memeorandum: How John McCain and Russ Feingold are riding the big money wave in their campaigns (Paul Kane/Washington Post)

7:55 AM ET, September 22, 2016

Top Items:

Mark Murray / NBC News:

Poll: Clinton Leads Trump Ahead of First Debate — Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton leads Republican Donald Trump by six points among likely voters heading into the first presidential debate on Monday, according to a brand-new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Discussion: The Week, The Moderate Voice, Monmouth University, Politicus USA, Business Insider and The New Civil Rights Movement

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Clinton and Trump Tied in North Carolina Poll, With Sharp Educational Divides — Greensboro — Raleigh — Asheville — Charlotte — Greensboro — Raleigh — Asheville — Charlotte — Greensboro — Durham — Raleigh — Asheville — Charlotte — Durham — Asheville

Discussion: Hit & Run

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Trump tops Clinton in battlegrounds Nevada, N. Carolina, Ohio — Donald Trump narrowly leads Hillary Clinton in the battleground states of Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio. — That's according to Fox News statewide likely voter polls conducted Sunday through Tuesday evenings.

Discussion: The Last Refuge, Business Insider, FOX News Radio and Politicus USA

Steven Shepard / Politico:

Trump's bizarre ad strategy — It's seven weeks before Election Day, five days before the highly anticipated first debate, and Donald Trump's television advertisements have all but vanished. — Trump's ads last ran nearly a week ago in four battleground states: Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Discussion: Political Wire

Dr. Harry Wilson / Roanoke College:

RC Poll: Trump closes the gap significantly in Va., Clinton holds lead but loses ground — Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump has cut more than half of Democrat Hillary Clinton's lead in a month, but still trails by seven percent among likely voters in Virginia (44%-37%), according to The Roanoke College Poll.

Janet Hook / Wall Street Journal:

Hillary Clinton Leads Donald Trump by 6 Points in Latest WSJ/NBC Poll — Both candidates viewed negatively by majority of voters; third-party candidates at 12% support — Hillary Clinton is maintaining her edge over Republican rival Donald Trump despite recent campaign setbacks …

Discussion: RedState

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
Clinton leads Trump by 6 points in nationwide poll

Discussion: Hot Air

The Charlotte Observer:

Charlotte police protests: Governor declares state of emergency as violence erupts for second night — Protests turned violent for a second night in Charlotte after Tuesday's fatal police shooting of a black man. Late Wednesday, Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency for the city …

Discussion: CBS New York, Slate, USA Today, Infowars, Fox News, Washington Free Beacon, New Urban Legends and Power Line

CBS North Carolina / WNCN:

1 shot, 8 hurt, tear gas deployed in 2nd night of Charlotte police shooting protests — CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WNCN) — The North Carolina governor declared a state of emergency after a person was critically injured in a shooting as more intense violence and looting broke out Wednesday night during protests …

Discussion: RedState, The Gateway Pundit, RealClearPolitics, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Independent Journal Review, BizPac Review, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, NBC News, Occupy Democrats, Boing Boing and twitchy.com

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:
Meet the black Charlotte police officer who shot Keith Lamont Scott

Discussion: The Charlotte Observer and The Root

Wall Street Journal: Man Shot, State of Emergency Declared as Charlotte Protests Continue

Alana Goodman / Daily Mail:

TEXT OF LETTER WEINER ASKED TEEN TO SEND TO TEACHER — The teen wrote this letter but sent it to a fake email address and sent a copy to Weiner. Parts of the letter that might identify her are redacted. The teen told DailyMail.com what she had done. Weiner provided a copy of the letter in his belief it was sent to her teacher.

Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: NYPD Special Victims Unit launches investigation into Anthony Weiner after DailyMail …

Discussion: Hot Air and The Daily Caller

Ben Garbarek / WSYX:

1-on-1 with Donald Trump — TOLEDO — Donald Trump spoke one-on-one with ABC6/FOX28 before his latest campaign stop Wednesday in Toledo. — Trump was running late so he would only answer three questions before taking the stage. — Here is the full transcript of the interview:

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, Guardian, Mother Jones and ThinkProgress

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Trump On Why He Stopped Being A Birther: “We Want To Get On With The Campaign”

Discussion: alan.com

Jason Noble / Des Moines Register:
Some donations to Trump Foundation count as Trump's money, aide says

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Washingtonian, Daily Kos, Mediaite and Townhall.com

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

Rumblings=> Hillary Clinton May Cancel Debate on Monday — On Tuesday Hillary Clinton canceled her campaign fundraiser in North Carolina. — The campaign offered no explanation for the cancellation. — Hillary Clinton canceled several events after she collapsed at Ground Zero on 9-11.

