memeorandum: Israel hits dozens of Iranian targets in Syria after barrage (Associated Press)

9:10 AM ET, May 10, 2018

Top Items:

Israel hits dozens of Iranian targets in Syria after barrage — JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military on Thursday said it attacked nearly all of Iran's military installations in neighboring Syria in response to an Iranian rocket barrage on Israeli positions in the occupied Golan Heights …

John Bolton / Washington Post:

The Iran deal was betrayed by its own abysmal record — John Bolton is U.S. national security adviser. — On Tuesday, President Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the failed Iran nuclear deal. The president has famously referred to it as “the worst deal in history.”

Discussion: The American Conservative

Oliver Holmes / The Guardian:

Israel retaliates after Iran ‘fires 20 rockets’ at army in occupied Golan Heights — Iranian forces stationed in Syria fired about 20 rockets at Israeli military positions in the Golan Heights just after midnight on Thursday, according to Israel's army, which appeared to retaliate with multiple strikes across Syria.

Discussion: Haaretz, BBC, Just Security, Al Jazeera English and The Week

Associated Press:
Trump gives freed Americans flag-waving, wee-hours welcome

Discussion: Axios and New York Times

Brian Flood / Fox News:
New York Times slams AWOL Pompeo, then learns he was rescuing Americans

Discussion: Power Line, Townhall, AOL, Roll Call, USA Today, Washington Free Beacon, The Guardian, Front Page Magazine, Fox News Insider and Daily Wire

Washington Post:
Israel launches massive military strike against Iranian targets in Syria

Discussion: BBC and Daily Kos

Yonah Jeremy Bob / Jerusalem Post: Liberman: We hit almost all Iranian infrastructure in Syria

Laurent Lozano / Yahoo: Israel in major raids on ‘Iran’ targets in Syria after rocket fire

Judah Ari Gross / The Times of Israel: After alleged Iranian barrage, Israel launches massive counterattack in Syria

Wall Street Journal:
Israel Strikes Iranian Targets in Syria as Regional Tensions Mount

Discussion: New York Times, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and VICE News

Associated Press: The Latest: Pence says 1 detainee 'hadn't seen daylight'

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:
New York Times embarrasses itself in hit piece on Pompeo

Discussion: CNN, Fox News and FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV

CNN:
Trump officials prepare for Singapore summit with North Korea

Discussion: KTLA, The Guardian, HuffPost, The Week, The Right Scoop, Yonhap News Agency, Bustle and New York Times

Justin Doom / ABC News:
American prisoners freed by North Korea meet with Donald Trump

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Axios, The Hill, twitchy.com and Front Page Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Loveday Morris / Washington Post: Iranian forces fire rockets at Israeli military in first direct attack ever, Israel's army says

New York Times:

How Michael Cohen, Denied White House Job, Was Seen as Its Gatekeeper — After paying off a pornographic film actress and doing other tasks to help his boss win the presidency, Michael D. Cohen was surprised to find that the doors to the White House were mostly closed to him.

Discussion: New York Magazine, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politico and Washington Post

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:

Avenatti Accuses The Wrong Michael Cohens Of Making ‘Fraudulent’ Payments — Michael Avenatti, porn star Stormy Daniels' lawyer, released a seven-page dossier on Tuesday containing a list of payments purportedly made to Michael Cohen, the lawyer for President Donald Trump.

Discussion: Washington Times, Haaretz, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, his vorpal sword, twitchy.com, Front Page Magazine, Mediaite, The Right Scoop, Conservative News Today, The Political Insider and Daily Wire

CNN:

Inside Michael Cohen's aggressive pitch promising access to Trump — Analyst: This is the swampiest of swampy — (CNN)Michael Cohen served loyally as Donald Trump's right-hand man for more than a decade, taking care of anything and everything the New York real estate baron needed to get done.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, CNNMoney, Daily Kos, CNBC, The Week, Hot Air, Raw Story, The Federalist and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Ed Silverman / STAT:

Trump's lawyer pitched himself as a fixer to Novartis and got paid $1.2 million — T — he curious relationship between one of the world's biggest drug makers and President Trump's personal lawyer began early last year when Michael Cohen, a longtime fixer for the president …

Justin Elliott / ProPublica:

Russian Oligarch-Linked Firm That Paid Michael Cohen Was Also Represented by Trump Lawyer Marc Kasowitz — The news on Tuesday that the same shell company that Michael Cohen, a longtime personal lawyer for Donald Trump, had used to pay $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels had also received …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Times, USA Today, The Week, Washington Press, Axios, Washington Post, ThinkProgress and American Prospect

Wall Street Journal:
Trump Lawyer Helped Recruit Corporate Client With Ties to Kushner Probe

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Press, Breitbart and New York Times

NBC News:
Michael Cohen says Stormy Daniels' lawyer mixed him up with namesakes

Discussion: Breitbart

CNN: US firm scrubs website, distancing itself from Russian oligarch

Eli Rosenberg / Washington Post:
Russia-linked company that hired Michael Cohen registered alt-right websites during election

