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5:55 PM ET, July 11, 2018

Top Items:

When Trump attacked Germany in Brussels, his aides pursed their lips and glanced away — President Trump kicked off his trip to Europe with a biting critique of the United States' longtime allies, declaring at a breakfast meeting that Germany “is captive to Russia.”

Discussion: CNN, Bustle, CNBC, WGN-TV and Mediaite

Washington Post:

Trump says Germany ‘is captive to Russia’ in fiery opening salvo against NATO — BRUSSELS — President Trump unleashed a blistering attack Wednesday on Germany and other NATO allies, wasting no time to take the offensive before a week of high-stakes diplomacy on both sides of the former Cold War divide.

Bloomberg:

Trump Urges Doubling Target for Arms Budgets to 4%: NATO Update — U.S. president accuses Germany of being ‘captive of Russia’ — Back in the U.S., his comments drew criticism from lawmakers — Donald Trump is on the offensive as leaders gathered at a two-day North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, IJR, Associated Press, Common Dreams, Reuters, Task & Purpose and The Daily Caller

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

This remarkable exchange at NATO perfectly captures Trump's ugly bad faith — THE MORNING PLUM: — This morning, at the NATO summit, President Trump got into an extended dust-up with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and the exchange generating the headlines is the one in which Trump ripped …

Discussion: New York Times, Anchorage Daily News and IJR

Washington Post: ‘Rubbing salt in the wounds’: Trump won't take yes for an answer at NATO

Associated Press: No shove, but Trump body language speaks to frosty relations

John Haltiwanger / Business Insider:
White House claims John Kelly looked ‘displeased’ …

Discussion: AOL

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Worried about Russia? Then Keep an Eye on Germany's Former Chancellor

Discussion: Atlantic Council, Daily Wire and Axios

Meridith McGraw / ABC News:
Trump issues blistering attacks on Germany at NATO breakfast: ‘Germany is controlled by Russia’

Discussion: Axios, Politico, twitchy.com, IJR, Washington Press and The Daily Caller

CNN:
Corker: Trump rhetoric ‘diminishing’ American leadership around the world

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Tennessean.com and Townhall

Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump to watch military parade at Windsor Castle

Discussion: The Hill and Taylor Marsh

Katie Benner / New York Times:

Rosenstein Asks Prosecutors to Help With Kavanaugh Papers in Unusual Request — WASHINGTON — Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, has asked federal prosecutors to help review the government documents of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court nominee …

Discussion: Axios, Talking Points Memo, Law & Crime, Common Dreams, Mashable, Media Matters for America and Weekly Standard

Axios:

Joe Manchin: Brett Kavanaugh “has all the right qualities” — Red state Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who will cast a key vote during Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation process, said on Talkline Communications radio Wednesday that Kavanaugh “has all the right qualities” …

Discussion: YouTube, Breitbart, Political Wire and Power Line

Washington Post:
The elite world of Brett Kavanaugh

Discussion: CityLab

Cameron Cawthorne / Washington Free Beacon:
Manchin Praises SCOTUS Nominee Kavanaugh for Having ‘All The Right Qualities’ to Be Confirmed

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Susan B. Anthony List and IJR

Monica Hesse / Washington Post: What men are trying to say when they show off their Female Relationship Résumé

David French / National Review:
An Open Letter from Yale Law Students Illustrates the Decline of the Radical Legal Mind

Discussion: BostonGlobe.com, Breitbart and The College Fix

Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
Brett Kavanaugh Was a Mistake

Discussion: National Review, NewsBusters, SCOTUSblog, Latest - Truthout, Washington Post and Rewire.News

Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times:
Judge Kavanaugh's Former Clerks: Diverse, and Deployed to Vouch for Him

Discussion: Washington Post and MSNBC

Matt Naham / Law & Crime:

Judge to Manafort: Don't Worry, the Jail You're Going to Knows How to Handle Terrorists, Traitors and Spies — The legal saga of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort took another turn Wednesday as Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) Judge T.S. Ellis has denied his bid to stay put at the jail he is currently residing at.

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Mueller team listening to Manafort's jail phone calls — Contrary to his lawyers' court filings, the former Trump campaign chairman says he's being treated like a ‘VIP’ in prison. — Paul Manafort may not be a free man. But the former Donald Trump campaign chairman's jail conditions are hardly the stuff of Alcatraz.

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Paul Manafort to be moved from jail where prosecutors say he has ‘VIP’ treatment

Discussion: Political Wire

New York Times:

Battling Fake Accounts, Twitter to Slash Millions of Followers — Twitter will begin removing tens of millions of suspicious accounts from users' followers on Thursday, signaling a major new effort to restore trust on the popular but embattled platform. — The reform takes aim at a pervasive form of social media fraud.

Discussion: Twitter, New Republic, Breitbart, Vox, CBS Los Angeles, The Verge and The FADER, more at Techmeme »

Elizabeth Dwoskin / Washington Post: Trump, Obama and other high-profile Twitter users could see a ‘significant drop’ …

Colleen Long / Associated Press:

Border Protection says NYC mayor crossed border illegally — WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his security detail violated both Mexican and U.S. immigration laws by crossing the border on foot during a visit near El Paso, Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection alleges …

Discussion: Daily Wire, Washington Free Beacon, National Review, The Daily Caller, HuffPost, Bustle, Townhall, TheBlaze, Splinter and Axios

Pew Research Center:

Obama Tops Public's List of Best President in Their Lifetime, Followed by Clinton, Reagan — Reagan is top choice among Boomers, Silents — When asked which president has done the best job in their lifetimes, more Americans name Barack Obama than any other president.

