memeorandum: Crunch time for candidates — <p>Rand Paul has a place … (Alex Isenstadt/Politico)

8:15 PM ET, September 30, 2015

Top Items:

Clinton Camp Senses Moment to Expose Benghazi Committee — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy unleashes the perfect talking point for Democrats pushing for the panel to be dismantled and investigated. — Hillary Clinton and her fiercest defenders couldn't have said it better themselves.

Discussion: Politico, Correct The Record, Washington Monthly, The Last Tradition, NBC News and TalkLeft

David Weigel / Washington Post:

Boehner's likely successor credits Benghazi committee for lowering Hillary Clinton's poll numbers — Sean Hannity was pushing hard, asking House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to name some promises his Republicans had actually delivered on. He scoffed when McCarthy said the party …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly, addictinginfo.org, No More Mister Nice Blog, Liberal Values and AMERICAblog News

Steve Benen / msnbc.com:

GOP leader accidentally tells the truth about Benghazi committee — Even die-hard GOP partisans sometimes find it difficult to justify the House Republicans' Benghazi committee. The party struggled to explain why it was necessary in the first place - the deadly 2012 attack was already examined …

Discussion: Washington Post, Taylor Marsh and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Lauren French / Politico:

Democrats doubt McCarthy can quell Republican rebellions — Congressional Democrats knew what they were getting when they battled with Speaker John Boehner, for better or worse. — With Kevin McCarthy, they'd be dealing with a virtual unknown - and top Democrats are worried about what that will mean …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, The Hill and Daily Kos

John Bresnahan / Politico:
Boehner secretly urged Gowdy to run for leader

Discussion: ABC News, Fox News, Townhall.com, NY State of Politics, Conservative Intelligence …, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, RedState, The Week and US News

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Kevin McCarthy, House Speaker Favorite, Under Fire for Benghazi Comment

Discussion: Mediaite, Guardian, Daily Kos and The Huffington Post

Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
Hillary Clinton ‘Fights’ With White House Operator Who Doesn't Believe It's Her Calling

Discussion: Politico, Bloomberg Business and abc7.com

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Hoyer hoping Boehner goes big in his last month

Discussion: National Review

Jay Olstad / KARE-TV:

Guest gets bill after not showing up to wedding — Wedding guests billed for missed meals — GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - It was a couple weeks ago, Jessica Baker was getting ready to go to a wedding with her husband when she got a call from her mom. — “She called at the last minute …

Discussion: Slantpoint, Refinery29 and New York's PIX11

CNBC:

CNBC Republican Debate Criteria — Candidate criteria for the October 28, 2015 CNBC Republican Debate is as follows:

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Vox, Liberal Values, Outside the Beltway, Caffeinated Thoughts, New York Times, Slantpoint, Business Insider, Hot Air and National Review

USA Today:

Poll: Donald Trump still on top as outsiders Fiorina, Carson rise — WASHINGTON — Billionaire businessman Donald Trump has strengthened his lead at the top of the USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll while two other outsider candidates, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, have gained ground over rivals with electoral experience.

Discussion: The Last Tradition, BREITBART.COM, OnPolitics, FishbowlDC, The Brody File, JP Updates, SaintPetersBlog, Independent Journal, Bloomberg Business, Joe.My.God., CNN and Political Wire

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Crunch time for candidates — <p>Rand Paul has a place on the GOP debate stage — for now.</p><p>But the debate rules announced Wednesday by CNBC could end up spelling disaster for the Kentucky senator and several other high-profile candidates — including Gov. Chris Christie and former …

Discussion: ABC News, CNNMoney, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Conservative Intelligence … and Independent Journal

David Edwards / Raw Story:

'This wasn't an abortion': CNN forces anti-Planned Parenthood group to admit Fiorina was wrong — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — David Daleiden, the project lead Center for Medical Progress' anti-Planned Parenthood campaign, admitted on Wednesday that an alleged fetus on a table …

Discussion: TIME, Fox News, Guardian, Refinery29, Hullabaloo, addictinginfo.org, Liberaland and AMERICAblog News

Ana Marie Cox / The Daily Beast:
Car-Lying: Carly Fiorina Lies Like a Boss

Discussion: Salon, Guardian, Conservative Intelligence … and Christian Science Monitor

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
The GOP still has nothing to show for its anti-Planned Parenthood campaign

Discussion: New York Magazine, Slate, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, National Review, Prairie Weather and BuzzFeed

Associated Press:

Secret Service Tried to Discredit US Lawmaker, Investigation Finds — Scores of U.S. Secret Service employees improperly accessed the decade-old, unsuccessful job application of a congressman who was investigating scandals inside the agency, a new government report said Wednesday.

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air, The Federalist, The Week, NPR and fox13now.com

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:

Top Secret Service official urged release of unflattering information about congressman — An assistant director of the Secret Service urged that unflattering information the agency had in its files about a congressman critical of the service be made public, according to a government watchdog report released Wednesday.

