memeorandum: Stephen Colbert in Hot Water Over ‘Homophobic’ Donald Trump Joke (Joe Otterson/Variety)

12:35 PM ET, May 3, 2017

Top Items:

Caitlin Owens / Axios:

GOP holdout intros pre-existing condition amendment — The House is about to give it one more try with the Republican health care bill. Rep. Fred Upton will introduce an amendment that would provide $8 billion over five years to help protect people with pre-existing conditions, an attempt to bring moderate holdouts to the table.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CRFB Papers and Blog Posts, Business Insider, Politico, Balloon Juice, Political Wire and New York Times

Haley Byrd / IJR:

Moderate Holdouts Offered $8 Billion Extra for Stability Fund to Get Their Votes on Health Care — A GOP source close to the health care negotiations told Independent Journal Review late Tuesday night that moderate Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Billy Long (R-Mo.) are considering …

Discussion: ACASignups.net, Detroit Free Press, Daily Kos, NBC News, New York Magazine, Townhall.com, Politico and Talking Points Memo

Heather Caygle / Politico:

Why Democrats secretly want an Obamacare repeal vote — House Democrats think they've finally found their path back to power: Republicans voting to repeal Obamacare. — Yes, the best thing to happen to House Democrats since they pushed through the sprawling health care law …

Discussion: The Week

Louis Nelson / Politico:

Paul Ryan: We're ‘extremely close’ to having the votes to pass Obamacare repeal — House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday that Republicans are “extremely close” to having enough votes to pass legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act but would not say whether or not the legislation would come up for a vote this week.

Discussion: Fox News, Hot Air and Associated Press

Bloomberg:
Key GOP Holdout Embraces Health Bill, Raising Hopes for a Vote

Discussion: CNBC, Hot Air and MLive.com

Peter Sullivan / The Hill:
New hope for ObamaCare repeal? Key GOP lawmaker working on amendment

Discussion: Media Matters for America

Steven Shepard / Politico:
Poll: Voters resist pre-existing condition opt-out

Discussion: ABC News, Morning Consult, Axios, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, The Week and Political Wire

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Upton, Long reverse themselves and back Obamacare repeal bill

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones and CNBC

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Mulvaney: 'I'd probably go to the floor' now on health care vote

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Week

Alice Ollstein / Talking Points Memo:
Message To Health Care Holdouts: Relax, The Senate Will Save You

Discussion: Vox, Daily Kos and New York Times

Matt Fuller / HuffPost:
House Republicans Weigh Another Health Care Amendment

Discussion: Center for American …, New York Magazine, Axios, Slate, Politico, Washington Post and ThinkProgress

Politico:
GOP changing health bill as Trump leans in hard

Discussion: CNN, Talking Points Memo, Vox and The Hill

New York Times:
Patients Who Rely on Obamacare Protections Are Worried

Discussion: Placing big bets … and National Review

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:

Axelrod on Clinton: ‘It takes a lot of work to lose to Donald Trump’ … Former Obama adviser David Axelrod says Hillary Clinton — would be well served to move on from last year's election and stop talking about it. — “It takes a lot of work to lose to Donald Trump — ,” Axelrod told CNN on Wednesday. "

Discussion: Politico, Axios and TheBlaze

David Weigel / Washington Post:

This one Clinton quote shows why her supporters hate the media — It was hardly the headline from Hillary Clinton's interview with Christiane Amanpour — it came near the end of a 35-minute session — but one comment from the 2016 Democratic nominee perfectly illustrated why liberals remain furious at how the campaign was covered.

Discussion: Politicus USA, Althouse, Shakesville, twitchy.com, National Review, Fox News Insider, The American Mirror and rubber hose

Adam Goldman / New York Times:

James Comey Says He's ‘Mildly Nauseous’ at Suggestions He Swayed Election — WASHINGTON — James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, on Wednesday sharply defended his rationale for notifying Congress about new emails related to the Hillary Clinton investigation less than two weeks before Election Day …

Gersh Kuntzman / New York Daily News:

Hillary Clinton shouldn't be writing a book — she should be drafting a long apology to America — Hey, Hillary Clinton, shut the f— up and go away already. — I voted for Clinton on Nov. 8 and thought she'd be a good president. — But she lost. And she still wants us to feel bad about that.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and Instapundit

Colby Hall / Mediaite:

David Axelrod: 'Jim Comey Didn't Tell Hillary Clinton Not To Campaign In Wisconsin' — If Hillary Clinton accomplished anything in her return to the public eye yesterday, it appears that she has begun to unify a divided nation, though perhaps in a way she did not intend.

