memeorandum: Hatch says it's ‘ridiculous’ for McCain to block Trump from funeral (Ted Barrett/CNN)

10:35 PM ET, May 7, 2018

Top Items:

Four Women Accuse New York's Attorney General of Physical Abuse — Eric Schneiderman has raised his profile as a voice against sexual misconduct. Now, after suing Harvey Weinstein, he faces a #MeToo reckoning of his own. — Eric Schneiderman, New York's attorney general …

New York Times:

Eric Schneiderman, New York's Attorney General, Is Accused of Abusing 4 Women — The New York attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, was accused of physically assaulting four women with whom he had relationships, according to an article published Monday by The New Yorker.

Discussion: RedState, Political Wire, Yeshiva World News, Washington Times, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, No More Mister Nice Blog, Joe.My.God., Daily Kos, Raw Story, Splinter and Mediaite

Washington Post:

New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman resigns after four women accuse him of physical abuse … New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced his resignation late Monday night, hours after he was accused of physically abusing four women in an article published by the New Yorker.

Discussion: National Review, Fox News Insider, HuffPost and NBC News

Jonathan Lemire / Associated Press:

As headlines swirl, Trump grows frustrated with Giuliani — NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump is growing increasingly irritated with lawyer Rudy Giuliani's frequently off-message media blitz, in which he has muddied the waters on hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels and made claims …

Discussion: Raw Story

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Trump grows frustrated with Giuliani as Stormy Daniels drama rages on — President Donald Trump has shaken up his legal team in the last three weeks — and he's still not happy. — The president has been griping to associates that Rudy Giuliani, his new personal attorney, has failed to shut down the Stormy Daniels hush money saga.

Discussion: Mediaite

Emily Jane Fox / Vanity Fair:

“I'd Die for My Wife and My Kids. And This Is All Ruining Their Lives”: After Rudy's Meltdown, Michael Cohen Grapples with His New Reality — Besieged by the media and legal bills, and feeling abandoned by Washington, friends say Cohen is in a “dangerous place.”

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Root and Washington Post

Peter Nicholas / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Lawyers Aim to Decide by May 17 Whether President Testifies in Mueller Probe — Legal team has long been divided on sit-down interview with special counsel — WASHINGTON—Lawyers advising President Donald Trump in the Russia investigation hope to decide whether he should testify by May 17 …

Discussion: Fox News, Political Wire, NPR, Washington Post, New York Times, The Western Journal, CBS 4, Sean Hannity, Conservative News Today and Mediaite

Josh Lederman / Associated Press:
State Dept.: Giuliani doesn't speak for US on foreign policy

Discussion: HuffPost, Shareblue Media and USA Today

Politico: Nunes sticks to contempt threat against Sessions

CBS News:
Mueller rejects Trump request to answer questions in writing

Discussion: Shareblue Media

James Downie / Washington Post:
Giuliani stumbles into another fiasco

Discussion: USA Today, BloombergQuint, Lawfare, Hit & Run, Talking Points Memo and Townhall

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Taking a wrecking ball to Trump's defense

Discussion: CNN, Daily Kos and MSNBC

Cristiano Lima / Politico:
Sarah Huckabee Sanders says she's ‘not aware’ of other Trump hush agreements

Discussion: Breitbart, ABC News and Washington Post

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Trump Weighs In on West Virginia Senate Race in Sign of Republican Anxiety — WASHINGTON — President Trump intervened Monday in the West Virginia Republican Senate primary, pleading with voters a day before the election to oppose the former mine operator Don Blankenship …

Discussion: Washington Post, Power Line, The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Breitbart, WND, Roll Call, CNN, ProPublica, ABC News, The Right Scoop, CBS Pittsburgh, Townhall, Washington Press and Politico

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Exclusive: Two West Virginia Internal Campaign Polls Show Blankenship Narrowly Edging GOP Rivals

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, FiveThirtyEight, BloombergQuint, IJR, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, The Hill, VICE News, Joe.My.God., Washington Post, NBC News, Shareblue Media and RedState

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Why Don Blankenship is more dangerous for the GOP than Todd Akin, Sharron Angle and Roy Moore

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Fox News, CNN, Breitbart and Washington Monthly

Axios:
Pro-Trump group targets Joe Manchin in push to confirm Gina Haspel

Discussion: Politico, ABC News and CNBC

New York Times:

‘Smoke and Mirrors’: Emails Detail Pruitt's Drive for Secrecy at the E.P.A. — WASHINGTON — The invitation-only breakfast at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington gathered 250 executives from the nation's largest electric utilities, assembled in a ballroom to meet with Scott Pruitt …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, The Week, New Republic and Lawyers, Guns & Money

New York Times:

White House Aides Are Urging President Trump to Fire Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. Chief — WASHINGTON — Senior White House staff members are encouraging President Trump to fire Scott Pruitt, his embattled Environmental Protection Agency chief, according to two top administration officials.

