memeorandum: Top Trump Adviser Calls Mitt Romney a ‘Coward’ for Not Entering GOP Primary (Nicki Rossoll/ABC News)

2:20 PM ET, June 12, 2016

Top Items:

Omar Mateen, Terrorist Who Attacked Orlando Gay Club, Had Been Investigated by FBI — Mateen was a ‘known quantity’ to federal law enforcement before he killed 53 people in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. — Omar Mateen of Port Saint Lucie, Florida, came to the attention …

Discussion: Politico, Power LinePower Line, Business Insider, Jihad Watch, Hot Air, Hit & Run, Pamela Geller, BizPac Review, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …, Mashable, Weekly Standard and Tim Blair

Adam Goldman / Washington Post:

Ex-wife of suspected Orlando shooter: ‘He beat me’ — The ex-wife of the 29-year-man suspected of killing 50 people in a Orlando nightclub early Sunday said that he was violent and mentally unstable and beat her repeatedly while they were married. — The ex-wife said she met Omar Mateen online …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Hit & Run and Instapundit

Los Angeles Times:

Man with weapons and possible explosives arrested, was going to L.A. gay pride parade, sources say — Joel Rubin and Hailey Branson Potts — Authorities in Santa Monica found possible explosives as well as assault rifles and ammunition Sunday in the car of a man who told them he was in town …

Discussion: zerohedge.com/fullrss2 …, Washington Times, RedState, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, WGN-TV, Business Insider, Joe.My.God. and The Stranger …

Lee Ferran / ABC News:

What We Know About Omar Mateen, Suspected Orlando Nightclub Shooter — Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old U.S.-born citizen, has been identified as the suspect in Sunday's mass shooting that left at least 50 dead and more than 50 others wounded at the Pulse Nightclub, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Discussion: Heat Street, news9.com KWTV, AOL, Raw Story, Business Insider, WCTX-TV and The Week

NBC News:

At Least 50 Dead After ‘Terrorism’ at Orlando Gay Club — Rep. Alan Grayson: This Might Be a Hate Crime 4:02 — At least 50 people are dead and more than 50 others are wounded after a gunman opened fire and took hostages at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early Sunday morning, police said.

Hayley Tsukayama / Washington Post:

Terror in Orlando: 50 killed in shooting rampage at gay club; gunman pledged allegiance to ISIS — ORLANDO — The gunman who opened fire inside a crowded nightclub here early Sunday morning, launching a rampage that killed 50 people and injured 53 others in the deadliest shooting spree …

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Pamela Geller, Gothamist, Business Insider, Mediaite, New York Magazine, AOL, Bearing Arms, Prairie Weather and Joe.My.God.

David Caplan / ABC News:

At Least 50 Dead in Orlando Gay Club Shooting, Suspect Pledged Allegiance to ISIS, Officials Say — A massacre at an Orlando gay nightclub early Sunday morning has been described as a “domestic terror incident” with at least 50 dead and 53 injured, officials said, making it the worst mass shooting …

New York Times:

Shooting at Orlando Nightclub Kills 50, Police Say — ORLANDO, Fla. — A gunman killed 50 people and wounded 53 in a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday, officials said, in the worst mass shooting slaughter in American history, and law enforcement officials called it an act of terrorism.

Discussion: WESH-TV, Complex, Los Angeles Times, Outside the Beltway, Althouse, Sky Dancing, Orlando Sentinel and Vocativ

Kim Hjelmgaard / USA Today:

Pulse more than ‘just another gay club’ — One of the owners of the gay nightclub where multiple people were shot early Sunday in Orlando started the club to promote awareness about the area's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Her brother died from AIDS.

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Atlantic, The New Civil Rights Movement, CBS New York and The Truth About Guns

Omar Mateen / TMZ.com:

Terrorist Was 29-Year-Old Islamic Radical (PHOTO) — The killer in the Orlando nightclub slaughter is 29-year-old Omar Mateen. — He's an American citizen and he has family that are not — his parents are Afghan. Authorities say he was a terrorist and was targeting gays.

