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It is disqualifying for a modern-day presidential nominee to refuse to release tax returns to the voters, especially one who has not been subject to public scrutiny in either military or public service. Tax returns provide the public with its sole confirmation of the veracity …
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Donald Trump: I'll release tax returns after audit — (CNN)Donald Trump said Wednesday that he plans to release his taxes when an IRS audit is completed, despite telling the Associated Press the previous day before that he would not release his tax documents.
Discussion:
Breitbart, Raw Story, Politico, Media Matters for America, Media Matters for America and Guardian


House GOP warns Ryan to back Trump — Washington (CNN)Rank-and-file House Republicans are urging Speaker Paul Ryan to get behind presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, warning his resistance could lead to the party fracturing rather than uniting if he withholds his endorsement.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog … and Hot Air
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Exclusive: Trump surges in support, almost even with Clinton in national U.S. poll

Trump and GOP leaders might never be on the same page
Discussion:
Politico

Trump needs cash, but GOP donors not opening their wallets
Discussion:
Associated Press and AOL

Sanders' California director leaves campaign — Bernie Sanders' campaign parted ways with its California state director Michael Ceraso on Wednesday morning, 27 days before the primary in the state that Sanders has repeatedly said is crucial to his effort to capture the Democratic nomination.
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Wasserman Schultz's liberal challenger set to announce $1M haul
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon and Mediaite

Sanders: Nominating Clinton would be ‘disaster’ for party, nation
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit


America's Shrinking Middle Class: A Close Look at Changes Within Metropolitan Areas — The middle class lost ground in nearly nine-in-ten U.S. metropolitan areas examined — The American middle class is losing ground in metropolitan areas across the country, affecting communities from Boston to Seattle and from Dallas to Milwaukee.
Discussion:
CityLab, Informed Comment and Pew Research Center
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The middle class is shrinking just about everywhere in America — The great shrinking of the middle class that has captured the attention of the nation is not only playing out in troubled regions like Rust Belt metros, Appalachia and the Deep South, but in just about every metropolitan area in America …
Discussion:
Pew Research Center's … and Marginal REVOLUTION


Flashback 2012: Trump Endorses Hillary — RUSH: I found the YouTube last night, and I'm gonna play this for you and I'm curious to know how Trump supporters react to this. Because this is gonna be in an ad, too. This may end up being an ad. It may be chopped up and edited into an ad, but it's gonna be an ad.
Discussion:
Washington Times
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Does Old 2012 Clip Of Trump Praising Bill & Hillary Prove He's BRILLIANT?
Discussion:
Mediaite, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Rush Limbaugh

Marco Rubio Nukes His Credibility
Discussion:
Hot Air, Daily Kos, Patterico's Pontifications and Raw Story


Woody Allen Slapped With Rape Joke at Cannes Opening Night Ceremony — “You've shot so many of your films here in Europe and yet in the U.S. you haven't even been convicted of rape,” said Laurent Lafitte — French comic Laurent Lafitte helped the 2016 Cannes Film Festival kick off to an awkward start …
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Harry Reid to Rep. Alan Grayson: ‘I want you to lose’ — Rep. Alan Grayson angrily confronted Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday, disrupting a meeting of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in front of dozens of staffers and members of Congress.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Talking Points Memo and The Week
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Producer defends film on Reagan's Alzheimer's — A producer linked to a controversial movie about former President Ronald Reagan's Alzheimer's disease says backlash over its subject matter is unfair. — “I've never been close to a movie like that where so little information became such a tidal wave …
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Adam McKay on ‘The Iron Virgin,’ the Rise of Trump, and His Aborted Reagan Alzheimer's Project
Discussion:
Mediaite and The Daily Caller


Glenn Makes Wild Prediction About Trump — Donald Trump has faced consistent pressure and scrutiny from Glenn, so his prediction Wednesday on The Glenn Beck Program came as a surprise. — “I'm going to make a prediction about Donald Trump,” Glenn said. “I could say he's going to be the nominee of the Republican Party.
Discussion:
The Hill, Hot Air, Fire Andrea Mitchell! and NBC News

