memeorandum: Woman says her Amazon device recorded private conversation, sent it out to random contact (Gary Horcher/KIRO)

7:45 PM ET, May 24, 2018

Top Items:

Roger Stone Sought Information on Clinton from Assange, Emails Show — Ex-Trump adviser urged intermediary to ask WikiLeaks for specific dates of rival candidate's communications — Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone privately sought information he considered damaging to Hillary Clinton …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, New York Magazine, CNBC, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Week, Shakesville, NY State of Politics and Mediaite

Eileen Sullivan / New York Times:

Trump Pulls Out of June Summit Meeting With North Korea — WASHINGTON — President Trump has notified Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, that he has canceled their much-anticipated meeting, which was set for June 12. — In a letter dated Thursday to Mr. Kim, the American president …

Discussion: The Hill, Vox, Washington Post, Common Dreams, The Atlantic, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Hullabaloo, Washington Free Beacon, Outside the Beltway, New Republic, CNN, JustOneMinute, Political Wire and Althouse

Fred Kaplan / Slate:

Art of the Fail — By canceling his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, President Donald Trump has proved his lack of skill as a negotiator, handed the world's most brutal dictator a win, and further isolated the United States as a world power. — In a letter to Kim …

Discussion: The Atlantic, CNBC, Hullabaloo, Business Insider, Yonhap News Agency, The Mahablog and Daily Wire

Adam Rawnsley / The Daily Beast:

North Korea ‘Stood Up’ U.S. Team During Summit Prep, White House Official Says … A week before Donald Trump announced that he was scuttling a high-profile summit with Kim Jong-Un, White House officials were “stood up” by their North Korean counterparts at a planned meeting in Singapore, according to a senior administration official.

Discussion: Axios, The Daily Caller, Daily Caller News Foundation and CNN

Richard Haass / Axios:
We're back where we started with North Korea

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, RedState, One America News Network and twitchy.com

CNN:
North Korea blows up tunnels at Punggye-ri nuclear test site

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Straits Times, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, WTVR-TV, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Signal, Common Dreams, KTLA, WGN-TV, IJR, Home Page Rotator and Joe.My.God.

Rick Noack / Washington Post:
How Kim-Trump tensions escalated: The more the U.S. said ‘Libya,’ the angrier North Korea got

Discussion: The Nation, New York Times, Sky News, Vox and The Slot

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
An unpredictable president changes the North Korea script

Discussion: ABC News, Little Green Footballs and RedState

Associated Press:
The Latest: Pompeo not saying if South Korea was notified

Discussion: Yonhap News Agency and Axios

CNN:

Women accuse Morgan Freeman of inappropriate behavior, harassment — An Phung and Chloe Melas — (CNN)A young production assistant thought she had landed the job of her dreams when, in the summer of 2015, she started work on “Going In Style,” a bank heist comedy starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin.

Discussion: Page Six, Hollywood Reporter, RedState, Law & Crime, The Daily Beast, KTLA, New York Times, NPR, Daily Wire, theGrio, IJR, Breitbart, IndieWire, The Daily Caller, National Review, Glamour, Vox, The Gateway Pundit, VICE, Splinter, ABC News, Bossip, The Guardian, Mashable, Shakesville, AOL, LifeZette, The Week, twitchy.com, TMZ.com, Mediaite, smokeroom.com and Toronto Star

Anita Busch / Deadline:
Morgan Freeman On Accusations: “I Apologize To Anyone Who Felt Uncomfortable Or Disrespected”

Discussion: The Root

Shayna Jacobs / New York Daily News:

Harvey Weinstein set to turn himself in on sex crime charges in New York — Harvey Weinstein is expected to surrender to authorities Friday to face charges related to alleged sexual misconduct in connection to a probe by the Manhattan District Attorney's office and NYPD, the Daily News has confirmed.

New York Times:
Harvey Weinstein Facing Arrest in New York Following Sex Assault Inquiry

Discussion: Townhall, Glamour, Vox and Gothamist, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Turf War Between Kushner and Sessions Drove Federal Prisons Director to Quit — WASHINGTON — When Jared Kushner hosted a high-profile summit meeting on federal prison reform at the White House last Friday, some in attendance noticed that the man who was ostensibly in charge of the federal prison system …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Joe.My.God.

Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:

Elon Musk Shows Billionaires Need “News Literacy” Classes As Much As High Schoolers Do — When it comes to media criticism, comparing Elon Musk to Donald Trump is very unfair — to Trump. — BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief — When Elon Musk tweeted Tuesday that media reports …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, The Verge, Techdirt, BloombergQuint, ThinkProgress and Dame Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Felix Salmon / Slate:

Loser Journalists — It has become conventional wisdom, for good reason, that the best way to react to trolls is simply to ignore them. “Don't feed the trolls,” nontrolls say, in response to troublemakers on Twitter or in comment sections trying to get a rise out of pretty much anyone who will bite.

Discussion: TIME, CNNMoney and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Molly Roberts / Washington Post:
Elon Musk's meltdown makes perfect sense

Discussion: Vox, BBC and Vanity Fair

New York Times:

Lawmakers Briefed on F.B.I.'s Informant in Russia Inquiry — WASHINGTON — Top law enforcement and intelligence officials briefed congressional leaders from both parties on Thursday about the F.B.I.'s use of an informant in the Russia investigation, a highly unusual concession to Congress all but ordered by President Trump.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Raw Story, New York Magazine, Axios, Washington Post, Joe.My.God., The Gateway Pundit and ABC News

NBC News: Separate classified briefing for Nunes and Gowdy raises eyebrows

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
Trump's White House Lawyer Spotted At DOJ Informant Briefings For Lawmakers

Discussion: The Daily Beast, HuffPost, Law & Crime, Shareblue Media and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:
Obama officials' spying on Trump a departure from norms

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, RedState, Vox and Power Line

David French / New York Times:

Conservatives Fail the N.F.L.'s Free Speech Test — The United States is in the grips of a free-speech paradox. At the same time that the law provides more protection to personal expression than at any time in the nation's history, large numbers of Americans feel less free to speak.

Discussion: Yahoo Sports, Shareblue Media, Hot Air, National Review, Hit & Run, Breitbart, Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, Newsday and Washington Free Beacon

Robert Silverman / The Daily Beast:
The NFL's New Anthem Policy Is Madness—But the Players Can Stop It

Discussion: New York Times, One America News Network, Washington Post, Weekly Standard, The Atlantic, USA Today, Breitbart, Politico, Taylor Marsh, ABC News and Althouse

Gary Horcher / KIRO:

Woman says her Amazon device recorded private conversation, sent it out to random contact — A Portland family contacted Amazon to investigate after they say a private conversation in their home was recorded by Amazon's Alexa — the voice-controlled smart speaker — and that the recorded audio …

Discussion: Mother Jones, BuzzFeed, infowars.com, The Guardian, WSVN-TV, The Verge, Daily Wire, FOX31 Denver, Daily Caller News Foundation and New York Magazine, more at Techmeme »

Hamza Shaban / Washington Post:
An Amazon Echo recorded a family's conversation, then sent it to a random person in their contacts, report says

Discussion: WHNT-TV and Engadget

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

The group least likely to think the U.S. has a responsibility to accept refugees? Evangelicals. — In February 2017, as debate raged nationally over President Trump's decision to curtail immigration to the United States, the conservative Christian Broadcasting Network dipped into the Bible …

Discussion: Friendly Atheist, Pew Research Center and Splinter

New York Times:

Trump Pardons Jack Johnson, Heavyweight Boxing Champion — WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday pardoned Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, who was convicted in 1913 of transporting a white woman across state lines. — Mr. Trump signed the pardon for Johnson during …

Discussion: New Republic, Hot Air, National Review, Deadline, RedState, The Week and Washington Free Beacon

Associated Press:
Trump pardons late boxer Jack Johnson

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, ABC News, Associated Press, The Root, Breitbart and The Daily Caller

USA Today:

