Top Items:


Ellen Page Confronts Ted Cruz on Gay Rights at Iowa State Fair — While Sen. Ted Cruz was grilling pork chops at the Iowa State Fair today, actress Ellen Page, wearing a hat and sunglasses, snuck her way up to the grill and asked the GOP presidential candidate about “the persecution of gays in the workplace and LGBT rights.”
Discussion:
Politico, OnPolitics, Business Insider and The Week
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Watch: Ellen Page Grills Ted Cruz at Iowa State Fair
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Guardian and TMZ.com

Cruz: Jeb is ‘confused’ about my citizenship
Discussion:
ABC News and PoliticusUSA


Exclusive: Dozens of Clinton emails were classified from the start, U.S. rules suggest — For months, the U.S. State Department has stood behind its former boss Hillary Clinton as she has repeatedly said she did not send or receive classified information on her unsecured, private email account, a practice the government forbids.
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A View From the Clinton Scandal Nonsense Mill — There's no question that the Clinton email ‘scandal’ has become a major issue for Hillary Clinton's campaign. Not that it should necessarily but it has. It's the focus of negative press stories that appear clearly to have at least helped pull down her favorability numbers nationwide.
Discussion:
New York Times, The Daily Caller and Hot Air


Scott Walker talks birthright citizenship — Walker: ‘no position’ on birthright citizenship — Gov. Scott Walker ducks on Trump's call for ending birthright citizenship — MANCHESTER, N.H.—Days after seeming to echo Donald Trump's call for ending birthright citizenship …
Discussion:
Politico, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, AMERICAblog News, Hullabaloo and ThinkProgress
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GOP insiders to Trump: Enough already — Seven out of 10 early-state Republicans want the Donald to move on from his immigration plan and his tough talk about ending birthright citizenship. — Politico Illustration—Getty — Donald Trump may have the whole Republican field talking about immigration …
Discussion:
Jay Bookman and Daily Kos

Trump calls O'Malley a ‘disgusting, little, weak, pathetic baby’
Discussion:
Business Insider


Pennsylvania becomes fifth state to find no Planned Parenthood wrongdoing — Pennsylvania has found no wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood in the state after a review, according to a letter from the state health department. — That decision makes it the fifth state to announce that they have found …
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Pro-Choice Group Takes Down Story Slut-Shaming Pro-Life Activist
Discussion:
LifeNews.com, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Signal, RH Reality Check and New York Magazine

Planned Parenthood: Videos illegal
Discussion:
LifeNews.com, The Daily Caller and RedState

Maybe This Time Really Is Different — Historical context is a great asset. But is history always an accurate guide? Does past performance always give us the best predictor of future outcomes? — This election season provides a fascinating frame to see if the polarization in politics …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
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Trump Goes Off At ABC Reporter Over Questions On Term ‘Anchor Babies’ — Donald Trump lashed out at ABC reporter Tom Llamas on Thursday after the network aired segments critical of the presidential candidate's use of the term “anchor babies” to describe the children of undocumented immigrants.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, The Hill and ABC News
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Why “Anchor Baby” Is Offensive—and a Distortion of Truth
Discussion:
Slate, ThinkProgress, CNN, Guardian, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, CBS News and Washington Post


Man killed by St. Louis police died from gunshot in the back — ST. LOUIS • An autopsy on Mansur Ball-Bey, whose death from police gunfire this week stirred protests, showed that he died from a single wound in the back, police officials said. — Chief Sam Dotson said the wound's …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Slantpoint, Guardian and FOX2now.com

Debt Is Good — Rand Paul said something funny the other day. No, really — although of course it wasn't intentional. On his Twitter account he decried the irresponsibility of American fiscal policy, declaring, “The last time the United States was debt free was 1835.”
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and The Mahablog


Hundreds of feds paid for Ashley Madison memberships at work — Hundreds of government workers accessed and paid membership fees for the affair-focused website Ashley Madison using their federal Internet connection, The Associated Press reports. — The officials included several assistant U.S. attorneys …
Discussion:
Inside Higher Ed, Krebs on Security, Balloon Juice, BizPac Review and Associated Press
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Louisiana GOPer: I Used Ashley Madison For ‘Opposition Research’
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News, Washington Post, Politico and The Week


Dr. Dre Apologizes to the 'Women I've Hurt' — For Dr. Dre, the self-proclaimed “first billionaire in hip-hop,” the movie “Straight Outta Compton” and its quasi-soundtrack, “Compton,” his first album in 16 years, were meant to be a victory lap. That biopic, about his hip-hop group, N.W.A. …
Discussion:
The Verge, Washington Post, Mediaite, Mashable, Medium, Daily Mail, TMZ.com, UPROXX, LAist and Guardian


Kmart pulls wipes — Guam's Kmart is removing refill packs of Huggies baby wipes from its shelves after receiving complaints that shards of glass were found in the product. — Daisy Lee, the local Kmart's HR coordinator, said the store has contacted the manufacturer about the complaints.
Discussion:
WNEP-TV, KFOR-TV and Washington Times


Carly Fiorina did a 4-minute riff on climate change. Everything she said was wrong. — Katie Couric recently interviewed Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, and the subject of climate change came up. They discussed it for over four minutes, likely marking the longest …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly


Search warrant served at home of Kiss bassist Gene Simmons — (CNN)A search warrant was served at the Los Angeles home of Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, but the rocker and his family are not considered suspects, authorities said. — The division that handles online crimes against children executed …
Discussion:
NBC News, BizPac Review, LAist, Mediaite and UPROXX
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Bakers Who Were Fined $135,000 for Gay Wedding Cake Refusal Deliver a Major Surprise — and a Powerful Message — to 10 Gay Rights Groups — Aaron and Melissa Klein, the owners of Sweetcakes by Melissa, were ordered by Oregon state officials last month to pay $135,000 in damages after they declined …
Discussion:
Red Alert Politics and John Hawkins' Right Wing News


Are Republicans For Freedom Or White Identity Politics? — Now that we have had time to observe the Donald Trump phenomenon, there is enough evidence to make a clear assessment of what it represents. The rise of Trump is an epic expression of frustration with the American political system …
Discussion:
Boston Magazine, Hit & Run and Fox News