BuzzFeed:

New Documents Show That EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Did Not Face Serious Security Threats — One of the threats made against Scott Pruitt this year: someone drawing a mustache on his face on a Newsweek cover. — The Environmental Protection Agency's internal watchdog launched three investigations …

Alan Dershowitz / The Hill:

Federal judge rightly rebukes Mueller for questionable tactics — An experienced federal judge has confirmed what I have been arguing for months, namely, that the modus operandi of special counsel Robert Mueller — is to charge associates of Donald Trump with any crime he can find in order …

Maggie Haberman / New York Times: Roger Stone Says He Had Little Contact With Manafort Deputy

Grabien News:
Dems Trash Federal Judge for Questioning Scope of Mueller Power

Discussion: RT, KTLA, Joe.My.God. and Axios

David Fontana / Washington Post:

Washington is now a cool city. That's terrible news for American democracy. — Sparky's Espresso Cafe was a few blocks from my apartment off 14th Street NW, but in the years after I moved to Washington in 2006, it felt to me like home. To get there from my apartment …

Pete Williams / NBC News:

Sessions: Parents, children entering U.S. illegally will be separated — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration plans to take a tougher approach to families that enter the U.S. illegally by separating parents from their children, instead of keeping them in detention together.

Discussion: The Week, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Washington Press, IJR and Political Wire

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Hatch to McCain: Invite Trump to your funeral — Sen. John McCain should reconsider his wish that President Donald Trump not attend McCain's funeral, said Sen. Orrin Hatch, the most senior GOP senator. — McCain prefers instead that Vice President Mike Pence attend his funeral rather than Trump …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Althouse, The Right Scoop, Joe.My.God., AOL, Mediaite, Political Wire and Daily Wire

Ted Barrett / CNN:
Hatch says it's ‘ridiculous’ for McCain to block Trump from funeral

Discussion: Hot Air and The Daily Caller

Washington Post:

Trump calls on Congress to pull back $15 billion in spending, including on Children's Health Insurance Program. — President Trump is sending a plan to Congress that calls for stripping back more than $15 billion in previously approved spending, with the hope that it will temper conservative angst over ballooning budget deficits.

Discussion: Politico, Balkinization, Shareblue Media, Weekly Standard, What The Fuck …, Axios and Political Wire

CNN:

CNN Poll: Trump approval steady amid rising outlook for the country — WASHINGTON (CNN)President Donald Trump's approval rating is holding steady in a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, but his numbers on handling several key issues are climbing, as almost 6 in 10 say things in the country are going well.

Discussion: Washington Times, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com

NRA BLOG:

Lt. Colonel Oliver North Poised to Become NRA President — “Most exciting news for NRA members since Charlton Heston Became President of Our Association,” Wayne LaPierre said. — DALLAS - Lt. Colonel Oliver North, USMC (Ret.) will become President of the National Rifle Association …

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, RT, Fox News, Politico, Axios, New York Magazine, IJR, Hit & Run, Raw Story, Mother Jones, The Western Journal, Breitbart, AmmoLand.com, Bearing Arms, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Wire and The Week

Katie Zezima / Washington Post:
Oliver North named president of the National Rifle Association

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New York Times, Outside the Beltway and Blue Virginia

Max de Haldevang / Quartz:

Leaving the Iran deal would play right into Putin's hands, says a former US ambassador to Russia — Supporters of the Iran deal have no shortage of reasons for president Donald Trump to stick with it: The deal appears to be succeeding in its aim of forcing Iran to cut its nuclear stockpile.

Discussion: NBC News, The Guardian and New York Magazine

Dave Lawler / Axios:
Closing arguments on the Iran deal

Discussion: ABC News, The Moderate Voice, Washington Post and Vox

Danielle Paquette / Washington Post:

People think she's a Parkland ‘crisis actor.’ It's terrifying. — NEW YORK — The strangers mocked her on social media. They called her old boss, saying she should be arrested. Now she feared one was stalking her. — Emma Gonzalez became an Internet obsession after a gunman killed 17 people …

Discussion: Raw Story

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Why Mueller Has to Expose Trump's Crooked Business Empire — President Trump has made it perfectly plain that he views any scrutiny of his finances as a mortal threat. Trump “was especially disturbed after learning [Robert] Mueller would be able to access several years of his tax returns …

Discussion: Washington Post, Hullabaloo and Washington Monthly

Page Six:

Elon Musk quietly dating musician Grimes — Elon Musk has been keeping everyone guessing about his love life, but sources exclusively revealed to Page Six that he has been quietly dating hip musician Grimes — who will walk the red carpet with him at Monday's Met Gala.

Discussion: Mashable, Jezebel, The FADER and Consequence of Sound

Ariel Edwards-Levy / HuffPost:

Most Clinton Voters Now Say ‘People Like Them’ Were Better Off 50 Years Ago — It's a dramatic shift from 2016. — A year and a half after the 2016 election, voters who backed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton increasingly feel as though people like them are losing ground in America …

Katie Rogers / New York Times:

Melania Trump Rolls Out ‘Be Best,’ a Children's Agenda With a Focus on Social Media — WASHINGTON — Hours after President Trump took to Twitter on Monday to denigrate the special counsel's investigation as a “Phony Witch Hunt” and the Iran deal as a “MESS,” Melania Trump stepped …

Discussion: CNN, NPR, The Atlantic, Gizmodo, Jezebel, Splinter, LifeZette, KTLA and Refinery29

Quint Forgey / Politico:
Melania Trump's popularity sees boost in new poll

Discussion: ABC News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and CNN

Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic:

I'm Not Black, I'm Kanye — I could only have seen it there, on the waxed hardwood floor of my elementary-school auditorium, because I was young then, barely 7 years old, and cable had not yet come to the city, and if it had, my father would not have believed in it.