Donald Trump should not assume he's above the law. A sitting president can be indicted. — Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani would be unwise to assume presidents can't be indicted. The Constitution doesn't bar it and Rod Rosenstein could allow it. — CONNECT

Wall Street Journal: Trump's Lawyers, Special Counsel Nearly Reached Deal for Interview at Camp David in January

S.V. Date / HuffPost:
Rudy Giuliani: Trump Won't Interview With Mueller Until We Get ‘Spygate’ Report

Discussion: USA Today, AOL and IJR

BBC:

MH17 missile owned by Russian brigade, investigators say — The missile that downed a Malaysia Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine in 2014 belonged to a Russian brigade, international investigators say. — For the first time, the Dutch-led team said the missile had come from a unit based in western Russia.

Discussion: Instapundit

CNN:
Missile that downed MH17 ‘owned by Russian brigade’

Discussion: CNBC, The Independent, The Daily Caller, NPR, Mediaite, Axios and Novayagazeta.ru

CNBC:

The Trump-Russia ties hiding in plain sight — Trump's in-plain-sight embrace of Russia gets obscured by the Trump news avalanche. But long before running for president, Trump relied on Russian money. Trump also consistently defends Russia and attacks U.S. officials investigating Russia.

Discussion: Raw Story

Steve Reilly / USA Today:

Trump's company wouldn't say what his new $107K business was, until after we tracked it down — NEW YORK — For more than a week, nobody at the Trump Organization wanted to talk about the mysterious new corporation from which President Trump earned more than $100,000 last year.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Washington Press

Robert Burns / Associated Press:

Security troops on US nuclear missile base took LSD — WASHINGTON (AP) — One airman said he felt paranoia. Another marveled at the vibrant colors. A third admitted, “I absolutely just loved altering my mind.” — Meet service members entrusted with guarding nuclear missiles that are among the most powerful in America's arsenal.

Discussion: VICE News, NPR and The Week

Erik Larson / Bloomberg:

Avenatti Seeks to Revive Hush Money Lawsuit After Trump's Comments — Avenatti seeks to end hold on effort to end confidentiality — President acknowledged to new of deal forged by lawyer Cohen — Adult film star Stormy Daniels said President Donald Trump's sudden acknowledgment …

Discussion: Raw Story

Ken White / Popehat: Analysis: Clifford and Avenatti Seek Reconsideration of Stay of Michael Cohen Case In Los Angeles.

CNN:

Assange's refuge in Ecuadorian embassy ‘in jeopardy’ — Washington (CNN)Julian Assange's nearly six-year refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy in London is in danger, opening the WikiLeaks founder to arrest by British authorities and potential extradition to the US, multiple sources with knowledge tell CNN.

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

Perez infuriates liberals with Cuomo endorsement — The DNC chairman pits himself against Deputy Chairman Keith Ellison by intervening in the Democratic primary for New York governor. — Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez has said repeatedly that the national party shouldn't, and won't, endorse in primaries.

Discussion: InsideSources, Washington Free Beacon, Splinter, New York Times and CNN

Zaid Jilani / The Intercept:

“Most Progressive Democrat” Shri Thanedar Denied He Was Enamored With Marco Rubio. C-SPAN Footage Begs to Differ. — Michigan businessperson Shri Thanedar — having put millions of dollars of his own money into television ads calling himself the “most progressive” candidate in the race …

Discussion: Washington Post

Andrew Perez / MapLight:

Chris Christie Blocks Disclosure Of His Office's Emails With Jared Kushner's Company — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is blocking requests for copies of his office's correspondence with the real estate company previously managed by Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law.

Matt Volz / Associated Press:

APNewsBreak: Ethics complaint made over 2017 reporter attack — HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The head of the Montana Democratic Party on Thursday asked for a congressional ethics investigation into whether Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte lied to the police and the public when he assaulted a reporter last year.

Alexi McCammond / Axios:

Ivanka Trump now has full security clearance, too — Ivanka Trump's security clearance was upgraded to permanent Top Secret at the same time as Jared Kushner's upgrade on May 1, according to a person briefed on the matter. The White House declined to comment on this story.