Hillary in trouble in swing states

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Hillary Clinton's favorability down in key swing states

Clinton falls behind GOP rivals in Iowa, Colorado and Virginia

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Buzz Cut:
• Hillary in trouble in swing states
• O’Malley ripped for linking ISIS to rain
• In a Trump tizzy
• Cruz, Rand look to defund Planned Parenthood
• No more bull in this town

HILLARY IN TROUBLE IN SWING STATES
Hillary Clinton has fallen behind three top tier Republican candidates in Colorado, Iowa and Virginia. A new Quinnipiac University poll of voters in the key election battleground states shows Clinton trailing in matchups with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush,  Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.  Marred by rising unfavorable ratings, Clinton has seen a huge drop from Q’s April poll which showed her clearly leading or statistically tied in matchups with Republican rivals. “She has lost ground in the horserace and on key questions about her honesty and leadership,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.  “On being a strong leader, a key metric in presidential campaigns, she has dropped four to 10 points depending on the state and she is barely above 50 percent in each of the three states.”

[The breakdown -  In Colorado, Clinton trails Rubio 38 percent to 46  percent, Bush 36 percent to 41 percent and Walker 38 percent to 47 percent. In Iowa, she trails Rubio 36 percent to 44 percent, Bush 36 percent to 42 percent and Walker 37 percent to 45 percent. And in Virginia, she lags behind Rubio 41 percent to 43 percent, Bush 39 percent to 42 percent and Walker 40 percent to 43 percent.]

Clinton bashes quick traders, then takes their cash - AP: “A day after proposing higher capital gains taxes on short-term investors, Clinton raised at least $450,000 Tuesday night at the Chicago home of Raj Fernando, a longtime donor. His firm, Chopper Trading, specializes in high-frequency transactions and was recently purchased by Chicago-based competitor DRW.

Let’s cobble - Detroit Free Press: “Hillary Clinton, in town Tuesday for a fund-raiser…decided to make a brief campaign stop at a Detroit eatery to highlight her support for small businesses – and to taste some of the restaurant's signature sweet potato cobbler.”

[Clinton attends a fundraiser in the Pittsburgh area today at the home of community activist Cindy Shapira.]

Sanders to intro wage hike bill today - The Hill: “Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is pushing new legislation to raise the minimum wage for all workers to $15 an hour. The Democratic presidential candidate, who has made addressing income inequality a centerpiece of his campaign, will introduce the minimum wage bill Wednesday. Sanders has long called for a $15 minimum wage, but this is the first bill he is introducing to do so.”

O’Malley ripped for linking ISIS to rain - Fox News: “Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus ripped Democratic presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley on Monday for linking the rise of the Islamic State to climate change.  ‘Whether it’s the weak Obama-Clinton nuclear deal that paves the way for Iran to obtain an atomic bomb or Martin O’Malley’s absurd claim that climate change is responsible for ISIS, it’s abundantly clear no one in the Democratic Party has the foreign policy vision to keep America safe,’ Priebus said in a statement…. When asked about terrorism, O’Malley said that climate change and a devastating drought were linked to Syria’s instability and ISIS’ rise.

Dems to descend on Iowa again - Des Moines Register: “Four of the five Democratic presidential hopefuls will share a stage for a second time on Aug. 14 at the annual Iowa Wing Ding. Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders will speak at the party fundraiser at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. The only candidate not listed in the event announcement is Jim Webb, a former U.S. senator from Virginia.”

WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE…
National Geographic sits down with author Mark Adams to discuss his new book “Meet Me in Atlantis: My Obsessive Quest to Find the Sunken City,” in which he describes a new theory on the location of the lost city. Adams has been researching Atlantis for the past few years looking to ancient Greek philosopher Plato for guidance. The author claims Plato has the “most reputable” writing on the city even to this day. Adams presents a few different theories in his book, but says the latest theory that the city is in current day Morocco has a lot of merit. Part of the desert he toured there with fellow Atlantis enthusiast Michael Hübner matches with descriptions of the ancient city given by Plato. Adams told National Geographic, “One of the best clues that Plato gives about Atlantis is that there was a series of concentric circles around the city, black and red stone, and of course it was a seafaring society…Michael Hübner and I walked across the desert [in Morocco] and, sure enough, there was black and red striped stone.”

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POLL CHECK
Real Clear Politics Averages
Obama Job Approval: Approve – 44.8 percent//Disapprove – 51.0 percent
Directions of Country: Right Direction – 30.4 percent//Wrong Track – 61.3 percent

IN A TRUMP TIZZY
Yes, the barbs between Donald Trump and fill-in-the-blank are become increasingly prankish. Yes, they are feeding a salivating media. And yes, they are causing some Republican party angst. But is the sky falling? No. The fact that Trump is running like the showman he is is hardly surprising. And while there is honest concern over the drowning out of candidate campaign launches, policy proposals and the potential for circus-like debates, there is also evidence that Trump’s rise in the polls has a weak underbelly. Tuesday’s Washington Post/ABC News poll came with a big asterisk showing a downturn among those polled after his comments on McCain. And today’s Quinnipiac poll, shows the mulit-billionaire has the worst unfavorable rating of any candidate, by far.

[The dumps - Quinnipiac University’s new poll of swing states Colorado, Iowa and Virginia shows Trump with negative favorability ratings of almost 2-1 among voters in each of the battleground states.]