Discussion: Truth Kings and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Annie Karni / Politico:
Bill Clinton on CGI legacy: ‘You have to keep this alive’

Discussion: ABC News

Issie Lapowsky / Wired:
Unlike Trump Foundation, Clinton Global Initiative Has Data to Prove Its Worth

Discussion: Fortune, WBUR, Washington Post, Electoral-vote.com, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Portland Mercury, Guardian, National Review, Media Matters for America, NBC News, New York Times and BizPac Review

Jamelle Bouie / Slate:

The Professor, the Cop, and the President — After the “beer summit,” the fallacy of a post-racial America was over—and white citizens never thought of Barack Obama the same way again. — Henry Louis Gates was just trying to get into his house. — It was July 16, 2009 …

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Clinton asks why she isn't beating Trump by 50 points — ORLANDO — Hillary Clinton gave voice Wednesday to a question on the minds of many of her fiercest advocates in her race against the controversy-prone Donald Trump: Why isn't she way, way ahead? — The Democratic nominee raised …

Discussion: Political Wire and Washington Examiner

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

How John McCain and Russ Feingold are riding the big money wave in their campaigns — John McCain and Russ Feingold used to be synonymous with their crusading overhaul of the campaign finance system that eliminated big money from federal elections. — But after a sea change …

Discussion: Political Wire

Isaac Arnsdorf / Politico:

Trump's campaign paid his businesses $8.2 million — Donald Trump's presidential campaign has paid his family's businesses more than $8.2 million, according to a POLITICO analysis of campaign finance filings, which reveals an integrated business and political operation without precedent in national politics.

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Sarah Wheaton / Politico:

Police union knocks Trump for suggesting Tulsa officer choked — The top official in the country's largest police union tweaked Donald Trump on Wednesday for leaping to blame the police officer who shot an unarmed black man in Tulsa, Oklahoma. — The Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Trump last week …

Discussion: Raw Story

Jessie Hellmann / The Hill:
Trump ‘troubled’ by Tulsa shooting

Discussion: RedState

Adam Walinsky / Politico:

I Was RFK's Speechwriter. Now I'm Voting for Trump. Here's Why. — I was a Democrat all my life. I came to Washington to serve President John Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy. When the president was murdered and his brother struck off on his own, I joined his Senate campaign …

John McTernan / CNN:

Clinton needs to stop taking a knife to a gun fight — If Clinton doesn't start taking on Trump directly on a more visceral level, she may spend the rest of her life regretting it, he says — John McTernan is a former speechwriter for ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair …

Doris Kearns Goodwin / Vanity Fair:

Barack Obama and Doris Kearns Goodwin: The Ultimate Exit Interview — As his two-term presidency draws to a close, Barack Obama is looking back—at the legacies of his predecessors, as well as his own—and forward, to the freedom of life after the White House.

Discussion: Mediaite and Political Wire

Nick Miller / East Bay Express:

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson Hit in Face with Pie at Event, Assaults Protester in ‘Bloody’ Scene — Multiple sources have confirmed that Sacramento Mayor, former NBA star, and UC Berkeley standout Kevin Johnson was hit in the face with a pie tonight at a farm-to-table dinner event …

Discussion: Fox News, New York Magazine and Larry Brown Sports

New York Times:

Donald Trump Embraces Wider Use of Stop-and-Frisk by Police — Donald J. Trump on Wednesday endorsed the expansion of the contentious stop-and-frisk policing strategy in America's cities, embracing an aggressive tactic whose legality has been challenged and whose enforcement has been abandoned in New York …

Discussion: Politicus USA, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Mother Jones, Politico, ThinkProgress, The Right Scoop, BizPac Review and ABC News

Emily Flitter / Reuters:
Trump praises ‘stop-and-frisk’ police tactic

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Hit & Run, CNBC and Talking Points Memo

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Hillary Clinton Struggles to Replicate Obama's Small-Donor Juggernaut — WASHINGTON — In 2012, B. Rowe Winecoff, a retired social worker from Newton, Iowa, contributed $120 to President Obama's re-election campaign. But he has yet to give any money to Hillary Clinton in this election.