memeorandum: Monmouth College grad charged for allegedly stomping puppy to death (Shane Simmons/WQAD-TV)

11:35 AM ET, July 2, 2015

Top Items:

As Donald Trump surges in polls, Democrats cheer — For Democrats, Donald Trump amounts to a kind of divine intervention. — With the Republican Party on an urgent mission to woo Latino voters, one of its leading presidential candidates has been enmeshed for two weeks in a nasty feud …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Business Insider, Daily Kos, Bloomberg Business, CNN, Bloomberg View, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, Hinterland Gazette, Daily Mail and Hot Air

Claire Boston / Bloomberg Business:

Serta Will Stop Selling Donald Trump Mattress Line in Latest Defection — The move comes after the presidential candidate made disparaging comments about Mexican immigrants. — Serta, the largest U.S. mattress manufacturer, will end its business relationship with Donald Trump …

Discussion: Gawker, Hinterland Gazette, Political Wire, Mashable and Mediaite

NBC News:

First Read: Is the GOP the Party of Big Business No More? — People hold signs in front of Macy's Herald Square flagship store, Wednesday, July 1, 2015, in New York. Macy's became the latest company to end its relationship with presidential candidate Donald Trump after his remarks about Mexican immigrants.

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, The Reaction and NBC News

John DiStaso / WMUR:

New Hampshire Primary Source: Texas governor now sending ‘love’ letters to NH businesses — Also: Ayotte won't talk about the ‘Hassan question’ — (New Hampshire Primary Source covers breaking and behind-the-scenes news and analysis on the New Hampshire presidential primary and all things political in the Granite State.

Discussion: Political Wire

Josh Feldman / Mediaite: De Blasio: We're Reviewing Trump's NYC Contracts over ‘Disgusting’ Comments

Mike Allen / Politico:

HILLARY'S OMNIPRESENT HUMA emerges as own power center - DEMS WANT BILL to rai$e for HRC super PAC; fears she'll lag Jeb - PERRY speech courts African Americans - RAND banks on Nev. — By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; mallen@politico.com), and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; dlippman@politico.com)

Discussion: Associated Press and BostonGlobe.com

Annie Karni / Politico:

Hillary's shadow — After years as the former secretary of state's loyal assistant, Huma Abedin is emerging as a campaign power center of her own. — Hillary Clinton had just wrapped a campaign event in the warehouse of the Smuttynose Brewery in New Hampshire in May, when the crowd began crushing in …

Discussion: Political Wire

Nick Gass / Politico:
Scott Walker to announce White House run on July 13

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Week

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Emails Show Hillary Clinton Trying to Find Her Place

Discussion: Politico and Mother Jones, more at Mediagazer »

John McCormick / Bloomberg Business: Scott Walker to Announce Presidential Campaign Intentions July 13

Elliot Smilowitz / The Hill:

Sanders draws massive crowd in Wisconsin — Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders drew 10,000 supporters, the largest crowd of his campaign thus far, according to reports. — “Tonight, we have more people at any meeting for a candidate of president of the United States …

Discussion: Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, RedState and The Last Refuge

Ben Brody / Bloomberg Business:
Bernie Sanders Gains on Hillary Clinton in Iowa, Quinnipiac Poll Says

Discussion: Politico

Scott Bauer / Associated Press: In Wisconsin, Sanders appeals to like-minded liberals

WUSA9:

Navy Yard lockdown: Police look for 2 men, say sources — 8:37 a.m.: Homeland Security vehicle rolls in — 8:30 a.m.: People evacuated from buildings near Navy Yard building are on the street waiting to see what to do next. One man told Mike Hydeck that he saw a note on the door of the Dept …

Discussion: Fox News, Politico, CNN, The Week, Guardian, Fox News Insider, fox13now.com, Hit & Run, Mediaite and KTLA

Arelis R. Hernández / Washington Post:
Police swarm Washington Navy Yard after reports of active shooter

Discussion: WIS-TV

Reuters:
U.S. Navy Yard in Washington locked down amid reported shooting

Discussion: ABC News, Liberaland, NBC News, The Week and Hot Air

Loretta Chao / Wall Street Journal:

Revamped Bubble Wrap Loses Its Pop — Sealed Air, maker of the iconic packaging material, is rolling out a new flat version to cut down on the high costs of shipping air — Sealed Air Corp. has revamped its iconic Bubble Wrap. The new product dubbed iBubble Wrap looks …

