memeorandum: Former Teacher Accused of Sex With Students Took an Alleged Victim to Disneyland: DA (Melissa Pamer/KTLA)

9:40 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, Raw Story, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air and USA Today

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: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, ABC News, Washington Post and The Moderate Voice

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: WQAD-TV, Des Moines Register, Business Insider, OnPolitics, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Guardian, Fire Andrea Mitchell! and Suffolk University

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.

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

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

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

Eliza Collins / Politico:

Jesse Ventura: Do you think Trump would consider me for VP? — Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura says he thinks Donald Trump is the best choice for the GOP and he would consider registering as a Republican to be his vice president. — “I shocked my staff today.

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, American Prospect and Mediaite

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Donald Trump to ‘Meet the Press’ - in person

Discussion: FishbowlDC and p m carpenter's commentary

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!

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

Michelle Ye Hee Lee / Washington Post:
For Planned Parenthood abortion stats, ‘3 percent’ and ‘94 percent’ are both misleading

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, RedState, Weekly Standard, The Daily Signal, Mediaite and The Daily Beast

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

Discussion: Politico, National Review, The National Memo, 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: Bristol Palin, The PJ Tatler, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Salon

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 and Politico

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: ABC News, Washington Post, CNBC, ABC, The Atlantic, WJHL, The Week and Booman Tribune

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 and three firefighters dead at an industrial area roughly 75 miles southeast of Beijing.

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

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

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

Associated Press:

Wisconsin governor signs bill to fund new Milwaukee Bucks arena — Pablo Torre breaks down why he believes Milwaukee and St. Louis are both falling victim to scams in order to finance new arenas.

Discussion: Slate, The Huffington Post, Cato Institute and Bloomberg Business

JSOnline:
Scott Walker signs bill clearing public funds for new Bucks arena

Discussion: Washington Post, Forbes, The Daily Signal, Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly and SBNation.com

Washington Post:

Donald Trump mocks Rand Paul, calls on him to quit presidential race — UPDATE: At 6:50 p.m., Donald Trump sent The Washington Post a lengthy response to Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul's ad. Here it is, in full. … At 7:32 p.m., Paul campaign strategist Doug Stafford sent this response.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Political Wire

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 …

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
100,000 people have attended Bernie Sanders events this month. That doesn't mean much.

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, ABC News, Rush Limbaugh, RedState, Salon and The Week

Jason Leopold / VICE News:

The Google Search That Made the CIA Spy on the US Senate — John Brennan was about to say he was sorry. — On July 28, 2014, the CIA director wrote a letter to senators Dianne Feinstein and Saxby Chambliss — the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee (SSCI) and the panel's ranking Republican, respectively.

Discussion: Politico and Boing Boing

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

Frank Bruni / New York Times:

Can We Interest You In Teaching? — Teaching can't compete. — When the economy improves and job prospects multiply, college students turn their attention elsewhere, to professions that promise more money, more independence, more respect. — That was one takeaway from a widely discussed story …

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

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

Matt Horn / WKBN-TV:

Youngstown woman received racist letter, had truck torched — YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) - One Youngstown family is on high alert Tuesday evening. — In the last three weeks they found a threatening letter on a building they own, then Monday, someone torched their car.

Discussion: New York Daily News, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

Politico:

GOP candidates wobble but don't fall down — Perry, Paul and Santorum keep going, fueled by super PAC money and a hope for that breakthrough moment. — The Great 2016 Republican Sorting has begun. — Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry thudded first, his campaign acknowledging this week …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos and Bloomberg View