memeorandum: Donald Trump offers nine explanations of his Iraq War stance in 13 minutes (Daniel Dalewashington/Toronto Star)

1:05 AM ET, September 9, 2016

Top Items:

What Really Happened at Donald Trump's Intelligence Briefing — What ‘body language’ is Trump talking about? — As U.S. officials cast doubt on Donald Trump's claim he read the “body language” of intelligence officials at a recent briefing, NBC News has learned exclusive details …

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Daily Kos, Independent Journal Review, Balloon Juice, Gothamist, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, alan.com and Hot Air

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:

Clinton Slams Trump But Blabbed About Briefing in 2008 — Clinton on the offensive following IAVA Forum 5:07 — Hillary Clinton slammed Donald Trump for talking about an intelligence briefing he received — but she's done it, too. — “I think what he said was totally inappropriate …

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon and Balloon Juice

Greg Miller / Washington Post:
It's unlikely Trump briefers disparaged Clinton or Obama, ex-intelligence officials say

Discussion: ThinkProgress, U.S. Uncut, New York Magazine and Raw Story

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Behind scenes, NBC execs concede Matt Lauer forum performance was “disaster” — NBC News knows the “Commander-in-Chief Forum” was not Matt Lauer's finest hour. — One executive, speaking anonymously, was blunt about it: “Disaster.” — The morning after Lauer's back-to-back interviews …

Discussion: The Intercept, The Moderate Voice, Liberal Values, Mediaite, Politicus USA, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Little Green Footballs and American Power, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Ok, I Admit It: I'm a Lauer Truther — The conventional wisdom has hardened to granite. Matt Lauer was the worst debate moderator in history. He was unprepared. He hammered Hillary and devoted too much time to emails. He let Trump lie like crazy without calling him to account at all.

Discussion: The Atlantic and Balloon Juice

Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
Welcome to the Club, Jonathan Chait: Part II

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washington Monthly and Power Line

James Poniewozik / New York Times:
Matt Lauer Loses the War in a Battle Between the Candidates

Discussion: Salon, New Century Times, Daily Kos, Mashable, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Towleroad, New York Magazine and The Mahablog, more at Mediagazer »

William Saletan / Slate:
NBC's Commander in Chief Forum Was an Authoritarian Farce

Discussion: NBC News, The Stranger …, Washington Post, fox8.com, PolitiFact and Gothamist

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Things just got very, very heated between Rudy Giuliani and Chris Matthews — Rudy Giuliani is the highest-profile Donald Trump supporter to publicly raise questions about Hillary Clinton's health. While Trump himself relies more on innuendo, the former New York mayor prefers to be more direct.

Discussion: Politico and The Resurgent

RT:

Iraq, Hillary and baseball: Donald Trump talks to Larry King (RT EXCLUSIVE) … Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump tells RT's Larry King that he doesn't dislike Hillary Clinton, but that she's not the person to make America great again - and that their televised duel Wednesday was more fun than baseball.

Discussion: The Hill and Business Insider

Jose A. DelReal / Washington Post:
Trump attacks U.S. foreign policy, political press corps on state-owned Russian television network

Discussion: New Century Times, more at Mediagazer »

Tal Kopan / CNN:
Mike Pence defends Donald Trump comments on Vladimir Putin: ‘inarguable’

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, The Week, Washington Post, Hot Air, Daily Kos and New York Magazine

Daniel Dalewashington / Toronto Star:

Donald Trump offers nine explanations of his Iraq War stance in 13 minutes — Most of Trump's explanations for his position on the war in 2002 and 2003 were dishonest, contradictory or both. — WASHINGTON—Donald Trump supported the invasion of Iraq. This is a matter of public record.

Discussion: Salon, Business Insider, Mediaite, Raw Story, Washington Post, BuzzFeed, NBC News, New York Times and New York Magazine

Donald J. Trump / Esquire:

Donald Trump: How I'd Run the Country (Better) — This is what it felt like to be Donald J. Trump in 2004, when The Apprentice was on the air, and he was bros with Regis, and the Iraq War was still at the top of America's collective consciousness. Funnily enough, what he said 12 years ago helps us understand his (il)logic today.

Discussion: Mediaite, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Little Green Footballs, Guardian and Political Wire

Katherine Krueger / Talking Points Memo:
Trump: I Would've Captured Osama Bin Laden Before 9/11 Attacks

Discussion: New Century Times, alan.com, Fox News Insider and The Week

ABC News:
Donald Trump Responds to Accusations of Flip-Flopping on Iraq War

Discussion: Politico

Barry Petchesky / Deadspin:

Seahawks Considering National Anthem Protest As A Team — In the fourth week of the preseason, two other NFL players joined Colin Kaepernick in sitting out the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner”: his 49ers teammate Eric Reid, and Seahawks CB Jeremy Lane.

Discussion: Western Journalism, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller and Independent Journal Review

Steven Goff / Washington Post:
Megan Rapinoe: 'It's [expletive] unbelievable. Saddened by it'

Discussion: Townhall.com, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, DCist, TheBlaze.com, Towleroad, Mediaite and Independent Journal Review

Bob Condotta / The Seattle Times:
Seahawks' Doug Baldwin, Bobby Wagner considering expanding national-anthem protest

Steven Goff / Washington Post:
Megan Rapinoe doesn't get chance to kneel for national anthem. It was played with teams in locker room.

