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11:10 AM ET, December 4, 2015

Top Items:

CNN:

CNN/ORC Poll: Trump alone at the top again — (CNN)Donald Trump is once again alone at the top of the Republican field, according to the latest CNN/ORC Poll, with 36% of registered Republicans and Republican-leaning independents behind him, while his nearest competitor trails by 20 points.

Discussion: The Hill, TheBlaze.com, Washington Post, Here & Now, The American Conservative, The Right Scoop, Political Wire, Washington Times, Business Insider, OnPolitics, Towleroad and Florida Politics

David Brooks / New York Times:

No, Donald Trump Won't Win — A little while ago I went rug shopping. Four rugs were laid out on the floor and among them was one with a pink motif that was dazzlingly beautiful. It was complex and sophisticated. If you had asked me at that moment which rug I wanted, I would have said the pink one.

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, OnPolitics, NBC News, Political Wire, No More Mister Nice Blog and Vox Popoli

New York Times:

Tough Talk and a Cowardly Vote on Terrorism — Investigators now believe that what initially seemed a workplace shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., was a well-planned attack by a married couple with at least some contact with Islamic extremists. — The evolving situation has forced Republican leaders …

Discussion: Politico, CBS News, Washington Post, Pirate's Cove, New York Post, addictinginfo.org, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, Guns.com, Business Insider, The Week, Hit & Run and Associated Press, more at Mediagazer »

Nick Gass / Politico:

Donald Trump opens ‘yuge’ lead over GOP field in CNN/ORC national poll — Donald Trump is the top choice of more than one out of every three Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters, according to the results of a new CNN/ORC poll released Friday.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Bloomberg.com news, The Week, American Thinker, The Hill, EcoWatch and Independent Journal

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

Trump: ‘My numbers go way up’ after tragedies — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Thursday suggested his popularity increases after tragedies, pointing to his rise in polls after last month's Paris terrorist attacks. — Trump made the comment while pushing back on a GOP memo …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Mediaite and Daily Kos

Steven Shepard / Politico:
Democratic insiders: Trump is easy prey for Clinton

Discussion: ABC News and Political Wire

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Senate GOP campaign arm: ‘Trump could win’

Discussion: WRAL-TV, NJ Spotlight, Washington Post and The Hill

Dexter Thomas / Los Angeles Times:

Rampage killers led secret life, hiding plans and weapons — A DMV handout photo of Syed Rizwan Farook, whom authorities have identified as one of two shooters who killed 14 and wounded 21 at a workplace holiday party in San Bernardino. — Early Wednesday morning, Syed Rizwan Farook asked …

Discussion: Fox News, NBC News, Washington Times, The Gateway Pundit, Shakesville, Reuters, ABC News, Wall Street Journal, Jihad Watch, Pamela Geller, Slantpoint, The Big Lead and Mediaite

Daily Mail:

'It doesn't seem plausible to us': Family of US Muslim who killed 14 says they don't believe official account of the massacre and even suggest the Sandy Hook slaying didn't take place — Chesley: ‘There were a lot of questions drawn with Sandy Hook and whether or not that was a real incident or not’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Fox 59, Raw Story and Jammie Wearing Fools

CNN:

San Bernardino shooting: Attacker pledged allegiance to ISIS, officials say — (CNN)[Breaking news update at 10:24 a.m. ET] — As the San Bernardino attack was happening, investigators believe the female shooter, Tashfeen Malik, posted on Facebook, pledging allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi …

Discussion: The Right Scoop, WREG-TV, New York Daily News, FOX6Now.com, KRON4.com, WSAV-TV, National Review, Walid Shoebat, myfox8.com, The Daily Caller, Pamela Geller and WTVR-TV

The Times of Israel:

Messianic Jewish victim of California attack had argued with shooter about Islam — Nicholas Thalasinos, 52, one of 14 fatalities, had heated debate with co-worker Syed Rizwan Farook two weeks before San Bernardino rampage — One of the victims of the San Bernardino shooting was identified …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Pierre Thomas / ABC News:

San Bernardino Shooters Tried to Destroy Phones, Hard Drives, Sources Say — Law enforcement sources tell ABC News the suspected shooters in Wednesday's deadly rampage in San Bernardino apparently attempted to destroy their digital media. — Sources say mobile phones, hard drives …

Discussion: abc7.com, abc7news.com and The Week

Caleb Howe / RedState:
CNN Asks Slain San Bernardino Man's Widow If He Was Asking For It

Discussion: The Jawa Report and Truth Revolt

Thomas Gibbons-Neff / Washington Post:
Couple seemed quiet and withdrawn — until explosion of violence

Discussion: RedState and The First Street Journal

Eli Saslow / Washington Post:
'Where's Syed?': How the San Bernardino shooting unfolded

