memeorandum: U.S. Offers to Help Israel Bolster Defenses, Yet Iran Nuclear Deal Leaves Ally Uneasy (New York Times)

1:25 PM ET, July 16, 2015

Top Items:

Ryan Lizza / New Yorker:

John McCain Has a Few Things to Say About Donald Trump — Over the weekend, Donald Trump held a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, that attracted several thousand people. He shared the stage with the father of a man who was killed by an undocumented immigrant—and Trump continued his rant …

Discussion: Politico, Weekly Standard, Talking Points Memo, Arizona Republic, Daily Kos, Althouse, PoliticusUSA, The Moderate Voice and Hullabaloo

Niall Stanage / The Hill:

Trump crowds out second-tier GOP presidential candidates — Donald Trump's rise in the polls has caused heartburn for many people in the Republican Party, but it is the second-tier candidates in the presidential field who have been hurt most of all. — Candidates who have years …

Discussion: Hot Air, Taylor Marsh and Politico

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Jeb Bush girds for debate smackdown with Donald Trump — The former Florida governor is bracing for the possibility of a presidential debate pile-on. — Since announcing his presidential bid last month, Donald Trump has thrown haymakers at a variety of candidates, but he's gone after Jeb Bush with particular zeal.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, National Journal and New York Times

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:

Univision poll: Trump in trouble with Hispanics — Hispanic voters overwhelmingly disapprove of Donald Trump's controversial comments on illegal immigration, according to a new Univision poll. — Seventy nine percent of Hispanic voters polled find Trump's comments offensive, and 71 percent hold an unfavorable view of Trump.

Discussion: Political Wire, Christian Science Monitor, Outside the Beltway and PoliticusUSA

Tim Higgins / Bloomberg Business:

Presidential Fundraising: See Who's Spending, Who's Lagging, Who's Raising and Where — Financial disclosure forms filed by most of the major presidential candidates on Wednesday have brought the race into sharper focus, revealing stark differences in the 2016 competitors' base of support, both demographically and geographically.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:
Trump Builds One Brand and Damages Another

Discussion: Bloomberg View, America's Voice, USA Today, Yahoo Politics and Guardian

Associated Press:

AP-GfK Poll: Clinton's standing falls among Democrats — 1 photo — WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton's standing is falling among Democrats, and voters view her as less decisive and inspiring than when she launched her presidential campaign just three months ago, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.

Discussion: Power Line, “The Lid”, Hot Air, National Review and Business Insider

Lanny Davis / The Hill:
Why is the media picking sides on polling?

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Politico, Washington Free Beacon, Slantpoint and FiveThirtyEight

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

PHOTOS: Protesters Welcome Obama To Oklahoma With Confederate Flags — Supporters of the Confederate flag rallied Wednesday in Oklahoma as President Barack Obama arrived in the state for a series of events, including the first ever visit to a federal prison by a sitting President.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Leslie Rangel / KFOR-TV:
Oklahoma black man leads presidential protest by waving Confederate Flag

Discussion: Politico, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and TheBlaze.com

KFOR-TV:
“This is our heritage,” Confederate flag supporters protest ahead of Obama's Oklahoma arrival

Discussion: CBS DC, Washington Post and The Huffington Post

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Republicans' Approval of Supreme Court Sinks to 18% — Story Highlights — PRINCETON, N.J. — After a historic Supreme Court session that included rulings on same-sex marriage and the Affordable Care Act, Democrats' approval of the high court has surged to 76% and Republicans' approval has plummeted to a record-low 18%.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico and Talk Radio News Service

USA Today:
Poll shows most say court decisions mean Obamacare, gay marriage settled

Discussion: Daily Kos, Washington Post, The Huffington Post and America's Voice

The Duggar Family:

Duggar Family Statement Regarding TLC's Announcement — Today, TLC announced that they will not be filming new episodes of 19 Kids and Counting. — Years ago, when we were asked to film our first one hour documentary about the logistics of raising 14 children, we felt that it was an opportunity …

Discussion: WWBT-TV, Mashable, WGN-TV and Guardian

Frazier Moore / Associated Press:
AP Exclusive: TLC cancels ‘19 Kids and Counting’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNNMoney, Mediaite and LAist

Associated Press:

Wisconsin Supreme Court ends John Doe probe into Scott Walker's campaign — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday ended a secret investigation into whether Republican Gov. Scott Walker's campaign illegally coordinated with conservative groups in winning his 2012 recall election.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, New York Times, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Power Line, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, Althouse and JSOnline

Jamelle Bouie / Slate:
Two Americas — Hillary Clinton and Scott Walker have utterly …

Discussion: Ordinary Times

USA Today:

S.F. ‘sanctuary’ policy violates common sense: Our view — Killing of Kathryn Steinle reflects costs of lack of cooperation with immigration authorities. — A little bit of common sense and discretion might have prevented the killing this month in San Francisco of Kathryn Steinle …

Discussion: Hot Air and Instapundit

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
This Man Took On Fox News And Became A Hero To His City

Discussion: Gawker, The Huffington Post, Raw Story and Mediaite

Politico:

GOP lawmaker: No cash for campaign arm because it backs gays — New Jersey Republican Scott Garrett challenges his party's leadership. — Rep. Jeb Hensarling message seems aimed at Rep. Scott Garrett, who has angered some in the party. Getty — Closed committee meetings are typically wonkish, routine affairs.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Mediaite

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

Reporter scolded by Obama: ‘Clearly it struck a nerve’ — CBS correspondent Major Garrett said that his question during a televised White House press conference Wednesday that prompted a scolding from President Obama “struck a nerve.” — Garrett said the essence of his question concerned …

Discussion: ABC News and Hot Air

Tom Phillips / Guardian:

Uniqlo sex video: film shot in Beijing store goes viral and angers government — Police investigate and China's internet watchdog condemns ‘unsocialist’ behaviour after millions watch x-rated film online — A viral sex video that set the Chinese internet alight this week struck a severe blow …

Discussion: Althouse, The Verge and en.people.cn

Annie Karni / Politico:

Unions seethe over early Clinton endorsement — Labor leaders said there was a clear understanding that no national unions would make an endorsement before July 30. But the American Federation of Teachers jumped the gun. — There was never any question that the powerful American Federation …

Discussion: Fox News and RedState

Betsy Rothstein / The Daily Caller:

Mainstream Media Refuses To Give Planned Parenthood Scandal Legs. The Question Is: Why? — Whenever abortion pops into the picture, emotions run high. — But where do mainstream newspapers get off simply not reporting the news? — This is what happened Tuesday when a video …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, BarbWire.com, Live Action News, Daily Kos and Denny Burk

Michael Tracey / The New Republic:

The Bernie Sanders Archive Is Bustling With Mysterious Young Men — Campaign interns have been tasked with digitizing every document—and keeping quiet about it — July is a sleepy time on the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, and ordinarily the basement of the Bailey/Howe Library would be sleepier still.

Discussion: Hit & Run and Shakesville

Ashe Schow / Washington Examiner:

University policy suggests disabled people can't consent to sex — Share Tweet Reddit Digg Mail Print SMS More — An Armstrong State University sexual misconduct policy seems to indicate that students with physical or mental impairments cannot consent to sexual activity.

Discussion: Hit & Run and The Daily Caller

Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:

Who Will Pay the Political Price for Affordable Housing? — For generations, working- and middle-class opponents of anti-discrimination laws have argued that more affluent whites support such laws without having to bear any of the costs. — Now, the Democratic loyalty of better-off white liberals …

Discussion: AMERICAN DIGEST