Discussion: Conservative Intelligence … and Mediaite

Fox News:

Russians tell US to remove warplanes from Syria, senior official says — EXCLUSIVE: Russian officials have demanded that American warplanes exit Syrian airspace immediately, a senior U.S. official told Fox News early Wendesday. — The official told Fox News that Russian diplomats sent …

Discussion: RT, The Daily Beast, RedState, CNN, Sydney Morning Herald, Washington Post, BizPac Review, New York Times, Fox News Insider, The Gateway Pundit, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Patterico's Pontifications, ABC News, Pamela Geller, Scared Monkeys and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Roland Oliphant / Telegraph:
Vladimir Putin defies West as Russia bomb ‘Syrian rebel targets instead of Isil’ - live updates

Discussion: USA Today, The Daily Caller, The Last Tradition, NO QUARTER USA NET, RedState, Independent Journal and Vox Popoli

New York Times:

Pope Francis Met With Kim Davis, Kentucky County Clerk, in Washington — ROME — Pope Francis met privately in Washington last week with Kim Davis, the county clerk in Kentucky who defied a court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, adding a new element to an American tour …

ABC News:
EXCLUSIVE: Kim Davis Recounts Secret Meeting With Pope Francis

Discussion: America | Papal Visit 2015, BuzzFeed, Guardian, Shakesville, NPR, The Last Tradition, National Review, Towleroad, abc7.com, Jezebel and The Daily Caller

John L. Allen Jr / Crux:
What it means that Pope Francis met Kim Davis

Discussion: New York Times, GetReligion, Washington Monthly, Slantpoint, Walid Shoebat, BarbWire.com, BizPac Review and The Gateway Pundit

Caitlin Dewey / Washington Post:

Everyone you know will be able to rate you on the terrifying ‘Yelp for people’ — whether you want them to or not — You can already rate restaurants, hotels, movies, college classes, government agencies and bowel movements online. — So the most surprising thing about Peeple …

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Week, Unfogged and KOIN-TV

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:

House invokes ‘martial law’ to speed vote on spending bill — For the second time in a month, the House on Tuesday invoked “martial law” to allow more expeditious consideration of a stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1. — The use of martial law refers to bypassing …

Discussion: CNBC and Hot Air

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
House moves toward final funding vote

Discussion: Daily Kos

Guy Trebay / New York Times:

Melania Trump, the Silent Partner — Lying prone on a rug adorned with the Great Seal of the United States, the woman who might someday be first lady is wearing high-heeled sandals and a crimson bikini. — The date is February 2000. Donald J. Trump hasn't yet thrown his hat into the ring …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and People.com

People.com:
At Home with Donald Trump and His Family

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Washington Post

Nick Corasaniti / New York Times:

Carly Fiorina's ‘Super PAC’ Aids Her Campaign, in Plain Sight — LEXINGTON, S.C. — The table festooned with red “Carly for America” placards arrived hours before the candidate. Political operatives took up positions outside the front door to catch supporters of Carly Fiorina …

Discussion: Mock Paper Scissors and Althouse

Jonathan Handel / Hollywood Reporter:

Sexually Explicit Casting Contract for HBO's ‘Westworld’ Extras Has SAG-AFTRA Concerned — Fully-nude bareback riding and “genital-to-genital touching” are among the acts that background performers on the show may be tasked with at a Wednesday shoot. — Background actors — extras …

Discussion: Mashable and Mediaite

Arlette Saenz / ABC News:

What Hillary Clinton's Top Aides Were Sharing About Anthony Weiner Scandal — Newly released email from Hillary Clinton's private account showed a top aide sent her stories about long-time aide Huma Abedin's husband, Rep. Anthony Weiner, during his congressional scandal.

Discussion: Politico

Jia Tolentino / Jezebel:

Olympic-Level Troll Hijacks HLN Segment on Edward Snowden to Defend Edward Scissorhands — Today is a really great day. — In this video, HLN anchor Yasmin Vossoughian dials up Jon Hendren, known by his Twitter handle @fart, for a segment on America's best top fugitive Edward Snowden's recent appearance on Twitter.

Discussion: VICE, Raw Story, Gothamist, Mashable, Balloon Juice, Mediaite and USA Today

Michael Gartland / New York Post:

City Council honors Ethel Rosenberg for ‘great bravery’ — City Council member Mark Levine, City Council member Daniel Dromm, Robert Meeropol, Michael Meeropol and Gail Brewer on the steps of City Hall. — Ethel Rosenberg, who was executed with her husband for treason in 1953 …

Discussion: US News, Mediaite and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Joe Millitzer / FOX2now.com:

Mistaken text message leads to love for St. Louis couple — Missing Attachment Missing Attachment — ST. LOUIS (AP) - A married St. Louis couple is sharing their unlikely love story about three years after the mistaken text message that forged their relationship.

Discussion: WGN-TV