memeorandum: NBC News poll: Most want vote on Trump Supreme Court nominee before midterms (Dartunorro Clark/NBC News)

1:35 PM ET, July 3, 2018

Top Items:

Corky Siemaszko / NBC News:

Powerful GOP Rep. Jim Jordan accused of turning blind eye to sexual abuse as Ohio State wrestling coach — “At the end of the day, he is absolutely lying if he says he doesn't know what was going on,” a former Ohio State wrestler said. — Rep. Jim Jordan, the powerful Republican congressman from Ohio …

New York Times:

Trump Administration Reverses Obama on Affirmative Action — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will encourage the nation's school superintendents and college presidents to adopt race-blind admissions standards, abandoning an Obama administration policy that called on universities …

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press, The Root, Joe.My.God., The Week, Political Wire and Althouse

Michelle Hackman / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Administration to Rescind Obama Guidelines on Race in College Admissions — Legal opinions from the former administration sought to help colleges consider race to promote diversity — WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is planning to rescind Tuesday a set of Obama-era policies …

Discussion: CNN, Power Line, HuffPost, IJR, The Daily Caller, KTLA and CNBC

Carrie Johnson / NPR:

Top Justice Department Lawyer Resigns, Latest To Step Down — Scott Schools, a top aide to the deputy attorney general, is planning to leave the Justice Department, according to two people familiar with his decision. — The job title for Schools — associate deputy attorney general …

Discussion: CNN, Talking Points Memo and Big League Politics

Dartunorro Clark / NBC News:

NBC News poll: Most want vote on Trump Supreme Court nominee before midterms — The survey also found most Democrats and independents said the next justice should be moderate, while 65 percent of Republicans want a conservative. — A majority of Americans believe the Republican-led Senate …

Discussion: Center for Public Integrity, Rasmussen Reports, Hit & Run, No More Mister Nice Blog, Conservative Review, The Daily Caller, Axios, Daily Wire, SCOTUSblog, National Review, New York Times and CBS News

Hugh Hewitt / Washington Post:
Here's who Trump should pick for the Supreme Court

Discussion: Refinery29, Politico, The Hill and ABC News

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Trump Isn't Remaking The Supreme Court. Leonard Leo Is.

Discussion: AOL, BloombergQuint and Common Dreams

David Lat / Above the Law:
The Supreme Court Sweepstakes: The Latest State Of Play — And The Case For Judge Kavanaugh

Discussion: The Guardian, Wall Street Journal and IJR

Eliana Johnson / Politico:
How Amy Coney Barrett vaulted onto Trump's Supreme Court shortlist

Discussion: Associated Press, The Daily Beast and Breitbart

Sam Stein / The Daily Beast:
Poll: Voters Want Trump's Supreme Court Pick to Limit Corporate Money in Politics, Not Abortion

Discussion: Common Dreams, Politico and One America News Network

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Trump: ‘If not for me,’ United States would be at war with North Korea — President Trump said Tuesday that the United States would be at war with North Korea without his efforts and that conversations with the nation's leaders are “going well” — an assessment at odds with recent reports …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Vox, Mediaite, Breitbart and One America News Network

Washington Post:

Ex-congressional IT staffer reaches plea deal that debunks conspiracy theories about illegal information access — Federal prosecutors concluded an 18-month investigation into a former congressional technology staffer on Tuesday by publicly debunking allegations — promoted by conservative media …

Discussion: twitchy.com and Townhall

John Bresnahan / Politico:
Ex-Dem IT staffer slammed by Trump pleads guilty to bank fraud

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Jessica Schneider / CNN:
Ex-House staffer, subject of conspiracy theories, pleads guilty to bank fraud charge

Discussion: Axios and Roll Call

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

New York Times Reassigns Reporter in Leak Case — Ali Watkins, the New York Times reporter whose email and phone records were secretly seized by the Trump administration, will be transferred out of the newspaper's Washington bureau and reassigned to a new beat in New York, The Times said on Tuesday.

Discussion: Townhall, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

New York Times reassigns reporter who dated Senate intelligence staffer at center of FBI probe — The New York Times demoted a reporter who acknowledged a romantic relationship with a Senate staffer who is suspected of leaking information to journalists. — Times editor Dean Baquet …

Washington Post:

Pruitt aides reveal new details of his spending and management at EPA — Two of Scott Pruitt's top aides provided fresh details to congressional investigators in recent days about some of his most controversial spending and management decisions, including his push to find a six-figure job …

Discussion: CNN, Splinter, New York Times, Mediaite, Daily Kos, HuffPost, CNBC, New Republic and Axios

CNN:

Whistleblower: EPA's Pruitt kept secret calendar to hide meetings — (CNN)EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and his aides have kept “secret” calendars and schedules to overtly hide controversial meetings or calls with industry representatives and others, according to a former EPA official who is expected to soon testify before Congress.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Wall Street Journal, Political Wire, Joe.My.God., AOL and Mediaite

Kristin Mink:
EPA head Scott Pruitt was 3 tables away as I ate lunch with my child.

