Planned Parenthood Goes To Court To Fight Funding Cuts In Alabama

ANDREW BURTON VIA GETTY IMAGES

Planned Parenthood filed a complaint in Alabama federal on Friday seeking to stop the state from defunding its health clinics after the release of covertly recorded videos attacking the organization's handling of aborted fetal tissue.

The reproductive-health organization took similar legal action earlier this week in Louisiana, which also plans to terminate its contract with Planned Parenthood to provide medical services to low-income residents.

Planned Parenthood, joined in the suit by the American Civil Liberties Union, said in court filings that Alabama's Republican governor illegally terminated its contract to provide health services under Medicaid, a federal and state healthcare program for the poor. It seeks court action to ensure Alabama patients continue to have access to Planned Parenthood services.

Governor Robert Bentley gave Planned Parenthood no explanation, and only 15 days notice, when he announced the termination earlier this month, the organization said.

Bentley is among the conservatives voicing outrage after the release of a series of videos this summer by a national anti-abortion group, the Center for Medical Progress.

The center says the videos show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the illegal sale of aborted fetal tissue.

Planned Parenthood has denied wrongdoing. On Thursday it released an analysis questioning what it called deceptive edits, inaccurate transcripts and missing footage in the widely viewed videos, which have spurred investigations in the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress.

As some conservatives in Washington seek to cut its federal funding, Alabama, Louisiana and Arkansas have targeted the Planned Parenthood's Medicaid funding, covering preventive healthcare services such as birth control and cancer screenings.

“The federal government and several courts have made clear that a state cannot kick Planned Parenthood out of its Medicaid program simply because Planned Parenthood provides abortion,” Susan Watson, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said in a statement.

U.S. health officials warned Alabama and Louisiana that terminating the Medicaid contracts may illegally restrict beneficiary access to services.

The ACLU chapter is representing Planned Parenthood Southeast, a regional affiliate that operates health centers in Birmingham and Mobile, Alabama. The lawsuit noted that the southeastern affiliate did not participate in fetal tissue donation programs.

The Alabama governor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Florida; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Source: The Huffington Post

Donald Trump Kicks Jorge Ramos Out Of Press Conference

Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissively told highly respected television anchor Jorge Ramos to "go back to Univision" before security physically removed the Mexican-American journalist from a press conference in Dubuque, Iowa.

Ramos was trying to ask Trump about his plan to deport all undocumented immigrants, but the business mogul and GOP presidential candidate said he was interrupting. He insisted that security had made the decision to kick out Ramos, but said he was fine with it.

"This guy stands up and starts screaming," Trump said. "He's obviously a very emotional person."

Trump claimed he didn't know much about Ramos, which may have been true. But he probably should -- Ramos is wildly popular as a Spanish-language anchor and well-regarded for pressing politicians from both parties on issues, particularly immigration. 

Trump, by contrast, is mostly disliked by Latinos, and going after Ramos is unlikely to help that fact. 

The anchor was eventually let back into the press conference and got the chance to have an extended back-and-forth with Trump. Ramos pointed out that denying citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants, as Trump wants to do, would be a violation of the Constitution. Trump said he was wrong. Ramos asked how he would build a 1,900-mile wall; Trump said he could do it because he builds 95-story buildings.

When Ramos noted that an estimated 40 percent of undocumented immigrants came to the U.S. legally and overstayed their visa, Trump said, "I don't believe it."

Trump promised to deport undocumented immigrants who are gang members "so fast your head will spin." Others will also be deported but "good ones" would be allowed to come back, Trump insisted.

As to how he would do such a thing, Trump -- yet again -- wouldn't say. 

"You know what it's called? Management," he said.

It wasn't Trump's first point of awkwardness with Univision, which he sued for $500 million in June after the network ended its contract to air the Miss USA pageant, which he co-owns. 

Univision president of news and Fusion CEO Isaac Lee released a statement following Ramos' treatment at the event: "We'd love for Mr. Trump to sit down for an in-depth interview with Jorge to talk about the specifics of his proposals."

Jeb Bush Says He Doesn't Regret Using The Term 'Anchor Babies'

Jeb Bush said Thursday he doesn't regret using the term "anchor babies" to describe children born in the United States to undocumented parents.

