memeorandum: The House is voting on immigration Thursday. No one seems to know what's going on. (Tara Golshan/Vox)

9:50 AM ET, June 21, 2018

Top Items:

Donald J. Trump / The White House:

Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation — By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., it is hereby ordered as follows: — Section 1.

Associated Press:

Trump defends his hard-line immigration policies to cheers — DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Hours after reversing himself to end the forced separations of migrant families, President Donald Trump returned to the warm embrace of his supporters at a raucous rally to defend his hard-line immigration policies …

Discussion: Power Line, Washington Post, Star Tribune, New Republic and Raw Story

Eliana Johnson / Politico:
The day Trump caved — In the face of protests at airports across …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, New York Times, Sean Hannity, The Daily Beast, ABC News and Axios, more at Mediagazer »

Ted Hesson / Politico:
Family separations will persist under Trump's order

Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News, HuffPost and Lawfare

Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Trump's Executive Order on Family Separation, Explained

Discussion: Mother Jones, Conservative Review and Daily Kos

Associated Press:

Young immigrants detained in Virginia center allege abuse — WASHINGTON (AP) — Immigrant children as young as 14 housed at a juvenile detention center in Virginia say they were beaten while handcuffed and locked up for long periods in solitary confinement, left nude and shivering in concrete cells.

Discussion: twitchy.com, Splinter, Daily Kos and Raw Story

New York Times:

In Trump's America, the Conversation Turns Ugly and Angry, Starting at the Top — WASHINGTON — President Trump has railed against undocumented immigrants in recent days, branding many of them “murderers and thieves” who want to “infest our country.” Not long ago, he referred to them as …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, USA Today, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NPR, New Republic and Raw Story

Washington Post:

Repugnant — REP. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, a Florida Republican, is no bomb-thrower or name- caller. But when President Trump this week said immigrants would “infest” the United States, she called the comment “repugnant, reprehensible and repulsive.” — We also try not to toss insults around.

Discussion: New York Times, The Guardian and Law & Crime

Haaretz:

Sara Netanyahu Charged With Fraud for Ordering $100k Worth of Meals From Gourmet Chefs — The prime minister's wife and a deputy director of the PM's Office are indicted for violating regulations barring the ordering of meals when a cook is on the residence's staff

Discussion: Townhall and NPR

The Times of Israel: Sara Netanyahu indicted for fraudulently charging $100,000 in meals to the state

Yonah Jeremy Bob / Jerusalem Post:
Sara Netanyahu indicted for falsely charging state $100k for meals

Discussion: Fox News and The Week

Tara Golshan / Vox:

The House is voting on immigration Thursday. No one seems to know what's going on. — House Republicans didn't know what was in their “compromise” immigration bill the day before the vote. — House Republicans are in a state of chaos over immigration. — Lawmakers are slated …

Discussion: The Right Scoop, Axios, Balloon Juice and Talking Points Memo

Jake Sherman / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Big day in the House, as Trump's sway is put up for a test on immigration

Discussion: The Week, Vox, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Hot Air

Lindsey McPherson / Roll Call:
GOP Chaos, Confusion Ahead of Thursday Immigration Votes

Discussion: Townhall

Politico:

Trump administration to seek merger of Education, Labor departments — The Trump administration plans to advocate a merger of the Education and Labor departments as part of a sweeping government overhaul, according to two individuals familiar with the proposal who declined to be named because it's not yet public.

Discussion: National Review, CNN, Talking Points Memo and Politics K-12

Michelle Hackman / Wall Street Journal:
White House to Propose Merging Education, Labor Departments

Discussion: Townhall, Washington Post, MSNBC, The Week, Outside the Beltway, Politico, The Right Scoop, CNBC, Splinter and Axios

New York Times: Trump to Propose Government Reorganization, Targeting Safety Net Programs

Ross Ramsey / The Texas Tribune:

UT/TT Poll: Most Texas voters oppose family separation at the border, with greater support among men and Republicans — Male Republicans support separating families trying to cross illegally into the U.S. from Mexico, but most other groups — and Texas voters overall — do not …

Grace Sparks / CNN: CNN Poll: Support for Democrats ticks up and they retain enthusiasm advantage

Ari Bevacqua / The New York Times Company:

Michelle Alexander Joins The New York Times Opinion Pages as Columnist — Today The New York Times announced that Michelle Alexander will join the Opinion pages as a columnist in September. — James Bennet, New York Times editorial page editor, said, “Michelle is the author of …

The Intercept:

Scott Pruitt Has Spent a Total of $4.6 Million on Security, New Disclosures Show — Including $1,500 on “Tactical Pants” — Scandal-plagued Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has now spent more than $4.6 million from public coffers on security, according to documents obtained …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Splinter, HuffPost, ABC News and Mother Jones

Nikki Schwab / New York Post:

Protester yells ‘fascist’ at Stephen Miller dining in Mexican restaurant — SEE ALSO — Maybe grab a burger next time. — White House adviser Stephen Miller was accosted at a Mexican restaurant by a patron calling him a “fascist” — two nights before Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen …

Joe Simonson / The Daily Caller:
Socialist Activist Who Harassed Homeland Security Secretary Works For The Department Of Justice

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Instapundit, Washington Times, The Right Scoop, Power Line, Weasel Zippers and twitchy.com

Michael Isikoff / Yahoo:

Obama cyber chief confirms ‘stand down’ order against Russian cyberattacks in summer 2016 — WASHINGTON — The Obama White House's chief cyber official testified Wednesday that proposals he was developing to counter Russia's attack on the U.S. presidential election were put on a “back burner” after he was ordered to "

Discussion: Althouse

Julian Borger / The Guardian:

No sign of North Korea dismantling nuclear weapons programme, Mattis admits — The US defence secretary, James Mattis, has said he is unaware of any steps taken by North Korea towards dismantling its nuclear weapons programme since the Singapore summit and does not expect any in the immediate future.

