memeorandum: Zero correlation between state homicide rate and state gun laws (Eugene Volokh/Washington Post)

12:40 PM ET, October 7, 2015

Top Items:

Scott Wong / The Hill:

How John Boehner could stay Speaker — Speaker John Boehner, who plans to leave office a day before Halloween, told a group of Republican colleagues last week he had an awful nightmare. — “I had this terrible nightmare last night that I was trying to get out and I couldn't get out,” …

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic, Daily Kos and The Week

Jake Sherman / Politico:

Boehner gets McCarthy's back on Benghazi comments — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday he "could've been more clear" in describing the Benghazi committee, and Speaker John Boehner backed him up, saying everyone misspeaks on occasion. McCarthy's comments …

Discussion: ABC News and Bloomberg Business

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

Gowdy: McCarthy's Apology For Benghazi Remark 'Doesn't Fix It' — Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, seemed dismayed when discussing House Majority Leaader Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) recent comments about the Benghazi panel with the Washington Post.

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Post and Mediaite

John Podhoretz / New York Post:
Hillary's ‘Hail Mary’ hope to get past the e-mail mess

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Steven Shepard / Politico:

Gallup gives up the horse race — Gallup has been the country's gold standard for horse-race election polling ever since its legendary founder, George Gallup, predicted Franklin Roosevelt's landslide reelection in 1936.But after a bruising 2012 cycle, in which its polls were farther off …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Bloomberg Business

Eliza Collins / Politico:
Clinton gag gifts her GOP rivals with copies of her memoir

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Althouse, The Week and Washington Post

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Joe Biden: No Money, Weak Polls, but Still Clinton's Toughest Rival — Vice President Joe Biden has less support in the polls than Bernie Sanders and hasn't raised a single dollar for a presidential campaign. Yet if Mr. Biden does decide to seek the presidency, he will pose a greater challenge …

Discussion: American Prospect, Sacramento Bee, Washington Monthly and New York Magazine

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:

Sanders gets his first congressional endorsement — At long last, Bernie Sanders has his first congressional backer. — Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva is set to endorse the Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate later this week, a person familiar with the congressman's plans confirmed to POLITICO on Wednesday morning.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business and Los Angeles Times

Nick Gass / Politico:
Swing-state polls show vulnerabilities for Clinton, Trump

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Second IT firm agrees to give Clinton's server data to FBI — Former secretary of state hired Datto Inc. to provide a private cloud backup of her emails — FBI asked the Connecticut company to turn over data. It agreed. — State Department also asking again whether she turned over all of her business emails

Discussion: Townhall.com, Fox News, Washington Free Beacon, Power Line, Infowars, Mediaite, New York Post, Scared Monkeys, The Daily Caller, MichelleMalkin.com, Politico, Doug Ross, Daily Mail and twitchy.com

Tom Hamburger / Washington Post:
FBI probe of Clinton e-mail expands to second data company

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon and Power Line

Daily Mail:

Rosie O'Donnell's daughter Chelsea breaks her silence on The View and running away — Chelsea O'Donnell tells Daily Mail Online in an exclusive interview that she never ran away from home. She went to live with her boyfriend (below right) after Rosie kicked her out two weeks before her 18th birthday …

Discussion: fox8.com, Hollywood Life, The Daily Caller, FOX31 Denver, Just Jared, Jezebel and Independent Journal

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

House's Planned Parenthood fight is problem for GOP senators — A politically charged budget package moving in the House this week is creating a headache for Senate Republicans. — The package, which under budget reconciliation rules cannot be filibustered, will block money for Planned Parenthood and gut ObamaCare.

Discussion: Daily Kos, LifeNews.com and Prairie Weather

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

Donald Trump plots his second act — NEW YORK — After a summer of dominating the Republican presidential campaign, Donald Trump is moving into a new and uncertain phase that the billionaire businessman acknowledges will be more challenging than any project he has ever undertaken …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, OnPolitics, Booman Tribune and msnbc.com

Oliver Darcy / TheBlaze.com:

Ted Cruz Repeatedly Grills Sierra Club President With One Simple Question — Watch the Answer He Gets — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) repeatedly grilled Sierra Club President Aaron Mair Tuesday, asking whether his organization would issue a formal retraction if evidence contrary to his global warming testimony …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Pirate's Cove

Vanessa Grigoriadis / New York Times:

The Passion of Nicki Minaj … Pop music is dominated almost exclusively by the female star — Beyoncé, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and, as always, Madonna. Engaging in a frantic, complex game — crossing over many genres to keep up with the current caldron of hip-hop …

Discussion: Guardian, Jezebel, New York Magazine, Hollywood Life, The Week, Mashable and Just Jared

Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:

How Did the Democrats Become Favorites of the Rich? — Voters on both the left and the right often claim that there is no difference between the Democratic and Republican Parties, and of course that isn't true. There's a big difference between Elena Kagan and Antonin Scalia, for one thing.

