memeorandum: Iraqi forces driving ISIS further out of Fallujah (Jessie Hellmann/The Hill)

12:55 PM ET, June 18, 2016

Top Items:

Assistant state attorney suspended over Facebook comments on Pulse shooting — Assistant State Attorney Kenneth Lewis was suspended Friday for violating the State Attorney's Office's social media policy, according to Angela Starke, public information officer for the State Attorney's Office, Ninth Judicial Circuit.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Mail, LGBTQ Nation, Fox News, Raw Story, Associated Press, BizPac Review and The Last Tradition

Shane Harris / The Daily Beast:

The Unhinged Home that Raised Orlando Killer Omar Mateen — Long before his rampage in the Pulse nightclub, there was deep trouble in the home of Omar Mateen. — A mother accused of domestic abuse and described as “paranoid.” A father became a supporter of the Taliban.

Discussion: Fox News, Portside and Daily Mail

Kevin Sullivan / Washington Post:

Troubled. Quiet. Macho. Angry. The volatile life of the Orlando shooter. — After a lifetime of angst and embarrassment, Omar Mateen was on the verge of realizing a longtime dream in the spring of 2007. — He was about to graduate from a Florida training academy that would put him on a path to being a police officer.

Paul Sperry / Counter Jihad:
Exclusive: Orlando Terrorist Signed Over Home To Brother-in-Law Just Before Attacks

Discussion: Daily Wire, Breitbart, Fox News and The Gateway Pundit

Associated Press:

Trump battleground plan relies on skeptical GOP leaders — DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — His campaign riled by infighting and Republican revolt, Donald Trump is working to address a battleground state staffing shortage that highlights his reliance on a skeptical GOP establishment.

Discussion: Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, The Week and New York Times

Sara Murray / CNN:
First on CNN: Priebus probes state GOP leaders over anti-Trump push

Discussion: NBC News, CANNONFIRE, Booman Tribune, RedState, Hot Air, Daily Kos and WWAY-TV

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Several GOP delegates working to block Trump's nomination: report

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, AOL, Washington Post and The Gateway Pundit

Philly.com:

Police: Parents admit ‘gifting’ teen to Bucks man; all 3 arrested — A 51-year-old Bucks County man was arrested after he was found living with 12 girls, including a teenager he considered his wife, and a baby and a toddler he fathered with her, authorities said Friday.

Harper Neidig / The Hill:

Egyptian court sentences two journalists to death — Six people, including two Al-Jazeera employees, were sentenced to death by an Egyptian court on Saturday after being found guilty of leaking national security documents under ousted President Mohammed Morsi's regime, according to the Associated Press.

Hamza Hendawi / Associated Press:

Egyptian court sentences 2 Al-Jazeera employees to death — CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced six people, including two Al-Jazeera employees, to death for allegedly passing documents related to national security to Qatar and the Doha-based TV network during the rule of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

A rational reading of Trump's Muslim proposals — Noise and controversy aside, Donald Trump is making two arguments about immigration. The first is that the U.S. admits too many immigrants. The second is that, given nearly two decades of Islamic terrorism, the government should take special measures …

Harper Neidig / The Hill:

GOP stirs Clinton-Sanders tensions — The Republican National Committee is promoting a report that accuses the Democratic Party of conspiring to nominate Hillary Clinton — in the early days of the presidential primary. — In an email, the RNC sent to reporters a story published …

Marisa Schultz / New York Post:
Leaked document shows the DNC wanted Clinton from start

Discussion: Althouse and Washington Free Beacon

John Wagner / Washington Post:
A Sanders endorsement of Clinton could come ahead of the Philadelphia convention

Discussion: The New York Observer, Hot Air, Politicus USA, The Huffington Post and Guardian

Jessie Hellmann / The Hill:

Iraqi forces driving ISIS further out of Fallujah — Iraqi forces backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes have seized significant portions of Fallujah, according to Saturday reports, with the prime minister declaring the city “has returned to the nation.” — Fallujah fell to Islamic State …

Ian Wishart / Bloomberg:

Belgium Arrests 12 Amid Reports of Plot to Attack Soccer Fans — Prosecutor to decide Saturday whether to detain them further — Country on alert three months after suicide bombings killed 32 — Belgian authorities arrested 12 people after conducting anti-terror raids in Brussels …

Discussion: Jihad Watch

Neal Ascherson / New York Times:

From Great Britain to Little England — London — IT was Queen Elizabeth's official 90th birthday celebration last Sunday, and tables for 10,000 guests were set along the Mall in central London. Steadily the rain fell, dripping out of the tubas of the bands and softening the sandwiches …

Discussion: Guardian, Washington Post and Al Jazeera English

Megan McArdle / Bloomberg:
Britain's Elites Can't Ignore the Masses

Discussion: Vox Popoli

Tampa Bay Times:

LGBT pride flag raised after Orlando shooting ‘unbearable’ for Christian employee, Hillsborough commissioner says — TAMPA — A pride flag waving outside the Hillsborough County center was meant to be a sign of respect and remembrance for the victims of the shooting at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando.

Discussion: alan.com, Raw Story, Pirate's Cove and Friendly Atheist

Del Quentin Wilber / Orlando Sentinel:

Pulse nightclub security video recovered by agents — Mayor Dyer provides an update on assistance to those directly affected by the Pulse shooting at Camping World Stadium. … Privacy Policy — Investigators have recovered graphic video footage from security cameras at the Orlando nightclub …

Evelyn Rupert / The Hill:

Trump: It would've been ‘beautiful’ for Fla. clubgoer to kill shooter — argued again that the mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., could have been less deadly had people in the gay nightclub been able to shoot back. — At a rally in The Woodlands, Texas, Friday night, Trump theatrically …

Byron Tau / Wall Street Journal:

Federal Agency Approves New, Higher Fence Surrounding White House — The federal Commission of Fine Arts has given its preliminary approval for a taller White House fence to better protect the presidential mansion after a rash of fence-hopping incidents. — The commission on Thursday voted …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys