memeorandum: Rick Perry Says Khizr Khan ‘Struck the First Blow’ in Trump Feud: ‘Shame on You’ (Sam Reisman/Mediaite)

12:15 AM ET, August 17, 2016

Top Items:

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

Beth Reinhard / Wall Street Journal:

Trump to Air First TV Ads of General Election Campaign — As he continues to slip in the polls, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is poised to begin airing his first television ads of the general election starting Friday in Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, according to a campaign adviser.

Discussion: Politico, CNN, The Daily Caller, Mashable, Political Wire and New York Times

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: Townhall.com, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, New York Times, Daily Wire, twitchy.com, Real Clear Politics, Talking Points Memo, Guardian, Naked Politics and The Hill

Washington Post:
Trump unpopularity fuels wide lead for Clinton in new Virginia poll

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

Lauren Fox / Talking Points Memo:

Trump Adviser Clarifies: Clinton Should Be Executed, Not Assassinated — Trump adviser Al Baldasaro clarified for the record Tuesday that he doesn't think Hillary Clinton should be assassinated, but rather thinks she should be shot by firing squad for “treason.”

Discussion: alan.com and The New Civil Rights Movement

Shira Schoenberg / Union-News:

Trump adviser Al Baldasaro: Hillary Clinton should be shot for treason, not assassinated — CAMBRIDGE — An adviser to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump doubled down Tuesday on comments he made saying that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton should be shot for treason.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Atlantic and Politicus USA

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:

Trump accuses Clinton of ‘bigotry’ toward African-Americans — Donald Trump made a new and explicit plea for the support of black voters on Tuesday, saying the Democratic Party had “failed and betrayed” them and accusing Hillary Clinton of “bigotry” in the pursuit of minority voters.

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite and Balloon Juice

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
A GOP Congressman Thinks Trump Is Trying To Lose To Help Clinton

Discussion: The Hill, Townhall.com and RedState

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
GOP Senator Lindsey Graham: I Think Trump Is Going To Lose

Discussion: Politico and Washington Times

Mark Hensch / The Hill:

Trump: 'I don't want to pivot' — on Tuesday said he is not interested in moderating his tone for the general presidential election. — “Well, possibly I do, but you know, I am who I am,” he told News 8 reporter Brittany Schmidt when asked whether he needs to change tactics before November …

WKBT:

VIDEO: one-on-one interview with Donald Trump — The views expressed are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on “Post” you acknowledge that you have read the Terms Of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Political Wire, Talking Points Memo and Joe.My.God.

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
Trump: 'I don't wanna change'

Discussion: madison.com, Business Insider and Washington Post

New York Times:

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.

NBC News:
Why Is Donald Trump's Campaign Sitting on $82 Million?

Discussion: Politico, Booman Tribune, The PolitiStick, Daily Kos and CNNMoney

Nicholas Weaver / Lawfare:

NSA and the No Good, Very Bad Monday — Monday was a tough day for those in the business of computer espionage. Russia, still using the alias Guccifer2.0, dumped even more DNC documents. And on Twitter, Mikko Hypponen noted an announcement on Github that had gone overlooked for two days …

Discussion: New York Times, Motherboard, Forbes, Schneier on Security, Washington Post, The Atlantic and Mother Jones

Elias Groll / Foreign Policy:
‘Shadow Brokers’ Claim to be Selling NSA Malware, in What Could Be Historic Hack

Discussion: Politico, Risk Based Security, The Daily Caller and Business Insider

Peter Kafka / Recode:

Univision is buying Gawker Media for $135 million — Sold! — Asa Mathat — Univision has won the auction for Gawker Media. — The TV network and digital publisher has agreed to pay $135 million for the bankrupt blog network, according to a person familiar with the deal.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, New York Times, Bloomberg, New York Magazine, Boing Boing, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Mashable, LawNewz, alan.com, Advertising & Branding, Joe.My.God., New York Post and Deadline, more at Mediagazer »

Russ Buettner / New York Times:

Trump Casinos' Tax Debt Was $30 Million. Then Christie Took Office. — By the time Chris Christie became governor of New Jersey, the state's auditors and lawyers had been battling for several years to collect long-overdue taxes owed by the casinos founded by his friend Donald J. Trump.

Discussion: Raw Story

Dan Elsom / New York Post:

Penis crushes pole vaulter's Olympic dream — Originally Published By: — Never before has a member of the male species wished for a smaller manhood. — Japanese pole vaulter Hiroki Ogita will be ruing the size of his phallus after it caused him to foul during the qualifying rounds at the Rio Olympics.

