memeorandum: Jimmy Carter says he has cancer, revealed by recent surgery (Kathleen Foody/Associated Press)

7:30 PM ET, August 12, 2015

Top Items:

CNN:

CNN / ORC Poll: Trump tops in Iowa as Scott Walker drops — Washington (CNN)Donald Trump has a significant lead in the race to win over likely Iowa caucus-goers, according to the first CNN/ORC poll in the state this cycle. — Trump tops the field with 22% and is the candidate seen …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air and USA Today

William A. Galston / Wall Street Journal:

The Five Plausible GOP Candidates — From a Democratic standpoint, a moderate-conservative Republican ticket representing the two largest swing states would be cause for concern. — After their first presidential debates, it is time for Republicans to get serious. Donald Trump won't be their nominee.

Harry Enten / FiveThirtyEight:

The Post-Debate Losers (Walker) and Winners (Fiorina) — You've already heard a lot of different takes about who won and who lost the first Republican presidential debates last week. We've deliberately waited to name names; winning the media spin after a debate is often more important than “winning” the debate itself.

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post and neo-neocon

CNN:

CNN/ORC Poll: Donald Trump takes the top slot in Iowa - CNNPolitics.com — Read the full topline results from the CNN/ORC poll released at 4 p.m. on August 12, 2015.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Des Moines Register, Business Insider, OnPolitics, Washington Post, Guardian, The Daily Caller and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Echelon Insights / Medium:
New Poll: Trump Leads Post-Debate; Fiorina, Rubio, Carson, and Cruz Rise

Discussion: BuzzFeed, American Power, Talking Points Memo and Hot Air

Scott Keyes / Guardian:
Walker and Rubio would be GOP's most extreme nominee on abortion ever

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Vox, Mediaite, Shakesville and LifeNews.com

Joe Battenfeld / Boston Herald:

Poll: Bernie Sanders surges ahead of Hillary Clinton in N.H., 44-37 — N.H. Democrats lukewarm to her tough image — Photo by: — Boston Herald front page - Aug 12. 2016 — Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has rocketed past longtime front-runner Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire …

Kevin Cirilli / The Hill:
Poll: Sanders surges ahead of Clinton in NH

Discussion: Slantpoint, Salon, Liberaland, Common Dreams, BizPac Review, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, Guardian, Hullabaloo and Scared Monkeys

Martin Longman / Washington Monthly:

The Worst Ruth Marcus Column Ever — We need to freeze this Ruth Marcus column in amber so that it never perishes. Future generations will not believe that it actually existed if they can't see it with their own eyes. It is probably the purest form of wankery that has ever been constructed.

Discussion: New York Daily News, Washington Post and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:

Head of Group Opposing Iran Accord Quits Post, Saying He Backs Deal — WASHINGTON — When the bipartisan advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran decided last week to mobilize opposition against the nuclear deal with Tehran, Gary Samore knew he could no longer serve as its president.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Israel Matzav, The Week and The Atlantic

New York Post:
Schumer: Can't trust European nations to make Iran inspections

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Weekly Standard, Politico and The Hill

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

Huckabee: DOJ Should ‘Criminally Prosecute Planned Parenthood’ — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) on Wednesday laid out how he would tackle Planned Parenthood without the support of Congress if he were elected president. — When asked on about Iowa radio host Simon Conway …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos and Shakesville

David Daleiden / The Center for Medical Progress:
Human Capital - Episode 2: Inside the Planned Parenthood Supply Site

Discussion: National Review, The National Memo, Politico, RH Reality Check, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Conservatives4Palin, Washington Free Beacon and The Federalist

Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com:
6th Shocking Video Catches Planned Parenthood Selling Aborted Babies Without Patient Consent

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, Bristol Palin, The PJ Tatler and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Trump Defends Planned Parenthood, Responds to GOP Critics on Hannity

Discussion: Washington Post, Weekly Standard, Hot Air, ThinkProgress, FiveThirtyEight, The Moderate Voice and The Daily Beast

Ron Fournier / National Journal:

The Queen of Paradox and Her Crumbling Stone Wall — Hillary Clinton is both a political colossus and a catastrophe. — For once, Hillary Rodham Clinton seemed to be a decent candidate. Taking aim at weak spots in the GOP lines, she attacked Jeb Bush on women's health, Marco Rubio on abortion …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Conservatives4Palin, Associated Press, Politico and Patterico's Pontifications