While taking questions from the press after a town hall in New Hampshire, the former Florida governor and GOP presidential hopeful was a Hfsked if he regretted using the term during a radio interview earlier this week.

"I don't," he said. "Do you have a better term? ... You give me a better term and I'll use it."

"Is that not bombastic?" a reporter asked.

"No, it isn't," he said. "Give me another word."

"What I said was it's commonly referred to [as] that," Bush continued. "I didn't use it as my own language. What we ought to do is -- do you want to get to the policy for a second? I think that people born in the country ought to be American citizens. Okay? Now we got that over with."

Watch video of the exchange above.

Bush used the derogatory term during an interview with radio host Bill Bennett Wednesday while discussing Donald Trump's recent call to end birthright citizenship. The former governor said he disagreed with Trump, but called for "greater enforcement" of the policy to prevent "abuse."

"If there's fraud or if there's abuse, if people are bringing, pregnant women are coming in to have babies simply because they can do it, then there ought to be greater enforcement," he said. "That's the legitimate side of this. Better enforcement so that you don't have these, you know, 'anchor babies,' as they're described, coming into the country."

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called out her potential GOP rival on Twitter:

They're called babies. https://t.co/VyJJA26OVl

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 19, 2015

Source: The Huffington Post

Huge Explosions Hit City Of Tianjin In China

Powerful explosions rocked a port city in China's north on Wednesday, killing at least 17 and injuring hundreds. Blasts lit up the night sky and shook buildings miles away.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the explosions in Tianjin occurred around 11:30 p.m. in a warehouse at container port in the Binhai New Area section of the city.

Photos and video purporting to show the blasts and the enormous fireballs it caused circulated widely online on Wednesday. The WorldPost could not independently verify the images.  

#Breaking: Massive explosion rocks N China's #Tianjin, cause & casualties unclear yet (web sources) @BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/GOG8Q7OWew

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 12, 2015

Tianjin's fire department reported that around 10:50 p.m. city firefighters responded to a blaze that broke out in the area of the blasts, according to a document posted by CCTV. The city's police department later specified the first blast occurred in shipping containers at a warehouse for hazardous materials owned by a logistics company. That explosion triggered several others. 

At least 44 people were killed, including 12 firefighters sent in to fight the inferno. Hundreds of others were taken to nearby hospitals, The Associated Press reported. 

Firefighting efforts at the site were suspended early Thursday due to lack of clarity about the contents and amount of the "dangerous goods" in the warehouse, according to a statement posted on the local government's official weibo.

The powerful blasts startled area residents and damaged nearby buildings.

"I thought it was an earthquake, so I rushed downstairs without my shoes on," Tianjin resident Zhang Siyu, told The Associated Press. "Only once I was outside did I realize it was an explosion. There was the huge fireball in the sky with thick clouds. Everybody could see it."

Photos showed damage to the area and debris that had rained down on the streets. 

A man stands near broken glass after a nearby explosion shattered windows of a residential compound.  | Credit: Ng Han Guan/Associated Press

A man takes a photo near a drum that residents said was relocated in a massive explosion in Tianjin.  | Credit: Ng Han Guan/Associated Press

Shockwaves from the blasts were felt over six miles away, People's Daily China tweeted. Doors were blown off hinges and windows shattered, even a distance from the epicenter. The news outlet also noted that the first two explosions registered magnitudes of 2.3 and 2.9. 

Read more at The Huffington Post

Julian Assange Sex Assault Claims About To Expire As Sweden's Five-Year Statue Of Limitations Looms

Julian Assange could be imminently cleared of three of the four sex assault allegations he faces, as the deadline for prosecuting him is about to expire.

The three allegations, from which he has been hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012 after failing to prevent extradition in the courts, will reach the five-year expiry date within the next week, as set out under the Sweden's statute of limitations.

The situation was branded "an injustice" by a lawyer representing one of the alleged victims.

Assange denies the allegations against him, made by two women in Sweden in August 2010, and insists extradition to Sweden could lead to extradition to the United States over the secret documents published by the whistleblowing organisation.

