memeorandum: Death toll climbs to 76 as heavy rains hammer southern Japan (Associated Press)

1:25 PM ET, July 8, 2018

Top Items:

Andrew Jacobs / New York Times:

U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding Resolution Stuns World Health Officials — A resolution to encourage breast-feeding was expected to be approved quickly and easily by the hundreds of government delegates who gathered this spring in Geneva for the United Nations-affiliated World Health Assembly.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Raw Story, Booman Tribune and Political Wire

New York Times:

McConnell Tries to Nudge Trump Toward Two Supreme Court Options — Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, told President Trump this past week that Judges Raymond M. Kethledge and Thomas M. Hardiman presented the fewest obvious obstacles to being confirmed to replace Justice Anthony M. Kennedy …

Discussion: Associated Press, HuffPost, Power Line, Reason, Breitbart, Bustle and Raw Story

New York Times:

Trump Giving a Fresh Look to Thomas Hardiman for Supreme Court — BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. — President Trump is expressing fresh interest in Judge Thomas M. Hardiman, the runner-up for last year's Supreme Court vacancy, as he pushes his decision on a replacement for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy …

Discussion: Political Wire

Cabot Phillips / Campus Reform:
VIDEO: Students hate Trump's SCOTUS pick... before he made it

Discussion: Power Line and Fox News Insider

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Graham: Supreme Court candidates ‘are all winners’

Discussion: ABC News, The Hill and ThinkProgress

Jenna Ellis / Washington Examiner: When they lose, Democrats just want to change the rules

Philip Elliott / TIME:
Inside Donald Trump's Supreme Court Deliberations

Discussion: TheBlaze and Daily Wire

Tim Dodson / Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Richmond bookstore owner says he called police after woman confronted Steve Bannon in his shop — A bookstore owner in Richmond said he called the police after a woman confronted Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist for President Donald Trump, in his shop Saturday.

Discussion: Joe.My.God., The Gateway Pundit, Bustle, Washington Times, RT, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Morgan Gstalter / The Hill:
Bookstore owner calls police after customer confronted Steve Bannon

Discussion: Daily Wire

The Guardian:

Thailand cave rescue: four boys taken to hospital; operation to resume later - live — First boy emerged at 5:40pm local time, operation chief confirms, as up to 90 divers are involved in getting the children to safety — Mattha Busby (now), Kate Lyons (earlier)

BBC:

Thailand cave rescue: Mission to save boys under way — Rescuers in Thailand have begun a hazardous operation to lead 12 boys and one adult out of a cave where they have been trapped for two weeks. — The group are stranded on a ledge 4km inside the Tham Luang cave but amid fears of rising waters …

Discussion: New York Post, Breitbart, Bustle, CBS News and Althouse

Los Angeles Times:
First four boys rescued from cave in northern Thailand, rushed to hospital

Discussion: CNN, Mother Jones and Daily Wire

Nick Wadhams / Bloomberg:

Inside Pompeo's Fraught North Korea Trip — Secretary of state struggled for clarity on visit's schedule — Regime issued harsh statement after Pompeo left country — As U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo touched down in Pyongyang at 10:54 a.m. on Friday he had few details …

Discussion: BloombergQuint

Washington Post:
Pompeo pushes back against North Korea's ‘gangster-like’ criticism

Discussion: Althouse

Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
After talks, NKorea accuses US of ‘gangster-like’ demands

Discussion: Bustle, Taylor Marsh, Japan Times, POLITICUSUSA and Daily Kos

ABC News:

Giuliani says Trump team has ‘zero’ concerns about Cohen: 'As long as he tells the truth, we're... home free' — President Donald Trump's personal attorney said he's not worried about what Michael Cohen might tell federal prosecutors, saying, “As long as he tells the truth, we're ... home free.”

Discussion: CNN, Axios, Joe.My.God. and Breitbart

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Giuliani: Mueller probe ‘most corrupt investigation I have ever seen’

Discussion: Political Wire

Michael Goodwin / New York Post:

Is Hillary Clinton secretly planning to run in 2020? — The messages convey a sense of urgency, and are coming with increasing frequency. They are short, focused reactions to the latest “outrage” committed by President Trump. — Some end by asking for money, some urge participation in protests.

Discussion: Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Althouse and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Washington Post:

Trump is bent on wrecking NATO. Prepare for catastrophe. — U.S. AMBASSADOR to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison says “the overall theme” of this week's summit meeting in Brussels “is going to be NATO's strength and unity,” which is what it ought to be. There is considerable good news to celebrate …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Breitbart

Krishnadev Calamur / The Atlantic:
Trump's Message to NATO

Discussion: RT

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Health Insurers Warn of Market Turmoil as Trump Suspends Billions in Payments — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Saturday that it was suspending a program that pays billions of dollars to insurers to stabilize health insurance markets under the Affordable Care Act …

Discussion: TheBlaze, Reuters and Joe.My.God.

Astrid Galvan / Associated Press:

Kids as young as 1 in US court, awaiting reunion with family — PHOENIX (AP) — The 1-year-old boy in a green button-up shirt drank milk from a bottle, played with a small purple ball that lit up when it hit the ground and occasionally asked for “agua.” — Then it was the child's turn …

Washington Post:

Rep. Jim Jordan faces new accusation that he must have known about alleged sexual abuse at Ohio State — A seventh former Ohio State University wrestler said Saturday that he believes Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) knew about inappropriate behavior that allegedly took place in the school's athletic …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Florida Politics, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …, Hill Reporter, POLITICUSUSA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Towleroad, Raw Story and Mediaite

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
Seventh former Ohio State wrestler claims Jordan knew of alleged sexual abuse

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

The Guardian:

Revealed: Arron Banks met Russian ambassador 11 times — The Leave.EU founder was offered lucrative deals in talks with the envoy — Brexit's biggest funder, Arron Banks, met the Russian ambassador at least 11 times in the run-up to the EU referendum and in the two months beyond …

Martin Cizmar / Raw Story:

Devin Nunes calling for a ‘task force’ to investigate officials and activists who exposed Russian election meddling — California Republican Devin Nunes is doubling down on efforts to go after the people who investigated Donald Trump's collusion with Russia in the 2016 campaign, the Washington Times reports.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Washington Times and NewsWars

Courier-Journal:

Protesters confront Mitch McConnell over immigration on Bardstown Road — Provided by Andrew Massie, Louisville Courier Journal — A group of protesters confronted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Bardstown Road in Louisville Saturday, calling out “Abolish ICE,” before adding they know where he lives.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, HuffPost, USA Today, Balloon Juice, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God., thenewcivilrightsmovement.com and Mediaite

Morgan Gstalter / The Hill:
Protesters confront McConnell leaving Kentucky restaurant

Discussion: NewsWars and The Right Scoop

Danielle Ohl / capitalgazette.com:

‘Wendi Winters saved my life’: Capital Gazette staff say their fallen colleague charged the shooter — Capital Gazette reporter Wendi Winters has been identified as victim of a shooting at the newspaper. — dohl@capgaznews.com — When a man with a shotgun shattered the glass door …

Discussion: Politico, Law & Crime, The Daily Caller and Althouse