memeorandum: Trump falsely claims nearly 3,000 Americans in Puerto Rico ‘did not die’ (Betsy Klein/CNN)

3:50 PM ET, September 13, 2018

Top Items:

Senate Democrats Have Referred A Secret Letter About Brett Kavanaugh To The FBI — Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have referred a letter concerning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the FBI. — The contents of the letter have been closely guarded by Sen. Dianne Feinstein …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Townhall, RedState, Law & Crime, Talking Points Memo, Reuters, Washington Post, Bustle, Conservative News Today, Common Dreams, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Splinter, thenewcivilrightsmovement.com and Rewire.News

New York Times:

Dianne Feinstein Refers a Kavanaugh Matter to Federal Investigators — WASHINGTON — The senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee referred information involving Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, to federal investigators on Thursday …

Discussion: Political Wire, The Gateway Pundit and Above the Law

HuffPost:

Dianne Feinstein Acknowledges Having A Secret Brett Kavanaugh Document — The California senator has been extraordinarily tight-lipped about a document her fellow Democrats want to see made public. — WASHINGTON Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) acknowledged Thursday that she has a document …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, New Republic, CBS San Francisco, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, twitchy.com, Common Dreams, The Daily Beast and The Intercept

Seung Min Kim / Washington Post:

Senate committee delays vote on Kavanaugh nomination until next week — The Senate Judiciary Committee delayed its vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh until next week, as the deeply bitter fight over his confirmation intensified and a handful of moderate senators continued …

Discussion: Common Dreams and IJR

Ronn Blitzer / Law & Crime:
This Could be Why Dems Went to FBI Over Mysterious Kavanaugh Letter

Discussion: CNN and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Brett Kavanaugh has a mysterious #MeToo problem

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, twitchy.com and Common Dreams

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Brett Kavanaugh — and Susan Collins — better watch these seeds of a grass-roots revolt

Discussion: National Review, SCOTUSblog, Dorf on Law, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Slate

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

Trump's FEMA chief under investigation over use of official cars — Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long is the target of an ongoing Department of Homeland Security inspector general investigation into whether he misused government vehicles during his commutes …

Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Beast, Splinter, CNN, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

New York Times:

Rejecting Puerto Rican Death Toll, Trump Accuses Democrats of Inflating It — President Trump on Thursday falsely accused Democrats of inflating the death toll from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year, rejecting that government's assessment that the storm had claimed nearly 3,000 lives.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Media Matters for America, The Hill, McSweeney's, Breitbart, BloombergQuint, Mother Jones, Washington Post, WSVN-TV, IJR, NPR, The American Conservative, CNN, Outside the Beltway and The Mahablog

Betsy Klein / CNN:

Trump falsely claims nearly 3,000 Americans in Puerto Rico ‘did not die’ — (CNN)Nearly 3,000 people died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. President Donald Trump denied this reality as a hurricane barrels toward the Carolinas. — “3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Washington Monthly, American Prospect, Weekly Standard, Vox, The Hill, ThinkProgress, Tampa Bay Times, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog and Media Matters for America

NBC News:
Democrats, Puerto Ricans blast Trump's ‘beyond ridiculous’ Hurricane Maria death toll claims

Discussion: Vox, Talking Points Memo, National Review and Washingtonian

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Why Trump's tweets about Puerto Rico are obviously untrue

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Political Wire, Wall Street Journal, Vox, Union of Concerned Scientists and Mediaite

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
President Trump has made more than 5,000 false or misleading claims

Discussion: CNN, FiveThirtyEight, Mashable, Full Feed, The Hill, BloombergQuint, Daily Kos, Axios and Politico

Marc Caputo / Politico:
‘Mr. President. SHUT UP’: Florida Republicans pan Trump's Puerto Rico conspiracy

Discussion: CNN, Axios and Raw Story

Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:
‘Never give an inch’: Trump keeps touting perceived failures as successes

Discussion: Associated Press, The Daily Beast, Bustle, Washington Free Beacon, Politico, Althouse, Full Feed, TMZ.com, ABC News and Mediaite

