memeorandum: Democracy in Crisis (Gary J. Bass/New York Times)

U.S. Escalates Online Attacks on Russia's Power Grid — WASHINGTON — The United States is stepping up digital incursions into Russia's electric power grid in a warning to President Vladimir V. Putin and a demonstration of how the Trump administration is using new authorities to deploy cybertools …

Discussion: Politico, Agence France-Presse, Sputnik International, Slate, The Verge, Rolling Stone, KTLA, Newser, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Task & Purpose, TASS, Bloomberg and Mother Jones, more at Techmeme »

Gary J. Bass / New York Times:

Democracy in Crisis — ILL WINDS — Saving Democracy From Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency By Larry Diamond — China today holds as many as a million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in “political education” camps. Across China, Xi Jinping is pioneering …

Matthew Choi / Politico:

‘Enjoy the show!’: Trump hypes controversial Stephanopoulos interview — President Donald Trump on Saturday hyped his forthcoming full interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, excerpts of which shook allies and opponents alike this week when the president revealed he would take foreign help …

Discussion: Breitbart

John Cassidy / New Yorker:

The Stephanopoulos Interview Is Another Fine Mess for Trump — Some weeks the Trump Presidency is a horror show; some weeks it is slapstick. This week it was both. In the Middle East, tensions with Iran rose alarmingly, while, on the domestic front, Donald Trump got himself into yet another political mess.

Discussion: Instapundit

Washington Post:

GOP in disarray as budget impasse threatens shutdown, deep cuts — and default — Senate Republicans and the Trump administration are struggling to reach an agreement on a path forward on critical budget and spending issues, threatening not only another government shutdown and deep spending cuts …

Hannah Bleau / Breitbart:

‘Completely Erroneous’: New York Times Busted for Fake News Story on Harriet Tubman $20 Bill — The U.S. Treasury is denying a piece from the New York Times which accused the Trump administration of delaying the release of the $20 Harriet Tubman bill and doing so for political reasons.

Discussion: RedState

The Hill:

Trump directs agencies to cut advisory boards by ‘at least’ one-third — President Trump is directing all agencies to cut their advisory boards by “at least” one third. — The executive order issued Friday evening directs all federal agencies to “evaluate the need” for each of their current advisory committees.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Siobhán O'Grady / Washington Post:

The Taliban claimed an attack on U.S. forces. Pompeo blamed Iran. — On May 31, a suicide bomber targeted a U.S. convoy in eastern Kabul, killing four Afghan passersby and slightly wounding four U.S. servicemen and at least three civilians. — At the time, the Taliban claimed responsibility …

Discussion: Informed Comment and The American Conservative

Sarah Stillman / New Yorker:

How Families Separated at the Border Could Make the Government Pay — Suny Rodríguez, an asylum seeker from Honduras, sued the government over abuses suffered in family detention, launching a new legal movement. — If you've ever borrowed a ruffled cocktail dress or a sequinned jumpsuit …

Fox News:

Judith Miller and William Tobey: To protect against Iranian attacks, US should be ready to escort oil tankers — In light of the most recent attacks on civilian oil tankers in international waters in the Gulf of Oman, the Trump administration must now be prepared to escort tankers transiting …

Discussion: The American Conservative

Anemona Hartocollis / New York Times:

Oberlin Helped Students Defame a Bakery, a Jury Says. The Punishment: $33 Million. — Protests over cultural sensitivity have long been a staple at Oberlin College, a liberal arts school tucked into the cornfields of Ohio, where students have spoken out about everything from microaggressions to the cultural appropriation of sushi.

Discussion: Daily Wire, RedState, Power Line and Mediaite

Michael A. Cohen / BostonGlobe.com:

Trump's latest betrayal strengthens the case for impeachment — Every time you think that Donald Trump can't paint a more vivid picture of his manifest unfitness to be president of the United States, he decides to break out the easel, palette, and canvas. — It's not enough for the president …

Morgan Gstalter / The Hill:

Franklin Graham: ‘I think God was behind the last election’ — Evangelist Franklin Graham said in an interview that divine intervention might be the reason President Trump won in 2016. — “I think God was behind the last election,” Graham told conservative news site The Western Journal,

Fox News:

Beto O'Rourke says white Americans don't know the full story of slavery, continues to support reparations — Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke took an unconventional approach to reaching out to African-American voters Friday, meeting with a small group representing a community …

Discussion: Washington Post

Declan Walsh / New York Times:

Sudan Ousted a Brutal Dictator. His Successor Was His Enforcer. — KHARTOUM, Sudan — Once a camel trader who led a militia accused of genocidal violence in Darfur, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan now sits at the pinnacle of power in Sudan, overlooking the scorched streets from his wood-paneled office high …