memeorandum: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announces plans to scrap pending rule on payday lending (Allison Pecorin/ABC News)

8:25 AM ET, February 7, 2019

Top Items:

Kaitlyn Folmer / ABC News:

Rep. Bobby Scott learned of sexual assault allegation against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax a year ago from the accuser: Aides — Virginia Democratic Congressman Bobby Scott was made aware of allegations of sexual assault against now-Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax over a year ago by the alleged victim herself, ABC News has learned.

Discussion: Conservative News Today, Washington Post, Splinter, Axios, The Last Refuge, KTLA, Outside the Beltway, Essence and Mediaite

Rich Lowry / Politico:

The Bonfire of the Democrats — All statewide officials in the Commonwealth of Virginia should resign if Democrats are held to their own standards. — Even if Gov. Ralph Northam didn't appear in blackface in an image on his medical-school yearbook, he confessed to once darkening his face as part of a Michael Jackson costume.

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Washington Post:

Ralph Northam must resign — GOV. RALPH NORTHAM (D) can no longer effectively serve the people of Virginia who elected him. His shifting and credulity-shredding explanations for the racist photograph on his medical school yearbook page, and the silence into which he then succumbed for days …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Contemptor, The Week, Instapundit and Balloon Juice

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
The Virginia Democratic Party is totally imploding

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Week, WTVR-TV and The American Conservative

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Democrats rallied around Christine Blasey Ford. Will they do the same with Vanessa Tyson?

Discussion: National Review, National Organization …, Power Line and The Week

Ben Paviour / Community Idea Stations:
Fairfax Retained Kavanaugh's Lawyers After Allegations Surfaced

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, RedState, Patterico's Pontifications, Hot Air, WTVR-TV, Mediaite, NBC News, Law & Crime, ThinkProgress, TheBlaze, The Root, Splinter and DCist

Ariel Edwards-Levy / HuffPost:
Republicans Split On Whether Blackface Is A Problem

Discussion: FITSNews, New York Daily News and RT

Associated Press:
Virginia Attorney General Says He Wore Blackface at College Party

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, New York Times, Breitbart, WHYY, Power Line, The Resurgent, RedState, Washington Post, Instapundit, Joe.My.God., Jezebel and Vox

Paul Schwartzman / Washington Post:
On a political roll, Virginia Democrats now awash in scandal

Discussion: The Week, Shakesville, Daily Wire, National Review and The Root

Avery Anapol / The Hill:
Florida state GOP lawmaker says high school blackface photo is ‘decontextualized’

Discussion: Raw Story, Splinter and Orlando Sentinel

Bloomberg Law: Racial Gerrymander Defender Next in Line if Va. Dems Go

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:

Paul Erickson, Russian Agent Maria Butina's Boyfriend, Indicted for Fraud — The federal indictment in South Dakota alleges that he ran a criminal scheme from 1996 to 2018 using a chain of assisted living homes. — Betsy Woodruff — Paul Erickson, the American political operative …

Discussion: Raw Story, Joe.My.God. and The Guardian

U.S. Department of Justice:
Sioux Falls Man Charged with Wire Fraud and Money Laundering

Discussion: Rapid City Journal

HuffPost:

Sen. Amy Klobuchar's Mistreatment Of Staff Scared Off Candidates To Manage Her Presidential Bid — At least three people withdrew from consideration to lead the senator's nascent campaign — in part because of Klobuchar's history of mistreating her staff. — At least three people …

Discussion: Townhall, Washington Post, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon and The Week

John Bresnahan / Politico:

‘Too hot to handle’: Pelosi predicts GOP won't trigger another shutdown — Speaker Nancy Pelosi is vowing that the federal government will not shut down again, even as President Donald Trump ratchets up pressure for his border wall ahead of a fast-approaching deadline.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Danielle Kurtzleben / NPR:

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Releases Green New Deal Outline — Whether it's a deadly cold snap or a hole in an Antarctic glacier or a terrifying new report, there seem to be constant reminders now of the dangers that climate change poses to humanity. — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez …

Discussion: Vox, Bloomberg, Axios, The Daily Caller and Mother Jones

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Trump campaign looks to beef up communications team to battle big Democratic field in 2020

Discussion: Political Wire

Nancy Cook / Politico:
Trump to make last-ditch wall pitch on U.S.-Mexico border

Discussion: CBS News, One America News Network, IJR and TVNewser

Olivia Gazis / CBS News:

Richard Burr on the Senate Intelligence Committee's Russia investigation, 2 years on — The investigation into Russian intelligence activities by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence turned two years old, without fanfare, last month. — For almost as long, the inquiry …

Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:
House Intel Democrats Just Restarted and Supercharged the Trump-Russia Probe

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Asked to Stop Investigations, House Digs In

Discussion: Townhall, Shareblue Media, CNN, U.S. House of …, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Jamie Dupree - AJC, The Gateway Pundit, Hullabaloo and The Week

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:

Beto O'Rourke Was Once Adrift in New York City. Now He's Searching Again. — As the former Texas congressman weighs a run for president, his rebel-in-moderation youth offers revealing parallels to his search for direction now. — All at once, New York City seemed to be conspiring against Beto O'Rourke.

Discussion: The Week and Jezebel

Stacy Cowley / New York Times:

Consumer Protection Bureau Cripples New Rules for Payday Loans — Payday lenders won a major victory on Wednesday after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved to gut tougher restrictions that were to take effect later this year. — The industry has spent years trying to fend off the new rules …

Allison Pecorin / ABC News:
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announces plans to scrap pending rule on payday lending

Discussion: Daily Wire, Mother Jones and Common Dreams

Julie K. Brown / miamiherald:

Justice Department opens probe into Jeffrey Epstein plea deal — The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta's role in negotiating a controversial plea deal with a wealthy New York investor accused of molesting more than 100 underage girls in Palm Beach.

