Just weeks ahead of the first primary vote, GOP operatives are reportedly still considering a plan to take down Donald Trump. The latest scheme, Politico reports, would employ Alex Castellanos, former adviser to Mitt Romney and George W. Bush, who has reportedly been meeting with top GOP operatives to "gauge interest in launching an anti-Trump vehicle that would pummel the Manhattan businessman on the television airwaves":

Those who’ve met with Castellanos say he’s offered detailed presentations on how such an offensive would play out. Castellanos has said that an anti-Trump ad campaign, which would be designed to cast him as a flawed strongman, would cost well into the millions. It was unclear, the sources said, whether Castellanos, who did not respond to a request for comment, would ultimately go through with the effort. [Politico]

While this plan centers on Trump, Politico reports that the fear extends beyond just his nomination. The establishment is also reportedly worried about the effects of Ted Cruz winning the nomination. Some contend that if either Trump or Cruz's name tops the ticket, everyone below — be it a GOP candidate for governor, senator, or Congress — is in peril. "At some point, we have to deal with the fact that there are at least two candidates who could utterly destroy the Republican bench for a generation if they became nominee," a former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. "We'd be hard-pressed to elect a Republican dogcatcher north of the Mason-Dixon or west of the Mississippi."

Read the full story over at Politico. Becca Stanek

You know what they say: One man's "little rocket man" is another's "supreme leader." Only in the case of President Trump, it appears the same man can be both. CNN's Jim Acosta tweeted Monday that there is a White House collectable military coin commemorating the upcoming summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un, which uses an unusually glowing title for the dictator:

While putting Kim's face on a commemorative coin is shocking enough, most publications simply call Kim the "leader" of North Korea. Calling him "Supreme Leader" is a little bit like calling Idi Amin, the former president of Uganda, by his preferred title: "His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular."

Admittedly, Kim's own full title — Dear Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army — probably wouldn't have fit on the coin. Jeva Lange

Street harassers beware: Whistles and catcalls could be costly.

Lawmakers in France's National Assembly passed a measure last week that would fine people who harass women up to $885, The Washington Post reports.

The bill, which still needs the approval of the French Senate to officially become law, will require people to pay on the spot if they are caught whistling at women, heckling them, or following them. Anything that "infringes the freedom of movement of women in public spaces and undermines self-esteem and the right to security" could merit a fine. Do it more than once, and street harassment could get really expensive — repeat offenders will be required to pay up to $3,500.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the measure would make France a place where "women are not afraid to be outside," reports the Post. About 90 percent of French citizens supported the measure in one recent poll, though not everyone agrees that it will be easy to enforce. About 83 percent of French women say they have been harassed on the street. Read more at The Washington Post. Summer Meza

When management of Panama City's Trump International Hotel was wrested from the Trump Organization and its silver name chiseled off the signage earlier this year, observers noted the bruising blow to the president. The sail-shaped building had been Trump's only hotel in Panama and, at 70 stories, it was the tallest tower in the country.

This last point was of particular pride to Trump, who has been known to fudge the numbers to make his buildings appear taller than they really are. Former Ambassador to Panama John Feeley recounted the story to The New Yorker:

As [Feeley] took a seat, Trump asked, "So tell me — what do we get from Panama? What's in it for us?" Feeley presented a litany of benefits: help with counter-narcotics work and migration control, commercial efforts linked to the Panama Canal, a close relationship with the current President, Juan Carlos Varela. When he finished, Trump chuckled and said, "Who knew?" He then turned the conversation to the Trump International Hotel and Tower, in Panama City. "How about the hotel?" he said. "We still have the tallest building on the skyline down there?" [The New Yorker]

Trump's ownership of the hotel has raised red flags for ethics watchdogs, and the Trump Organization reportedly asked Panama's president to get involved when its grip on the hotel started to slip. Read the full report at The New Yorker. Jeva Lange

Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo doubled down on a claim that former President Obama "masterminded" a plot to unearth disparaging information on President Trump, voicing a theory that government agencies were politically weaponized during a Monday segment on the network.

"President Obama, basically it appears to me, politicized all of his agencies: the DOJ, the FBI, the IRS, the CIA — they were all involved in trying to take down Donald Trump," said Bartiromo.

Bartiromo previously alleged that Obama or Hillary Clinton had been "masterminding" FBI surveillance of the Trump campaign, which drew criticism for promoting a conspiracy theory. When Andrew Napolitano, a Fox News judicial analyst, said that any FBI surveillance would constitute "extraordinary political use of intelligence and law enforcement by the Obama administration," Bartiromo escalated the claim, roping in multiple government agencies. Watch the full discussion below, via Fox Business Network. Summer Meza

Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have "entered into a multi-year agreement to produce films and series for Netflix," the streaming service announced Monday. The content will "potentially" include "scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries, and features."

The Hollywood Reporter notes that the move is "unprecedented in media" and that "no previous former president has ever made such a deal," with post-White House productions typically limited to autobiographies.

In a statement, Obama said he and Michelle "hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world." Earlier this year, Obama appeared on David Letterman's Netflix talk show, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. Jeva Lange

The White House has issued an informational statement echoing President Trump's controversial use of the word "animals" to describe members of the MS-13 gang. Trump's initial comments came under fire when he apparently used the dehumanizing word to describe some immigrants in sanctuary cities, although he later clarified he was using "animals" specifically to refer to violent gang members.

The press release issued Monday is titled "What you need to know about the violent animals of MS-13." The release uses eight different statements like, "In Maryland, MS-13's animals are accused of stabbing a man more than 100 times and then decapitating him, dismembering him, and ripping his heart out of his body," and "MS-13's animals reportedly saw murder as a way to boost their standing in the gang." The statement ends by vowing that "President Trump's entire administration is working tirelessly to bring these violent animals to justice."

Writing for The Week, Paul Waldman recently argued that Trump "has used a particular strategy to justify his immigration policies: Focus on crimes committed by individual immigrants as a way of ginning up fear and hatred, creating animus toward all immigrants. And when necessary, use dehumanizing language — like calling them 'animals' — to make sure that your target audience feels no empathy or hesitation about supporting the cruelest policies to target them." Jeva Lange

Women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia were arrested last week, reports The Washington Post, just weeks before the nation lifts a ban on women driving.

Several of the seven activists who were jailed were leaders in the campaign to allow women to obtain driver's licenses, which the Saudi government approved last year. Five women and two men were detained on charges of "suspicious contact with foreign parties" and "undermining the country's stability and social fabric," the Post reports.

One of the detainees, Loujain Hathloul, was arrested in 2014 after driving into Saudi Arabia to protest the driving ban. Hathloul, Eman al-Nafjan, and Aziza al-Yousef have also vocally opposed the nation's male guardianship system, which requires men to accompany women to access government services, reports BuzzFeed News.

Groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have denounced the arrests, calling the activists victims of a "chilling smear campaign" by government officials. The Saudi government has pledged to reform many of its laws regarding its social structure and women's rights, but activists and advocacy groups say the reality of the kingdom's advancements is far from what officials have claimed. Summer Meza