memeorandum: Trump's Order to Open Arctic Waters to Oil Drilling Was Unlawful, Federal Judge Finds (Coral Davenport/New York Times)

5:30 PM ET, March 31, 2019

Top Items:

Elizabeth Warren Loses Finance Director as She Struggles in 2020 Race — MEMPHIS — On a Sunday afternoon earlier this month, Senator Elizabeth Warren began a swing through the South by proclaiming that she was running “a different type of campaign” — one that did not include high-dollar fund-raisers …

Discussion: Axios, twitchy.com and Fox News

MJ Lee / CNN:
Elizabeth Warren's finance director leaving campaign

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Kris Schneider / ABC News:

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney guarantees Americans covered by ‘Obamacare’ won't lose health care — The acting chief of staff said the debate about pre-existing conditions is over. — Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that if the Trump administration succeeds …

Discussion: Politico, New York Post and Breitbart

Steven Lemongello / Orlando Sentinel:

Sen. Rick Scott becomes Trump point man on GOP health care policy — Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on “Nuclear Policy and Posture” on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2019. (Carolyn Kaster / AP) — Privacy Policy

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:

'Barr gets to handle this. That's how the law works': Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Mueller report going to Congress first — The Justice Department is currently making redactions to Mueller's report. — Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Breitbart

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Republicans maintain that they are ‘working on a plan’ to replace Obamacare

Discussion: USA Today and Political Wire

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 3-31-19: Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and New York Post

Michael Schwirtz / New York Times:

Russia Ordered a Killing That Made No Sense. Then the Assassin Started Talking. — RIVNE, Ukraine — The target lived on the sixth floor of a cheerless, salmon-colored building on Vidinska Street, across from a thicket of weeping willows. Oleg Smorodinov found him there, rented a small apartment on the ground floor, and waited.

Avery Anapol / The Hill:

‘Fox & Friends’ apologizes for headline about ‘3 Mexican Countries’ — “Fox & Friends Weekend” apologized on Sunday after displaying a graphic referring to “3 Mexican countries,” drawing attention on social media. — The show displayed a graphic at the bottom of the screen that read “Trump cuts U.S. aid to 3 Mexican countries.”

Discussion: The Atlantic, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, Contemptor, Slate and Mediaite

Martin Matishak / Politico:

Trump not bluffing about closing U.S.-Mexico border, Conway says — White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Sunday that President Donald Trump is serious about possibly closing the U.S.-Mexico border this week. — “It certainly isn't a bluff. You can take the president seriously,” …

Discussion: One America News Network, Outside the Beltway, Breitbart, CNN, Slate and Washington Monthly

Axios:
Trump's post-Mueller policy wars

Discussion: Philly.com, Washington Post and Raw Story

Rachel Frazin / The Hill:
US halting aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras

Discussion: Common Dreams, CNN, miamiherald, The Daily Caller, Breitbart and The New Civil Rights Movement

Associated Press:

Biden defends his behavior with women — WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday he doesn't believe he ever acted inappropriately toward women but will “listen respectfully” to suggestions he did. — Biden, who is deciding whether to join the 2020 presidential race …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Martin Matishak / Politico:
2020 Dems express sympathy for Biden's accuser

Discussion: New York Post, Des Moines Register, New York Times and Breitbart

Alicia Cohn / The Hill:
Biden on accusations: I have never intentionally acted ‘inappropriately’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Rolling Stone, Contemptor and Breitbart

Carrie Dann / NBC News:

Most Americans don't think Trump is in the clear yet on Russia, new poll finds — President Trump's approval remains stable and a third of voters say they don't know whether the summary of Mueller's findings clears him of wrongdoing in a new NBC News/WSJ poll.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, twitchy.com, Slate, Rolling Stone, POLITICUSUSA, Axios and Washington Post

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:

Jake Tapper: CNN Didn't Get ‘Anything’ Wrong In Russiagate Reporting — Jake Tapper said Sunday that CNN has not gotten “anything” wrong during the course of reporting on Russiagate, even though his network has bungled numerous stories over the past two years. — “I'm not sure what you're saying the media got wrong.

Stephanie McCrummen / Washington Post:

The keeper of the secret — After decades of silence about a long-ago Virginia lynching, one man pursues accountability, apologies and the meaning of racial reconciliation — WYTHEVILLE, Va. — It was cold and snowing, but John Johnson had an appointment to keep.

New York Times:

New York State Budget Deal Brings Congestion Pricing, Plastic Bag Ban and Mansion Tax — ALBANY — After weeks of intraparty bickering, the New York Legislature and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo agreed to a $175 billion budget early Sunday morning, approving several progressive initiatives …

Discussion: Simple Justice and Axios

Marianne LeVine / Politico:

One of the GOP's brightest female stars is dogged by Trump in 2020 — ADEL, Iowa — Joni Ernst had barely kicked off a town hall one recent morning when the barrage of complaints about Donald Trump began. — One after one, constituents grilled the first-term Republican senator about the president …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Daily Mail:

Mr Livingstone told a meeting of pro-Corbyn activists that he had been victimised by ‘the elite’, who were trying to stop Mr Corbyn becoming Prime Minister — He added: 'Jeremy Corbyn's office did not want it to happen. It was about distracting ... this is endemic if you have a genuine socialist leader …

Discussion: Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Steve Coll / New Yorker:

The Media and the Mueller Report's March Surprise — The Attorney General's summary reported no conspiracy, but serious newsrooms and journalists did the job they are supposed to do. — Last year, the Times and the Washington Post shared a Pulitzer Prize for “deeply sourced …

Coral Davenport / New York Times:

Trump's Order to Open Arctic Waters to Oil Drilling Was Unlawful, Federal Judge Finds — WASHINGTON — In a major legal blow to President Trump's push to expand offshore oil and gas development, a federal judge ruled that an executive order by Mr. Trump that lifted an Obama-era ban on oil …

Discussion: Washington Post, Alaska Public Media and Common Dreams