memeorandum: Tillerson: Strikes don't signal change in military action policy in Syria (Brooke Seipel/The Hill)

8:10 AM ET, April 7, 2017

Top Items:

U.S. Launches Missiles at Syrian Base After Chemical Weapons Attack — The United States launched dozens of cruise missiles Thursday night at a Syrian airfield in response to what it believes was the Syrian government's use of banned chemical weapons blamed for having killed at least 100 people on Tuesday …

Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:

Why the Navy's Tomahawk missiles were the weapon of choice in strikes in Syria — The U.S. Navy launched more than 50 Tomahawk missiles early Friday at military targets in Syria in response to a chemical-weapons attack this week on civilians, relying on a mainstay weapon when the Pentagon wants to attack from a safe distance.

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Daily Caller, Business Insider and Al Jazeera English

CNN:

Trump launches military strike against Syria — (CNN)The United States launched a military strike Thursday on a Syrian government target in retaliation for their chemical weapons attack on civilians earlier in the week. — On President Donald Trump's orders, US warships launched between …

Matthew Cole / The Intercept:

U.S. WEIGHS “SATURATION STRIKE” AGAINST SYRIAN GOVERNMENT IN RESPONSE TO CHEMICAL ATTACK — The Pentagon has developed plans for an airstrike against Syrian government targets in response to this week's apparent chemical attack by Syrian government forces, according to two U.S. military officials.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Infowars, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Occupy Democrats, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Balloon Juice and Axios

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:

U.S. Said to Weigh Military Responses to Syrian Chemical Attack — WASHINGTON — Senior Defense Department officials are developing options for a military strike in response to the Syrian government's chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians on Tuesday, officials said on Thursday.

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:

Rand Paul: Trump needs Congress to authorize military action in Syria — (R-Ky.) said Thursday night that President Trump needs congressional authorization for military action in Syria after Trump ordered an airstrike in retaliation for a deadly chemical attack earlier this week.

Discussion: RedState, Axios, CNN, Washington Post, Red Alert Politics, NPR and The Week

Everett Rosenfeld / CNBC:

The US warned the Russians ahead of Syria missile strikes: Official — The U.S. warned the Russians before launching at least 59 tomahawk missiles aimed at Syria, NBC News reported, citing a U.S. official. — The strikes, which hit an airfield near Homs, struck aircraft and infrastructure including the runway, NBC reported.

Discussion: Daily Wire, IJR and The Daily Beast

Barbara Goldberg / Reuters:

Hillary Clinton calls for U.S. to bomb Syrian air fields — In her first interview since her stunning presidential election defeat by Republican rival Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton on Thursday called for the United States to bomb Syrian air fields. — Clinton, in an interview at the Women …

Discussion: Mediaite

CBS News:
Watch Live: Trump orders airstrikes on Syria

Discussion: Associated Press, CBS New York, Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, WREG-TV, The National Interest, CBS Pittsburgh, KOIN-TV, twitchy.com, Hot Air, RedState, CBS Boston and Vocativ

CNN:
Hillary Clinton: US should ‘take out’ Assad's air fields

Discussion: Vocativ, twitchy.com and TheBlaze

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
Tillerson: Strikes don't signal change in military action policy in Syria

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Associated Press

David E. Sanger / New York Times: Striking at Assad Carries Opportunities, and Risks, for Trump

Kristina Wong / Breitbart: Trump Orders Strikes Against Syrian Regime Airbase in Response to Chemical Attack

Adam Kelsey / ABC News:
Hillary Clinton calls for strikes against Syrian airfields

Discussion: The Guardian, Washington Post and Shadowproof

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Tillerson: ‘No role’ for Assad in governing Syria

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Foreign Policy, Associated Press, The Guardian, Infowars, The Atlantic and Vox

Haider Newmani / ABC News:
Eyewitness says Syrian military anticipated U.S. raid

Discussion: Occupy Democrats

Reuters:
Escalating U.S. role in Syria, Trump orders strikes on Assad airbase

Discussion: Vox Popoli, Towleroad and The Daily Caller

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Lawmakers urge Trump to engage Congress on Syria

Discussion: RT, Mediaite, RedState and TalkLeft

Tom Vanden Brook / USA Today:
U.S. launches cruise missile strike on Syria after chemical weapons attack

Discussion: BostonGlobe.com, Fox News, Washington Examiner, CNN, Sputnik International, New York Times, Washington Post, Naked Politics, Mediaite, The Daily Signal, Vox, ThinkProgress, Occupy Democrats and Instapundit

Washington Post:
Trump weighing military options following chemical weapons attack in Syria

Discussion: New York Daily News, Washington Free Beacon, Just Security, National Review, New York Times, Washington Monthly, The Atlantic, The Root, Daily Wire, Snopes.com, CNN and Hot Air

