memeorandum: Sports Illustrated brings the stars of the Rio Olympics together for exclusive cover shoot (SI.com)

5:50 PM ET, August 16, 2016

Top Items:

Rogers Ailes to Advise Donald Trump Ahead of Presidential Debates — Roger Ailes, the former Fox News chairman ousted last month over charges of sexual harassment, is advising Donald J. Trump as he begins to prepare for the all-important presidential debates this fall.

Washington Post:

Trump unpopularity fuels wide lead for Clinton in new Virginia poll — Hillary Clinton holds a commanding lead over Donald Trump in Virginia, with disdain for the Republican presidential nominee helping Clinton overcome her own vulnerabilities, a new Washington Post poll finds.

Discussion: RedState, Politico, AOL, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Politicus USA, Outside the Beltway, Daily Wire, Towleroad, Washington Times and twitchy.com

Clinton Leads / Monmouth University:

Monmouth University Polling Institute — Florida — Hillary Clinton holds a 9 point lead over Donald Trump in the crucial swing state of Florida. — The Monmouth University Poll also finds incumbent Marco Rubio leading either of his two main Democratic challengers to retain his U.S. Senate seat, although by varying margins.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Daily Wire, Real Clear Politics, twitchy.com and Guardian

NBC News:

Why Is Donald Trump's Campaign Sitting on $82 Million? — Donald Trump calls for ‘extreme vetting’ of immigrants to the US 1:53 — First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The PolitiStick and Daily Kos

Ryan Parker / Hollywood Reporter:
Trump Campaign Denies Roger Ailes Is Working With Candidate Ahead of Debates

more at Mediagazer »

The Huffington Post:
HUFFPOLLSTER: Gary Johnson And Jill Stein Aren't Polling High Enough To Make The Debates

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Breitbart and Joe.My.God.

NBC News:

Poll: Clinton Maintains Big Lead as Voters Doubt Trump's Temperament — The numbers were virtually unchanged since last week's poll. Generally low favorability and negative attitudes among voters plague both candidates, however, as they make appeals to voters in key swing states in the weeks ahead.

Discussion: Hot Air, RedState, Talking Points Memo, The New Civil Rights Movement and New York Post

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

Pow: It's just a 2-point race, Clinton 38%, Trump 36% — The convention polling bumps for Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Donald Trump are over, and they are practically even, according to a new poll of likely voters. — A Zogby Analytics survey provided to Secrets Tuesday shows:

Discussion: Washington Post

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Trump Leads By Only 6 in Texas — PPP's new Texas poll finds a relatively tight race, at least on the curve of recent Presidential election results in the state. Donald Trump leads with 44% to 38% for Hillary Clinton, 6% for Gary Johnson, 2% for Jill Stein, and less than half a percent (0) for Evan McMullin.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Daily Wire and Politicus USA

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Trump: 'I don't wanna change' — Even as he sags in the polls both nationally and in nearly a dozen battleground states, Donald Trump must remain Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee said Tuesday. — Trump acknowledged that he should probably adjust his tactics to shore …

Discussion: WKBT, Talking Points Memo and madison.com

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

GOP Senator Lindsey Graham: I Think Trump Is Going To Lose — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says he thinks Donald Trump is going to lose the election. Graham, who has said he's not voting for Trump, argued that demographics and Trump's rhetoric make it nearly impossible for him to win.

Discussion: Politico and Washington Times

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

A GOP Congressman Thinks Trump Is Trying To Lose To Help Clinton — Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo, one of the first congressman to say he would not vote for Donald Trump in November, says he believes the Republican nominee is trying to lose on purpose to help Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Townhall.com and RedState

Harry Enten / FiveThirtyEight:

The GOP's Chances Of Holding The Senate Are Following Trump Downhill — Donald Trump's post-conventions polling slump seems to be having an effect on the Republican Party's U.S. Senate candidates. We thought this might happen: There's been an increasingly strong relationship between …

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, Daily Wire and Politicus USA

Manu Raju / CNN:
Ayotte: I will stand up to Trump but will vote for him

Discussion: Business Insider, Politico, ThinkProgress, Associated Press, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Lawyers, Guns & Money

David Rutz / Washington Free Beacon:
Hassan Can't Say If Clinton Is Honest, Even After She's Asked Three Times

Discussion: MichelleMalkin.com and Hot Air

New York Daily News:

Rudy Giuliani blames his use of ‘abbreviated’ language for 9/11-forgetting gaffe, claim no terror attacks happened ‘before Obama came along’ — OMG, Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday he obvs hasn't forgotten about 9/11 and claimed that his remark was totes “misinterpreted” because he simply likes to speak in “abbreviated” language.

