memeorandum: Emails reveal de Blasio bullies his staffers (Michael Gartland/New York Post)

12:15 AM ET, August 9, 2017

Top Items:

North Korea now making missile-ready nuclear weapons, U.S. analysts say … North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, crossing a key threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power, U.S. intelligence officials have concluded in a confidential assessment.

CNBC:

North Korea seriously considering strike on Guam: Reports, citing state media — North Korea is considering a plan to fire missiles at Guam, state media said. — A spokesman for North Korea's military told KCNA that it would carry out a pre-emptive operation if there were signs of U.S. provocation.

Discussion: Political Wire, RedState, Raw Story, Axios, Fox News Insider, New York Magazine, The New Civil Rights Movement and New York Times

Sarah Pulliam Bailey / Washington Post:

‘God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong Un,’ evangelical adviser says — Texas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress, one of President Trump's evangelical advisers who preached the morning of his inauguration, has released a statement saying the president has the moral authority to take out North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Discussion: Political Wire, Raw Story and The Week

Reuters:

Exclusive: U.S. envoys told to be coy on re-engaging in Paris climate deal - cable — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. diplomats should sidestep questions from foreign governments on what it would take for the Trump administration to re-engage in the global Paris climate agreement, according to a diplomatic cable seen by Reuters.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

John Bowden / The Hill:

McCain takes exception to Trump remarks — (R-Ariz.) took exception to President Trump's remarks Tuesday that further provocation by North Korea will be met “with fire and fury like the world has never seen.” — McCain argued the tough rhetoric is unlikely to help as tensions rise between …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Washington Journal, The Daily Caller, NPR, The Gateway Pundit, CNBC, TheBlaze and Mediaite

New York Times:

Trump Threatens ‘Fire and Fury’ Against North Korea if It Endangers U.S. — BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Trump threatened on Tuesday to unleash “fire and fury” against North Korea if it endangers the United States as tensions with the isolated nuclear-armed state grow into perhaps …

Discussion: CNN, Patterico's Pontifications, The Hill, The Atlantic, The Mahablog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Crooked Timber, The Stranger … and MinBane

Reuters:
North Korea says seriously considering plan to strike Guam: KCNA

Discussion: The Week and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

KTAR.com:
McCain warns Trump to not threaten North Korea until ready to act

Discussion: Axios, The Week, Reuters and Joe.My.God.

David Brody / CBN.com:
Just In to Brody File: Pastor Robert Jeffress Says ‘God Has Given Trump Authority to Take Out Kim Jong-un’

Discussion: The American Conservative and The Daily Caller

Lucas Tomlinson / Fox News:
US spy satellites detect North Korea moving anti-ship cruise missiles to patrol boat

CNN:
Trump threatens North Korea after US assesses they have miniaturized a nuclear warhead

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Trump vows North Korea will be met with ‘fire and fury’ if threats continue

Discussion: Political Wire, ThinkProgress, Scripting News, IJR, Washington Times, Talking Points Memo and CBS New York

Robin Eberhardt / The Hill:
Haley decries leaks after Trump tweets Fox story

Discussion: Axios, Washington Post, IJR, ABC News, RedState, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon and Raw Story

Fox News:
Trump: North Korea ‘will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen’ if more threats emerge

Discussion: The Hill, The Guardian, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The New Civil Rights Movement, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Post

CBS News:
Trump warns North Korea will be “met with fire and fury”

Discussion: RedState, CBS New York, The Daily Caller, IJR, Joe.My.God., The Week and Politico

Alex Thompson / Vice News:

It's known as the “propaganda document” — Twice a day since the beginning of the Trump administration, a special folder is prepared for the president. The first document is prepared around 9:30 a.m. and the follow-up, around 4:30 p.m. Former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus …

Discussion: CNNMoney, Raw Story, Vox, TheBlaze, IJR, AOL, Politicus USA, Shareblue, RedState, Mashable, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Talking Points Memo, The Washington Journal, Joe.My.God., Mediaite and The Week

Eric Boehlert / Shareblue:
It's happening: Trump's base finally begins to flee

Discussion: AOL, Daily Kos, Mediaite and IJR

USA Today:

President Trump has exchanged private messages with Russia special counsel Robert Mueller — WASHINGTON - President Trump has publicly called the widening federal investigation into Russia's election meddling a “witch hunt.” But through his lawyer, Trump has sent private messages of “appreciation” to special counsel Robert Mueller.

Discussion: The Hill, New York Magazine, Raw Story, The Washington Journal, The New Civil Rights Movement, NBC News, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Axios, Washington Free Beacon, Joe.My.God., TheBlaze, AOL and Mediaite

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:

Mueller, several team members gave up million-dollar jobs to work on special counsel investigation — Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel probing Russian interference in the 2016 election, leaves Capitol Hill in June after a closed-door meeting. The Justice Department's ethics office …

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Special counsel Robert Mueller's finances go public — When special counsel Robert Mueller took his new job in May, he gave up a law firm partnership in which he had made almost $3.5 million since the beginning of 2016, according to a financial disclosure released by the Justice Department on Tuesday.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Ryan Lizza / New Yorker:

What to Make of the Mike Pence 2020 Rumors — Two weeks ago, when I spoke to Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director—the same conversation in which he pilloried several colleagues, threatened to fire his entire staff, and claimed to have called the F.B.I. to investigate …

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, GQ and Daily Kos

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

Mike Pence's real power move — The vice president's office hasn't been one of the competing power centers in President Donald Trump's faction-riven White House — but the recent arrival of Nick Ayers, the veteran campaign operative now serving as Mike Pence's chief of staff, is starting to change that.