Discussion: The Hill, Vox, Bustle, The Daily Caller, IJR, POLITICUSUSA, Axios and Mediaite

Los Angeles Times:

Papa John's founder reportedly used racial slur in conference call — A media agency working with Papa John's International Inc. decided to cut ties after the pizza maker's founder and chairman, John Schnatter, allegedly used a racial slur and graphic descriptions of violence against minorities …

Noah Kirsch / Forbes:
Papa John's Founder Allegedly Used N-Word On Conference Call

Discussion: Insider Louisville, TheBlaze, CNBC, CBS Boston, San Bernardino Sun, Mashable, fox8.com, WIS-TV, ProFootballTalk, theGrio, WREG-TV, ThinkProgress, BloombergQuint, Boing Boing, Towleroad, Eater and Mediaite

HuffPost:

Former Obama Officials Are Riding Out The Trump Years By Cashing In — The revolving door takes a spin. — The last 18 months have been difficult for former members of the Obama administration. They've been replaced by a regime, which, in the words of former Domestic Policy Council …

Discussion: Common Dreams

Daniella Greenbaum / Weekly Standard:

Here Is the Column That Business Insider Spiked — Defending an actress for being hired to do a job is apparently beyond the pale these days. … Scarlett Johansson is the latest target of the social-justice warrior mob. The actress is being chastised for, well, acting.

Discussion: Breitbart, CNNMoney and Washington Free Beacon

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Once partners, ‘Game Change’ authors feuding over their shattered franchise — Until their split last year, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann were the golden boys of American political journalism. Their collaboration led to a best-selling book about the 2008 presidential campaign, “Game Change …

Discussion: Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

House passes resolution in support of NATO by unanimous voice vote — The House on Wednesday unanimously passed a resolution expressing support for NATO as President Trump — roiled allies with escalating calls for increased spending from alliance members.

Discussion: IJR

Calvin Woodward / Associated Press:
AP FACT CHECK: Trump keeps promoting myth about NATO debt

Discussion: Althouse

Drew Wilson / Florida Politics:

Vern Buchanan bought yacht after voting for GOP tax bill — A recently filed financial disclosure shows U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan celebrated the Republican Party's successful push for tax reform in quite the lavish way. — According to the disclosure, Buchanan spent between $1 million …

David Corn / Mother Jones:

While America Sleeps: Trump's Treachery and the Russia Scandal — With a summit ahead, Trump works with Putin to cover up Moscow's attack on the US. … Listen to David discuss the president's cover-up of the Russia scandal on the Mother Jones Podcast. — In 1938, Winston Churchill published …

Discussion: The Nation, Hullabaloo, Defense News and TheStreet

Mike Snider / USA Today:

Nabbed at airport, ex-Apple engineer was fleeing with secrets to self-driving cars, FBI says — Most new cars come with a range of connected options, from Bluetooth to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Here's how to distinguish among them and how to determine what you need. Kim Komando, Special for USA TODAY

Discussion: Washington Post, Engadget and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Carrie Johnson / NPR:

Senate Confirms New Boss For Justice Department Criminal Division — The Senate voted 51-48 on Wednesday to confirm Brian Benczkowski as an assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, ending an 18-month delay in which its Criminal Division operated without a permanent leader.

BuzzFeed:

The Professor At The Center Of The Trump-Russia Probe Was A No-Show In Court — At a hearing in Palermo, Italy, Joseph Mifsud was described as “a ghost.” — Reporting From Palermo, Italy — PALERMO, Italy — Joseph Mifsud, the mysterious professor at the center of the Trump-Russia probe, was due in court in Italy on Wednesday.

Jonathan Clegg / Wall Street Journal:

Croatia Stuns England in Extra Time to Advance to World Cup Final — Mario Mandzukic's 109th-minute shot into the left corner of the net sealed a 2-1 comeback win — MOSCOW—Rewriting history isn't supposed to be easy. — But from the moment they arrived at the 2018 World Cup …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Mary Ellen Klas / miamiherald:

Rick Scott and family made $550M in one transaction. How ‘blind’ is his blind trust? — TALLAHASSEE — The reason Gov. Rick Scott's net income rose 55 percent in 2017 has to do with electric cars, China partnerships, a company turnaround, and a single transaction that resulted …

Sean T. Collins / The Outline:

The only good online fandom left is Dune — As corporations take control of nerd culture, science fiction's most esoteric epic remains gloriously untamed. — Escapism in the year 2018 is a strange thing. If you want to refresh a brain beshitted by weeks and months of workaday corruption and brutality …

Deirdre Shesgreen / USA Today:

Top Democrat Linda Sanchez says it's time for ‘generational change’ in dig at Nancy Pelosi — WASHINGTON — A top House Democrat said Wednesday it was time for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and her two long-time deputies to step aside and make way for a younger generation of leaders.

Discussion: Townhall

Zaid Jilani / The Intercept:

Health Care Blunder Reveals Michigan Candidate for Governor's “Progressive” Branding is False Advertising — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's unexpected victory has made it clear that the progressive movement activated by Bernie Sanders in 2016 is far from dead. — Policies like single-payer health care …

Alan Blinder / New York Times:

Alabama Moves to Ban Sheriffs from Pocketing Jail Food Money — Alabama's governor has cut off a gravy train for the state's sheriffs: the unspent money for prisoners' meals that the sheriffs have long been allowed to keep for themselves. — The practice, born of a bickered-over ambiguity in a state law …

Discussion: Political Wire

Stephanie Ebbs / ABC News:

New EPA chief Andrew Wheeler ‘not ashamed’ of his work for coal company — In his first official remarks to employees since taking over after Scott Pruitt's resignation, Andrew Wheeler, the acting head of the Environmental Protection Agency, told career employees Wednesday he is “not at all ashamed” of his past work for a coal company.

Discussion: Politico and Washington Post