Discussion: Outsports, Slate, Bleacher Report, ThinkProgress, USA Today and Washington Free Beacon

True Pundit:

NYPD: Hillary Clinton Was Wearing “Invisible” Earpiece To Receive Stealth Coaching During Live NBC TV Town Hall — Hillary Clinton was sporting a mini earbud wired to receive stealth communications from her campaign handlers during Wednesday's Commander-in-Chief Forum carried live on NBC from New York City, True Pundit has learned.

Discussion: Western Journalism, Infowars, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Little Green Footballs, New Century Times, Independent Journal Review, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit and Althouse

Joe Concha / The Hill:
Conservative media jumps on Hillary's ‘earpiece’

Discussion: Western Journalism, ABC News, New Century Times, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Independent Journal Review and Mediaite

Fox News:
Buzz about a ‘bud’: Clinton camp denies claims she wore earpiece at forum

Discussion: Mediaite, Media Matters for America, Infowars, Washington Post, Western Journalism and ThinkProgress

Matt Egan / CNNMoney:

5,300 Wells Fargo employees fired for creating over 2 million phony accounts — Everyone hates paying bank fees. But imagine paying fees on a ghost account you didn't even sign up for. — That's exactly what happened to Wells Fargo customers nationwide.

Discussion: USA Today, U.S. Uncut, The Atlantic and The Resurgent

Michael Corkery / New York Times:
Wells Fargo Fined for Fraudulently Opening Accounts for Customers

Discussion: KTLA, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller, LawNewz and The Week

Lauren Easton / The Definitive Source:

Statement on why AP deletes Clinton tweet — The Associated Press today is deleting a 2-week-old tweet about Hillary Clinton's meetings as Cabinet secretary after concluding the tweet fell short of AP standards by omitting essential context.

Discussion: Business Insider, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and Media Matters for America, more at Mediagazer »

Hadas Gold / Politico:
AP deletes Clinton Foundation tweet

Discussion: The Point and Media Matters for America

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:

Inside the collapse of Trump's D.C. policy shop — The Trump campaign built a large policy shop in Washington that has now largely melted away because of neglect, mismanagement and promises of pay that were never honored. Many of the team's former members say the campaign leadership never took …

Discussion: RedState, Politico, Raw Story, Ying Ma, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, The Resurgent and The New Civil Rights Movement

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:

‘What Is Aleppo?’ Gary Johnson Asks, in an Interview Stumble — Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor and Libertarian Party presidential nominee, revealed a surprising lack of foreign policy knowledge on Thursday that could rock his insurgent candidacy when he could not answer …

Allegra Kirkland / Talking Points Memo:
Gary Johnson Stuns ‘Morning Joe’ Hosts By Asking ‘What Is Aleppo?’ (VIDEO)

Anneta Konstantinides / Daily Mail:

Mother who married her daughter faces prison for incestuous marriage - eight years after she married her son — An Oklahoma mother and daughter are behind bars after it was revealed they had an incestuous marriage. — Patricia Ann Spann, 43, and Misty Velvet Dawn Spann, 25, were married in March 2016 in Comanche County.

Discussion: Telegraph, Associated Press, KFOR-TV, Louder With Crowder, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, WREG-TV and LawNewz

Colin Campbell / Raleigh News & Observer:

Sunday voting, additional early voting sites and hours restored in some counties despite GOP opposition — RALEIGH — Noting the watchful eye of a federal court, the State Board of Elections voted to restore Sunday early voting hours in several counties that had offered the option - popular among African-American voters - in 2012.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Times and The Charlotte Observer

Hannah Seligson / The Huffington Post:

One of the greatest enigmas of 2016, explained. — Not long after her parents' very public, very mortifying divorce, an adolescent Ivanka Trump sat with her father in the back of his private plane, waiting to leave New York for Palm Beach. The doors were closed and the engines were on, but they were still missing Marla Maples.

Discussion: The Times of Israel

PR Newswire:

Hillary's Health Concerns Serious, Say Most Doctors Polled by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) — Concerns about Hillary Clinton's health are “serious—could be disqualifying for the position of President of the U.S.,” say nearly 71% of 250 physicians responding …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Little Green Footballs, Western Journalism and Liberty Unyielding

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Hillary Clinton Is a Flawed But Normal Politician. Why Can't America See That? — In 2009, incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked former Secretary of State Colin Powell how to handle her emails. Last month, Powell denied having ever given Clinton this advice.

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Guardian

John Hayward / Breitbart:

Erik Prince: Clinton's ‘Foreign Policy Record Is a Disaster,’ Trump Is ‘Willing to Take a Different Direction’ — Retired Navy SEAL and former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince thought it was “shocking indeed that Matt Lauer asked any question that wasn't pre-scripted from the Clinton team” during Wednesday night's national security forum.

Discussion: Religion News Service

Emily Lane / New Orleans Times-Picayune:

‘Blue lives matter’ law used in arrest of New Orleans man who shouted slurs at police: warrant — Raul Delatoba was arrested Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, and charged with a hate crime and other offenses after New Orleans police say he verbally attacked NOPD officers and a witness who saw him damage a window at the Royal Sonesta Hotel.