officials, including a Scott-Pruitt-for-Jeff-Sessions switcheroo at Justice.

Discussion: Raw Story

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:

Without Rex Tillerson's protection, a top State Department Asia nominee is in trouble … Outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson struggled for months to secure the nomination of the State Department's top Asia official, who hawks have accused of being too soft on China.

Discussion: Breitbart

Peter Schweizer / New York Post:

Inside the shady private equity firm run by Kerry and Biden's kids — “My frustration,” writes Peter Schweizer in his new book, “Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends,” “is not that the solid reporting on Trump has been too tough …

Discussion: Breitbart

Washington Post:

Senate passes rollback of banking rules enacted after financial crisis … The Senate on Wednesday passed the biggest loosening of financial regulations since the economic crisis a decade ago, delivering wide bipartisan support for weakening banking rules despite bitter divisions among Democrats.

Discussion: Pacific Standard

Katherine Lam / Fox News:

Muslim teen watched jihadi videos, read Koran for ‘courage’ before Florida sleepover stabbings, cops say — A Florida teenager — who had previously been investigated for “alleged violent tendencies” — watched jihadist videos and read the Koran “to give him courage” before stabbing …

Discussion: NewsBusters, Palm Beach Post, National Review, Daily Wire, Front Page Magazine and CBS News

New York Times:

U.S. Kept Silent About Its Role in Another Firefight in Niger — WASHINGTON — Green Berets working with government forces in Niger killed 11 Islamic State militants in a firefight in December, the American military acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday.

Discussion: Marginal REVOLUTION