memeorandum: The Wisconsin Targets Tell Their Story (Collin Levy/Wall Street Journal)

8:40 PM ET, July 23, 2015

Top Items:

Exclusive: Trump threatens third-party run — NEW YORK — Donald Trump says the chances that he will launch a third-party White House run will “absolutely” increase if the Republican National Committee is unfair to him during the 2016 primary season. — “The RNC has not been supportive.

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

Trump Card — When I opened my favorite news aggregator this morning, nine of the top ten items were about Donald Trump. That's right: 90% of the top stories involved the bloviating real estate tycoon and reality TV star. — No, I'm not going to write 90% of my 12 posts today on The Donald …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, New York Times, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Balloon Juice

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill: Trump: 'I think I'll get the nomination'

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:
Poll shows Trump with slim lead, Walker in second

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, ABC News, Eschaton and Washington Post

Steve Benen / msnbc.com:

Jeb Bush pushes to ‘phase out’ Medicare — Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush appeared at a New Hampshire event last night sponsored by the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity, and the former governor raised a few eyebrows with his comments on the future of Medicare.

Discussion: Mother Jones, cbpp.org, PoliticusUSA, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, Show Me Progress, Talking Points Memo, AMERICAblog News and The Week

Eli Stokols / Politico:

Jeb Bush defends Medicare ‘phase out’ comment — GORHAM, N.H. - During a town hall meeting here Thursday afternoon, Jeb Bush was put on the defensive about his comments Wednesday night about “phasing out” Medicare by an elderly woman who said she was worried about losing benefits she's spent years paying for.

Discussion: OnPolitics

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:
Jeb Bush Quietly Suggests ‘Phasing Out’ Medicare

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Aarik Woods / WQAD-TV:

Mayflies force shutdown of Savanna - Sabula Bridge — Emergency crews were on scene over the weekend to clear a bridge after bugs took over. — On Saturday night, Teena Franzen recorded the incident while riding with her son in a Sabula police car.

Discussion: Fusion, Mashable and WNEP-TV

Numbers / Pew Research Center:

GOP's Favorability Rating Takes a Negative Turn — Republicans Less Positive About Their Party — The Republican Party's image has grown more negative over the first half of this year. Currently, 32% have a favorable impression of the Republican Party, while 60% have an unfavorable view.

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo and The American Conservative

Neil Vigdor / Connecticut Post:

Democrats drop Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson names from annual fundraising dinner — Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson are history in Connecticut. — Under pressure from the NAACP, the state Democratic Party will scrub the names of the two presidents from its annual fundraising dinner because of their ties to slavery.

Discussion: US News, Associated Press, RedState, BizPac Review, The PJ Tatler and Clash Daily

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Bye Bye J-J! — Executive Office of the President/Wikimedia Commons …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Christopher Keating / Hartford Courant:
Democrats Change Name of Fundraising Dinner

Discussion: Power Line, Fox News and The Daily Caller

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic:

The Gaping Hole in the Iran Debate — Iraqis peer through the window of an armored vehicle as the last American soldiers leave Iraq. (Lucas Jackson / Reuters) — I have a fantasy. It's that every politician and pundit who goes on TV to discuss the Iran deal is asked this question first …

Discussion: The American Conservative

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
White House acknowledges ‘side’ deals between Iran, IAEA

Discussion: Hot Air, New York Times, Clash Daily, The PJ Tatler and Washington Free Beacon

Nick Gass / Politico:
Tom Cotton compares John Kerry to Pontius Pilate

Discussion: Daily Kos

Erin McClam / NBC News:

Sandra Bland Death Ruled a Suicide by Hanging, Texas Prosecutor Says — Medical examiners ruled the death of Sandra Bland a suicide by hanging, and the autopsy uncovered no evidence of a violent struggle, a Texas prosecutor said Thursday. — Warren Diepraam, the first assistant district attorney …

Discussion: Firedoglake, KFOR-TV and Raw Story

Pat Sullivan / Associated Press:
Sandra Bland Autopsy Finds No Injuries Consistent With Violent Homicide

Discussion: Washington Post and The Week

David / Crooks and Liars:
Ex-cop Tells CNN: Sandra Bland Would Be Alive If She Wasn't ‘Arrogant From The Very Beginning’

Discussion: Washington Post and Atlanta Daily World

Carl Campanile / New York Post:

