memeorandum: Committee approves bill to take Alabama out of marriage biz (Associated Press)

1:45 PM ET, August 4, 2015

Top Items:

Donald Trump Dominates Republican Field in Pre-Debate Bloomberg Poll — Billionaire Donald Trump is lapping the Republican field, a new Bloomberg Politics national poll shows, as two prominent governors, Chris Christie of New Jersey and John Kasich of Ohio, rank in the top 10 ahead of the first presidential debate.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, New York Times, Politico, Guardian, Shakesville, Oliver Willis, OnPolitics, New York Magazine and FiveThirtyEight

John DiStaso / WMUR:

WMUR poll: Donald Trump surges to top of GOP primary field in NH — Outspoken business exec leads Jeb Bush, 24 percent to 12 percent — For the first time in the 2016 Republican presidential primary campaign, there is a clear Granite State frontrunner. Business executive Donald Trump's …

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, CNNMoney, Real Clear Politics and Political Wire

Carrie Dann / NBC News:

How the Public Views Planned Parenthood and the NRA — Planned Parenthood and the National Rifle Association may both be the targets of protests and heated rhetoric, but they are still viewed more favorably than the candidates running for president on both sides of the aisle.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Dame Magazine, Shakesville, Politico, The Huffington Post and Washington Post

Peter Nicholas / Wall Street Journal:

Hillary Clinton Loses Ground With White Women — WSJ/NBC Poll — Many Democrats have long hoped that Hillary Clinton might expand Barack Obama's electoral coalition by drawing in more white women voters. — A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll suggests she may have a tough time pulling it off.

Discussion: Daily Mail and Hot Air

The Hill:

Senate GOP thwarted in effort to defund Planned Parenthood — A measure to defund Planned Parenthood failed in the Senate on Monday in a 53-46 vote, likely punting the issue into the fall debate over preventing a government shutdown. — Republicans fell short of the 60 votes needed …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Weekly Standard, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Associated Press and NBC News

Eli Stokols / Politico:

New Hampshire Voters First Forum: 5 takeaways — For some GOP candidates, the desperation is beginning to show. — MANCHESTER, N.H. — The candidate forum that drew 14 Republican presidential candidates to New Hampshire Monday night served as a practice round ahead of the first official GOP primary debate …

Discussion: Washington Post, USA Today and Hot Air

Mark Murray / NBC News:

Hillary Clinton's Popularity Drops Sharply in NBC/WSJ Poll — The bad news for Hillary Clinton in the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll: More Americans view her negatively than they did a month ago, revealing potential vulnerabilities for a general-election presidential contest more than a year away.

Discussion: USA Today, Washington Free Beacon, NBC News, Slantpoint, Daily Kos and No More Mister Nice Blog

Janet Hook / Wall Street Journal:

Unhappy Voters Shake Up Presidential Race — Unsettled electorate gives a lift to antiestablishment candidates, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds — Pollsters Fred Yang and Bill McInturff sit down with WSJ's Jerry Seib to break down the new poll numbers on the 2016 candidates …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Taylor Marsh, Guardian and New York Times

Sahil Kapur / Bloomberg Business:
Donald Trump: Shut Down the Government to Defund Planned Parenthood

Discussion: Daily Kos and Politico

NBC News:
First Read: A Lousy Poll for Almost Every 2016 Candidate

Discussion: Political Wire and Booman Tribune

Peter Sullivan / The Hill:
Trump: Shut down government over Planned Parenthood

Discussion: Politico, Horizons and LifeNews.com

New York Times:
Uneven Performances in Trump-less Republican Forum

Discussion: Jezebel, Mediaite and UnionLeader.com

Neetzan Zimmerman / The Hill: Poll: Clinton's favorability takes a major hit

Brett LoGiurato / Yahoo Politics:
TRUMP: I think we have to shut down the government to defund Planned Parenthood

Discussion: Business Insider

CBS News:
CBS News poll: Donald Trump leads GOP field in 2016 presidential race

Discussion: The Right Scoop

The Hill:
Shutdown talk creeps into debate over Planned Parenthood funding

Discussion: Daily Kos, Politico and Patterico's Pontifications

Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: New high for Trump, new low for Clinton

