memeorandum: Zika is coming, but we're far from ready (Ronald A. Klain/Washington Post)

9:05 AM ET, May 23, 2016

Top Items:

Donald Trump Defends His National Security Positions as Hillary Clinton Attacks — Clinton is working to stoke fears that Trump fails the — Hillary Clinton is leveling a withering attack on Donald Trump's temperament and judgment when it comes to national security, calling him unqualified …

Discussion: Politico, The Gateway Pundit and NBC News

Juan Williams / The Hill:

Electoral map looks grim for Trump — is getting good news in the polls. — Last week, a Fox News poll saw him take a 3-point lead over Hillary Clinton — in a national survey. That's within the margin of error. — But step back and take the long view. Clinton led by seven points in April.

Reid J. Epstein / Wall Street Journal:

Donald Trump Lags Behind Hillary Clinton in Organizing Key State — The presumptive GOP nominee's slow start in Ohio could undermine his chances of winning the White House — PLAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio—Though Donald Trump dispensed with his last primary opponent months before Hillary Clinton will …

Discussion: Guardian, WISH-TV and The Daily Caller

CBS News: CBS Battleground Tracker Poll: Ohio and Florida show tight races

Amy Chozick / New York Times:
Hillary Clinton Warns Against Treating Donald Trump as ‘Normal’ Candidate

Discussion: American Prospect, CNN, Political Wire, Talking Points Memo, Scared Monkeys, Patterico's Pontifications and Politico

Don Surber:
For the first time, Trump now leads the average of national polls

Discussion: Betsy's Page, The Mahablog, American Power, Washington Post and Mediaite

John Myers / Los Angeles Times:

Bernie Sanders supporters sue to have California's voter registration extended until election day — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders addresses supporters during a rally on May 21, 2016, in National City. (Sandy Huffaker / Getty Images) — A federal lawsuit alleging …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and New York Magazine

Bill Scher / Politico:

Bernie Loses His Halo — Is the left turning on its darling, Bernie Sanders? On Friday, Netroots titan Markos Moulitsas, namesake of the liberal Daily Kos, dropped a rhetorical bomb on the Bern, blaming the candidate for doing too little to denounce death threats received by the Nevada Democratic Party …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, Infowars, Guardian and New York Times

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed:
Bernie World Debates What's Next

Discussion: Breitbart, Fox News Insider, Heat Street, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine and Hot Air

Ronald A. Klain / Washington Post:

Zika is coming, but we're far from ready — Ronald A. Klain was the White House Ebola response coordinator from 2014 to 2015. — The good news is that both the House and Senate have finally passed bills that would provide some funding to combat the Zika virus.

Associated Press:
Obama Lifts Decades-Old Arms Ban in His 1st Visit to Vietnam

Discussion: Politico

David Nakamura / Washington Post: In historic move, U.S. lifts arms sales embargo to Vietnam

Tom Kludt / CNNMoney:

Michelle Fields to resume covering Donald Trump - for Huffington Post — Michelle Fields, the conservative reporter who had Donald Trump's campaign manager charged with battery, has a new job. — Fields is heading to the Huffington Post, where she will cover the 2016 campaign with a specific focus on Trump and the Republican Party.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, BizPac Review, Mediaite and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:

Graham privately urges Republicans to support Trump — (CNN)Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Donald Trump's fiercest critics, is now calling on Republicans to support their presumptive nominee. — Graham urged GOP donors at a private fundraiser Saturday in Florida to unite behind Trump's campaign …

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air, BizPac Review, Tablet MagazineTablet Magazine, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

Trump acknowledges climate change — at his golf course — Donald Trump says he is “not a big believer in global warming.” He has called it “a total hoax,” “bulls**t” and “pseudoscience.” — But he is also trying to build a sea wall designed to protect one of his golf courses from “global warming and its effects.”

Discussion: Political Wire and twitchy.com

Michael Walsh / New York Post:

How corporate America bought Hillary Clinton for $21M — “Follow the money.” That telling phrase, which has come to summarize the Watergate scandal, has been a part of the lexicon since 1976. It's shorthand for political corruption: At what point do “contributions” become bribes …

Discussion: The American Spectator and The Last Tradition

Daily Mail:

Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood says Hollywood is gripped by a powerful pedophile ring and Tinseltown is covering up a ‘seedy’ underbelly full of predatory ‘vipers’ — Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood claims that young actors in Hollywood are being sexually abused by predatory high-powered ‘vipers’ working in the industry..

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and The Last Tradition

Henry Bodkin / Telegraph:
Elijah Wood: ‘Hollywood in the grip of child abuse scandal similar to Jimmy Savile’

Discussion: AOL, RedState, Independent Journal … and Vox Popoli

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

Facebook's Troubling One-Way Mirror — If you bothered to read the fine print when you created your Facebook account, you would have noticed just how much of yourself you were giving over to Mark Zuckerberg and his $340 billion social network. — In exchange for an admittedly magical level …

Discussion: Washington Post

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

FLASHBACK VIDEO: HIllary Clinton Threatens Bill Clinton's Accusers on Today Show — HILLARY'S WAR ON WOMEN— In November 2015 Hillary Clinton tweeted out that “all sexual abuse accusers deserve to be believed.” — Every survivor of sexual assault deserves to be heard, believed, and supported. http://hrc.io/...

Discussion: Clash Daily

Associated Press: CLINTON SHRUGS, SEES BENEFITS IN TRUMP'S PERSONAL ATTACKS

Matt Pearce / Los Angeles Times:

I was just another reporter sent to cover radicalization in Minneapolis. Then 2 local Somalis took me on a tour — Haqhawo Qaasim holds a photo of Guled Ali Omar, a defendant in an Islamic State recruitment trial, while standing in front of the courthouse in Minneapolis. (Elizabeth Flores / Star Tribune)

Discussion: Power LinePower Line

Paul Sperry / New York Post:

The scandal in Washington no one is talking about — The deadly-but-forgotten government gun-running scandal known as “Fast and Furious” has lain dormant for years, thanks to White House stonewalling and media compliance. But newly uncovered e-mails have reopened the case …

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Recalling Hillary Clinton's claim of ‘landing under sniper fire’ in Bosnia — One of our all-time great fact checks was The Fact Checker's March 21, 2008, report on Hillary Clinton's false claim that she arrived in Bosnia “under sniper fire.” The article, written by our former colleague Michael Dobbs …

Discussion: the daily howler

David Edwards / Raw Story:

Donald Trump: 'I'm not advocating guns in classrooms' but ‘teachers should have guns in classrooms’ — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump refuted Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton by insisting that he was …

Discussion: NBC News