Discussion: The Week

Los Angeles Times:
For victim's boyfriend, 22 hours of conflicting reports, then heartbreak

Discussion: Desert Sun, CNN, Guardian, KTLA, The Trace, PinkNews, BarbWire.com, Towleroad, abc7.com, LiberalAmerica.org, Jezebel, Washington Blade, Little Green Footballs, Mashable, 89.3 KPCC, Joe.My.God., LAist and Vocativ, more at Mediagazer »

Jacob Sullum / Hit & Run:

How Background Checks and an ‘Assault Weapon’ Ban Failed in San Bernardino — The Washington Post reports that the four guns used in the San Bernardino massacre “were all purchased legally from federally licensed firearms dealers,” which means the buyers passed background checks.

Discussion: Washington Post, Never Yet Melted, Slantpoint and Associated Press

Daniel Strauss / Politico:
GOP candidates double down on guns after San Bernardino

Discussion: New York Daily News, Talking Points Memo, The Week and Reuters

Mark Follman / New York Times:
How Many Mass Shootings Are There, Really?

Discussion: Vox, RedState, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, Mashable, The Federalist, Guardian, ABC News, CityLab, JustOneMinute, The Daily Caller, addictinginfo.org, CBS Minnesota, WCDC-TV, NBC News and U.S. Uncut

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
The First Amendment Needs Your Prayers

Discussion: AMERICAblog News and No More Mister Nice Blog

Josh Feldman / Mediaite: Dem Sen. Cites Success of Gun Laws in California a Day After San Bernardino

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:
The Left Prays After San Bernardino Shooting, To Its God Of Government

Discussion: The Huffington Post, USA Today, Washington Post, Liberty Unyielding and FOX31 Denver

Ruth Graham / Slate:
“Prayer-Shaming” Isn't About Attacking Prayer

Discussion: Houston Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Friendly Atheist, BostonGlobe.com, Raw Story, The CripplegateThe Cripplegate, AMERICAblog News, Politico and Washington Post

Los Angeles Times:

Scott Weiland, frontman for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, dies at 48 — Scott Weiland at KROQ's Weenie Roast at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine in June 2001. — Scott Weiland, a performer known for his grunge rock voice and struggles with addiction, has died, according to his wife, Jamie.

Discussion: VICE, Independent Journal, Guardian, KTLA and Jammie Wearing Fools

TMZ.com:

Scott Weiland — Found Dead on Tour Bus … EXCLUSIVE — Rock star Scott Weiland was found dead on his tour bus in Minnesota ... TMZ has learned. — Weiland was on tour with his band Scott Weiland & the Wildabouts ... they were supposed to play the Medina Ballroom tonight, but the show was cancelled.

Discussion: Towleroad, Mashable, Scared Monkeys, LAist, all and The Week

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate approves bill repealing much of ObamaCare — The Senate on Thursday passed legislation repealing the core pillars of ObamaCare, taking a major step toward sending such a bill to the president's desk for the first time. — Republicans hailed it as a political messaging victory …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Lauren Fox / Talking Points Memo:
Republican Senators Introduce Amendment To Stop GOP From Defunding Planned Parenthood

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos and addictinginfo.org

Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic:

Chris Christie: ‘Iran is a Greater Threat Than ISIS’ — New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the semi-resurgent candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, came to Washington last week to address members of the Council on Foreign Relations (the organization known, at least to Senator Ted Cruz, as the “pit of vipers").

Discussion: Politico, WMUR, Political Wire, Public Policy Polling and Slantpoint

John Stanton / BuzzFeed:

Loretta Lynch: “Actions Predicated On Violent Talk” Toward Muslims Will Be Prosecuted — WASHINGTON — Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Thursday warned that the Justice Department could take aggressive action against people whose anti-Muslim rhetoric “edges towards violence” …

Discussion: Infowars, Western Rifle Shooters …, Creeping Sharia, Walid Shoebat and Pamela Geller

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:

Missouri Bill Would Make Gun Purchasers Jump Through The Same Hoops As Women Seeking Abortions — Missouri State Rep. Stacey Newman (D) has a creative idea for tackling the high rates of gun violence in her state: regulate gun purchases as tightly as abortion services.

Discussion: Political Wire and Shakesville

Columbia Daily Tribune:
Lawmaker proposes 72-hour waiting period for firearms purchases

Discussion: Raw Story, St. Louis Magazine and addictinginfo.org

Jonathan Swan / The Hill:

Clinton-aligned group claims to have mole in Koch machine — Hillary Clinton's well-financed ally David Brock has a team that claims to be coordinating with moles inside the corporate and political empire of the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. — During a rare tour …