memeorandum: WAR GAMES US sends special forces to RUSSIAN BORDER as Nato is poised to strike back against … (Mark Hodge/The Sun)

7:25 PM ET, January 4, 2017

Top Items:

Peter Sullivan / The Hill:

Trump plans executive actions for ObamaCare repeal — House Republicans are planning to get an ObamaCare repeal bill on President Trump's desk by Feb. 20, according to two Republican lawmakers. — The date was put forward by incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Diane Black

Discussion: Politico, The Mahablog, Talking Points Memo, Townhall.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Daily Kos

Ezra Klein / Vox:

Trump's “if you like your insurance, you can keep it” moment — One of Trump's top advisers just made repealing Obamacare much, much harder. — On Monday, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway was on Morning Joe and was asked about Obamacare. Her recitation of her boss's position likely filled congressional Republicans with dread.

Discussion: Washington Post

Anna Palmer / Politico:

Schumer adopts Trump slogan: GOP wants to ‘Make America sick again’ — It's a world where health insurance companies are jacking up rates, Americans are losing benefits and illness is racking the nation. — This is the apocalyptic picture of America offered by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Washington Post, Vox, Hot Air, portal.liberalamerica.org, CNN, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller, Rolling Stone, TheBlaze, Washington Free Beacon and Political Wire

CNN:

Obama tells Democrats: 'Don't rescue' Republicans on ‘Trumpcare’ — This is likely Obama's last visit to Congress, and it comes as Republicans push to overturn his signature legislative accomplishment — Washington (CNN)President Barack Obama delivered a mandate to Democrats on Wednesday: “Don't rescue” Republicans on Obamacare.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Liberty Unyielding, Washington Post, Mother Jones and The Week

Steven T. Dennis / Bloomberg:
Repealing Obamacare Could Be Trump's First Lesson in the Glacial Pace of Congress

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CBS Miami, Politicus USA and ACASignups.net

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Manchin says he won't attend Obama's Capitol Hill meeting

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

MJ Lee / CNN:
Republicans already jittery about quick Obamacare repeal

Discussion: Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Politico, The Hill, Mother Jones, WTHI-TV, Business Insider, Washington Monthly, KTLA, Campaign for America's Future, New York Magazine, ABC News, ThinkProgress, Reuters, Morning Consult, New York Times, RedState and MichelleMalkin.com

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Obama urges Dems to fight GOP on ObamaCare

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air and The Guardian

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

Trump in 2010: WikiLeaks ‘disgraceful,’ there ‘should be like death penalty or something’ — Trump called WikiLeaks “disgraceful” and suggested there be a “death penalty” for their actions during a 2010 interview. — His 2010 comments are in sharp contrast to his decision Wednesday morning …

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Hill, RedState, Washington Times, Raw Story, Hot Air, Little Green Footballs, Joe.My.God., The Gateway Pundit, Politico, Sputnik International, Political Wire, Talking Points Memo and Fox News Insider

Sarah Palin / Facebook:

To Julian Assange: I apologize. — Please watch Sean Hannity's interview with Julian Assange (Wikileaks). — Exposing the truth re: the Left having been oh-so-guilty of atrocious actions and attitudes of which they've falsely accused others. The media collusion that hid what many on the Left have been supporting is shocking.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Mediaite, The Hill, Business Insider, RedState, The Resurgent, TheBlaze and IJR

Lindsey McPherson / Roll Call:
Ryan Bucks Trump, Says Congress Will Not Raise Tariffs

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Joe.My.God.

Daily Mail:
Assange says a 14-year-old could have hacked Democratic emails as he reveals John Podesta's password was ‘password’

Discussion: Fox News, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and The Daily Caller

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:

How to Stop a Trump Supreme Court Nominee — President-elect Donald Trump will soon announce his nominee to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Once he does, we'll know within just a few hours whether there is any chance that the Senate will reject his choice.

Discussion: Althouse, NBC News, Rewire, SCOTUSblog and Politico

Jennifer Calfas / The Hill:

McConnell: Americans ‘will not tolerate’ Dems blocking SCOTUS nominee … said Wednesday that Republicans will not accept any Democratic efforts to block a Supreme Court nominee chosen by President-elect Trump. — “Apparently there's yet a new standard now to not confirm a Supreme Court nominee at all,” McConnell said.