Adam Gabbatt / Guardian:

Christian group predicts the world will be ‘annihilated’ on Wednesday — Over a week after blood moon doomsday forecasts were proven wrong, eBible Fellowship leader Chris McCann says ‘the world will pass away’ on 7 October — While our planet may have survived September's “blood moon” …

Discussion: Friendly Atheist, Shakesville, The Times of Israel, USA Today, Religion News Service and Pirate's Cove

Jake Sherman / Politico:

Rep. Jones calls for candidates with ‘misdeeds’ to withdraw from leadership race — North Carolina Rep. Walter Jones (R) sent <a href="http://jones.house.gov/sites/ jones.house.gov/files/10.6.15%20Letter% 20to%20McMorris%20Rodgers.pdf">a letter</a> to the No. 4 House Republican saying …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Nick Gass / Politico:

‘Draft Biden’ to air emotional ad urging ‘Joe, run’ — Draft Biden, the super PAC urging Vice President Joe Biden to make a third bid for the White House, is out with its first national television ad on Wednesday. The 90-second spot features photos of Biden and his family …

Discussion: ABC News, Taylor Marsh, NBC News, The Week and Towleroad

Daniel Bethencourt / Detroit Free Press:

Bystander opens fire on shoplifter at Home Depot — A concealed-carry license holder is now cooperating with police after she opened fire on a shoplifter who was fleeing a Home Depot on Tuesday afternoon, Auburn Hills Police said. — The shooting happened in the store's parking lot at around 2 p.m. …

Discussion: Detroit News, Raw Story and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Richard WintonContact / Los Angeles Times:

Woman punched by CHP officer arrested again on same freeway — A woman captured on video last year being punched repeatedly by a California Highway Patrol officer on the 10 Freeway was arrested Tuesday and taken in for a mental health evaluation after she ventured into traffic on the same stretch of roadway, CHP officials said.

Discussion: 89.3 KPCC

Bernie Becker / The Hill:

Romney's 47 percent? Now 45 percent — Mitt Romney's 47 percent is now 45.3 percent. — The Tax Policy Center says that's now the number of households who don't pay any income taxes, an almost five percentage point increase over the 2013 estimate of 40.4 percent.

Mark Morri / TheAustralian:

Parramatta shooting: Farhad Jabar's gun allegedly came from Middle Eastern crime gang — POLICE ARREST TERROR RELATED SUSPECTS IN WENTWORTHVILLE 2:25 — Police conduct dawn raids across Sydney, arresting a number of suspects. — THE weapon used by teen terrorist Farhad Jabar was believed …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Jihad Watch

Daily Mail:

‘We will cut your filthy head’: Child ISIS jihadi taunts ‘Dog of Rome’ Obama to submit to the ‘Caliphate’ or die in direct video threat — A child jihadi armed with a rocket-propelled grenade has threatened to behead ‘Dog of Rome Obama’ in a chilling new video released by ISIS.

Discussion: BizPac Review and Washington Times

Globes Online:

Huge oil discovery on Golan Heights — Estimates are that the amount of oil found will make Israel self sufficient for very many years to come. — After more than a year of round-the-clock drilling, large amounts of oil have been found on the Golan Heights.

Discussion: Sputnik International and Israel Matzav

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Gun control push coming in Senate — Senate Democrats are planning to unveil a new gun-control proposal on Thursday in the wake of a shooting at a community college in Oregon. — “We've had a number of meetings today with Democratic senators,” Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters.

Discussion: Infowars and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Marc FreemanContact / Sun-Sentinel:

Ex-Boynton cop acquitted of rape, kidnapping charges — Sun Sentinel … The trial of a former veteran Boynton Beach Police officer accused of raping a woman while on duty has ended with not guilty verdicts from a Palm Beach County jury. — After 10 hours of deliberations …

Discussion: Daily Mail, Infowars and Raw Story

Jess Cagle / People.com:

PEOPLE's Call to Action: Preventing Gun Violence — In this week's issue of PEOPLE, Editorial Director Jess Cagle used his Editor's Letter to address the frequency of mass shootings in America. We have also published the office telephone numbers for all 535 voting members of the House and Senate.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and The Week