Top Items:

How the Trump Campaign Used Facebook Ads to Amplify His ‘Invasion’ Claim — Some of President Trump's re-election ads have repeated his inflammatory claims about an “invasion” on the southern border — language that is under scrutiny after the El Paso shooting.
Discussion:
Political Wire, Salon, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Week, Vanity Fair, Slate, Townhall, The Federalist, Gizmodo and The North Star, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:

In tragic self-owns, Trump denounces racism, and calls for immigration reform — Analysis: Rather than risk alienating his allies in the wake of another round of mass shootings, Trump chose to expose himself to claims of responsibility. — WASHINGTON — In looking to place blame …
Discussion:
USA Today, Washington Post, Vox and New York Times

Teleprompter Trump meets Twitter Trump as the president responds to mass slayings — Teleprompter Trump repudiated Twitter Trump in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House on Monday. — Speaking in the wake of two mass shootings in less than 24 hours that left at least 31 dead over the weekend …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »

Trump campaign still hasn't paid El Paso police bills — President Donald Trump has pledged the federal government will provide “whatever is needed” to help El Paso, Texas, recover from a mass shooting Saturday that killed 22 people. — But Trump's own 2020 re-election committee still …
Discussion:
The Texas Tribune, Reason, Politico, HuffPost, Cincinnati.com, The Federalist, The Last Refuge and Mother Jones

Statement of APA President in Response to Mass Shootings in Texas, Ohio
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Vox, American Greatness, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Newsweek and Washington Post
Courtney Hagle / Media Matters for America:
How Fox News pushed the white supremacist “great replacement” theory
How Fox News pushed the white supremacist “great replacement” theory
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast and Daily Kos
Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:
Trump Doesn't Give a Damn About Gun Massacres
Trump Doesn't Give a Damn About Gun Massacres
Discussion:
Washington Post, Commentary, Mediaite, Bloomberg, ABC News and Breitbart
Matt Gertz / Media Matters for America:
You don't need to read the El Paso killer's manifesto. Just turn on Fox News.
You don't need to read the El Paso killer's manifesto. Just turn on Fox News.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, ABC News, USA Today, The American Spectator, New Republic and Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Alexander Burns / New York Times:
Shootings Spur Debate on Extremism and Guns, With Trump on Defense
Shootings Spur Debate on Extremism and Guns, With Trump on Defense
Discussion:
Bloomberg, New York Times and The Hill, more at Techmeme »
Barack Obama:
Michelle and I grieve with all the families in El Paso and Dayton …
Michelle and I grieve with all the families in El Paso and Dayton …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media and POLITICUSUSA
Matthew Choi / Politico:
Mitch McConnell campaign tweets image of tombstone with opponent's name
Mitch McConnell campaign tweets image of tombstone with opponent's name
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times and Vanity Fair
Elaina Plott / The Atlantic:
Trump's Habit of Contradicting Himself After a Tragedy
Emily Larsen / Washington Examiner:
Confusion: Biden offers sympathy for the ‘tragic events in Houston today and also in Michigan’
Confusion: Biden offers sympathy for the ‘tragic events in Houston today and also in Michigan’
Discussion:
twitchy.com, New York Post, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Splinter, Mediaite, RedState, Washington Times and The Week
Kevin Draper / New York Times:
Politicians Again Blame Video Games for Shootings, Despite Evidence
Politicians Again Blame Video Games for Shootings, Despite Evidence
Discussion:
The Atlantic, The Conversation and Washington Post

Trump Is a White Nationalist Who Inspires Terrorism — Don't pretend his teleprompter speech changes anything. — A decade ago, Daryl Johnson, then a senior terrorism analyst at the Department of Homeland Security, wrote a report about the growing danger of right-wing extremism in America.
Discussion:
Slate, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, Shareblue Media and Washington Post
RELATED:

Conservatism Has a Violence Problem — 'The numbers don't lie.' — American conservatism has a violence problem. — The current secretary of energy, Rick Perry, once publicly suggested that the chairman of the Federal Reserve deserved to be beaten up because of his interest rate policy.
Discussion:
twitchy.com, Daily Wire and Washington Post

EXCLUSIVE: Dayton Shooter Was in a “Pornogrind” Band That Released Songs About Raping and Killing Women — Before he killed nine people in a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, early Sunday, Connor Betts was deeply involved in the misogynistic, male-dominated “goregrind” or “pornogrind” extreme metal music scene.
Discussion:
New York Post
RELATED:

The Dayton Shooter Was The Lead Singer Of A “Pornogrind” Metal Band — The man who killed nine and injured 27 in a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, was the lead singer of a “pornogrind” metal band, a genre defined by its explicit subject matter and themes of gore and violence …
Discussion:
RedState, The Daily Beast, The American Conservative, Rolling Stone and Washington Post

