memeorandum: AP FACT CHECK: Tester did rank No. 1 in cash from lobbyists (Matthew Brown/Associated Press)

11:25 AM ET, September 11, 2018

Top Items:

U.S. officials suspect Russia in mystery ‘attacks’ on diplomats in Cuba, China — The strong suspicion that Russia was behind the alleged attacks is backed by signals intelligence, meaning intercepted communications, say U.S. officials. — WASHINGTON — Intelligence agencies investigating mysterious …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Babalú Blog and Political Wire

Mark Price / The Charlotte Observer:

‘Life-threatening’ Florence spawns first hurricane watches, could bring 30" of rain — The National Hurricane Center has issued its first Hurricane Watches for the east coast as Hurricane Florence continues its trek toward North Carolina. — The “extremely dangerous major hurricane” …

Discussion: NHC Atlantic Wallet 1, CBS 4, WPIX 11 New York and CBS Baltimore

Abbie Bennett / The Charlotte Observer:

What happens to NC's wild horses when a major hurricane like Florence hits? — North Carolina coastal residents are evacuating or battening down ahead of Hurricane Florence — at least the human ones. — READ MORE — The wild horses that make their homes on the coast of the Tar Heel state …

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, The Daily Beast and Corolla Wild Horse Fund

Bloomberg:

Hurricane Risks Include Toxic Sludge and Lagoons of Pig Manure — Flooding could unleash toxic waste left from power plants — North Carolina is major producer of hogs, turkeys, chickens — Hurricane Florence's potential for destruction also includes increased risks for the environment …

Discussion: BloombergQuint

Rachel Gutman / The Atlantic:
Hurricane Florence Could Be the Worst Storm to Ever Hit North of Florida

Discussion: AccuWeather.com, Bustle, Washington Post and Raleigh News & Observer

Tara Palmeri / ABC News:

Trump only trusts ‘much smaller’ group of aides in White House after op-ed, Donald Trump Jr. says — Amid explosive allegations that some White House officials are actively working against President Donald Trump's agenda, Donald Trump Jr. told ABC News the number of people in the White House …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Politico, The Daily Caller, Law & Crime, Splinter and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Allan Smith / INSIDER:
Trump reportedly exploded at his ex-lawyer after he heard Mueller was looking into his relationship …

Discussion: Common Dreams, Hullabaloo and New York Times

Joe DePaolo / Mediaite:
Don Jr. Claims NY Times Op-Ed Writer Committed Crime By ‘Subverting the Will of the People’

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

John Wagner / Washington Post: Donald Trump Jr. says his father can't trust everyone around him after the anonymous op-ed

Noemie Emery / Washington Examiner:

On the Supreme Court, Democrats finally get their just deserts 31 years later — Are you happy now, Teddy Kennedy? Are you happy, Joe Biden? Are you happy now, Harry Reid? It's due to the things that you did and said that Donald J. Trump is now naming his second Supreme Court justice in under two years in office.

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:

The Case for Michael Avenatti 2020 — Michael Avenatti should not be running for president. The exuberant attorney might have acquitted himself well representing Stormy Daniels in court — and the resistance's vindictive id on cable news — but the road to the White House shouldn't run through CNN's greenrooms.

Robert Reich / American Prospect: Kavanaugh Will Further Divide Us

Harry Enten / CNN:

It's not just CNN's poll. All polling shows Trump's approval rating dropping. — Poll: Trump approval drops amid op-ed, ‘Fear’ — (CNN)President Donald Trump's approval rating in the latest CNN poll stands at just 36%. That's a 6-point drop from 42% last month.

Discussion: Daily Kos

CNN:
CNN Poll: Trump approval down 6 points in a month, hits low among independents

Discussion: MSNBC, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, CNBC, Hot Air, Bustle, The Guardian, Hullabaloo, Axios and Balloon Juice

Joe Scarborough / Washington Post:

Trump is harming the dream of America more than any foreign adversary ever could — Cataclysmic events often bring with them violent and abrupt endings to settled ages and long-established norms. Those absorbing the impact of these historical aftershocks rarely grasp the epochal changes in real time.

Discussion: Breitbart, IJR, Conservative News Today, twitchy.com, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller and Eschaton

Alex Whiting / Just Security:
Why John Bolton vs. Int'l Criminal Court 2.0 is Different from Version 1.0

Discussion: The White House

President Donald J. Trump / The White House:
Protecting American Constitutionalism and Sovereignty from the International Criminal Court

Discussion: Breitbart

Roisin O'Connor / The Independent:

9/11 anniversary: On September 11, New Yorkers remember their favourite story about Steve Buscemi — Hollywood actor known for playing oddballs and gangsters originally trained as a firefighter — POPULAR VIDEOS — Seventeen years ago, on 11 September 2001, Hollywood actor Steve Buscemi …

Tim Sullivan / Fox News: New York City firefighter: How September 11, a day of tragedy, can be a day of inspiration 17 years later

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Did Brett Kavanaugh signal he supports ‘going after birth control’? — “Kavanaugh chooses his words very carefully, and this is a dog whistle for going after birth control. He was nominated for the purpose of taking away a woman's constitutionally protected right to make her own health care decisions.