A spokeswoman for the Swedish Prosecuting Authority (SPA) said one allegation of sexual molestation and one of unlawful coercion would expire tomorrow (Thursday), while another of sexual molestation would expire on Tuesday (August 18).

But an allegation of rape will not expire until 2020, she added, meaning Assange could not simply leave the embassy.

Assange has previously said he agreed to be interviewed by Swedish authorities inside the embassy but he claimed in June the country's chief prosecutor had cancelled an interview appointment.

The SPA spokeswoman said: "The prosecutor still wants to interview him. The prosecutor still has not got permission from Ecuador."

Former Tory MP Louise Mensch accused Assange of "cheating rape complainants" and called him a misogynist.

See more at The Huffington Post

Dozens of retired generals, admirals back Iran nuclear deal

U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry speaks at a Reuters Newsmaker event Tuesday in New York on the nuclear agreement with Iran. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

Three dozen retired generals and admirals released an open letter Tuesday supporting the Iran nuclear deal and urging Congress to do the same.

Calling the agreement “the most effective means currently available to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons,” the letter said that gaining international support for military action against Iran, should that ever become necessary, “would only be possible if we have first given the diplomatic path a chance.”

The release came as Secretary of State John F. Kerry said U.S. allies were “going to look at us and laugh” if the United States were to abandon the deal and then ask them to back a more aggressive posture against Iran.

Not only would U.S. global credibility be undermined, Kerry said, but also the dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency would be threatened.

“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Kerry said in a public question-and-answer session at Reuters news service headquarters in New York . “But I’m telling you, there’s a huge antipathy out there” to U.S. leadership. Pointing to efforts by Russia and China to join forces with rising, nonaligned powers, he said that “there’s a big bloc out there, folks, that isn’t just sitting around waiting for the United States to tell them what to do.”

Read more at The Washington Post

Young, Unarmed Black Man Killed By Cop Didn't Want To 'Die Too Young'

Christian Taylor

An unarmed black teenager in Texas was shot dead by a cop who had only recently graduated from the police academy. Just over a week before his death, a Twitter account that appears to belong to 19-year-old Christian Taylor includes messages about being afraid to die young.

I don't wanna die too younggggg

— October 13th (@he_got_sneaks) July 31, 2015

While much about the fatal encounter remains unclear and under investigation, police revealed their understanding of what happened on Saturday night.

Officers responded to a burglary call around 1 a.m. on Friday, hearing reports that a suspect was damaging vehicles. First spotting Taylor moving about the lot, officers also noticed Taylor's SUV had been smashed into the front of the dealership showroom. Finding that Taylor had moved inside the showroom, Arlington Police Chief Police Will Johnson said Taylor would not comply when told to lie down on the ground, but fled to a back room. 49-year-old officer Brad Miller entered the showroom to arrest Taylor, and then an altercation broke out. Miller fired four shots, including the fatal bullets from the gun of Miller. A second officer fired a taser, Johnson said. The sequence of events was still unclear as was the exact nature of the confrontation, the chief said.

The officer graduated from the police academy in March and was working under the supervision of a training officer, but Chief Johnson maintained Officer Miller was fully trained and did not need to defer decision to use deadly force to a field training officer. Police said Miller had no experience prior to joining the Arlington Police Department. He has been placed on paid administrative leave. 

The police department promised to release 911 tapes and police audio in the coming days, pledging to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation with the help of the FBI. "My promise is to work as quickly as we can to provide information to the family," he said. An autopsy was to be arranged, Johnson added.

Chief Johnson assured that if any actions were found to be unauthorized under the law, there would be "consequences."

"Everything about this is a tragedy," the chief said.

Another social media post last year appearing to belong to Taylor said he didn't feel protected by police. 

Taylor, who was a football player at Angelo State University in San Angelo, was described as a "good kid" by his great-uncle, Clyde Fuller.

“He was a good kid. I don’t see him stealing no car or nothing like that,” Fuller told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Police Sgt. Paul Rodriguez told The Star-Telegram that surveillance video at the dealership shows Taylor damaging a parked car and later driving through the showroom glass. However, Rodriguez said that officers are not equipped with body cameras, and that they haven't found security video at the car dealership that would have captured the fatal encounter. The dealership released video capturing the moments before police arrived later on Saturday. The video shows Taylor wandering around the lot and peering into cars. 