Natasha Bertrand / The Atlantic:

How Trump and Manafort Are Helping Each Other in the Russia Investigation — President Donald Trump has tried to distance himself from his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, insisting that Manafort only worked for him for a very short time and that his recent convictions on tax …

Discussion: Vox, emptywheel, Towleroad Gay News, Raw Story and Washington Times

Politico:

Giuliani: Trump sees no danger in Manafort plea — Trump's lawyer says of Manafort: 'It's pretty clear if they were going to get anything from him they'd have gotten it already.' — The prospect of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort cutting a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller's office …

Discussion: Law & Crime, Political Wire and Talking Points Memo

Politico:
GOP senators: No Sessions replacement could get confirmed

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Raw Story

Stefan Heck / Deadspin:

I Did Not Buy 6,500 Pairs Of Nikes To Send To The Dump, But Thousands Of Idiots Think I Did — First off, let's get something out of the way: I did not purchase $1.3 million dollars' worth of Nike Air VaporMaxes (White/Varsity Purple/Metallic Silver/Aqua, size 9.5) with the intent of shipping them to the Glendale city dump.

Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:

Exclusive: Audio Reveals Potentially Illegal Coordination Between NRA and Montana Senate Hopeful Matt Rosendale — The gun-rights group gave Jon Tester's challenger a heads-up that it'd be spending money trying defeat the senator. That's a no-no, watchdogs say.

Discussion: Politico, Roll Call, Associated Press, Political Wire, Montana Free Press and electionlawblog.org

Jennings Brown / Gizmodo:

This Is How It Starts: FBI Suspiciously Locks Down, Evacuates Solar Observatory in New Mexico — This is how it happens when extraterrestrials make contact with Earth. — It starts with a newspaper report about suspicious activity at a space research facility—government agents and military vehicles.

Discussion: Instapundit

Eric Mack / CNET:
Mysterious observatory evacuation stirs alien conspiracy theories

Discussion: Daily Kos

Tanya Basu / The Daily Beast:

Trump Adviser Gina Loudon's Book Claims She Has a Ph.D. in Psychology. She Doesn't. — Gina Loudon's book jacket proclaims she's 'America's favorite psychological expert.' The problem? She doesn't have the credentials to be one. — Gina Loudon, the Republican commentator and author …

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“Trump Believes There's a Coup”: Freaked by the Times Op-Ed, the President Is Seeing Enemies Everywhere — With Anonymous still on the loose and the “administrative state” unchecked, the last person Trump trusts is Stephen Miller. — BY - GABRIEL SHERMANSeptember 13, 2018,

Discussion: Raw Story

Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:

Rick Scott Is Preparing to Pack the State Supreme Court After His Term Ends — On Jan. 8, 2019, a new governor of Florida will be sworn in. On that same day, three of the Florida Supreme Court's seven justices will complete their final terms. Based on those facts alone …

CNN:

Hurricane Florence is slashing the Carolinas in the opening act of a 3-day, coastal disaster — Are you affected by Hurricane Florence? When it's safe, text, iMessage or WhatsApp your videos, photos and stories to CNN: +1 347-322-0415 — (CNN)Just as Hurricane Florence closes in on the Southeast …

Discussion: Bustle, Raw Story, CNBC, BGR, CBS Baltimore, Splinter, Right Wing Watch, Washington Post, Shakesville, New York Times, CBS Pittsburgh and WPIX 11 New York

Jason Samenow / Washington Post:
Hurricane Florence's assault begins. ‘Catastrophic’ surge and flooding feared.

Discussion: WOWK-TV, The Charlotte Observer, TalkLeft, Breitbart, The Weather Channel, Mashable and Politico

Michael C. Bender / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Plans to Rebrand Nafta — President wants to call it the ‘USMC’ pact, telling donors he will drop the ‘C’ if Canada doesn't agree to changes — WASHINGTON—President Trump revealed plans to rebrand the North American Free Trade Agreement as the “USMC” pact—for the U.S. …

Erica Werner / Washington Post:

Congress planning to avert government shutdown — Congressional leaders from both parties have finalized a plan to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month over President Trump's demands to fund a border wall, and postpone that fight until after the November midterm elections.

