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Pope Francis Suggests Donald Trump Is ‘Not Christian’ — ABOARD THE PAPAL AIRLINER — Inserting himself into the Republican presidential race, Pope Francis on Wednesday suggested that Donald J. Trump “is not Christian” because of the harshness of his campaign promises to deport more immigrants …
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DONALD J. TRUMP RESPONSE TO THE POPE — If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened.
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Trump goes to war with the pope — Pope Francis may have picked a fight with the wrong bully. — After months of taking subtle swipes at Republican politicians, the pontiff went for a direct punch at Donald Trump on Thursday, suggesting the GOP poll leader is “not Christian” …


Why aren't we talking about how big a frontrunner Donald Trump is for the Republican nomination? — Barring some sort of cataclysm, Donald Trump is going to win the South Carolina Republican presidential primary easily on Saturday. That will be his second straight large victory …
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Hullabaloo


Pope on Trump: Anyone who wants border walls isn't Christian — ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis said Thursday that Donald Trump is “not Christian” if he wants to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Trump immediately fired back, saying it is disgraceful for a religious leader to question a person's faith.
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Power Line, Talking Points Memo, Los Angeles Times, National Review, Daily Wire and Right Wing Watch


Pope Francis Says Contraception May Be ‘Lesser of Two Evils’ During Zika Virus Outbreak
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Pope suggests Trump ‘is not Christian’
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Pope Francis Rips Capitalism, American Immigration Policy at Mexican Border
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Talking Points Memo, Daily Wire and Reuters

Pope suggests contraception can be condoned in Zika crisis
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The Scoop Blog, Infowars and Associated Press

Pope Francis Says Donald Trump Is ‘Not Christian’
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Washington Post, addictinginfo.org, Vox and abc11.com


CBS News poll: Trump maintains commanding lead over GOP field — Donald Trump (35 percent) continues to hold a commanding lead over the rest of the field, with a 17 point lead over his closest rival, Texas Senator Ted Cruz (18 percent). John Kasich (11 percent) has now risen to a virtual third-place tie with Marco Rubio (12 percent).
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Scalia's death has landed Republicans in a nasty trap — THE MORNING PLUM: — A new CBS News poll out this morning finds that Donald Trump continues to dominate among Republican voters nationally: He's backed by 35 percent; Ted Cruz has 18 percent; and Marco-Mentum has 12 percent.
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NBC News, CNN, New York Times, ABC News, Politicus USA and Washington Monthly

CBS News poll: The next Supreme Court justice, Obama, and the economy — The U.S. Supreme Court — With an unexpected vacancy on the Supreme Court as a result of Justice Antonin Scalia's death, it's unclear if he will be replaced before the November election.
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The Republicans' Scalia Hysteria
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ThinkProgress, New York Times, BloombergView.com, The People's View, SCOTUSblog, Fusion, Prairie Weather and PrawfsBlawg

Cruz: ‘Disastrous’ Marriage Equality Ruling Led To ‘Persecution’ That's ‘Unprecedented’
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Towleroad, addictinginfo.org and Mediaite

Gov. LePage says Congress should follow Constitution on Supreme Court vacancy
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Talking Points Memo and Politico

Outside Groups Warn GOP: Don't Even Think About Holding A SCOTUS Hearing
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Washington Monthly, addictinginfo.org, Judicial Crisis Network and Daily Kos

White House: Obama ‘regrets’ decision to filibuster Supreme Court Justice Alito
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The American Mirror and National Review

Glenn Beck: God took Scalia to give America Ted Cruz as president
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TheBlaze.com, Independent Journal Review, TPNN, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Infowars and Raw Story


Tightening race rattles Clinton World's nerves — Allies of Hillary Clinton are growing nervous as the Democratic presidential race with Bernie Sanders tightens ahead of contests in Nevada and South Carolina. — A new CNN/ORC poll released Wednesday found Clinton with a 1-point lead in Nevada, which hosts its caucuses on Saturday.
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Clinton Strong in South Carolina But Warning Signs Ahead, Bloomberg Poll Shows — Hillary Clinton holds a commanding lead over Bernie Sanders in South Carolina thanks to a 3-to-1 advantage among African-American voters, according to a Bloomberg Politics poll that shows the Democrats' fourth …
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Talking Points Memo, Politico and Political Wire