China confirms it is suspending agricultural product purchases in response to Trump's new tariffs — KEY POINTS — A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce says Chinese companies have stopped purchasing U.S. agricultural products in response to President Trump's new 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Political Wire and The Resurgent

Trump administration designates China as currency manipulator — U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday night declared China to be a currency manipulator, just hours after the Chinese government allowed the yuan to slip below a 7-to-1 dollar ratio for the first time in over a decade.
Discussion:
CNBC, One America News Network, TechCrunch and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:

U.S. Labels China a Currency Manipulator, Escalating Trade War
Discussion:
Reuters
Associated Press:
Markets Right Now: Dow plunges 800 as trade war flares — NEW YORK (AP) — The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local): — Stocks are plunging on Wall Street after China let its currency sink to the lowest level in more than a decade, escalating its trade war with the U.S.
RELATED:

US stocks post worst day of the year after China devalues its currency
Discussion:
WGN-TV, The Week, Common Dreams, fox8.com and KTLA
Michael Sheetz / CNBC:
Morgan Stanley: If the trade war escalates, a recession will be here in 9 months
Morgan Stanley: If the trade war escalates, a recession will be here in 9 months
Discussion:
Power Line and UPI

Young Mitch McConnell supporters pose for a photo strangling a cardboard cutout of AOC — On Monday, a picture appeared on Instagram, apparently taken by a group of young men supporting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) at the Fancy Farm, Kentucky political picnic.

Is The Field Too Big For Kamala Harris? — In theory, the easiest way to win a presidential nomination is to bring the various wings and factions of your party together toward some type of consensus. Not every voter has to love you (although some of them probably should or you won't have a base).
Discussion:
VodkaPundit and Mercury News
RELATED:

These are the winners of the post-debate media competition
Discussion:
Deep Root Analytics
Cameron Cawthorne / Washington Free Beacon:
NBC Reporter Dismisses Host Bringing Up Dayton Shooter's Pro-Warren Tweet
NBC Reporter Dismisses Host Bringing Up Dayton Shooter's Pro-Warren Tweet
Discussion:
The Daily Signal, twitchy.com and National Review

U.S. Expands Sanctions Against Venezuela Into an Embargo — New measures mark a significant escalation of pressure against the regime of President Nicolás Maduro and countries including Russia and China that continue to support him — WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is moving …
Discussion:
Axios, Political Wire and The American Conservative

Judge signals interest in removing Mueller report redactions — A federal judge signaled Monday he's considering removing the Mueller report's redactions. — During more than two hours of oral arguments in Washington, District Judge Reggie Walton appeared on several occasions to side …
Discussion:
emptywheel
RELATED:
Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
Judge questions Barr's handling of Mueller findings
Judge questions Barr's handling of Mueller findings
Discussion:
Law & Crime

Ohio Republican blames mass shootings on ‘drag queen advocates,’ Colin Kaepernick and Obama — In a laundry list of reasons why the United States is grappling with mass killings, an Ohio state lawmaker has settled on immigrants, same-sex marriage, transgender rights, disrespect toward veterans and “drag queen advocates.”
Discussion:
CNN, Townhall, USA Today, The Hill, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Colorado Pols, Towleroad Gay News, Hullabaloo and Axios
RELATED:
Owen Daugherty / The Hill:
Ohio state representative blames shootings on gay marriage, video games, open borders
Ohio state representative blames shootings on gay marriage, video games, open borders
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, daytondailynews, Mercury News, Talking Points Memo and PinkNews

Neo Nazis boast ‘We got Tulsi in the debates’ — Racist website takes credit for boosting Democratic presidential hopeful — A neo-Nazi website took credit for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's (D-HI) qualification for the first two Democratic primary debates. The Daily Stormer, a notorious white supremacist …

America Needs an Independent Fed — The economy functions best when the central bank is free of short-term political pressures. — As former chairs of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System, we are united in the conviction that the Fed and its chair must be permitted …

GateHouse Media owner to acquire USA TODAY owner Gannett — GateHouse Media's owner and Gannett have agreed to merge in a deal aimed at cutting overlapping costs and enabling the combined company to pursue a digital transformation as the media industry grapples with the disruptive forces of online news, social media and smartphones

Elizabeth Warren Had Another Very Good Debate, Poll Finds — For the second time, voters who watched her came away with improved opinions, a new HuffPost/YouGov survey finds. — Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren racked up a second well-received Democratic presidential debate performance last week …
Discussion:
CNN

Cesar Sayoc, who mailed explosive devices to Trump's critics, sentenced to 20 years in prison — NEW YORK — Cesar Sayoc, the Florida man who mailed explosive devices to prominent Democrats and media figures was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison. — Prosecutors had called for a life sentence …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Guardian, Vox, NPR, Florida Politics, The Week and Axios, more at Mediagazer »