Discussion: RedState, Politico, alan.com, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

Allegra Kirkland / Talking Points Memo:
Giuliani: I Didn't Forget 9/11, I Was Using ‘Abbreviated Language’

Discussion: Slate, Raw Story, New York Daily News, Washington Post and Balloon Juice

Allegra Kirkland / Talking Points Memo:
Rubio Stands By Claim That Trump Is A ‘Con Man’, Still Supports Him

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, RealClearPolitics, CNN, ABC News, Right Wing Watch, Daily Kos, NPR and Naked Politics

Sarah Kliff / Vox:

This certainly doesn't look good for Obamacare — Just a few months ago, Aetna was an insurer you could count on to be especially bullish on Obamacare. — Chief executive Mark Bertolini told Aetna shareholders in April that the law was “a good investment.” In May, he announced plans to expand to five additional states.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, National Review, The Atlantic and NPR

Peter Sullivan / The Hill:
Aetna pulling back from ObamaCare in blow to health law

Discussion: Townhall.com, Bloomberg, CNNMoney, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Scared Monkeys, ACASignups.net, neo-neocon and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Nathan Bomey / USA Today:
Aetna's exit deals blow to Obamacare, patients

Discussion: Washington Examiner, MichelleMalkin.com, Mother Jones, Common Dreams, Media Matters for America, Daily Wire and Patterico's Pontifications

Facebook:

See more of The McLaughlin Group by logging into Facebook — Message this Page, learn about upcoming events and more. If you don't have a Facebook account, you can create one to see more of this Page. — Sign Up Log In — The McLaughlin Group — 44 mins ·

Discussion: Fox News, The Jawa Report, Politico, NBC News, The American Spectator, The Daily Caller and TVNewser

Matt Webb Mitovich / TVLine: John McLaughlin, The McLaughlin Group Host Since 1982, Dead at 89

Fox News:

House Republicans detail perjury allegations against Clinton — House Republicans have detailed perjury allegations against Hillary Clinton, citing the apparent conflict between her 2015 congressional testimony about her email practices and the FBI's conclusions announced in July …

Discussion: Infowars, The Last Tradition and Reuters

Pete Williams / NBC News:
FBI to Send Clinton Interview Notes to Congress

Discussion: BuzzFeed and Independent Journal Review

Arlette Saenz / ABC News:
What You Need to Know About Hillary Clinton Interview Notes FBI Gave to Congress

Discussion: Politico

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Feds reject Clinton comparison in classified sub photos case — Federal prosecutors are rejecting a Navy sailor's effort to seek leniency by comparing his taking of classified photos on a nuclear submarine to Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server authorities say contained highly-classified information.

Discussion: New York Post, Infowars, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Times, Hot Air and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Mike Levine / ABC News:
Trump to Receive First Classified Briefing Tomorrow

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Politico

Milo / Breitbart:

Donald Trump Just Overtook The Democrats On Gay Rights — The madman has actually done it. God-Emperor Daddy — known to the rest of you as Republican presidential candidate Donald J Trump — has just outflanked Hillary Clinton on the Left and announced what can only be described as an ultra-progressive immigration policy.

Discussion: New York Magazine, BizPac Review, Friendly Atheist and Washington Post

Roger Stone / The Hill:

Can the 2016 election be rigged? You bet — has said publicly that he fears the next election will be rigged. Based both on technical capability and recent history, Trump's concerns are not unfounded. — A recent study by Stanford University proved that Hillary Clinton

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Media Matters for America and Raw Story

Michael E. Miller / Washington Post:

Man's ‘unusual fixation’ with Lebanese neighbors led to killing, Tulsa police say — Khalid Jabara was worried. — Last year, his mother had been jogging through the family's quiet Tulsa neighborhood when she was nearly killed in a vicious hit-and-run. Police quickly arrested Vernon Majors …

Discussion: Walid Shoebat, Raw Story and KFOR-TV

Please share and spread the word . This:
Please share and spread the word . This is our family's official statement.

Discussion: Religion News Service

Jonathan Swan / The Hill:

Trump camp apparently soliciting foreign cash despite warnings — 's presidential campaign appears to be soliciting foreign donations despite multiple warnings and a criminal complaint filed with the Department of Justice. — On Sunday, an Australian member of parliament, Terri Butler …

Hillary Clinton / Teen Vogue:

Read Hillary Clinton's Essay On Why Our Generation Is What's RIGHT With America — The Democratic presidential nominee penned a seriously inspiring essay for Teen Vogue. … Britain Bennett had her first run-in with online bullying the year she started high school. The relentless taunting made her feel hopeless and alone.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

New York Times:

Mr. Trump's Foreign Policy Confusions — Donald Trump's speech on Monday was advertised as an attempt to redirect his campaign from a series of blunders to a more serious discussion of foreign policy, starting with combating global terrorism. As such, it marked another test of his readiness to lead.

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Los Angeles Times, Pamela Geller, Foreign Policy, Jihad Watch, Defense One, Daily Kos and Boing Boing

Ezra Klein / Vox:

The media vs. Donald Trump: why the press feels so free to criticize the Republican nominee — There is a case to be made that the media created Donald Trump. It was, reportedly, his anger at being dismissed by political pundits that led him to run for president in the first place.

Discussion: bradford-delong.com and Hit & Run