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I Ran the C.I.A. Now I'm Endorsing Hillary Clinton. — During a 33-year career at the Central Intelligence Agency, I served presidents of both parties — three Republicans and three Democrats. I was at President George W. Bush's side when we were attacked on Sept. 11; as deputy director of the agency …
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AJC poll: Hillary Clinton has slim lead over Donald Trump in Georgia — Democrat Hillary Clinton has built a slim lead over Donald Trump in Georgia after one of the worst weeks of the Republican's campaign, and the Libertarian presidential ticket cracked double-digits, according to a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll.
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Trump No Longer Kicking Ass With the White Working Class — This week's avalanche of not-so-good polling news for the polls-obsessed Donald Trump continues, with signs that maybe this is something more than a temporary post-convention bounce for Hillary Clinton.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Washington Post, USA Today, NBC News, Politicus USA and Politico

The Daily 202: Lessons from my search for Donald Trump's personal giving to charity — THE BIG IDEA: — By David Fahrenthold, filling in for James, who is on vacation. — I've spent the last few months trying to prove Donald Trump right about something important. — So far, I've failed.
Discussion:
Vox, CNN, Shakesville, USA Today and McClatchy Washington Bureau

Insiders to Trump: Drop out — Amid widespread chatter that Donald Trump could drop out of the presidential race before Election Day, Republican insiders in key battleground states have a message for The Donald: Get out. — That's according to The POLITICO Caucus — a panel of activists …
Discussion:
RedState, The Resurgent, Taylor Marsh, Balloon Juice, Viking Pundit, Hot Air, Raw Story, rubber hose, Mediaite and Political Wire


Donald Trump and the fitness threshold — Donald Trump, the man who defied every political rule and prevailed to win his party's nomination, last week took on perhaps the most sacred political rule of all: Never attack a Gold Star family. Not just because it alienates a vital constituency …
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Hannity to GOP leaders: 'I'm getting a little sick and tired of all of you' — Fox News host Sean Hannity says Republican leaders will be to blame if Donald Trump loses the presidential election. — The conservative pundit told listeners of his talk radio show on Wednesday that he was …


Did Paul Ryan just predict that Clinton will win in a landslide? — House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) sent an urgent fundraising appeal on Thursday evening that warned: “If we fail to protect our majority in Congress, we could be handing President Hillary Clinton a blank check.”
Discussion:
Politico, CBS News, Guardian, New York Times, Paul Nehlen, Balloon Juice, New York Magazine and The Atlantic


Trump backs off false Iran video claim — Washington (CNN)Donald Trump backed off a false claim Friday morning, admitting he had not seen a video of a $400 million payment being unloaded from a US plane in Iran. — The Republican nominee had claimed at rallies twice this week that such a video existed …
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Obama on Iran payment: ‘We do not pay ransom’
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, In Flex We Trust, The Slot and Washington Post

If it wasn't a ransom payment, why did Obama keep it secret?
Discussion:
The Daily Caller


Three Arrested for Distribution of Methamphetamine — In late July, the Organized Crime and Narcotics (OCN) Division received information about a possible distributor of methamphetamine and immediately began an investigative inquiry. Methamphetamine is listed as a Schedule II controlled substance …
Discussion:
Heat Street, Talking Points Memo, mrctv.org/videos, Complex, WTKR-TV, WRIC-TV, Washington Free Beacon, WTVR-TV, LawNewz, Towleroad and The Daily Caller
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Virginia Mayor Richard Silverthorne Gave Meth to Undercover Cops for Sex: Police
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.


Op-Ed Bernie Sanders: I support Hillary Clinton. So should everyone who voted for me — A Bernie Sanders supporter holds a sign urging party unity at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia on July 27. (EPA) — The conventions are over and the general election has officially begun.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Daily Kos and Occupy Democrats


‘No Doubt’ President Obama is a Muslim, Donald Trump's New York Campaign Chair Says — Donald Trump's New York State campaign co-chairman insisted in an interview with the Observer that President Barack Obama is a Muslim—and pointed to his policies in the Middle East as evidence.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Mediaite, alan.com, New York Magazine, Mother Jones and Politico, more at Mediagazer »
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How Donald Trump's ‘Rigged’ Claim Chips Away at Democracy — As public support turns against him, Donald Trump is suggesting without evidence that the election could be “rigged” by Democrats using vote fraud. This claim threatens the norms of American elections and could provoke a damaging reaction among his supporters.
Discussion:
Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight and Talking Points Memo
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It's worth asking again: Is Donald Trump trying to tank his campaign?
Discussion:
Politicus USA


US created 255,000 jobs in July vs. 180,000 jobs expected — Job creation continued at a solid pace in July, with the economy adding 255,000 positions, according to the Labor Department. — The headline unemployment rate held steady at 4.9 percent, though a more encompassing measure …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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July Jobs Report: Everything You Need to Know
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Washington Monthly, New York Times and Political Wire

Todd Akin Calls Trump a ‘Breath of Fresh Air’ — Todd Akin says the uncompromising rhetoric of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is “refreshing,” and he sees parallels between the calls to boot Trump from the presidential race and his own brush with the ire of the party's establishment …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and The Week

ObamaCare Is Failing Exactly The Way Critics Said It Would — Aetna's decision to abandon its ObamaCare expansion plans and rethink its participation altogether came as a surprise to many. It shouldn't have. Everything that's happened now was predicted by the law's critics years ago.


Gov. Paul LePage: I Told Trump He Needs To Be More Disciplined — Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a supporter of Donald Trump known for making controversial statements, says he told Trump during a meeting on Thursday to be more disciplined in his campaign for president of the United States.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Talking Points Memo


Brooklyn dad shot to death after taking baseball cap stolen from his son back from teen bullies — A Brooklyn dad stood up for his son — and was killed over a baseball cap. — The deadly chain of events began Saturday when Gerald Sealey, 17, was playing basketball outside Public School 6 in Flatbush.


The FDA just greenlit releasing mutant Zika-killing mosquitoes in Florida — Our sci-fi future just got a whole lot closer to becoming a reality, after the Food and Drug Administration gave the okay to a field trial that would release genetically modified Zika-killing mosquitoes in the Florida Keys.
Discussion:
The Verge

Judge rejects third parties' suit against debate commission — A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit alleging that the Commission on Presidential Debates violated federal antitrust laws and the First Amendment by excluding third-party candidates. — In a ruling Friday …
Discussion:
Hit & Run


The chaos of the Olympics has arrived. Fortunately, we have Bob Costas. — NEW YORK — The Olympics are a torrent of names, stats, narratives, results, commercials, montages and trivia about Kenyan runners and Italian fencers and Slovakian shot putters. It is overwhelming.
Discussion:
Deadspin and The Daily Caller


What Happened After I Wrote That Cargo Shorts Story — Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal published my piece on the highly disputed fashion item. Then people started debating it. … I apologize to the world for igniting the Cargo Shorts Wars of 2016.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Washingtonian