Think Pieces About MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE And How I Could Possibly Be Wrong — I'm tired of reading think pieces about WHY WE ALL THOUGHT DONALD TRUMP WOULD LOSE (I'm looking at you, Chait). First of all, we all didn't, you and your circle jerk did. Secondly, I don't care what your prior beliefs about the Republican party were.
Discussion:
Mother Jones and New York Magazine


Italy Approves Same-Sex Civil Unions — ROME — After decades of struggle by gay rights groups, and months of contested political negotiations, the Italian Parliament on Wednesday evening gave final approval to a law recognizing civil unions of same-sex couples.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Guardian, The Week and Washington Blade

Trump: Muslim ban was ‘just a suggestion’ — Donald Trump has demoted his proposed Muslim immigration ban to a mere “suggestion.” — In a radio interview with Fox News' Brian Kilmeade on Wednesday, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee softened his call to temporarily prohibit Muslims from entering the United States.
Discussion:
The Hill, CNN, Hit & Run, mrctv.org/videos, Fox News Insider and Vox


Megyn Kelly Opens Up About Surviving the ‘Ugly’ and ‘Threatening’ Donald Trump Attacks: ‘I Just Wanted It to Stop’ — When Donald Trump publicly attacked Megyn Kelly a day after she moderated the presidential debate last August, the Fox News host had no idea it would last as long as it did.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Daily Mail, The Daily Caller, Hullabaloo, Guardian and TVNewser


Billionaire T. Boone Pickens Backs Donald Trump, Muslim Ban — LAS VEGAS—Oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens, who previously backed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's presidential campaign, on Wednesday endorsed presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and said he supports the candidate's proposal …
Discussion:
Politico and ThinkProgress


Judge Finds Planned Parenthood Shooting Suspect Unfit for Trial — COLORADO SPRINGS — A Colorado judge on Wednesday declared the confessed gunman in a shooting rampage last November at a Planned Parenthood clinic here mentally incompetent to stand trial. Three people were killed and nine were wounded in the attack.
Discussion:
CNN, Little Green Footballs, LawNewz and Independent Journal …


A Trump adviser's plan for a multitrillion-dollar budget surplus, explained — Speaking at a Pete Peterson Foundation fiscal summit on Wednesday, Donald Trump adviser Sam Clovis said that the Trump campaign's economic program would unleash so much growth that the federal budget surplus …
Discussion:
MarketWatch, Washington Post and bradford-delong.com


The NYPD Was Systematically Ticketing Legally Parked Cars for Millions of Dollars a Year- Open Data Just Put an End to It — New York City is a complex place to drive. And when it comes to parking, there are plenty of rules and regulations to follow. It's no wonder that sometimes people …


George Zimmerman Says He's Auctioning Off His Gun from Trayvon Martin Shooting — George Zimmerman is auctioning off the gun he used to fatally shoot Trayvon Martin. — Zimmerman, who was found not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter after arguing self-defense, explained in an interview with WOGX, “I'm a free American.
Discussion:
Latest from Crooks and Liars, Mashable, Raw Story, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …, New York Magazine and WAVY-TV

FBI's Comey: I feel ‘pressure’ to quickly finish Clinton email probe — FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday he feels “pressure” to complete the federal investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server competently and quickly.
Discussion:
Fox News, The Daily Caller, ABC News, LawNewz, Washington Free Beacon and Hot Air


Cops: Barber Pulled Gun On Man, Told Him He ‘Does Not Cut Black Hair’ — ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — Authorities in South Carolina say a barber with a history of aggressive behavior toward potential customers faces charges for pulling a gun on a man and telling him he “does not cut black hair.”


Michael Ratner, Lawyer Who Won Rights for Guantánamo Prisoners, Dies at 72 — Michael Ratner, a fearless civil liberties lawyer who successfully challenged the United States government's detention of terrorism suspects at Guantánamo Bay without judicial review, died on Wednesday in Manhattan.
Discussion:
Electronic Frontier Foundation


This California desert town is experiencing a marijuana boom — Carlos Bravo, the owner of a tow company here, was at work late last year when a real estate agent came to him offering half a million dollars for 5 acres of undeveloped, brush-pocked desert — five times what he'd paid for the land six months earlier.