Discussion: Politico, The Gateway Pundit, alan.com, Pamela Geller and Shot in the Dark

Kurt Vile / CBS News:

Islamic terrorism tie eyed in Orlando gay bar shooting — ORLANDO, Fla. - A shooting and hostage situation early Sunday morning at a Florida nightclub — which describes itself as “Orlando's hottest gay bar” — left “around 20” people dead, including the gunman, officials say.

Discussion: USA Today, Gothamist, ThinkProgress, CBS New York, WTVR-TV, WNCN, CBS Baltimore, Patterico's Pontifications, The Root, The Truth About Guns, Tim Blair and The Last Tradition

Matt Higgins / CBS New York:

CBS News: Gunman Who Killed 50 At Orlando Nightclub Pledged Allegiance To ISIS — ORLANDO, Fla. (CBSNewYork/AP) — A gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun opened fire inside a crowded Florida nightclub early Sunday before dying in a gunfight with SWAT officers, police said.

Discussion: Fox News, The White House, Raw Story, DCist, KRON4.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, RedState, Pamela Geller, Sputnik International and Independent Journal …

Tom Cleary / Heavy.com:
Omar Mateen: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Discussion: NBC News, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Jihad Watch, Mediaite and BizPac Review

Daily Mail:
‘We consider this an act of terrorism’: Suspected Islamic extremist shoots dead at least 20 dead …

Discussion: AMERICAN DIGEST, Jihad Watch, Vox Popoli, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Beast

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Dem rep: Orlando shooter ‘made pledge of allegiance’ to ISIS

Discussion: RedState, Bearing Arms and Jihad Watch

Lisa Cianci / Orlando Sentinel:
Blood donors needed after mass shooting in Orlando

Discussion: Slate, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, CNN, Equality Florida, CBS New York and Friendly Atheist

Guardian:
Florida nightclub shooting: 50 killed and 53 injured in ‘act of terror’ - rolling updates

Discussion: Washington Post, Jihad Watch, Complex, No More Mister Nice Blog and The American Conservative

NBC News:
Father: Orlando Shooter Was Enraged by Same-Sex Kiss

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, AOL and The Week

Mike Schneider / Associated Press:
Police: Approximately 20 killed in Florida club shooting

Discussion: New York Post, FiveThirtyEight, The Jawa Report, New Urban Legends, CNN, Townhall.com, The Last Refuge and WCMH-TV

NBC News:
Orlando Nightclub Shooting: Mass Casualties After Gunman Opens Fire in Gay Club

Discussion: Fox News and Guardian

Associated Press:
50 dead at gay dance club in Orlando

Discussion: Associated Press and Washington Monthly

Carl M. Cannon / Real Clear Politics:

Trump Is Looking for a Way Out — Long before Donald Trump made his first foray into Las Vegas real estate, I had an unsettling experience gambling in a downtown Vegas casino. The cards were falling my way until late at night, when I began making subtle mistakes. My stack of poker chips, once piled high, dwindled.

New York Times:

Hillary Clinton's New Ad Attacks Donald Trump Using Strong Words (His) — In her first ad of the general election campaign, Hillary Clinton will use Donald J. Trump's words to portray him as a violently divisive candidate who is intolerant of the diverse fabric of the American electorate.

Discussion: AOL

Josh Haskell / ABC News:
Clinton Frames First General Election Ad as ‘Choice About Who We Are as a Nation’

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press and The Gateway Pundit

Jessica Hamilton / Houston Chronicle:

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick deletes “reap what you sow” tweet after mass shooting at LGBT club — A “reap what you sow” tweet from Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick that went out hours after approximately 50 people were killed at a Florida LGBT nightclub has been deleted amid backlash.

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, Political Wire, Friendly Atheist, The New Civil Rights Movement and Joe.My.God.

Evelyn Rupert / The Hill:

WV Dems call for resignation of DNC chair — West Virginia Democrats joined in on a call to end the role of unbound superdelegates in the Democratic primary process and also showed support for the resignation of Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Discussion: Raw Story and The Week