Discussion: Political Wire

Steven Perlberg / BuzzFeed:

Behind The Jared And Ivanka PR Machine — When reporters are working on stories that involve Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, they hear from Josh Raffel, a tough, former New York City flack now inside the White House. — On a Thursday late last month, shortly before the New Yorker published …

Discussion: Mediaite and Raw Story

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Fact-checking of Trump falling on deaf ears? Far from it — How these leaks to reporters exposed lies — Widespread distrust of the White House, as shown in a new CNN poll, is not just a sign of President Trump's weakness. It's also a sign of the national news media's strength.

Michael Gartland / New York Post:

Emails reveal de Blasio bullies his staffers — Mayor de Blasio is an imperious bully of a boss who threatens his underlings with dire punishment if they fail to meet his demands, emails obtained by The Post reveal. — “What do I need to get you guys to follow a direct order?

Discussion: Mediaite

Steven T. Dennis / Bloomberg:

Trump Campaign Turns Over Thousands of Documents in Russia Probe — Donald Trump Jr., Manafort also send data to Judiciary panel — Committee may hold public hearings on Russia in late September — Donald Trump's presidential campaign, his son Donald Trump Jr. and former campaign manager Paul Manafort …

Discussion: The Week and The Washington Journal

Ryan Nobles / CNN:

McConnell criticizes Trump's ‘excessive expectations’ — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — (CNN)Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered some of his toughest criticism yet for President Donald Trump in a speech Monday to a Rotary Group in northern Kentucky. — McConnell, who has been relatively measured …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Axios

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
McConnell goes after Trump's ‘excessive expectations’

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Gateway Pundit

Patrick Doyle / Rolling Stone:

Glen Campbell, ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ Singer Who Fused Country and Pop, Dead at 81 — Singer-guitarist and TV host who achieved crossover success succumbs to Alzheimer's disease — Glen Campbell, the indelible voice behind 21 Top 40 hits including “Rhinestone Cowboy,” “Wichita Lineman” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” died Tuesday.

Discussion: Boing Boing, Consequence of Sound, WKRN-TV, The Stranger …, The Week, The Daily Caller, IJR, Joe.My.God., Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times and CBS Los Angeles

Michael Pollak / New York Times:
Glen Campbell, Whose Hit Songs Bridged Country and Pop, Dies at 81

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Jim Michaels / USA Today:

Trump White House weighs unprecedented plan to privatize much of the war in Afghanistan — The White House is actively considering a bold plan to turn over a big chunk of the U.S. war in Afghanistan to private contractors in an effort to turn the tide in a stalemated war …

Discussion: CNN, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, Shareblue, The Daily Caller, The Washington Journal, Common Dreams, The Week and Political Wire

Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:

David Letterman Returning to TV With Netflix Talk Show — The six-episode untitled series will feature in-depth interviews as well as topics outside of the studio. — Two years after signing off CBS' The Late Show, David Letterman is returning to the small screen.

Discussion: Variety and Liberal Values, more at Mediagazer »

David Dayen / New Republic:

The Left's Misguided Debate Over Kamala Harris — My article about a bank's law-breaking during the housing crisis became a political football, obscuring the real issue at hand. — Back in January, after Donald Trump had nominated Steven Mnuchin as treasury secretary …

Discussion: Eschaton

Investor's Business Daily:

Trump Approval Hits New Low Of 32% As Support From His Base Slips — IBD/TIPP Poll — President Trump's approval rating dropped 5 percentage points in August to a new low of 32%, according to the latest IBD/TIPP Poll.

Discussion: Washington Post, Politicus USA, CBS News and Political Wire

Daniel Strauss / Politico:

Trump tweets endorsement for Alabama Sen. Strange ahead of GOP primary — President Donald Trump endorsed Alabama Sen. Luther Strange in a tweet Tuesday night ahead of the state's Aug. 15 GOP Senate primary. — “Senator Luther Strange has done a great job representing the people of the Great State of Alabama.

Discussion: RedState

German Lopez / Vox:

President Trump promised “a major briefing” on the opioid crisis. It was a huge nothingburger. — Trump likes to talk about the opioid epidemic. He should try doing something about it. — The anticipation was high. President Donald Trump promised “a major briefing on the Opioid crisis.”

Discussion: The Guardian, Politico, RT, IJR and Washington Times

Anita Hill / New York Times:

Class Actions Could Fight Discrimination in Tech — The recent leak of a Google engineer's screed against the company's diversity initiatives is a reminder that the notion of Silicon Valley as the seat of human progress is a myth — at least when it comes to the way the women behind the latest in technology are treated.

Discussion: KQED News, The Guardian and The Daily Caller