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How Trump could lose by 5 million votes and still win in 2020 — Analysis: The nation's two most populous states, California and Texas, are at the heart of Democrats' geography problem. — In the wake of President Donald Trump's tweets suggesting several nonwhite progressive congresswomen …
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Trump's Electoral College Edge Could Grow in 2020, Rewarding Polarizing Campaign — Re-election looks plausible, with an even bigger loss in the national popular vote. — President Trump's approval ratings are under water in national polls. His position for re-election, on the other hand, might not be quite so bleak.
Discussion:
Political Wire


How the Ilhan Omar Marriage Smear Went From Fever Swamp to Trump — The curious journey of the unproven rumor that Omar married her brother to get him citizenship—from an obscure Somali diaspora forum to the president. — When Donald Trump suggested on Wednesday that Rep. Ilhan Omar …
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The Ilhan Omar marriage story isn't ‘baseless,’ but it doesn't help that Trump alt-right hacks hijacked it
Discussion:
Breitbart, LifeZette and The Last Refuge

Rabbi in Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's district compares Trump rally to ‘Nazi Germany’
Discussion:
The Guardian, Breitbart, Politico and IJR


George Nader, Witness in Mueller Probe, Hit With New Charges of Sex Trafficking — The key cooperator faces additional child-porn charges in a new indictment to be unsealed Friday. — George Nader, who was a key witness in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Law & Crime and Mediaite
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Businessman who testified in Mueller probe indicted on child pornography charges
Discussion:
Political Wire and Boing Boing


Trump took heat from Melania and Ivanka over racist chants at rally — Washington — CBS News has learned President Trump took a lot of heat from his family over the racist chants at a campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday. He heard from first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka and Vice President Mike Pence.
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ESPN's Dan Le Batard rips President Trump, derides network's no-politics policy — “There's a racial division in this country that's being instigated by the president, and we here at ESPN haven't had the stomach for that fight.” — With those words, Dan Le Batard launched into an impassioned monologue Thursday.
Discussion:
NPR, Talking Points Memo, CNSNews, Deadspin, The Wrap, Breitbart and The Daily Caller


New GOP panic about Trump's racism reveals an ugly truth — Credulous pundits told us for days that President Trump's racist attacks on nonwhite lawmakers were brilliant politics, but Republicans disagree: They are widely warning Trump that presiding over a rally chant of “send her back,” …
Discussion:
Reason, Media Matters for America and The Wrap
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Trump officials pressing to slash refugee admissions to zero next year
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Atlantic, CNN, Shareblue Media, ThinkProgress, KTLA, Niskanen Center, Common Dreams, Talking Points Memo, Splinter and Daily Kos


Scoop: John Delaney's staffers have asked him to drop out — On July 9, John Delaney's senior team sat him down and told him to drop out of the presidential race by mid-August, according to three sources close to the campaign. — Why it matters: He's been running for president for 721 days.
Discussion:
Fox News, Vanity Fair, Splinter, The Week, Politico and The Daily Caller


Trump Can't Just Walk Away From ‘Send Her Back’ — There's a reason the president can't bring himself to condemn a bigoted chant. — Last Sunday, President Donald Trump suggested that four Democratic congresswomen of color, three of whom were born in the U.S., “go back” to their ancestors' countries.
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VIDEO: Students say Obama immigration quote racist...when they think it's from Trump
Discussion:
Breitbart and Daily Wire


Alan Dershowitz Cannot Stop Talking Accused of a slew of terrible things, the defense has no intention of resting. — One morning in July, days after his onetime client Jeffrey Epstein was arrested on sex-trafficking charges, the famed attorney Alan Dershowitz was reminiscing as he drove the winding roads of Martha's Vineyard.
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Palm Beach sheriff opens internal affairs investigation into handling of Jeffrey Epstein
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Jewish Telegraphic Agency


Republican State Lawmaker: 'Owning Slaves Doesn't Make You Racist' — If you were writing a list of things that are and are not racist, slavery should probably be pretty close to the top of the “are” section. But not for a Republican state lawmaker from New Hampshire …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Fox News
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New Hampshire Lawmaker: 'Owning Slaves Doesn't Make You Racist'
Discussion:
Salon, USA Today, Slate and UnionLeader.com


LAPD informant infiltrated left-wing activists during Trump protests, records show — The Los Angeles Police Department ordered a confidential informant to monitor and record meetings held by a political group that staged protests against President Trump in 2017, a move that has drawn concern …


Defenders of a Racist President Use Jews as Human Shields — Trump's bigoted attack on four congresswomen of color has nothing to do with fighting anti-Semitism. — Sebastian Gorka, a onetime adviser to Donald Trump, wore a medal from the Vitezi Rend, a Hungarian group historically aligned with Nazism …
Discussion:
The Federalist


Pete Buttigieg hires former Goldman Sachs executive as national policy director — KEY POINTS — Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg has hired a former Goldman Sachs vice president and Google executive to run his policy shop, his campaign announced Thursday.