Anthony Weiner got a job fixing PR messes — seriously — If you find yourself in a p.r. nightmare, there's a swashbuckling new hero you can turn to — Carlos Danger. — A top “crisis” public-relations firm with ties to Hillary Rodham Clinton has hired the last person in the world …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Fox News Insider and Daily Mail

Nick Gass / Politico:
Anthony Weiner joins crisis PR firm

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Week

Jethro Mullen / CNN:

Bison attacks woman who was trying to take selfie with it in Yellowstone Park — Yellowstone: Our first national park 9 photos — Yellowstone: Our first national park - Old Faithful Geyser may be the most-famous “resident” of Yellowstone National Park, but park ranger Dan Hottle …

Discussion: Mediaite

Michael E. Miller / Washington Post: Bison selfies are a bad idea: tourist gored in Yellowstone as another photo goes awry

Joe Concha / Mediaite:

Exclusive: More MSNBC Changes Coming with Three Shows Out, Hard News and Chuck Todd Back — A well-placed source tells me MSNBC will announce today major changes to its afternoon lineup...arguably the most significant revamp the network has made at one time in its 19-year history.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, PoliticusUSA, Taylor Marsh, Capital New York, The Daily Caller, The PJ Tatler, Balloon Juice and Washington Free Beacon

Chelsea Rarrick / WTVR-TV:

‘Just stay behind me’ Construction worker helps teen escape I-95 abduction — HENRICO COUNTY, Va — Kevin Huntington knows things can get hectic along Interstate 95, especially in Northern Virginia. The construction worker said what he saw last week, was like nothing he's ever experienced.

Discussion: Daily Mail, Shakesville, FOX2now.com and myfox8.com

Los Angeles Times:

Judge must decide sentence for LAPD cop who assaulted woman on video — A judge is expected to decide Thursday whether a Los Angeles police officer should serve time behind bars for assaulting a South L.A. woman in an incident that was caught on video by a police cruiser camera.

Discussion: Fusion

Los Angeles Times:
A homeless woman picked up an LAPD nightstick during the skid row shooting — and could get life in prison

Discussion: The Week

Sean Davis / The Federalist:

New York Times Editor: Isn't It Awesome How Hillary's Stonewalling The Press? — In a podcast posted on the New York Times website earlier this week, the paper's editorial page editor openly praised Hillary Clinton's strategy of stonewalling the media and refusing to answer questions about her campaign.

Discussion: RH Reality Check, Religion News Service, The Daily Caller, The Week, LifeNews.com, BREITBART.COM, Instapundit and Erick on the Radio

Sarah Ferris / The Hill:

Pelosi urges DOJ probe into group targeting Planned Parenthood — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday joined calls for a federal investigation into the California-based anti-abortion group that sparked the Planned Parenthood hidden camera controversy.

Discussion: Politico, LifeNews.com and Daily Kos

Politico:
IPAB's on the horizon — House Republicans vow to subpoena Planned Parenthood official …

Discussion: The Federalist, The Pew Charitable Trusts and Common Dreams

Rich Lowry / Politico:

The Toxic Worldview of Ta-Nehisi Coates — Moses gave us the Ten Commandments. Paul gave us the epistles. And Ta-Nehisi gave us, Between the World and Me. — Get POLITICO Magazine in your feeds — The new book by Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, in the form of a letter to his son …

Discussion: American Power

Matt Hamilton / Los Angeles Times:

Reality TV star found dead in Redondo Beach home; boyfriend arrested — A former Los Angeles police officer who starred in a reality TV show about her subsequent career as a lawyer was found slain Wednesday morning in her Redondo Beach home, authorities said.

Discussion: Daily Mail, The Huffington Post and KTLA

Daily Breeze:
Reality show star Loredana Nesci found slain in Redondo Beach home, boyfriend arrested

Discussion: KTLA and Hollywood Life

Collin Levy / Wall Street Journal:

The Wisconsin Targets Tell Their Story — After victory in court, conservative activists talk on the record for the first time about their 21-month ordeal. — The John Doe investigation of Wisconsin conservatives collapsed last week with a powerful decision from the Wisconsin Supreme Court …

Discussion: Hot Air and Althouse

Ana Marie Cox / New York Times:

Ted Cruz Is More of a Spider-Man Guy — Your new book is called “A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America.” A few months ago you were in the news for warning a little girl that “the world is on fire.” Do you believe setting things on fire is good or bad? Both.

Discussion: Mediaite, OnPolitics, Trail Blazers Blog, The Verge, Mashable and The Week