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:

Rand Paul: ‘President Hillary Clinton’ would've loved spending bill — (R-Ky.) says he thinks former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton — would have liked the recently passed deal to fund the government. — “Looking at all the smiling faces on the other side of the aisle …

Discussion: Hit & Run and RedState

Mike Allen / Axios:
Revealed: Hillary's next steps

Discussion: Sputnik International, The Daily Caller, zerohedge.com/fullrss2 …, AOL, Reuters, Washington Free Beacon and Political Wire

Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
FBI Director James Comey ‘mildly nauseous’ to think FBI affected 2016 election

Discussion: Politico and Jamie Dupree

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Hillary Clinton just delivered a stunning indictment of the 2016 election — and Donald Trump

Discussion: The Atlantic, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Washington Post, IJR and New York Magazine

Joe Otterson / Variety:

Stephen Colbert in Hot Water Over ‘Homophobic’ Donald Trump Joke — “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert is facing backlash for a joke he made about President Donald Trump on Monday night that many are calling “homophobic.” — During his opening monologue, Colbert went off on Trump …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Mashable, Consequence of Sound, Business Insider, Moonbattery, IndieWire, Decider, The Daily Caller, Vox, Towleroad and Shot in the Dark

Bob Fredericks / New York Post:

It's open war between Trump and CBS — Open warfare broke out between President Trump and CBS this week, with Trump dismissing one of the network's reporters from the Oval Office — and late-night host Stephen Colbert firing back with a vulgar, 12-minute rant.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Gateway Pundit, Decider, Power Line and Instapundit

Yamiche Alcindor / New York Times:

Ben Carson Wants to Make Housing Available. Just Not Too Comfy. — COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ben Carson does not like the creature comforts, at least not for low-income Americans reliant on the government for a helping hand. — As he toured facilities for the poor in Ohio last week, Mr. Carson …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and CityLab

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:

CNN panel goes off the rails after conservative calls Jimmy Kimmel's emotional healthcare appeal ‘cheap’ — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Conservative Matt Lewis opened up a can of worms on “Anderson Cooper 360” by mildly criticizing ABC late show host Jimmy Kimmel's appeal …

Justin Baragona / Mediaite:
CNN's Matt Lewis: Kimmel's Emotional Monologue About Baby Son Wasn't the ‘Right Move’

Discussion: Washington Post

CBS News:

Email: Trump “directly involved” in post-inauguration hunt for rogue tweeter — WASHINGTON — Newly inaugurated President Donald Trump was “directly involved” in the search for the person who, using the official National Park Service account, retweeted side-by-side comparisons of the crowds …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and IJR

Stephanie Parkinson / WEYI:

Flint puts 8,000 people on notice for tax liens for unpaid water bills — Thousands of people in Flint are at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure if they don't pay up on their water bills. After recently putting out shut-off notices the city is now back to threatening tax liens on people's homes.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Common Dreams and Mediaite

Allen St. John / Consumer Reports:

How the Affordable Care Act Drove Down Personal Bankruptcy — Expanded health insurance helped cut the number of filings by half — As legislators and the executive branch renew their efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act this week, they might want to keep in mind …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Big Picture and Balloon Juice

Paul Heintz / Seven Days:

Feds in Florida: Burlington College Probe Goes the Distance — Ron Leavitt was driving from a master gardener class to his Naples, Fla., home three months ago when he received a surprising call from his wife. “She said, ‘The FBI is here to talk to you about Burlington College,’” he recalled.

Discussion: RedState

Jill Disis / CNNMoney:

Jane Goodall has some advice for Ivanka Trump — Ivanka's White House role called into question — Ivanka Trump's new book, “Women Who Work,” includes an inspirational quote from Jane Goodall, the globe-trotting animal behavior expert and conservationist.

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story, New York Magazine and AOL

Paul Hiebert / YouGov US Opinion Center News:

Conservatives seem to be turning away from ESPN — Data shows that ESPN impression scores among Republicans have dropped significantly since 2013 … Last week, when news broke that ESPN was laying off around 100 employees, some prominent conservative voices on Twitter connected …

Discussion: Awful Announcing and BuzzFeed, more at Mediagazer »

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:

Trump has a Civil War memorial on his DC golf course — for a battle that never happened — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — President Donald Trump was roundly mocked yesterday for the historical illiteracy evident in his Andrew Jackson quotes.

Discussion: Snopes.com and Mashable