memeorandum: Heartbreaking image of newborn babies being kept in cardboard boxes in Venezuela due to ‘hospital crisis’ (Steve Robson/Mirror.co.uk)

5:40 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 Moderate Voice, Politicus USA, Business Insider and The New Civil Rights Movement

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 and FOX News Radio

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

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: Washington Examiner

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

Discussion: Hot Air

Monmouth University:
Monmouth University Polling Institute

Discussion: Marquette Law School Poll, Hot Air, Politicus USA, Slate, Politico and Talking Points Memo

Mark Murray / NBC News:
Poll: Nearly 70 Percent Have Concerns About Trump's Controversial Comments

Discussion: Independent Journal Review and Washington Post

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: The Gateway Pundit, RealClearPolitics, NBC News, Business Insider, Occupy Democrats, Boing Boing, twitchy.com, Bearing Arms and Mother Jones

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

Discussion: The Charlotte Observer and The Root

Sarah Wheaton / Politico:
Police union knocks Trump for suggesting Tulsa officer choked

Discussion: Raw Story

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

Discussion: RedState

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

Fox News:
Charlotte police: Warned suspect to drop gun before shooting which triggered riots, hurt 16 officers

Discussion: FOX News Radio, Associated Press, Front Page Magazine, Bearing Arms and Vox Popoli

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.com reveals he had an on-line sexting relationship with 15-year-old girl — The high school girl, whose name is being withheld by DailyMail.com because she is a minor, reveals the online relationship began last January

Discussion: Hot Air and The Daily Caller

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, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Guardian, Portland Mercury, National Review, Media Matters for America, NBC News, BizPac Review, ThinkProgress and New York Times

Alex Pfeiffer / The Daily Caller:
Hillary Is Missing From The Campaign Trail

Discussion: Infowars

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The Clinton Foundation has become a clear liability, as Bill Clinton mounts his big defense

Discussion: NewsBusters, Politico, RealClearPolitics and Mother Jones

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 …

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: Guardian, Mother Jones and ThinkProgress

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

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 …

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:
U.S. presidential candidate Trump praises ‘stop-and-frisk’ police tactic

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

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

Confirmed: Trump campaign is controlling every word of prominent CNN commentator — An insightful statement has emerged from the Donald Trump campaign. It concerns Corey Lewandowski, the former Trump campaign manager who was apparently fired from his post in June and then quickly signed on as a political commentator for CNN.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, The Right Scoop, Raw Story, Althouse, The Week, Media Matters for America and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

J.D. Durkin / Mediaite:
BREAKING: Corey Lewandowski Pulled From Appearing on CNN Morning Show

Discussion: New York Daily News, Daily Kos, Media Matters for America, Media Matters for America, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Raw Story, The Huffington Post, Politicus USA, CNBC, TVNewser, Politico, Mashable and Hot Air, more at Mediagazer »

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

Matt Egan / CNNMoney:

I called the Wells Fargo ethics line and was fired — Millions of phony accounts. Fake bank card PIN numbers. Fictitious email accounts. — Wells Fargo admitted to firing 5,300 employees for engaging in these shocking tactics. The bank earlier this month paid $185 million in penalties and has since apologized.

Discussion: USA Today, The Week, Hot Air, Shadowproof, New York Magazine and Mashable

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.