Trump has pushed some issues to the forefront, a fact that shouldn’t concern the GOP field. And while rivals have reacted with strategies ranging from direct return fire or more subtle rebukes, the closed cycle of attack-counter attack perpetuates Trump’s plan of action. Whether Trump can parlay this tactic into a serious candidacy is highly questionable. But for now only time, the polls and Trump’s own utterings will tell the tale.

“I want to be nice, but everyone’s calling me names since I went to number one in the polls.” – Donald Trump on “Fox & Friends.”

[‘Thank you, Mr. Trump’ - A woman whose son was beaten to death by an illegal immigrant thanked Trump in a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday. The woman said, “Thank you to Mr. Trump for getting a message out in two minutes that countless families like our own have been trying to get out for years.”]

Jeb treads lightly around Trump supporters - LAT: “In a town hall-style discussion in Spartanburg, S.C., Bush said those who are gravitating toward Trump see a world in which there is a ‘lack of rule of law’… ‘You go across the spectrum and you sort of watch TV and you see this unfold and you go, ‘Look I want someone to fight for me on this,’ and so I respect the sentiments that people feel when they hear Trump talk.’”

[Americans for Prosperity hosts Bush today at a “Road to Reform” discussion in Manchester, N.H.]

Carly says Trump has wrong target - On “Fox & Friends” Carly Fiorina said that while she understands the frustration that Trump has tapped into in his presidential run, the former CEO suggested that he turn his attacks towards Hillary Clinton. Fiorina said, “In the end, it is Hillary Clinton we have to beat.” Watch here.

Walker orders arming of Wisconsin National Guard - AP: “Republican Gov. Scott Walker issued an executive order Tuesday authorizing Wisconsin National Guard personnel to carry firearms while on duty in the wake of an attack on a pair of military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee.”

Fast friends - WSJ: “The relationship stands to be beneficial for both men: Mr. Walker has access to a well-known surrogate who represents the moderate wing of New Hampshire Republicans; [Former Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass.] gets to be seen as a player in presidential politics – he introduced Mr. Walker during his first campaign stop in New Hampshire last week.”

[Walker holds a breakfast stop in Nashville today.]

Rubio: Only man with a plan - National Review goes into Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s tax plan, drafted with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Rubio, the only presidential candidate with a published tax plan, has a good basis but is too broad writing, “The problem with Lee-Rubio, in other words, isn’t that it breaks with the Republican Party’s supply-side traditions; it doesn’t. The problems are that it pursues supply-side goals on investment taxation too avidly, and that it’s too large. Put the plan on a diet and both problems are solved.”

‘Clear my schedule’ - Rubio tweeted to his campaign team saying that he needed his scheduled cleared August 14 to hit the cinema. The biopic flick “Straight Outta Compton” is set for release that day, and Rubio is eager to see it. The film tells the story of the rap group N.W.A. who rose to fame in the 1980s, of which Rubio is a fan.

CRUZ, RAND LOOK TO DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD
The Hill: “[Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas] office said Tuesday that he plans to file an amendment on the highway bill that would eliminate all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, in addition to an amendment that would fully repeal ObamaCare. Cruz is the second senator — and the second GOP presidential candidate — who is eying the highway bill as an attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said last week that he will ‘use all legislative vehicles at his disposal” to force a vote this week but has not released details of his plan.’”

Carly calls out Dems, Hillary for ‘deafening silence’ on abortion - In a new video, Carly Fiorina stands with pro-life leaders to highlight her concerns over allegations that Planned Parenthood sold fetal body parts. “It is made even more terrible by the absolute deafening silence of the Democratic Party…Democrats have always fought for a policy that says it is not a life until it leaves the hospital. Hillary Clinton has fought to preserve that policy.”

[Fiorina attends an event for State Sen. Ken Rozenboom, in Leighton, IA.]

Kasich goes for broke - Columbus Dispatch: “[Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio], who became the 16th candidate to enter the GOP race, will try to use his unique style – and almost $3 million in TV advertising for New Hampshire – to rapidly gain stature. He currently registers in the low single digits in national polls and surveys in key early-voting states.”

[Kasich spends his first full day in New Hampshire as an official candidate at a pair of Town Hall meetings.]

NO MORE BULL IN THIS TOWN
The Local: “Trigueros del Valle, with a population of just 300, has become the first municipality in Spain to enshrine the rights of pets alongside those of human townsfolk…‘Dogs and cats have been living among us for over a thousand years,’ said the mayor after the measure was voted in during a plenary session on Monday. ‘And the mayor must represent not just the human residents but must also be here for the others.’ The animal bill of rights…comprises 13 articles including statements such as…‘a resident, whether human or non-human, is entitled to respect’…In a move which will clearly prohibit any form of bullfighting in the town, the resolution bans ‘any action that causes the mutilation or death of a non-human resident.’”

AND NOW A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“It will probably have the effect in the short run in this election cycle of putting the issue on the table. Abortion issue on the table in a way that Democrats are gonna be on the defensive. Do you believe in this? Do you believe that this is ok? But in the sense it kind of redefines backroom abortion.  It used to mean illegal abortions but now that abortion is legal, we’ve opened the door on what really happens in the back room.” – Charles Krauthammer on “Special Report with Bret Baier.”

Chris Stirewalt is digital politics editor for Fox News. Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here.