Discussion: Althouse and National Review

Manuela Tobias / Politifact.com Truth-O-Meter rulings …:
Did Brett Kavanaugh call birth control abortion-inducing drugs? No

Discussion: Hot Air, Townhall, NTK Network, checkyourfact.com, Conservative News Today, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, Breitbart and National Review

The Hill:

Eight weeks out: Dems see narrow path to Senate majority — Eight weeks out from the midterm elections, both Republicans and Democrats find themselves with a path to a Senate majority. — For Democrats, it is a surprising development given this year's difficult political map …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Breitbart and The Resurgent

Joe Quinn / New York Times:

The Real Lesson of Sept. 11 — I went to war to avenge my brother's death. But the only person I truly wanted to kill died 17 years ago. — Mr. Quinn is a United States Army veteran. — It has taken me a while to realize something. — Seventeen years ago, I saw a picture of Mohamed Atta …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Shakesville

The Daily Beast:

Lindsey Graham's Under-the-Radar Push to Turn Trump Into a Defense Hawk — 'It's good versus evil. Good versus evil never ends.' — In September 2017, just days after President Donald Trump dubbed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “little rocket man,” the president assembled …

Discussion: Raw Story

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:

FBI Officials Discussed ‘Media Leak Strategy’ Ahead Of Major Trump-Russia Revelation — Peter Strzok sent Lisa Page a text message about “media leak strategy” during a key point in the Trump-Russia probe. — Strzok sent the message just before The Washington Post published a bombshell story …

Discussion: Washington Post, emptywheel, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters, Washington Times, Mediaite, AOL, Sara A. Carter and Townhall

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:
The FBI's anti-Trump “leak strategy”

Discussion: Washington Post and The Gateway Pundit

Coral Davenport / New York Times:

Trump Administration Wants to Make It Easier to Release Methane Into Air — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration, taking its third major step this year to roll back federal efforts to fight climate change, is preparing to make it significantly easier for energy companies to release methane into the atmosphere.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, CNN, Political Wire, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Common Dreams, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, AOL, The Daily Caller and POLITICUSUSA

Kevin Doyle / Independent.ie:

US President Donald Trump cancels controversial planned visit to Ireland — US President Donald Trump has cancelled his visit to Ireland planned for later this year, Independent.ie understands. — Sources say the controversial trip, planned for November 12, will not now go ahead.

Peter Hasson / The Daily Caller:

Bob Woodward Has A Trail Of Accuracy Issues That Nobody Is Talking About — Bob Woodward's new book “Fear” presents a scathing depiction of President Donald Trump's administration. — Woodward has a muddy history with a trail of allegations that he embellished the truth or otherwise misled his readers.

David M. Drucker / Vanity Fair:

“The House Is Already Lost”: As the Midterms Approach, G.O.P. Insiders Prepare for an Electoral D-Day — Inside the swamp, Republican operatives have already made their peace with losing the House. But the coming Democratic wave won't affect all Republicans equally, purging moderates and leaving only Trump loyalists behind.

Amy Gardner / Washington Post:

Voter backlash to Trump, bathroom law has put conservative N.C. legislature in play. — APEX, N.C. — The owner of a small vodka distillery near this traditionally Republican enclave in suburban Raleigh says he is so fed up with GOP leadership in the state capital that he took leave from his job to try to defeat a state senator.

Discussion: Spectator USA

Jake Rudnitsky / Bloomberg:

Russian General Challenges Putin Critic to a Duel — National Guard chief threatens to beat Navalny to a pulp — Navalny accused Zolotov's force of corruption last month — The head of Russia's National Guard has thrown down the gauntlet to opposition leader Alexey Navalny by challenging him to a duel.

Discussion: Politico and One America News Network

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:

Ahead of the Primary, Cuomo Administration Offered Sweeteners to Get New Bridge Open — The administration of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo offered the contractor building the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge enticements to meet a late August deadline to open, including the possibility of absorbing extra costs …

Discussion: Vox, Splinter and Eschaton

Elena Schneider / Politico:

‘Something has actually changed’: Women, minorities, first-time candidates drive Democratic House hopes — A flood of women, minorities and first-time candidates is poised to radically alter the composition of Congress next year after winning Democratic primaries in record numbers in 2018.

Discussion: Washington Post

Jonathan Oosting / Detroit News:

Poll: Whitmer leads Schuette by comfortable edge in Michigan governor's race — Lansing — Democrat Gretchen Whitmer holds a comfortable lead over Republican Bill Schuette in the Michigan governor's race and is doing a better job attracting critical independent voters, according to a new statewide poll conducted last week.

Timothy Bella / Washington Post:

'And now it's the tallest': Trump, in otherwise somber interview on 9/11, couldn't help touting one of his buildings — “Donald Trump is on the line.” — It was the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001, at WWOR's station in Secaucus, N.J., and Rolland Smith, the lead anchor for the news outlet's coverage …

Discussion: HuffPost and Bustle

Lili Bayer / Politico:

Viktor Orbán says European Parliament ‘verdict already written’ — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is preparing his supporters for a potential loss in a key vote among MEPs Wednesday regarding the rule of law in his country. — “Pro-migration representatives have a majority …

Discussion: Breitbart, One America News Network and Orbán Viktor

Nancy Barnes / Houston Chronicle:

A note from the editor of the Houston Chronicle — In these challenging times for our country, with journalism and journalists often under attack, trust between a newspaper and its readers is absolutely essential. — We spend our days trying to ferret out the truth on school quality …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, LEX18.com and Instapundit, more at Mediagazer »

Max Boot / Washington Post:

Protest is as American as football. Why doesn't Trump get it? — The tang of fall is nearly in the air. The summer is all but over. Football season is here. Are you ready for some . . . culture war? — This war may feel unending, but it began only a little more than two years ago.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Root and Associated Press