memeorandum: ISIS Leader Is Delegating His Powers in Case He Is Killed (New York Times)

11:45 AM ET, July 21, 2015

Top Items:

Trump should pull the plug on his bloviating side show — It's time for Donald Trump to drop out of the race for president of the United States. — People who run for public office typically perform a great public service, regardless of whether they win on Election Day.

Washington Post:

Poll: Trump surges to big lead in GOP presidential race — Businessman Donald Trump surged into the lead for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, with almost twice the support of his closest rival, just as he ignited a new controversy after making disparaging remarks …

Ginger Adams Otis / New York Daily News:

Photos show Donald Trump in military uniform, with athletic teams before dodging the Vietnam draft with ‘bull—t’ injury — Donald Trump — once a smiling teenage cadet at a military academy — dodged the Vietnam War with student deferments and a boo-boo on his foot, records show.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider and Mediaite

NBC News:

Can John Kasich Get Traction in the Summer of Donald? — First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter. — If the two-term governor of all-important Ohio — with a 60% approval rating in his state …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mock Paper Scissors, No More Mister Nice Blog, Political Wire and Washington Post

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The Republican poll nightmare that is Donald Trump, in four charts

Discussion: Politico, Daily Kos, The Week, Talking Points Memo and Salon

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:
Rick Perry compares Trump to cancer

Discussion: National Review, Political Wire, Phantom Public, ThinkProgress, Washington Times and Hit & Run

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic:
Why It's Hard for the GOP to Discredit Donald Trump

Discussion: Mediaite, RedState and Talking Points Memo

Jake Tapper / CNN:
First on CNN: Palin calls both McCain and Trump heroes

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post, Slantpoint, Raw Story, Addicting Info, The Week, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, Hot Air, US News, The Daily Caller, New York Daily News, Steyn Online and Wall Street Journal

Ashley Killough / CNN:
Lindsey Graham: Donald Trump is a ‘jackass’

Discussion: Shakesville, Political Wire, The Week and Mediaite

CNN:
Jeb Bush defends McCain, but supported Swift Boat attacks against Kerry

Discussion: Democratic Strategist, Guardian, Slantpoint and ThinkProgress

Adam Howard / msnbc.com:
Trump offers no apologizes for McCain war record attack

Discussion: Gothamist, Slantpoint and Addicting Info

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Donald Trump Unfiltered, From His New York Times Interviews

Discussion: Fox News, Politico, Political Wire and Washington Post

Gary Langer / ABC News:
Donald Trump Gains Yet Shows Vulnerability in a Crowded, Contentious GOP Race (POLL)

Discussion: Guardian, Politico, PoliticusUSA and No More Mister Nice Blog

Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times:

Ohio's John Kasich brings heat, intrigue to 2016 GOP race — In a large and varied Republican field, there may be no more confounding presidential candidate than John Kasich. — In the 1990s, he was part of the conservative revolution on Capitol Hill. As Ohio governor …

Discussion: Washington Post and The PJ Tatler

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
John Kasich throws a Hail Mary

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, The Daily Beast, The Hill, The Columbus Dispatch, Fox News, Daily Kos, The PJ Tatler, Hit & Run and Phantom Public

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
John Kasich to Enter Crowded 2016 Race Facing Job of Catch-Up

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Washington Post, The Columbus Dispatch, The Atlantic and Yahoo Politics

Kate Mather / Los Angeles Times:

LAPD finds 1,200 guns, two tons of ammo in dead man's Pacific Palisades home — It wasn't what police expected to find when they searched a man's Pacific Palisades home last week. — More than 1,200 guns were strewn about the Palisades Drive house and garage, police said.

Discussion: Associated Press, Guardian and Slantpoint

Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com:

Shock Video Catches Another Top Planned Parenthood Doctor Selling Body Parts of Aborted Babies — A second shocking video in as many weeks has been released showing a top Planned Parenthood official discussing and arranging the sale of body parts of aborted babies.

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, Weekly Standard, American Spectator, The Federalist, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Free Beacon, The PJ Tatler and Washington Times

Ryan Anderson / Townhall.com:
How Redefining Marriage Puts Unborn Children at Risk

Discussion: Mock Paper Scissors

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

White House on defense after Security Council vote on Iran — The Obama administration was forced to play defense on Monday after lawmakers in both parties criticized its decision to let the United Nations — not Congress — have the first say on the Iran nuclear deal.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Megan R. Wilson / The Hill:

K Street bouncing back in 2015 — Nearly all of Washington's top lobby shops saw gains in revenue in the first half of 2015 as an uptick in activity within both Congress and the Obama administration translated to a boon for K Street. — Following a period of relative stagnation …

Discussion: RedState

Dominic Holden / BuzzFeed:

Democrats Plan To Introduce Sweeping LGBT Rights Bill In Congress This Week — The measure, which lawmakers plan to file in the House and Senate, would ban discrimination in seven categories — including housing, education, and public accommodations. — Getty Images / Afp

Discussion: AMERICAblog News, PinkNews, Towleroad, Human Rights Campaign Blog and RH Reality Check

Jason Howerton / TheBlaze.com:

Legendary SEAL Marcus Luttrell Seemingly Sends Clear, Four-Word Message to Obama Over Chattanooga Shooting — Retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, author and subject of “Lone Survivor,” responded tersely Monday to reports indicating officials have told U.S. Marine recruiters not to wear …

Discussion: BizPac Review and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Andy Greenberg / Wired:

Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway—With Me in It — I was driving 70 mph on the edge of downtown St. Louis when the exploit began to take hold. — Though I hadn't touched the dashboard, the vents in the Jeep Cherokee started blasting cold air at the maximum setting …

Discussion: Guardian, The Verge and Unfogged

Kenneth Garger / New York Post:

Woman leaps to death off rooftop bar, patrons keep drinking — Police are the scene where a woman jumped 20 stories to her death from swanky rooftop bar 230 Fifth. — A woman jumped 20 stories to her death from a swanky rooftop bar in the Flatiron District Monday night.

Discussion: Business Insider and Gothamist

Paul Bowers / Charleston City Paper:

Sousaphonist serenades Confederate flag supporters in Columbia — 'I didn't really know how to show my opposition, so that was my way of doing it,' says musician — Saturday afternoon, as defenders of the Confederate flag assembled in Columbia to protest the flag's removal from Statehouse grounds …

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

ABC News:

Chattanooga Shooter Mohammod Abdulazeez Followed Al Qaeda Cleric Online in 2013 — FBI agents have found evidence that Chattanooga shooter Mohammod Abdulazeez was following a radical American member of al Qaeda online in 2013, as well as pages of writing that showed the young man was suicidal …

Discussion: KXAN-TV and 7online.com