Discussion: Political Wire

Associated Press:
The Latest: Congress to extend gov't funding through Dec. 7

Discussion: The Daily Caller

CNN:

CNN Poll: Democrats' midterm advantage holds among likely voters — (CNN)Democrats maintain a wide lead over Republicans in the race for control of the House of Representatives, a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS finds, including a 10-point lead among those most likely to turn out this November.

Discussion: Political Wire and CBS Sacramento

Monmouth University Polling Institute: Uncertain Dem Edge in CD07

James Hibberd / EW.com:

Tim Allen gets candid about politics and Trump: 'I'm kind of an anarchist' — Tim Allen has a message for anybody on the fence about watching the revival of the conservative comedian's sitcom Last Man Standing this fall: “Who cares what I think?!” the actor-comedian declares.

Discussion: Breitbart, Conservative News Today, Chicks On The Right, Hit & Run and Daily Wire

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Under Fire, Robert Mueller Has a Novel P.R. Strategy: Silence — Since his appointment 16 months ago as special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III has granted no interviews and held no news conferences. The spokesman for his office is known around Washington as “Mr. No-Comment.”

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:

It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary — A new kind of authoritarianism is taking root in Europe — and there are warning signs for America. — The Hungary-Serbia border runs through a wilderness, tall grass flatlands ringed by imposing clusters of trees and thickets.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and One America News Network

Katie Reilly / TIME:

‘I Work 3 Jobs And Donate Blood Plasma to Pay the Bills.’ This Is What It's Like to Be a Teacher in America — Hope Brown can make $60 donating plasma from her blood cells twice in one week, and a little more if she sells some of her clothes at a consignment store.

David Corn / Mother Jones:

Two Republican Congressmen Hobnob With an Alleged Holocaust Denier. Again. — A Republican congressman who earlier this year got into trouble for hobnobbing with an accused Holocaust denier held a small fundraiser this summer, and the attendees included, yes, the very same alleged Holocaust denier.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

Bernie Sanders / The Guardian:

A new authoritarian axis demands an international progressive front — There is a global struggle taking place of enormous consequence. Nothing less than the future of the planet - economically, socially and environmentally - is at stake. — At a time of massive wealth and income inequality …

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

Abusive media moguls harmed more than just individual women. They shaped a misogynistic culture. — Two moments on Wednesday. Both startling, both telling. — Jericka Duncan, live on the CBS Evening News, looked unflinchingly into the camera as she explained how the story she had been covering …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Other McCain and Full Feed, more at Mediagazer »

Jennifer Selva / CNN:

6 people are dead after shooting spree in California — (CNN)Six people are dead — including the suspect — after a man opened fire at multiple locations in Bakersfield, California, on Wednesday, a local sheriff said. — Officers responded to calls of a shooting at a trucking business …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Joe Simonson / The Daily Caller:

After Dismissing Potential Bias As A ‘Conspiracy Theory,’ CNN Doesn't Cover Leaked Google Tape — After Breitbart published a leaked video of Google employees reacting to President Donald Trump's victory in 2016 on Thursday, CNN left its viewers in the dark by spending no time on-air covering …

Discussion: Washington Post, LoveBreedsAccountability and Fox News, more at Techmeme »

Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:

The NRA's Catch-22 for Black Men Shot by Police — The city of Dallas, Texas, has been rocked by news of an off-duty police officer shooting a black man in his own apartment. On September 6, the off-duty police officer Amber Guyger entered Botham Jean's apartment and shot him dead.

Discussion: Shakesville, The American Spectator, Media Matters for America, theGrio, Commentary Magazine and Media Matters for America

Politico:

The one thing Trump can't sell: A booming economy — White House aides and other top Republicans are giving up on their efforts to keep the president on message to rescue the GOP this fall. — In an alternate universe, President Donald Trump would be heading into the midterms relentlessly touting …