Discussion: The Week, Crooked Media, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Monthly and The Hill

Helen Branswell / STAT:
WHO officials fear latest Ebola outbreak in Congo could spread to big cities

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Atlantic and twitchy.com

Axios:
The Michael Cohen avalanche

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times and Political Wire

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Trump is no longer the worst person in government … Donald Trump, with his feral cunning, knew. The oleaginous Mike Pence, with his talent for toadyism and appetite for obsequiousness, could, Trump knew, become America's most repulsive public figure. And Pence, who has reached this pinnacle …

Discussion: Contemptor

mccain.senate.gov:

STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON THE NOMINATION OF GINA HASPEL TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE 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 nomination of Gina Haspel to be Director of the CIA:

Discussion: Axios, Joe.My.God., New York Times, HuffPost, Raw Story, New York Magazine, CNN, Washington Times, The Week, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Tom Cotton bests Ted Cruz as the most-disliked lawmaker

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and Clayton Cramer

The Hill:
McCain urges Senate to reject Haspel's nomination

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Charlie Mahtesian / Politico:

Why the Democrats Just Lost the Senate — While Nancy Pelosi is shopping for speaker's gavels, Chuck Schumer should be preparing for another term as minority leader. — For Democrats, the Don Blankenship dream is over. The coal-mining baron and ex-con was a pleasant diversion …

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Donald Trump Jr. plans big midterm role

Discussion: Political Wire and Joe.My.God.

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Trump calls Blankenship after pushing for his loss in West Virginia

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Axios: How Trump is reshaping the courts

Doug Donovan / Baltimore Sun:

Baltimore County Executive, Democratic candidate for governor Kevin Kamenetz dies — Kevin Kamenetz, Baltimore County Executive and Democratic candidate for governor died this morning of cardiac arrest. — Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz — a Democratic candidate for governor …

Discussion: Washington Post and Political Wire

Emily Smith / Page Six:

Don Jr. moving on from Vanessa with Fox host Kimberly Guilfoyle — Amid his divorce from his wife of 12 years, Donald Trump Jr. has started dating stunning Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle. — Multiple sources exclusively tell Page Six that Don Jr. and Guilfoyle, a co-host of “The Five …

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Washington Press, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Gideon Resnick / The Daily Beast:

McCain Confirms He Gave Trump Dossier to Comey: ‘Duty Demanded I Do’ It … In his new book, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) confirms that he gave a controversial dossier about President Trump to former FBI chief James Comey. — “I agreed to receive a copy of what is now referred to as 'the dossier …

Discussion: Washington Press, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times and Mediaite

Lauren Gambino / The Guardian:
John McCain warns that Republicans are on wrong side of immigration debate

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, The Hill and Big League Politics

Peter Hamby / Vanity Fair:

“People Get Subpoenas, Shit Gets Real”: What John Edwards Should Teach the Media About Covering Trump — If you were in Las Vegas and could win $1 million by placing a simple prop bet on whether Trump enjoyed some pee play with Russian hookers in Moscow in 2013, would you bet yes or no?

Associated Press:

Pence says it's time for Mueller to wrap it up — WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence says it's time for special counsel Robert Mueller to conclude his probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. — He says: “In the interests of the country, I think it's time to wrap it up.”

Discussion: Political Wire and Joe.My.God.

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Pence on Mueller probe: 'It's time to wrap it up'

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast and Joe.My.God.

Josh Lederman / Associated Press:

‘Defective at its core’: How Trump opted to scrap Iran deal — WASHINGTON (AP) — It was all there on paper in black and white, down to the precise number of centrifuges: the terms of a potential “fix” that President Donald Trump had demanded for the United States to stay in the Iran nuclear deal.

Politico:
How Europe can save the Iran deal

Discussion: ABC News, One America News Network and Breitbart

CNNMoney:

Salem executives pressured radio hosts to cover Trump more positively, emails show — Executives at Salem Media Group, a conservative media company that syndicates some of the country's most recognized talk radio hosts and operates a batch of popular commentary websites …

Discussion: Splinter, Philly.com, Patterico's Pontifications, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Politico:

Adelson gives $30 million to help GOP save the House — The donation to the Congressional Leadership Fund is a big boost to Republicans facing a tough midterm environment. — Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has cut a $30 million check to the House GOP-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund …

Discussion: Political Wire and Washington Times

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:

Eric Greitens takes aim at Republicans, leaves liberal measures on midterm ballot — Embattled Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, a Republican, is declining to block from the November ballot three initiatives that could boost Democratic turnout in the midterm. — Greitens faces possible impeachment …

CNN:

CNN poll: Democrats' 2018 advantage is nearly gone — CNN Poll: Trump approval holding steady — Washington (CNN)The generic congressional ballot has continued to tighten, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, with the Democrats' edge over Republicans within the poll's margin of sampling error for the first time this cycle.