memeorandum: After Russian Facebook ads, Democrats seek new FEC rules on social media politics (Dylan Byers/CNNMoney)

7:35 AM ET, September 20, 2017

Top Items:

CNBC:

Trump using campaign, RNC funds to pay Russia probe legal bills: Reuters, citing sources — The U.S. Federal Election Commission allows the use of private campaign funds to pay legal bills arising from being a candidate or elected official. — Trump would be the first U.S. president …

Discussion: Politico, Wall Street Journal, ThinkProgress, IJR, The Atlantic, RedState and Eschaton

CNN:

Exclusive: Mueller team's focus on Manafort spans 11 years — Washington (CNN)Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team is reaching back more than a decade in its investigation of Paul Manafort, a sign of the pressure Mueller is placing on President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman.

Reuters:
Trump using campaign, RNC funds to pay legal bills from Russia probe: sources

Discussion: KTLA, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Jezebel, Axios, Mother Jones, The Week, Occupy Democrats and Political Wire

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
RNC covering more than $230,000 in Trump legal fees

Discussion: New York Magazine, Raw Story, RT, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Business Insider, Fox News Insider and Washington Post

Matea Gold / Washington Post: RNC taps legal account to help pay for President Trump's lawyers in Russia probes

The Daily Beast: Michael Flynn Prepping for a $1 Million Legal Tab

Rich Lowry / National Review:

‘Holy Sh**’: Trump at the U.N. — A Jacksonian speech in Turtle Bay — As someone said on Twitter, never before has been there so much murmuring of “holy sh**” in so many different languages. Donald Trump's speech at the United Nations was a sometimes awkward marriage …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Washington Times, Baltimore Sun, Hot Air, The Week, Vox, JustOneMinute, New Republic and Mediaite

Politico:

Full text: Trump's 2017 U.N. speech transcript — President Donald Trump's statement to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 19, 2017, as prepared for delivery. — Mr. Secretary General, Mr. President, world leaders, and distinguished delegates: Welcome to New York.

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, TheBlaze, VDARE, NPR, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Power Line, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, IJR, Althouse, twitchy.com, TalkLeft, Scripting News and Balloon Juice

Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:

Trump Uses Putin's Arguments to Undermine the World … The leader stepped to the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, as close to a literal world stage as exists, and issued a stringent defense of the principle of national sovereignty. — “What is the state sovereignty, after all …

Discussion: Raw Story

Olivier Knox / Yahoo:
World leaders' faces react to Trump's U.N. speech

Discussion: Mashable, Mediaite, Politicus USA and Washington Monthly

Max Boot / USA Today:
At U.N., Trump's ‘me first’ doctrine abandons Truman's postwar ‘security for all’

Discussion: Foreign Policy, The Week, Washington Post, Politico, Power Line and IJR

Mark Landler / New York Times:
Trump Offers a Selective View of Sovereignty in U.N. Speech

Discussion: RT, Politicus USA, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, Gothamist, Shakesville, RedState and PerezHilton

Associated Press:
In stark UN speech, Trump threatens to destroy North Korea

Discussion: New York Post, Washington Examiner, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall.com, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos and Washington Post

Dylan Scott / Vox:

Jimmy Kimmel: new Obamacare repeal bill flunks the Jimmy Kimmel Test — “This guy, Bill Cassidy, just lied right to my face.” — Jimmy Kimmel became an unlikely figure in the Republican health care debate a few months ago when he reached an accord of sorts with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) …

Discussion: Axios, Shareblue and Mediaite

Axios:

What's missing from the latest ACA repeal bill — Throughout this summer's effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Republican senators outlined a treasury of specific provisions they needed to see tweaked, added or eliminated in order to win their support.

Caitlin Owens / Axios:

Senate likely to start voting on GOP health plan next Wednesday — Senate leadership is aiming to start voting on the Cassidy-Graham health care plan next Wednesday. “I think so. I think that's the likely thing,” Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of leadership, told me.

