Top Items:
Michael J. Morell / New York Times:
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 …
RELATED:
Greg Bluestein / Political Insider blog:
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.
RELATED:
Ed Kilgore / New York Magazine:
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, Politicus USA, Politico and NBC News
James Hohmann / Washington Post:
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, USA Today, Shakesville and Outside the Beltway
Steven Shepard / Politico:
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:
The Resurgent, RedState, Balloon Juice, Viking Pundit, Hot Air, Raw Story, Mediaite and rubber hose
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
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 …
Discussion:
USA Today, New York Magazine and Yahoo
RELATED:
Dylan Stableford / Yahoo:
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 …
Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:
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
Eric Bradner / CNN:
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 …
RELATED:
CNN:
Obama on Iran payment: ‘We do not pay ransom’
Obama on Iran payment: ‘We do not pay ransom’
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, In Flex We Trust, The Slot and Washington Post
Louis Nelson / Politico:
Trump admits he didn't see nonexistent Iran money video
Jonah Goldberg / New York Post:
If it wasn't a ransom payment, why did Obama keep it secret?
If it wasn't a ransom payment, why did Obama keep it secret?
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
FCPD Public Affairs / Fairfax County Police …:
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, WTVR-TV, Washington Free Beacon, WRIC-TV, Towleroad, LawNewz and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Erik Ortiz / NBC News:
Virginia Mayor Richard Silverthorne Gave Meth to Undercover Cops for Sex: Police
Virginia Mayor Richard Silverthorne Gave Meth to Undercover Cops for Sex: Police
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
Bernie Sanders / Los Angeles Times:
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
Katie Zavadski / The Daily Beast:
FBI Agent Apparently Egged on ‘Draw Muhammad’ Shooter — ‘Tear up Texas,’ the FBI agent told the ISIS terrorist, just before he shot up a crowded hall. Did the G-Man help convince the jihadi to attack? — Days before an ISIS sympathizer attacked a cartoon contest in Garland, Texas, he received a text from an undercover FBI agent.
Discussion:
Pamela Geller
RELATED:
Will Bredderman / The New York Observer:
‘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 »
RELATED:
Brendan Nyhan / New York Times:
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
RELATED:
Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:
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
John Merline / Investor's Business Daily:
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.
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
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
RELATED:
Ben Eisen / Wall Street Journal:
July Jobs Report: Everything You Need to Know
July Jobs Report: Everything You Need to Know
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Washington Monthly, New York Times and Political Wire
Rory Mulholland / Telegraph:
Sell alcohol and pork or we will shut you down, French town tells halal supermarket — A halal supermarket in a Paris suburb has been told by local authorities it must start selling alcohol and pork or else it will be shut down. — Good Price discount mini-market in Colombes has been told …
Discussion:
Heat Street
Kristen V. Brown / Fusion:
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
Power Line:
Episode 41: Decoding Evangelical Politics with Mike Cromartie — One of the surprises of the GOP primary campaign season was the strong support Donald Trump received from many—though not all—evangelical Christian voters. Maybe the so-called “religious right” isn't as monolithic as the media supposes.
Dan Zak / Washington Post:
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