memeorandum: Fox News' Howard Kurtz on Trump-CNN Flap: Jim Acosta Was ‘Trying to Hijack the Question’ (Josh Feldman/Mediaite)

5:55 PM ET, July 15, 2018

Top Items:

“I think the European Union is a foe,” Trump says ahead of Putin meeting in Helsinki — Coming off a contentious NATO summit and a trip to the U.K. in which he seemed to undercut the government of America's closest ally, President Trump took aim at another Western institution just days …

Discussion: Vox, Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Politico, AOL and The Week

Quint Forgey / Politico:

Rand Paul on Russian election meddling: ‘We all do it’ — Sen. Rand Paul on Sunday sought to justify Russia's interference in America's 2016 presidential race, claiming that all countries meddle in foreign elections. — “I think really we mistake our response if we think it's about accountability from the Russians.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, CNN, The Week, Breitbart and New York Times

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:

‘I find it hard to believe’ Putin didn't know about Russian interference in U.S. election: White House national security adviser — President Donald Trump's top national security adviser said he finds it “hard to believe” Vladimir Putin didn't know about top Russian military intelligence …

Discussion: Axios, Politico, The Hill, The Daily Beast, Hot Air and Breitbart

CBS News:

Trump on Putin meeting: “I go in with low expectations” — President Trump is keeping expectations in check in advance of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to an interview with “CBS Evening News” anchor Jeff Glor. “I go in with low expectations,” Mr. Trump said.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, The Guardian, Bustle, Joe.My.God., Law & Crime, HuffPost, ABC News, ThinkProgress, Washington Times, The Week, One America News Network, TheBlaze and Mediaite

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

Putin must wonder what else America knows about Russia — When Russian President Vladimir Putin sits down at the table in Helsinki on Monday, he will surely have in the back of his mind some intelligence worries that have nothing to do with the U.S. president seated across from him.

Emily Stewart / Vox:
Theresa May says Donald Trump told her to sue the European Union

Discussion: Axios, One America News Network and Breitbart

Emily Tillett / CBS News:
Gowdy to Trump: Ask Putin where “we can pick up the 25 Russians” indicted in Mueller probe

Discussion: Mother Jones, Bustle, Political Wire and ABC News

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Why Trump gives Putin a pass on Mueller revelations

Discussion: IJR and The Guardian

Brett Samuels / The Hill: Rand Paul on Russia indictments: We should focus on protecting elections instead of ‘witch hunt on the president’

New York Times:
Just Sitting Down With Trump, Putin Comes Out Ahead

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Outside the Beltway

BBC:
Theresa May: Trump told me to sue the EU

Discussion: Mother Jones, Bustle, CNN, Joe.My.God., POLITICUSUSA, NPR, Financial Times, Washington Times and Washington Post

New York Times:
On Eve of Talks, Trump Congratulates Putin and Calls E.U. a Trade ‘Foe’

Discussion: USA Today, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Jamie Dupree - AJC and Vox

Daily Mail:
My deal is the only Brexit deal …

Discussion: Bloomberg, BloombergQuint and The Guardian

Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times:

Kevin de León wins endorsement of California Democrats in rebuke of Dianne Feinstein … California Democratic Party leaders took a step to the left Saturday night, endorsing liberal state lawmaker Kevin de León for Senate over Democratic icon Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Discussion: Power Line, The Intercept, Mercury News, Conservative News Today, HuffPost, The Gateway Pundit, Common Dreams, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, RedState and TheBlaze

Associated Press:
California Democratic Party snubs Feinstein, endorses rival

Discussion: KQED, Breitbart, Daily Wire and Axios

Politico:
Feinstein gets progressive smackdown

Discussion: New York Times, CALmatters, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway and Kevin de León for Senate

Molly Hensley-Clancy / BuzzFeed: Democratic Voters Want To See A Fight Against Brett Kavanaugh. Democratic Officials Worry There's Not Much To Do.

Taryn Luna / Sacramento Bee: California Democrats endorse de León for US Senate race, snubbing Feinstein

New York Times:

Warren is Preparing for 2020. So Are Biden, Booker, Harris and Sanders. — RENO, Nev. — During a campaign-style tour of the West late last month, Senator Elizabeth Warren did not announce she was running for president. But in private events and public speeches, her message about 2020 was as clear as it was rousing.

Discussion: twitchy.com and Althouse

Ben Jacobs / The Guardian: Iowa awaits Democratic presidential hopefuls - but pickings are slim

YouTube:

Who Is America? (2018) | First Look | Sacha Baron Cohen SHOWTIME Series … WHO IS AMERICA? is a half-hour series from comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, in his return to series television for the first time in more than a decade in the genre he created first in Da Ali G Show.

Discussion: The Guardian, Bustle, Breitbart and Talking Points Memo

Jill Serjeant / Reuters:

U.S. lawmakers shown backing fake kindergarten gun scheme in Sacha Baron Cohen satire — LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In Sacha Baron Cohen's provocative new comedy show, American politicians are filmed backing a fictitious program to teach kindergartners how to use guns to defend themselves in school shootings.

Discussion: Raw Story

Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast: Sacha Baron Cohen Convinces GOP Congressmen to Arm Toddlers in ‘Who Is America?’ Premiere

Eleanor Busby / The Independent:

Elon Musk calls British diver who helped rescue Thai schoolboys ‘pedo guy’ in Twitter outburst — ‘Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it’ — POPULAR VIDEOS — Elon Musk has called a British diver who helped rescue schoolboys from a flooded cave in Thailand ‘pedo guy’ on Twitter.

Discussion: Breitbart, Joe.My.God., Mashable and Mediaite

Zeynep Tufekci / New York Times:
What Elon Musk Should Learn From the Thailand Cave Rescue

Discussion: The Tracinski Letter and The Guardian

The Daily Beast:

White House Retaliates Against CNN by Cancelling Interview — The White House cancelled an interview with CNN in retaliation for an interaction between President Trump and a network reporter at a press conference in London. CNN had secured an interview with national security adviser John Bolton …

Discussion: Raw Story, HuffPost and Conservative News Today, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Fox News' Howard Kurtz on Trump-CNN Flap: Jim Acosta Was ‘Trying to Hijack the Question’

Discussion: Daily Wire, Daily Kos and The Hill

Cindy Chang / Los Angeles Times:

Judge orders L.A. Times to alter story about Glendale cop, sparking protest from newspaper — A federal judge on Saturday ordered the Los Angeles Times to remove information from an article that described a plea agreement between prosecutors and a Glendale police detective accused of working …

Discussion: Reason and KTLA, more at Mediagazer »

The Times & The Sunday Times:

Royal family ‘snub’ Donald Trump during UK visit — Queen left to go it alone as Charles and William avoid president — Prince Charles and Prince William were unwilling to meet Donald Trump on his visit to Britain, leaving the Queen to greet the US president alone.

Discussion: Sputnik International, Bustle, The Week, Joe.My.God., IJR, AOL, Raw Story, Politico and Daily Mail

Maura Lerner / Star Tribune:

He, she or ze? Pronouns could pose trouble under University of Minnesota campus policy — Draft policy would punish those who ignore personal pronoun preferences. — Using the wrong pronoun could turn into a firing offense at the University of Minnesota.

Discussion: RedState

John Hinderaker / Power Line: Gender Follies at the University of Minnesota

New York Times:

How Israel, in Dark of Night, Torched Its Way to Iran's Nuclear Secrets — TEL AVIV — The Mossad agents moving in on a warehouse in a drab commercial district of Tehran knew exactly how much time they had to disable the alarms, break through two doors, cut through dozens of giant safes …

Emily Ngo / Newsday:

The evolution of Kirsten Gillibrand — Gillibrand once held more conservative views on guns and immigration, but in her nine years as New York's junior senator, she has swung steadily to the left on those and other issues. — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand describes her shift from defender …

Alexandra Arriaga / Chicago Sun Times:

Black woman says CVS manager called police because she had wrong coupon — Camilla Hudson wanted to use a manufacturer's coupon at CVS on North Broadway on Friday night, but a manager who said he'd never seen a coupon like that called the police, she said in a Facebook post.

Discussion: Joe.My.God., The Root and WGN-TV

Masha Gessen / New Yorker:

World Cup 2018: The Moral Clarity of Pussy Riot's Protest — On Sunday, in the fifty-second minute of the final game of the World Cup, four women dressed in Russian police uniforms charged the field, briefly disrupting the match. They were members of the Russian protest-art group Pussy Riot.