Superdelegates help Clinton expand her lead despite NH loss — WASHINGTON (AP) — So much for Bernie Sanders' big win in New Hampshire. — Since then, Hillary Clinton has picked up endorsements from 87 more superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention, dwarfing Sanders' gain …
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ABC News, Washington Post, Associated Press, Politicus USA and NPR

Bernie Sanders Cuts Into Hillary Clinton's National Lead: Poll
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Talking Points Memo, RedState, Washington Post and USA Today


Exclusive — SC Blogger: Marco Rubio's Campaign Manager Pushed Story That Nikki Haley Had An Affair With Me — COLUMBIA, S.C. — The campaign manager of 2016 GOP presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) once pushed out the story that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had an affair …
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Down on Jeb's Prospects, Bob Dole Says Marco Rubio is His Second Choice
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Politico and Political Wire


The Kasich Campaign's Next Moves
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New York Magazine, RedState, CBS News and The Atlantic

Fox News Poll: Trump leads in South Carolina
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Washington Post, TPNN, National Review, Politico, Facing South, Talking Points Memo, Power Line, Political Wire, The Argo Journal and Hot Air

MSNBC's Trump town hall falls to CNN and Fox News in the ratings — MSNBC's choice to host Donald Trump in an exclusive town hall on Wednesday did not result in a ratings win against competitors CNN or Fox News. — During the 8 p.m. hour, when MSNBC's Trump town hall was up against CNN's GOP town hall …
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RedState and Hullabaloo
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MSNBC's Town Hall With Donald Trump Was Disgraceful
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Donald Trump: ‘Trust Me’ To Overturn The ‘Shocking’ Gay Marriage Decision
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Hurricane Trump Flattens MSNBC Town Hall
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RedState, Politicus USA, Washington Post and Hot Air


President Obama is going to Cuba. Here's why: — Cuba is only 90 miles from Florida, but for a long time the distance between our two countries seemed a lot greater. — For more than fifty years, the United States pursued a policy of isolating and pressuring Cuba.


A note from the editorial director — Earlier today, SB Nation posted a story called “Who is Daniel Holtzclaw?” that attempted to find out the backstory of convicted serial rapist Daniel Holtzclaw. The story focused on his football background in particular.
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SB Nation Publishes, Deletes “Complete Failure” Of A Story About Convicted Rapist Cop Daniel Holtzclaw
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archive.is and Slate, more at Mediagazer »


The Lawsuits of Donald Trump … Cover of Trump Nation by Timothy O'Brien — 1. Too Famous? — In January 2006, Trump filed a $5 billion lawsuit against author Timothy O'Brien and his publisher for understating Trump's wealth. In his book Trump Nation, O'Brien reported that three people close …
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BuzzFeed


Kid Rock Was Asked, ‘Who Are Your Heroes?’ — You're Going To Love His Answer — Kid Rock was recently asked who his heroes are, and the 45-year-old singer gave the most American answer out there. — During a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Robert Ritchie revealed who he looks up to.
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TPNN, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and BizPac Review


Russian TV Trashed Michelle Obama Last Night — New documentary series seeks to expose ‘American corruption’ and targets Obamas — On Sunday, Russian TV host Dmitry Kiselyov, who enjoys the largest audience among news programs in Russia, announced in his prime-time program News of the Week …
Discussion:
John Hawkins' Right Wing News and The Gateway Pundit


Black Struggle Is Not a Sound Bite: Why I Refused to Meet With President Obama — As a Black organizer, I do not feel that a handshake with the president is the best way for me to honor the Black freedom fighters whose labor laid the groundwork for the historic moment we are living in.
Discussion:
Politico, The Slot and The Daily Caller