Discussion: Eurasia Review and Washington Post

Rebecca Kheel / The Hill:
Mattis ‘not aware’ of North Korea taking any steps to denuclearize

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Just Security and Al Jazeera English

Karson Yiu / ABC News:
N. Korea hails ‘unbreakable’ ties with China in Beijing meetings, while Kim Jong Un again calls …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Karl Vick / TIME:

A Reckoning After Trump's Border Separation Policy: What Kind of Country Are We? — Central American immigrants detained for possible separation in McAllen, Texas, on June 12 John Moore—Getty Images — Presidents have many jobs, and one is telling us who we are.

Discussion: Mother Jones, KFOR-TV and The Week

Valerie Richardson / Washington Times:

Starbucks burned by social-justice appeasement as growth stalls, stock plunges — Coffee giant to shutter 150 stores next year instead of 50 — Starbucks may have appeased progressives with its social-justice workshops and open-bathroom policy, but such moves have failed to caffeinate the company's bottom line.

Megan Brenan / Gallup:

Record-High 75% of Americans Say Immigration Is Good Thing — WASHINGTON, D.C. — A record-high 75% of Americans, including majorities of all party groups, think immigration is a good thing for the U.S. — up slightly from 71% last year. Just 19% of the public considers immigration a bad thing.

Discussion: Political Wire

The Daily Beast:

Ex-CIA Contractor Makes Millions Flying Immigrant Kids to Shelters … The Trump administration has been paying an intelligence contractor millions of dollars to to fly immigrant children to shelters across the United States. — MVM, Inc has a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide …

Discussion: New York Times, USA Today, Snopes.com, Arizona Republic, VICE News and IJR

Wall Street Journal:

Publisher of National Enquirer Subpoenaed in Michael Cohen Probe — Prosecutors eye whether company coordinated with ex-Trump lawyer on payment to bury affair allegation — Federal authorities have subpoenaed the publisher of the National Enquirer for records related to its $150,000 payment …

Discussion: CNNMoney, The Guardian, Washington Press, CNBC, Law & Crime, Raw Story, Washington Times, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

NBC News:

Tech companies quietly work with ICE as border crisis continues — The contracts highlight how technology companies are putting their innovations to work with the U.S. government in ways that are often not visible to the public. — Several high-profile data and tech companies have made millions …

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

How did Peter Strzok's notorious text stay hidden so long? — It was the most damaging of all the damaging texts exchanged between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. On Aug. 8, 2016, in the second week of the Trump-Russia investigation on which both were working, Page texted Strzok to say …

Michael R. Bloomberg / Bloomberg:

Michael Bloomberg: Why I'm Supporting Democrats in 2018 — Republicans in Congress have had almost two years to prove they could govern responsibly. They failed. — I've never much liked political parties. I've always believed that we should put country before party.

Discussion: New York Times, CNBC and Axios

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Trump says trade wars are ‘easy.’ Here come the first American casualties. — President Trump believes that “trade wars are good, and easy to win.” So he started one. — Now the casualties are beginning to return home from the battlefield, and on Capitol Hill Wednesday …

Discussion: Politico, MSNBC and CNN

PPNYC Action Fund:

New York State, Pass the CCCA and Preserve Our Health Care — Birth control is health care. Right now, New Yorkers don't have the health care we should have. It's time for the New York State Senate to pass the Comprehensive Contraception Coverage Act (CCCA) and safeguard affordable access …

David Wasserman / The Cook Political Report:

WV-03: Why a District Trump Won by 50 Points Is at Risk for GOP — A coal country district that voted 73 percent to 23 percent for President Trump might sound like mission impossible for Democrats. Yet this race could turn out be one of the wildest of the cycle.

Alexis C. Madrigal / The Atlantic:

Disposable America — A history of modern capitalism from the perspective of the straw. Seriously. — A straw is a simple thing. It's a tube, a conveyance mechanism for liquid. The defining characteristic of the straw is the emptiness inside it. This is the stuff of tragedy, and America.

CNN:

Jeff Flake threatens to block Trump's appellate court nominees over Cuba travel, tariffs — Trump reverses position on family separations — (CNN)Sen. Jeff Flake is warning that he may block votes on the nominations of all of President Donald Trump's pending appellate court nominees unless …

Discussion: MSNBC, The Daily Caller and Roll Call

Daniel Strauss / Politico:

McAuliffe hits the road to boost Democratic governors — and himself — The former Virginia governor has thrown himself into 2018 campaigning, gathering potential chits if he runs for president. — Terry McAuliffe is spending 2018 on a cross-country tour promoting the next generation …

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:

The King and Queen of Cruelty — You just can't construct prisons for babies. You can't rip children from mothers and fathers. You can't use the power of the American government to institute and oversee a program of state-sponsored child abuse. You can't have a system where the process …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon and Talking Points Memo

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Giuliani's act of love sets off GOP furor — The bizarre tale of the ex-New York mayor's support for an obscure House candidate in Louisiana. — Rudy Giuliani's love life is causing trouble for the White House. — In a move that blindsided the West Wing and sent Hill Republicans into a tizzy …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

TMZ.com:

Police Make Arrest in XXXTentacion Murder — EXCLUSIVE DETAILS — XXXTentacion's alleged murderer is in custody ... TMZ has confirmed. — The suspect's name is Dedrick D. Williams, and Broward County Sheriff's Dept. took the 22-year-old into custody Wednesday and booked him for first degree murder.

Discussion: The FADER, Law & Crime, WSVN-TV and The Root