Discussion: Mashable, The Week and The Huffington Post

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Democrats Regain Edge in Party Affiliation — Story Highlights — PRINCETON, N.J. — In the second quarter of 2015, Democrats regained an advantage over Republicans in terms of Americans' party affiliation. A total of 46% of Americans identified as Democrats (30%) or said they are independents …

Discussion: Democratic Strategist

Josh Kraushaar / National Journal: The GOP's Rob Portman Predicament

Bloomberg Business:

Jobs Report Disappoints, Participation Rate Falls to Lowest Since 1977 … An increase in June payrolls followed smaller gains in the prior two months and wages were little changed as U.S. job market reflected a more moderate pace of economic growth. — The addition of 223,000 jobs followed …

Discussion: Hot Air, Politico, NPR, 89.3 KPCC, The Reformed Broker and Patterico's Pontifications

Monica Potts / Washington Monthly:

The Post-Ownership Society — Five and a half years ago, when I first moved to Washington, D.C., for a magazine job, I rented a basement apartment in a neighborhood called Bloomingdale. The area was full of Victorian-era homes that had once been occupied by mostly middle-class black families …

Timothy Cama / The Hill:

Oklahoma sues to stop Obama's climate rule — Oklahoma's attorney general filed a lawsuit Wednesday to stop the Obama administration's signature proposed climate change regulation. — The federal lawsuit from Attorney General Scott Pruitt is comes less than a month after the Court of Appeals …

Discussion: Washington Post and Instapundit

Laylan Connelly / Orange County Register:

'I've never seen this before': How a family outing took ‘totally bizarre’ turn after dolphin lands in boat, breaks woman's ankles — A dolphin jumped from the water and landed inside a family's boat on June 21. Dirk Frickman drove the dolphin to a dock, where it was released back into the ocean.

Discussion: CBS Los Angeles, 89.3 KPCC, NBC News and The Week

CNN:

Poll: Majority sees Confederate flag as Southern pride symbol, not racist — Story highlights — About 57% of Americans see the Confederate flag more as a symbol of Southern pride than as a symbol of racism, the poll says — Washington (CNN)American public opinion on the Confederate flag remains …

Discussion: Washington Post, Political Insider blog, The Week, No More Mister Nice Blog, USA Today and Balloon Juice

Shane Simmons / WQAD-TV:

Monmouth College grad charged for allegedly stomping puppy to death — More than a dozen protesters convened outside of the Warren County Courthouse on Tuesday, June 30, with one objective: “Justice for Cash.” — Cash was a pit bull puppy who was allegedly kicked and stomped to death …

Discussion: KTLA and New York's PIX11

Alissa Greenberg / TIME:

Another Black Church Burns in the South, the 8th in 10 Days — #WhoIsBurningBlackChurches trended on Twitter throughout the week — Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, a prominent African-American church in Greeleyville, S.C., caught fire late Tuesday.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, MichelleMalkin.com and Post and Courier

Con Coughlin / Telegraph:

US blocks attempts by Arab allies to fly heavy weapons directly to Kurds to fight Islamic State — Middle East allies accuse Barack Obama and David Cameron of failing to show strategic leadership in fight against Isil, as MPs could be given vote on whether to bomb Syria

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Stevepostrel / StrategyProfs.net:

Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: Obama Foreign Policy Division — An overview article in the Wall Street Journal about President Obama's foreign policy, apparently fueled by White House image-polishing sources (such as noted foreign policy expert David Axelrod), brings to mind what Richard Rumelt called …

Discussion: The Hugh Hewitt Show

Sean Davis / The Federalist:

Sorry, Chuck Todd, But Reporters Are Not The Referees Of Politics — Chuck Todd, a reporter for NBC News and the host of NBC's Meet The Press, appeared to imply on Twitter earlier today that reporters in politics are really no different than referees in sports.

Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:

‘Dukes of Hazzard’ Star Rips TV Land for Dropping Show: “Can't We All Just Watch TV?” — “Are people who grew up watching the show now suddenly racists?” John Schneider asks. — John Schneider is blasting TV Land for its decision to erase from its schedule — due its depiction of the Confederate flag …

Discussion: Slantpoint, Washington Post, Mediaite, EW.com and The Huffington Post