Jessica Sidman / Washingtonian:
Mother With Her 2-Year-Old Confronts Scott Pruitt at a DC Restaurant

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Chicks On The Right and twitchy.com

emptywheel:

Putting a Face (Mine) to the Risks Posed by GOP Games on Mueller Investigation — I'd like to put a human face — my own — to the risk posed by GOP gamesmanship on the Mueller investigation. — Sometime last year, I went to the FBI and provided information on a person whom I had come …

Decatur Daily:

Triple homicide leaves ex-wife dead after protection request denied — Before she and two others were shot dead near Ardmore on Sunday, Debra Ann Rivera twice had asked a judge to order her ex-husband to surrender his guns because of alleged abuse. — The request was denied both times.

Discussion: Raw Story

Danielle Ohl / Baltimore Sun:

Trump declines request to lower flags in memory of Capital Gazette shooting victims — Mourners gathered in Annapolis to honor the five employees who were killed Thursday in a shooting at the Capital Gazette newsroom. Their names are Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters.

Discussion: Townhall, The White House, CNN, USA Today, IJR, Axios, WGN-TV, Politico, WPMT FOX43, NPR, AOL, New York Times, KTLA, Al Jazeera English, Outside the Beltway, Joe.My.God., CBS Chicago, Shareblue Media, Talking Points Memo, Splinter, Common Dreams, The Week, Mediaite, Washington Press, CBS Baltimore, HuffPost, Vox and Washington Times

John Wagner / Washington Post: Trump orders flags flown at half-staff to honor Capital Gazette victims

Ryan Gaydos / Fox News:

Walmart boycott campaign launched after outcry over ‘Impeach 45’ clothing — Walmart has found itself on the receiving end of a torrent of outrage after it was discovered Monday that the superstore was selling anti-Trump “Impeach 45” apparel on its website.

Discussion: Walmart.com, abc7.com, CBS Boston, Breitbart, Townhall, Conservative Post, Chicks On The Right, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

Dan Primack / Axios:

Trump's tweet on Harley-Davidson doesn't hold up — President Trump on Tuesday escalated his war of words with U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson, which recently announced plans to move some manufacturing overseas because of tariffs. — Now that Harley-Davidson is moving part …

Discussion: Politico, ThinkProgress, Associated Press, CNBC and MSNBC

Burgess Everett / Politico:

'I'd like to kill ‘em’: GOP takes on Trump tariffs — Republican lawmakers are losing their patience with the president's trade war, saying it's hurting their states and the party's chances in the midterms. — Republican senators are at their breaking point with Donald Trump's protectionist trade blitz.

Discussion: Washington Post and Talking Points Memo

CBS Philly:

Protests Turn Violent As Demonstrators Arrested In Front Of Philadelphia ICE Building — PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Protests turned violent as activists were taken into custody on the streets of Philadelphia on Tuesday as they were calling for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Kate Irby / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Congressman denied entry to California detention facility for children under age 14 — PLEASANT HILL — The cry of a child could be heard just inside the nondescript, brown detention facility in Pleasant Hill, California, a San Francisco suburb, and Rep. Jeff Denham wanted to see for himself what was inside.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Peter Hasson / The Daily Caller:

‘ABOLISH ICE’: Vandals Throw Brick Through Window Of GOP Office, Leave Graffiti Message — Vandals threw a brick through the window of the Nebraska Republican Party's headquarters in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Monday night, the party said Tuesday. — Republican staffers found a spray-painted message beneath …

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

Tom Arnold's Bonkers Strategy for Nailing Trump — The high-energy comedian says he knows exactly how to take down the president. Now, if he could only get his hands on one little tape. — BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.—The secret of every Donald Trump conspiracy theory—the ones he pushes …

Discussion: Raw Story

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:

First lady on secret trip to visit injured service members — WASHINGTON (AP) — Melania Trump has made another secret trip, though this one was carried out closer to home. — The first lady is visiting wounded service members at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:

Secret ‘Roe v. Wade’ Film Now Shooting in New Orleans (Exclusive) — Nick Loeb, famous for battling ex Sofia Vergara over frozen embryos, is co-directing a pro-life story of the landmark Supreme Court case, with a cast including conservative stars Jon Voight, Robert Davi and Stacey Dash.

Discussion: Louder With Crowder and Daily Wire

YouTube:

This Deported Mom Is Desperate To Get Her Children Back From The U.S. (HBO) … Nimia Morales had spent more than a decade trying to get a job as a teacher, and her husband Julio Cesar's job as a tailor was barely enough to cover food and rent, so they decided to take their four children to the United States …

Reuters:

Exclusive: China presses Europe for anti-U.S. alliance on trade — BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - China is putting pressure on the European Union to issue a strong joint statement against President Donald Trump's trade policies at a summit later this month but is facing resistance, European officials said.

Discussion: Axios, The Week and Political Wire

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

Donald Trump, the resistance, and the limits of normcore politics — There's no returning to a golden age of American democracy that never existed. — A rallying cry of the progressive left is to not “normalize” Donald Trump, and to stay vigilant in rejecting his lies, cruelty …

Jane C. Timm / NBC News:

Fact check: Trump say his border wall is under construction. It's not. — At a recent rally, Trump said supporters should chant “continue building that wall!” But in the past year, the government has only replaced existing fence. — When the crowd at President Donald Trump's South …

Scott MacFarlane / NBC4 Washington:

Man Assaulted Secret Service Officer Outside White House After Immigration Rally: Feds — A U.S. Secret Service officer was injured in an assault while on patrol outside the White House on Saturday shortly after the major immigration rally in Lafayette Park, according to newly filed federal court records.

Discussion: The Daily Caller