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Towleroad

Please share and spread the word . This:

Please share and spread the word . This is our family's official statement. Thank you. — Jabara Family Statement on the Murder of Khalid Jabara — August 15, 2016 — On Friday night, our world was shattered when our brother, Khalid Jabara, was murdered on the front porch of our family home.

Discussion: Business Insider, CNN, Tulsa World and Religion News Service

Michael E. Miller / Washington Post:
Man's ‘unusual fixation’ with Lebanese neighbors led to killing, Tulsa police say

Discussion: Raw Story, Walid Shoebat and KFOR-TV

Sam Reisman / Mediaite:

Rick Perry Says Khizr Khan ‘Struck the First Blow’ in Trump Feud: ‘Shame on You’ — F ormer Texas governor and former Republican presidential contender Rick Perry said on CNN Tuesday afternoon that the father of a soldier killed in Iraq “struck the first blow” against Donald Trump.

Discussion: alan.com

Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:
Rick Perry Continues Trump Camp Attacks Against Khan Family (VIDEO)

Discussion: Hullabaloo and BuzzFeed

Chris Spargo / Daily Mail:

Yachting with the enemy: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner take the jet skis out and relax on Democratic Hollywood billionaire David Geffen's $200m mega-yacht off the coast of Croatia — The pair are vacationing on the Rising Sun, the $200million yacht belonging to billionaire Hollywood executive David Geffen

Discussion: New York Post, Mediaite, Daily Wire and The Daily Caller

Peter Sullivan / The Hill:

Insurer exit darkens ObamaCare picture — Aetna's decision to pull back from ObamaCare is fueling new questions about the long-term viability of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). — When United Healthcare announced in April that it was leaving most ObamaCare marketplaces in 2017 …

Discussion: Power Line and Liberal Values

Sarah Kliff / Vox:
This certainly doesn't look good for Obamacare

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, AOL, NPR, National Review, The Atlantic, Townhall.com and Daily Wire

Kristine Marsh / NewsBusters:

CNN Selectively Edits Police Shooting Victim's Sister's Words to Protesters — In a classic case of media bias by omission, CNN took extra care Monday to leave out a crucial part of their reports on the Milwaukee police shooting. After a black police officer fatally shot Sylville Smith Sunday …

Discussion: CNN, WayneDupree.com, The Gateway Pundit, Independent Journal Review, BizPac Review, RedState, Townhall.com, Atlanta Black Star, Moonbattery, The PolitiStick, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Bearing Arms and Infowars

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

Matt Webb Mitovich / TVLine:

John McLaughlin, The McLaughlin Group Host Since 1982, Dead at 89 — John McLaughlin, the host of TV's The McLaughlin Group since its debut in January 1982, died on Tuesday at age 89. — The political commentator's passing comes just days after he missed his first hosting …

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

Emily Smith / Page Six:

NBC boss blasts Trump as ‘toxic’ — Bob Greenblatt, the chairman of NBC Entertainment, which produces “The Apprentice,” has declared war on Donald Trump, blasting him as “pompous” and “toxic.” — Greenblatt — who took his NBC role in 2011 when “The Celebrity Apprentice” was already running …

Discussion: AFF, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

The Portland Press Herald:

Documents: Freeport man died fighting for Islamic State — Adnan Fazeli became radicalized after moving to Maine in 2009. Four years later, he left his wife and three kids, and never returned, according to court records unsealed Monday. — An Iranian man who came to Maine as a refugee …

Discussion: Associated Press, Pamela Geller and Jihad Watch

Arlette Saenz / ABC News:

What You Need to Know About Hillary Clinton Interview Notes FBI Gave to Congress — The FBI provided Congress today with notes from the investigation of Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information over her private email server. — Republican lawmakers have pushed for the FBI …

Discussion: Politico, Fox News Insider, Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Trump's Post Advocating For Intervention In Libya Is Still On His Facebook — If you are looking for evidence that Donald Trump initially supported an intervention in Libya despite now calling the U.S. action there a “disaster,” look no further than Trump's own Facebook page …

Louis Nelson / Politico:

Trump campaign circles the wagons around Manafort — Donald Trump's campaign defended its embattled chairman, Paul Manafort, on Tuesday, pushing back against reports that the former consultant had received secret cash payments from a deposed Ukrainian leader with close ties to the Kremlin …

Discussion: RedState, TIME, Refinery29, Guardian, New York Times, BuzzFeed and Mother Jones

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, Friendly Atheist and BizPac Review

The Local:

Sex pigs halt traffic after laser attack on Pokémon teens — Tiny Insjön in central Sweden isn't known for pig mask-wearing couples shooting lasers at Pokémon hunters before having sex against a waterwheel. But that could be about to change.

Discussion: Mashable