Sen. Kyrsten Sinema pushes program to streamline removal of migrant families without valid asylum claims — TUCSON — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is pushing for the implementation of a pilot program along the U.S.-Mexico border that aims to more quickly screen and remove migrant families without valid legal claims …
Discussion:
National Review and The Daily Caller


Graydon Carter on Vanity Fair, Jeffrey Epstein and an Editor's Power — “I didn't invent the system. I just lived by the system.” — Graydon Carter on Vanity Fair, Jeffrey Epstein and an editor's power. — During his 25-year run as editor in chief of Vanity Fair …


“I'm Winning”: Donald Trump's Calculated Racism — On Tuesday, President Trump convened his Cabinet in the White House. First to speak after a long, rambling, and inaccuracy-filled monologue by Trump himself was Ben Carson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Discussion:
Daily Kos


Store clerk fired after telling customers to ‘go back to their country’ in viral video — In the midst of a national controversy about President Donald Trump's inflammatory tweets towards minority congresswomen, a store clerk at an Illinois convenience store has been fired after he was caught …
Discussion:
CNN and CBS Baltimore


Anxious Democratic Governors Urge 2020 Field Not to Veer Too Far Left — WASHINGTON — After claiming governorships from Republicans in seven states last year, including in crucial presidential battlegrounds like Wisconsin and Michigan, Democratic governors should have good reason to celebrate.
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller and Splinter


Jerry Nadler asks Hope Hicks to clarify her “inconsistent” testimony about hush payments — Former White House communications director Hope Hicks leaves after a closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee on June 19. Alex Wong/Getty Images — Hicks's testimony looks more dubious than ever.
Discussion:
Vanity Fair and Politico
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After Publishing Strong Evidence of Trump's Campaign Finance Crimes, DOJ Closes Case Without Explanation
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Washington Press


Tulsi Gabbard Raised Negative $20 for Her House Campaign — The number raises questions about whether Gabbard will return to Congress should her presidential campaign come to an end. — As she runs for the Democratic nominee for president, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) also faces a primary challenge for her seat in the House.


Trump Is Betting That Indecency Can Win in America — In the deeply disturbing moments after Donald Trump invoked a three-minutes-of-hate session toward Congresswoman Ilhan Omar Wednesday night, and the crowd erupted with chants of “Send Her Back! Send Her Back!”, a protester yelled something inaudible, and caused a commotion.
Discussion:
The Intercept, The Week, Bloomberg and Summit News


Trump's Base Isn't Enough — Buried beneath the blustery bravado of Donald Trump's openly racist attacks on four Democratic congresswomen of color were clear signs of electoral anxiety. — Trump insists he is producing great results for the country, especially on the economy.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway


EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Are Pressuring Amazon to Sell Books on Gay Conversion Therapy — WASHINGTON — A group of House Republicans is urging their members to pressure Amazon to resume selling a set of controversial gay conversion therapy books, after the platform announced this month …
Discussion:
Metro Weekly and Queerty


Labor fight roils Bernie Sanders campaign, as workers demand the $15 hourly pay the candidate has proposed for employees nationwide — Unionized campaign organizers working for Sen. Bernie Sanders's presidential effort are battling with its management, arguing that the compensation and treatment …


What economists have gotten wrong for decades — McDonald's restaurant employees rallied to demand a $15-per-hour wage in Los Angeles, California. For a long time, economists believed that the minimum wage would only hurt workers — a view that has since been debunked. David McNew/Getty Images
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Washington Examiner and Economic Policy Institute


Advocates call on Harris County DA to release name of untrustworthy cops — A coalition of advocates and lawyers on Friday morning asked Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg to develop a list of police deemed too untrustworthy to rely on in court — and to release the names publicly …


The Movement to Impeach Donald Trump Is Far from Over — On Wednesday afternoon, Representative Al Green, who since 2005 has represented Texas's Ninth Congressional District, stood on the floor of the House of Representatives and read from a resolution to impeach Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Bleeding Heartland, Bloomberg, Politico and Washington Examiner


16,000 Readers Shared Their Experiences of Being Told to ‘Go Back.’ Here Are Some of Their Stories. — “Go back to where you came from.” — These seven words are seared into the minds of countless Americans — a reminder that they haven't always been welcome in the country where they were born …
Discussion:
Boing Boing


Safe Deposit Boxes Aren't Safe — When Philip Poniz opened Box 105 at his local Wells Fargo, he discovered it was empty — and that he was totally unprotected by federal law. — In the early 1980s, when Philip Poniz moved to New Jersey from Colorado, he needed a well-protected place to stash his collection of rare watches.

The Southern Path to a Democratic Win in 2020 — The lion's share of discussion about the states Democrats need to win to take back the White House in 2020 has focused on the trio of Midwestern states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Those states do indeed present the clearest path …


NBC News poll: Biden, Sanders and Warren lead 2020 field — The poll also shows President Donald Trump's approval rating has ticked upward in the past 10 months. — Former Vice President Joe Biden is leading the pack of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, with Sens. Bernie Sanders …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com