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, The Week, Politicus USA and Political Wire

Miranda Green / CNN:
Why Rand Paul opposes the GOP Obamacare repeal bill

Discussion: Shareblue, The Week, CNNMoney, The Daily Signal, Weekly Standard and IJR

Emily Yahr / Washington Post:
Jimmy Kimmel gets heated about health-care bill, says Sen. Bill Cassidy ‘lied right to my face’

Discussion: The Hill, CNN and The Week

Rachael Bade / Politico:
Ryan, White House reject bipartisan health fix

Matt Fuller / HuffPost:
Senators Who Had Voted Against Obamacare Repeal Are Now Wavering

Discussion: CNN, Vox, TheStreet, Refinery29, New York Magazine and New York Times

Claire Atkinson / NBC News:

Networks Pass on Sean Spicer for Paid Contributor Role — The big five news organizations have passed on offering former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer a job as an exclusive paid contributor, network sources confirmed to NBC News Tuesday. — Since Spicer exited the White House …

Discussion: Axios, Mediaite and Political Wire

Wall Street Journal:

Special Counsel's Office Interviewed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — Interview could be a sign that Rosenstein isn't seen as a central witness, as he hasn't withdrawn himself from his oversight role — Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office has interviewed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNN, Weekly Standard, Raw Story and The Week

Rachana Pradhan / Politico:

Price's private-jet travel breaks precedent — In a sharp departure from his predecessors, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price last week took private jets on five separate flights for official business, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars more than commercial travel.

Discussion: Raw Story and Axios

Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times:

At least 105 killed as powerful 7.1 earthquake strikes central Mexico — A powerful earthquake shook central Mexico on Tuesday, crumbling buildings and sending thousands of people in Mexico City fleeing into the streets screaming. — A powerful 7.1 earthquake shook central Mexico on Tuesday …

Discussion: Associated Press, KTLA, Daily Wire and Deadspin

Jerrod Laber / The Federalist:

Your Refusal To Date Conservatives Is One Reason We Have Donald Trump — The popular dating website OkCupid announced Wednesday that it would make the online dating scene a little easier for progressives who can't risk interacting with someone with whom they disagree (imagine the horror!).

Discussion: Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Mediaite

Dylan Byers / CNNMoney:

After Russian Facebook ads, Democrats seek new FEC rules on social media politics — Democrats on Capitol Hill are launching new efforts to prevent Russians and other foreigners outside the U.S. from using social media to interfere in future American elections.

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:

Bannon orders Breitbart to step up negative coverage of Trump-backed candidate — What you need to know about Steve Bannon — Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon on Tuesday morning ordered top editors at Breitbart to step up its overwhelmingly negative coverage …

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

Gabriella Paiella / thecut:

The Story Behind the Greatest Internet Recipe Comment of All Time — Two years ago, below a New York Times recipe for Katharine Hepburn's brownies, a woman named Sydne Newberry left what is perhaps the greatest recipe comment of all time, in a genre known for excellence.

Brian Lyman / The Montgomery Advertiser:

Bentley notes reveal thinking of governor, candidates in U.S. Senate appointment — Where were the three leading Republican candidates strongest? We look at their best results — and where Luther Strange and Roy Moore might need to improve. Brian Lyman / Advertiser

Tara Bahrampour / Washington Post:

Not drinking or driving, teens increasingly put off traditional markers of adulthood — When 17-year-old Quattro Musser hangs out with friends, they don't drink beer or cruise around in cars with their dates. Rather, they stick to G-rated activities such as rock-climbing or talking about books.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, TheBlaze, Marginal REVOLUTION, The Daily Caller, Jezebel and Althouse

Jean M. Twenge / Wiley Online Library: The Decline in Adult Activities Among U.S. Adolescents, 1976-2016

Dana Ferguson / Argus Leader:

S.D. GOP whip shares meme endorsing vehicular assault on protesters — RAPID CITY — A Republican state lawmaker faced calls to apologize Tuesday after she shared an image on Facebook depicting protesters being hit by a vehicle under the caption, “All Lives Splatter.”

Emily C. Singer / Mic:

Exclusive: Hillary Clinton says, “No one, including me, is saying we will contest the election” — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she's not going to contest the results of the election, clarifying a comment she made Monday on NPR in which she said wouldn't rule out questioning …