Washington Post:
Hillary Clinton agrees to provide private e-mail server to FBI

Discussion: Commentary Magazine, Instapundit, USA Today, Daily Mail, CNN, New York Times, The Other McCain, Outside the Beltway, Washington Free Beacon, Hot Air, RedState, Bloomberg Business, Taylor Marsh, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and McClatchy Washington Bureau

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Donald Trump to ‘Meet the Press’ - in person — Donald Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner who prefers telephone call-ins to sit-down interviews, has been booked for an in-person appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press” later this month, the On Media blog has learned.

Discussion: FishbowlDC and p m carpenter's commentary

Eliza Collins / Politico:
Jesse Ventura: Do you think Trump would consider me for VP?

Discussion: American Prospect and Mediaite

Matthew Boyle / BREITBART.COM:
Next GOP Debate Moderator Hugh Hewitt Comes Out Against Trump

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Kathleen Foody / Associated Press:

Jimmy Carter says he has cancer, revealed by recent surgery — 2 photos — ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter announced he has been diagnosed with cancer in a brief statement issued Wednesday. — “Recent liver surgery revealed that I have cancer that now is in other parts of my body …

Discussion: CNBC, The Atlantic, ABC News, The Week and Booman Tribune

New York Times:

President Obama's Letter to the Editor — For the cover story of our Aug. 2 issue, Jim Rutenberg wrote about efforts over the last 50 years to dismantle the protections in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the landmark piece of legislation that cleared barriers between black voters and the ballot.

Discussion: FishbowlDC, Yahoo Politics, PoliticusUSA, Guardian, Talking Points Memo, Politico and NBC News

Lisa Chiu / CCTV America:

Enormous explosion rocks China port city Tianjin, kills at least 17 — A fire and at least two massive explosions around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday local time injured hundreds and left at least 17 people dead at an industrial area roughly 75 miles southeast of Beijing. Dozens of building collapsed are cars were burned out.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Guardian, Washington Free Beacon, en.people.cn, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and WLNS-TV

Associated Press:
OFFICIALS: AT LEAST 7 DEAD IN CHINA PORT EXPLOSIONS

Discussion: Reuters, WQAD-TV, WRIC-TV and The Week

Peter Marcus Herald / Durango Herald:

State, federal officials clash over health of Animas River — EPA asks Hickenlooper to curb remarks about river's health — Gov. John Hickenlooper, left, looks at a fish trap being held by Jim White, an aquatic biologist with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, on Tuesday on the banks of the Animas River.

Discussion: Associated Press, WSVN-TV, Business Insider, The Daily Caller and CBS Denver

Lynh Bui / Washington Post:

5 GAO workers charged with fraud in obtaining school lunch subsidies — Five employees of a federal government watchdog agency, one of whom is a member of the Prince George's County school board, were indicted Tuesday on charges of illegally obtaining reduced-price school lunches for their children, officials said.

Discussion: Fox News, BizPac Review, Washington Free Beacon and The Week

Erik Ortiz / NBC News:

Brandi Lee Weaver-Gates, Pennsylvania Beauty Queen, Arrested After Allegedly Faking Cancer — A Pennsylvania beauty queen is facing felony charges for allegedly raising thousands of dollars from donors whom she tricked into believing she was battling cancer, police say.

Discussion: Jezebel and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

New York Times:

Who Threatens America Most? — In what order does the Obama administration rank the biggest external threats to America's national security? The short answer: It depends on whom and which agency you ask. — Official opinion is all over the lot, a sign of a rapidly changing world …

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

NBCUniversal Buys Big Chunks of Vox Media and BuzzFeed — Last week Re/code reported that NBCUniversal was investing in BuzzFeed and Vox Media. — Now those deals are done, and NBCU and Vox Media are announcing their deal today. — The headline for now: The media giant is investing $200 million …

Discussion: The Awl and Deadline, more at Mediagazer »

Rebecca Shabad / The Hill:

CBO: Full sequester relief could add as many as 1.4M jobs — Reversing sequestration spending caps could create as many as 1.4 million jobs over the next two years, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said Tuesday. — At the request of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Hullabaloo