Tracy Wilkinson / Los Angeles Times:
U.S. has ‘no doubt’ Syrian President Bashar Assad ordered gas attack, Secretary of State Tillerson says

Discussion: Financial Times, Business Insider and IJR

Courtney Kube / NBC News:
Defense Sec Mattis to Brief President Trump on Military Options in Syria

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Washington Times, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Hot Air, CNBC, The Daily Caller and Politico

Fox News:
US launches missiles into Syria in response to chemical weapons attack

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Last Tradition, Viking Pundit and The Gateway Pundit

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:

Steve Bannon Calls Jared Kushner a ‘Cuck’ and ‘Globalist’ Behind His Back — Donald Trump's chief strategist Stephen Bannon has called the president's senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner a “cuck” and a “globalist” during a time of high tension between the two top aides …

New York Times:

In Battle for Trump's Heart and Mind, It's Bannon vs. Kushner — WASHINGTON — Thick with tension, the conversation this week between Stephen K. Bannon, the chief White House strategist, and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, had deteriorated to the point of breakdown.

Discussion: Politicus USA

Axios:

Exclusive: Trump eyes new chief of staff; House Leader on short list — President Trump is considering a broad shakeup of his White House that could include the replacement of White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and the departure of chief strategist Steve Bannon, aides and advisers tell us.

Discussion: Political Wire and Politico

Washington Post:

Bannon wants a war on Washington. Now he's part of one inside the White House. — Stephen K. Bannon — the combative architect of the nationalistic strategy that delivered President Trump to the White House — now finds himself losing ground in an internecine battle within the West Wing …

Discussion: Lawfare

Eamon Javers / CNBC:
Bannon attended National Security Council meeting after his removal from top committee

Discussion: Breitbart, The Daily Caller and The Gateway Pundit

Rosie Gray / The Atlantic:
Kushner and Bannon Battle for the Soul of the Trump White House

Discussion: Hot Air, Axios, The Times of Israel, Occupy Democrats, Dispatches From the …, Hullabaloo, Washington Post, The Guardian, NPR, Breitbart and Raw Story

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Bannon ready for White House ‘gunfight’: report

Discussion: Politico, BillMoyers.com and IJR

New York Times:

Kushner Omitted Meeting With Russians on Security Clearance Forms — When Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, sought the top-secret security clearance that would give him access to some of the nation's most closely guarded secrets, he was required to disclose …

Discussion: Political Wire, Raw Story, Mediaite, Occupy Democrats and The Slot

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Nuking The Filibuster May Hurt Republicans In The Long Run — The Supreme Court filibuster just died. Having failed to break a Democratic filibuster on the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, Republicans voted 52-48 to invoke the so-called nuclear option …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, RedState, New York Times, Sputnik International, NPR and Washington Free Beacon

Ari Berman / The Nation:
The GOP Has Declared War on Democracy

Discussion: Common Dreams

Bob Dole / Washington Post:
Bob Dole and Trent Lott: The Senate has changed. It's time to use the nuclear option.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon and Townhall.com

Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:

C.I.A. Had Evidence of Russian Effort to Help Trump Earlier Than Believed — WASHINGTON — The C.I.A. told senior lawmakers in classified briefings last summer that it had information indicating that Russia was working to help elect Donald J. Trump president, a finding that did not emerge publicly until …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Political Wire

NEWS.com.au:

North Korea vows ‘most ruthless blow’ on United States after Donald Trump pledges to build up defences against Pyongyang — NORTH Korea is ready to deliver the “most ruthless blow” if provoked by the United States, its ambassador to Moscow said overnight, after US President Donald Trump pledged …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Gateway Pundit

Associated Press:
Trump, Xi meet again - in shadow of missile strikes on Syria

Discussion: Politico and ABC News

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

Clinton: ‘Misogyny played a role’ in 2016 … Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton — said on Thursday that misogyny “played a role” her 2016 defeat. — “Certainly, misogyny played a role,” Clinton said at the Women of the World Summit in New York. “I mean, that just has to be admitted.

Discussion: BizPac Review, Breitbart, twitchy.com, Hot Air, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire, Mediaite and Mashable

Yahoo: Misogyny ‘played role’ in election loss: Clinton

Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico:

Frustration mounts, careers jeopardized over Obamacare failure — Tempers are flaring at the White House over House Republicans' failure to repeal Obamacare. But that hasn't changed the reality on the ground: As Congress skips town for a two-week recess, Speaker Paul Ryan and his team are no closer to approving legislation.

Reuters:
House Freedom Caucus signals support for healthcare bill with changes

Discussion: Power Line, The Daily Caller and Axios

David Ingram / Reuters:

Twitter refuses U.S. order to disclose user behind anti-Trump account — Twitter Inc on Thursday refused to reveal the user behind an account opposed to President Donald Trump's tough immigration policies and said it was challenging the demand for records by the U.S. government in court, according to a lawsuit.