Discussion: Political Wire, The Week and Politicus USA

Bridget Bowman / Roll Call:
Schumer Prepared to Hold Supreme Court Seat Open

Discussion: CNN, Betsy's Page, The Resurgent and Daily Kos

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Schumer regrets Dems triggering ‘nuclear option’

Discussion: Politico, neo-neocon, alan.com, Talking Points Memo and Hot Air

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Schumer Says Democrats Willing To Keep Supreme Court Seat Empty

Discussion: alan.com and RedState

Damian Paletta / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Attacks of U.S. Intelligence on Russia Unnerve Lawmakers — President-elect increases criticism of agencies on Twitter, cites Wikileaks editor Julian Assange over Russian involvement — WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump's increasingly heated attacks against U.S. intelligence agencies …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Politicus USA and Political Wire

Hugh Hewitt / The Hugh Hewitt Show:
Speaker Paul Ryan On The “100 Days” Ahead

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air, Business Insider and The Hill

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Cotton responds to Trump: I have more faith in intel officers than Assange

Discussion: Joe.My.God., No More Mister Nice Blog, RedState, Washington Free Beacon and Politico

CRFB Papers and Blog Posts:

The Cost of Full Repeal of the Affordable Care Act — According to our latest estimates, repealing the ACA in its entirety would cost roughly $350 billion through 2027 under conventional scoring and $150 billion using dynamic scoring. — In this paper, we offer rough estimates for a variety of full and partial repeal options.

Discussion: CNNMoney, Talking Points Memo, The Ring of Fire Network and CNBC

Jonathan Cohn / The Huffington Post:
Doctor's Orders: Don't Repeal Obamacare Until You Have A Plan To Replace It

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Vox and Business Insider

Media Matters for America:
10 Facts Reporters Should Include In Stories About Efforts To Repeal Obamacare

Discussion: Politicus USA

Mark Hodge / The Sun:

WAR GAMES US sends special forces to RUSSIAN BORDER as Nato is poised to strike back against Vladimir Putin's ‘aggression’ — Russia is reportedly deploying nuke-ready missiles in the province of Kaliningrad which borders Lithuania — PRESIDENT Obama has deployed US special forces troops …

Discussion: The Geller Report, neo-neocon and Vox Popoli

Will Kirby / Daily Express:
US sends troops to RUSSIAN BORDER as NATO becomes anxious of 'Vladimir Putin's aggression'

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Liberty Unyielding

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

California Hires Eric Holder as Legal Bulwark Against Donald Trump — LOS ANGELES — Girding for four years of potential battles with President-elect Donald J. Trump, Democratic leaders of the California Legislature announced Wednesday that they had hired Eric H. Holder Jr. …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, Talking Points Memo, Infowars, The Democratic Daily and theGrio

Melanie Mason / Los Angeles Times:
California Legislature enlists former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder to defend against Trump

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, Hot Air, Fox News, Patterico's Pontifications and twitchy.com

Tom George / KTNV:

Man captures neighbor's racist rant on camera — LAS VEGAS (KTNV) - A Facebook video shot by a Las Vegas man has been shared thousands of times on social media, showing his neighbor going off on a racist rant. — The video all stemmed from an argument between Dexter Manawat and his next door neighbor over cleaning up leaves.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Raw Story and The Root

Lisa Chavarria / WFLD:

Chicago Police: 4 in custody after man tied up, tortured on Facebook Live — FOX 32 NEWS - Investigators are looking into a Facebook Live video shot on the West Side that shows a group of people holding a young man hostage. — Chicago police told FOX 32 that four people are currently in custody.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, We Are Change, Infowars and The Daily Caller

Rachel Stockman / Mediaite:

Exclusive: Fox News Actually Offered Megyn Kelly $100 Million Package to Stay — Mediaite has learned that Fox News offered Megyn Kelly even more than has generally been reported, a whopping $100 million package to stay put at the network and continue hosting her highly-rated prime time cable news show.

Discussion: Breitbart, Joe.My.God., AOL, The Root, IJR, Media Matters for America, New York Magazine, TheBlaze, Scared Monkeys, The Daily Caller and The Other McCain, more at Mediagazer »

Paige Albiniak / Broadcasting & Cable:
Megyn Kelly's NBC Daytime Show to Replace Third Hour of ‘Today’

Discussion: Politico, TVNewser, Mediaite and Infowars

Kelsey Sutton / Politico:

WSJ editor Gerard Baker defends ‘lie’ comments from ‘Meet the Press’ appearance — In a editorial published Wednesday, Wall Street Journal editor Gerard Baker defended his hesitance to characterize untrue statements made by President-elect Donald Trump as “lies,” which drew ire from some journalists …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Mediaite

New York Times:

Dylann Roof, Addressing Court, Offers No Apology or Explanation for Massacre — CHARLESTON, S.C. — Sometime in the six weeks after he killed nine people at this city's Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Dylann S. Roof wrote in a journal that he had “not shed a tear for the innocent people I killed.”

Discussion: Washington Post, Associated Press, New York Magazine, Hot Air, The Root, The Week and theGrio

Darren Sands / BuzzFeed:

Omarosa Angers Black Republicans With Invite-Only Meeting — WASHINGTON — Black Republicans are figuring out how to respond to an invite-only meeting taking place Wednesday between senior staff of President-elect Donald Trump's transition and mostly Democratic-leaning civil rights groups and clergy.

Discussion: Raw Story