Discussion: Splinter and Politico

Pete Williams / NBC News:
Justice Department opens probe into Jeffrey Epstein's plea deal

Discussion: Axios, The Daily Beast, Law & Crime, The Daily Caller and CNBC

Washington Post:

‘It will take off like a wildfire’: The unique dangers of the Washington state measles outbreak — VANCOUVER, Wash. — Amber Gorrow is afraid to leave her house with her infant son because she lives at the epicenter of Washington state's worst measles outbreak in more than two decades.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

Delay, Deny, and Deal Flow: Two New York Times Reporters Cash in on Seven-Figure Facebook Opus — The book, acquired by HarperCollins, suggests the extent to which the publishing industry is willing to bet on politically adjacent reportorial blockbusters. — Over the past few months …

Discussion: Mediaite

Washington Post:

Sergei Millian, identified as an unwitting source for the Steele dossier, sought proximity to Trump's world in 2016 — Around the time of President Trump's inauguration, two of his supporters met to toast the new administration at the Russia House, a Washington restaurant known among Russian diplomats …

Discussion: Raw Story

Joseph Cox / Motherboard:

Big Telecom Sold Highly Sensitive Customer GPS Data Typically Used for 911 Calls — A Motherboard investigation has found that around 250 bounty hunters and related businesses had access to AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint customer location data. — Around 250 bounty hunters and related businesses …

Discussion: The Verge

Joseph Cox / Motherboard:
Hundreds of Bounty Hunters Had Access to AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint Customer Location Data for Years

Discussion: Engadget and RT, more at Techmeme »

Heather Caygle / Politico:

Biden closes in on 2020 decision — Joe Biden is working one of his most important constituencies as he closes in on a decision about running for president: Capitol Hill Democrats. — In recent weeks, the former vice president and longtime Democratic senator has spoken …

Discussion: BuzzFeed News

Laura Spitalniak / ABC News:

Rep. Joe Kennedy III rules out 2020 bid, but encourages ‘big, broad field’ — U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., has ruled out a 2020 presidential run, despite being the subject of speculation. — “I've got enough on my plate,” the three-term House member said on ABC News' “Powerhouse Politics” podcast.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and IJR

Matthew Choi / Politico:
Warren suggests ‘American Indian’ might appear on other documents

Discussion: New York Post, Front Page Magazine, The Root, Washington Free Beacon, ABC News and Breitbart

Jane Lytvynenko / BuzzFeed News:

This Altered Photo Of Women Lawmakers In KKK Hoods Is Spreading And Twitter Is Refusing To Stop It — Twitter is allowing an altered photo comparing women members of Congress who wore white to the State of the Union to the KKK to continue to circulate on its platform on Wednesday despite …

Discussion: RedState and Media Matters for America

Avery Anapol / The Hill:

Ohio city to stop observing Columbus Day, make Election Day holiday instead — Officials in the city of Sandusky, Ohio, have decided that the city will no longer observe Columbus Day as a holiday, switching it for Election Day. — City commissioners made the change at a recent meeting, according to the Sandusky Register.

Discussion: Breitbart

Wall Street Journal:

‘This One Here Is Gonna Kick My Butt’—Farm Belt Bankruptcies Are Soaring — Throughout much of the Midwest, U.S. farmers are filing for chapter 12 bankruptcy protection at levels not seen for at least a decade, a Wall Street Journal review of federal data shows.

Discussion: Axios

Tim Mak / NPR:

Trump Ally Tries To Remove Parkland Fathers From Gun Violence Hearing — A longtime Trump ally pushed to have two fathers of Parkland victims tossed out of a congressional hearing on gun violence — a reflection of the vociferous nature of the debate Democrats have made a priority in the new Congress.

Discussion: Newsweek, The Hill and Washington Post

Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:

Hillary Clinton Blackface Hoax Explodes After Virginia Scandals — The photo is clearly not the 2016 Democratic nominee. And yet, it's finding its way around pro-Trump Twitter. — See What's Happening in Right-Wing Media From the Safety of Your Inbox. — Blackface scandals …

Discussion: NaturalNews.com

David Gauvey Herbert / New York Magazine:

The Five Families of Feces The porta-potty business is as dirty as you'd think. But one man keeps coming up smelling like roses. — Charles W. Howard is the porta-potty king of New York City. The seat of his vast empire is Broad Channel, Queens; from this windswept rock in Jamaica Bay …

Laura Davison / Bloomberg:

The Battle Over Trump's Tax Return Begins — Political tax fight could halt health care, retirement work — Outside groups are running ads pressuring Democrats to act — House Democrats are facing off with Republicans for a battle that could turn intensely personal for Donald Trump …

Discussion: Towleroad Gay News, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Monica Hesse / Washington Post:

The exquisite shade of Nancy Pelosi's applause at the State of the Union — The lasting visual image from Tuesday night's State of the Union address was captured by photographer Doug Mills. It featured House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) applauding President Trump in a way that can only be described …

Discussion: NB Blog, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway

Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:

Abolish Billionaires — A radical idea is gaining adherents on the left. It's the perfect way to blunt tech-driven inequality. — Last fall, Tom Scocca, editor of the essential blog Hmm Daily, wrote a tiny, searing post that has been rattling around my head ever since.