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Human Events, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, The Week, The Right Scoop and Political Wire

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Crisis in Santorum campaign — The moves leave the winner of the 2012 Iowa Caucuses without a campaign manager and raise questions about whether he can last until Iowa votes on Feb. 1 next year. — Several top staffers have left Rick Santorum's campaign to create a new super PAC …

Discussion: Political Wire, Political Insider blog and Mock Paper Scissors

Emma Green / The Atlantic:

The Freakishness of Christianity — Evangelical Christianity has long had a stranglehold on how Americans imagine public faith. Vague invocations of “religion”—whether it's “religion vs. science” or “religious freedom”—usually really mean “conservative, Protestant, evangelical Christianity …

Discussion: National Journal and The Hugh Hewitt Show

Los Angeles Times:

2 immigrants in U.S. illegally are named to Huntington Park commissions — Julian Zatarain always assumed the doors of City Hall were closed to him because he is here illegally, arriving from Sinaloa in 2007 when he was 13. — The 21-year-old college student found other outlets for service …

Discussion: KTLA and ImmigrationProf Blog

Debbie Meron / CBS Los Angeles:
Huntington Park Councilman To Appoint 2 Undocumented Immigrants As Commissioners

Discussion: ThinkProgress, hpca.gov, abc7.com, BizPac Review, Allen West Republic, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Los Angeles Times, 89.3 KPCC and The Right Scoop

Bill Turque / Washington Post:

Montgomery boxes Confederate statue to protect it from vandalism — Montgomery County has erected a wooden box around a Confederate monument recently spray-painted with the words “Black Lives Matter,” in hopes of shielding the statue from further vandalism as officials seek to move it out of downtown Rockville.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Daniela Galarza / Eater:

Whole Foods' $6 Asparagus Water Is Just Water With Three Stalks of Asparagus in It [Updated] — Is Whole Foods trolling its own employees? — Twitter user Layla Dhere (@dhere) expressed confusion in a recent tweet featuring the above image of a row of bottles of what is labeled “Asparagus Water” on a shelf.

Discussion: Mashable and Althouse

Matea Gold / Washington Post:

Charles Koch's focus on ‘injustices’ is fueled by an unlikely partnership — DANA POINT, Calif. — Last month, billionaire industrialist and conservative donor Charles Koch was meeting in his Wichita office with Michael Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund …

Discussion: OnPolitics, Daily Kos and Jezebel

Philip Eliott / TIME:
Charles Koch Mocks Common Measure of Prosperity

Discussion: Hot Air, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller and Instapundit

Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:

Scott Walker just got punked at a New Hampshire pizza shop — MANCHESTER, N.H. — Maybe it should have been a tip-off that the two 20-somethings were so overly excited to meet Scott Walker. Like dramatically excited. The young woman was literally bouncing with excitement.

Discussion: New York Times, The Week, Addicting Info and Prairie Weather

Associated Press:

Committee approves bill to take Alabama out of marriage biz — MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A state Senate committee has approved a bill to take Alabama probate judges out of the wedding license business following the U.S Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Raw Story, Towleroad and Joe. My. God.

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Obama Administration Urges States to Cut Health Insurers' Requests for Big Rate Increases — WASHINGTON — Hoping to avoid another political uproar over the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration is trying to persuade states to cut back big rate increases requested by many health insurance companies for 2016.

Discussion: Instapundit and Newsalert

Dave Altimari / Hartford Courant:

Sandy Hook Families Settle Lawsuits Against Lanza Estate For $1.5M — The families of 16 victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting will receive about $94,000 each to settle two lawsuits against the estate of the shooter's mother, Nancy Lanza. — Documents filed Monday in Probate Court show …

Discussion: 89.3 KPCC

gov.state.la.us:

GOVERNOR JINDAL ANNOUNCES THE TERMINATION OF MEDICAID CONTRACT WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD — Today, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals informed Planned Parenthood it is exercising its right to terminate Planned Parenthood's Medicaid provider agreement.