Top Items:
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
GOP debate: Early numbers suggest record audience — Early overnight Nielsen ratings suggest that Thursday's Republican debate was not just the most-watched primary debate in history — it may have been twice as big as the previous record-holder. — The debate on Fox News …
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Brent Budowsky / The Hill:
Is Trump a Clinton plant? — Tongues are wagging throughout the world of political insiders with news that former president and potential future first gentleman Bill Clinton had a great chat with Donald Trump shortly before the real estate magnate announced his candidacy for president.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune
Chris Ariens / TVNewser:
24 Million Watch GOP Debate on Fox News; Most-Watched Cable News Program Ever — In the estimation of many reporters who cover the political and media beats, Fox News was the winner of the first GOP debate. And with the just-released ratings we can confirm that.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Right Pundit, National Review and RedState
TIME:
Transcript: Read the Full Text of the Primetime Republican Debate — Ten Republican presidential candidates met in Cleveland for a primetime debate on Fox News. — At the debate, real estate mogul Donald Trump, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio …
Joshua Green / Bloomberg Business:
Fox News Couldn't Kill Trump's Momentum and May Have Only Made It Stronger — Judging by Thursday's electric debate, he may have sensed his true opponent before anyone else had a clue: the network. — t joshuagreen — A few hours before Thursday's Fox News debate, a friend of Donald Trump's confided to me that Trump was nervous.
Discussion:
Politico, NBC News, The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg View, Shadowproof, Washington Post and New York Magazine
Eliza Collins / Politico:
7 things Trump said that would have destroyed any other GOP candidate
7 things Trump said that would have destroyed any other GOP candidate
Discussion:
Bloomberg Business, Mediaite, GQ, Hot Air, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and BuzzFeed
Ezra Klein / Vox:
Donald Trump is an embarrassment who is impossible to embarrass. It's his superpower.
Donald Trump is an embarrassment who is impossible to embarrass. It's his superpower.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Commentary Magazine, Washington Post, Politico, Business Insider, Hullabaloo and ThinkProgress
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Winners and losers from the first Republican presidential debate
Winners and losers from the first Republican presidential debate
Discussion:
Fox News, Politico, National Journal, The Week, Slate, Betsy's Page, Washington Free Beacon, FiveThirtyEight and Democratic Strategist
Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Graham: Trump questions were an ‘inquisition’ not a debate
Graham: Trump questions were an ‘inquisition’ not a debate
Discussion:
Business Insider, Washington Post, CNN, Mediaite, Instapundit, Politico, Hot Air, Daily Kos and Talking Points Memo
Molly Ball / The Atlantic:
Whose Party Is It, Anyway?
Alex Weprin / POLITICO New York:
Fox News GOP primary debate smashes ratings records
Fox News GOP primary debate smashes ratings records
Discussion:
The Federalist, The Daily Banter, RedState and Outside the Beltway
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
From Trump on Down, the Republicans Can't Be Serious — This was, according to many commentators, going to be the election cycle Republicans got to show off their “deep bench.” The race for the nomination would include experienced governors like Jeb Bush and Scott Walker …
Discussion:
Liberaland, The Daily Banter, Balloon Juice, Diane Ravitch's blog and Prairie Weather
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Irin Carmon / msnbc.com:
GOP candidates: Ban abortion, no exceptions
GOP candidates: Ban abortion, no exceptions
Discussion:
Right Wing Watch, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo and The Reality-Based Community
Chad Livengood / Detroit News:
Recordings: State rep asked aide to hide relationship — Lansing — State Rep. Todd Courser planned the distribution of a fictional email alleging he had sex with a male prostitute in a bid to conceal his relationship with Rep. Cindy Gamrat, according to audio recordings obtained by The Detroit News.
Discussion:
Detroit Free Press, Mediaite, WTKR-TV, Guardian, The National Memo, Daily Kos, NPR, Fusion, Slantpoint, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Advocate, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Daily Mail, Right Wing Watch, Raw Story, Jezebel, WBAY-TV, KFOR-TV, Associated Press and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Daniel Veditz / Mozilla Security Blog:
Firefox exploit found in the wild — Yesterday morning, August 5, a Firefox user informed us that an advertisement on a news site in Russia was serving a Firefox exploit that searched for sensitive files and uploaded them to a server that appears to be in Ukraine.
Discussion:
New York's PIX11, Computerworld, Mashable and The Verge
KLTV-TV:
Judge sentences East Texas man to get married or face jail time — An East Texas couple says their choice to marry when they wanted to was taken away by a criminal court judge. — In July, a Smith County judge sentenced Josten Bundy to get married to his 19-year-old girlfriend as part of his probation …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Daily Mail, Wall Street Journal, LiberalAmerica.org, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, fox8.com, ThinkProgress and Fox News Insider
Jack Healy / New York Times:
Life Sentence for James Holmes, Aurora Theater Gunman — CENTENNIAL, Colo., — In a decision that surprised many in this community, a jury sentenced James E. Holmes to life in prison with no chance of parole on Friday, rejecting the death penalty for the man who carried out a 2012 shooting rampage …
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Denver Post:
Day 65 of the Aurora theater shooting trial
Day 65 of the Aurora theater shooting trial
Discussion:
The Atlantic, CNN, NPR, Slantpoint, The Daily Caller and Guardian
Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
Schumer, White House at war over Iran — Senator's opposition to Iran deal riles Obama allies, as both sides quarrel over timing. — The White House lit into Sen. Chuck Schumer on Friday for his decision to vote no on the Iran deal and suggested that he's put his clear path to be the next Democratic leader in doubt.
Discussion:
US News, Washington Post and BillMoyers.com
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Politico:
Don't disrespect our president, black lawmakers tell Netanyahu — The audience for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress on March 3 is shaping up to be largely Republican — and almost completely white. — Many members of the Congressional Black Caucus …
Discussion:
Slantpoint
Chicago Tribune:
U. of I. officials used personal email to hide discussions — University of Illinois senior administrators used personal email accounts to discuss sensitive and controversial issues, and then failed to disclose the records when they were requested by the public.
Discussion:
Corey Robin and The TickerThe Ticker
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Julie Wurth / News-Gazette:
Updated: Phyllis Wise to resign as UI chancellor, effective next week
Updated: Phyllis Wise to resign as UI chancellor, effective next week
Discussion:
Shadowproof and The TickerThe Ticker
Dave Byknish / KXAN-TV:
Baby dies after being rescued from car at Austin Waffle House — Related Coverage — AUSTIN (KXAN) - Austin police are investigating the death of a baby boy at a Waffle House location in Southeast Austin. — Police were called out to 7809 E Ben White Blvd. around 2:45 p.m. after receiving …
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Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
The Big Dog That Didn't Bark in the Republican Debate — Pop quiz: what's the biggest strategic decision facing the Republican Party over the next two months? If you answered “whether to shut down the federal government over Planned Parenthood, climate change regs, immigration, Obamacare …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
BBC:
Bangladesh blogger Niloy Neel hacked to death in Dhaka — Niloy Neel was an atheist from a Hindu background — A Bangladeshi blogger known for his atheist views has been hacked to death by a gang armed with machetes in the capital Dhaka, police say. — Niloy Neel was attacked at his home in the city's Goran area.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report and American Spectator, more at Mediagazer »
James C. McKinley Jr / New York Times:
18-Year-Old Sentenced to Five Years for Robbing Man, 84, She Met on Dating Site — A teenager who with her twin sister robbed an octogenarian they met on an Internet dating site was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison. — The woman, Shaina Foster, 18, had pleaded guilty to one count …
Discussion:
Jezebel and New York's PIX11