Source: The Huffington Post

Donald Trump Drawing Fire From All Corners Of GOP

WASHINGTON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Rival Republican presidential candidates piled on Donald Trump on Saturday for his caustic remarks about a female debate moderator, and the billionaire celebrity candidate backpedaled in an effort to keep his campaign from unraveling.

Trump blasted Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly during a debate in Cleveland on Thursday when she questioned him about insulting comments he had made about women. The backlash to his exchange with Kelly has threatened to knock the wheels off the bandwagon of support that had Trump leading early polls in the race for the Republican nomination for the 2016 election.

Asked about Kelly on a CNN interview on Friday, Trump said: "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever."

Trump was promptly dumped from a keynote speaking role on Saturday night in Atlanta at an important gathering of conservative activists put together by the RedState organization. Republican candidates Carly Fiorina, Scott Walker, Lindsey Graham, Rick Perry and George Pataki denounced the comments on Twitter or in statements.

RedState chief Erick Erickson said he disinvited Trump because of his remarks about Kelly on CNN.

The Trump campaign issued a statement clarifying that by "her wherever," Trump meant Kelly's nose.

"Mr. Trump made Megyn Kelly look really bad - she was a mess with her anger and totally caught off guard," the campaign said. Trump said 'blood was coming out of her eyes and whatever' meaning nose, but wanted to move on to more important topics. Only a deviant would think anything else."

Erickson, who invited Kelly to replace Trump at the conference, said he revoked Trump's invitation because he did not "want someone on stage who gets a hostile question from a lady and his first inclination is to imply it was hormonal."

A campaign spokeswoman said on Saturday that Trump had fired senior political adviser Roger Stone, the second firing of a senior staffer over the past week. The reason cited was that Stone was using the Trump campaign for his own personal publicity. Stone denied being fired, saying he resigned over the direction of Trump's campaign.

Trump also took to Twitter on Saturday to renounce politically correct attitudes, as he had done at the debate.

"So many 'politically correct' fools in our country," he wrote. "We have to all get back to work and stop wasting time and energy on nonsense!"

Rival candidates, however, hammered on their doubts that Trump was ready to represent the Republican party in a presidential run.

"Enough already with Mr. Trump," said Graham, a senator from South Carolina. "As a party, we are better to risk losing without Donald Trump than trying to win with him."
He added: "Due to Donald Trump's unrelenting and offensive attack on Megyn Kelly and others, we are at a crossroads with Mr. Trump."

Without mentioning Trump's name, Jeb Bush made reference to him when he spoke to RedState. Bush, former governor of Florida, said the tough questions at the debate were nothing compared to the challenges the next president will face.

"You think that's tough? How about dealing with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin? How about dealing with the challenges that exist in our country? This is nothing," he said.

Erickson read aloud some of the emails he had been getting from Trump supporters to protest his move, saying it appeared the Trump campaign had made his email address available to them.

In some of the emails, according to Erickson, the writers used a racial epithet to refer to President Barack Obama and made other inflammatory comments.

"I've got to tell you guys, I made the right decision," said Erickson. "These are the people I don't ever want at a RedState event." (Writing and reporting by Bill Trott; Additional reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: The Huffington Post

Solid U.S. jobs report bolsters case for Fed rate hike

Employee Edward Klutz operates a wheel lacing machine at the new Bicycle Corporation of America plant in Manning, South Carolina, November 19, 2014.

REUTERS/RANDALL HILL

U.S. employment rose at a solid clip in July and wages rebounded after a surprise stall in the prior month, signs of an improving economy that opened the door wider to a Federal Reserve interest rate increase in September.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 215,000 last month as a pickup in construction and manufacturing jobs offset further declines in the mining sector, the Labor Department said on Friday. The unemployment rate held at a seven-year low of 5.3 percent.

Payrolls data for May and June were revised to show 14,000 more jobs created than previously reported. In addition, the average workweek increased to 34.6 hours, the most since February, from 34.5 hours in June.

"We view this report as easily clearing the hurdle needed to keep the Fed on track for a September rate hike. The bar for not moving now is much higher," said Rob Martin, an economist at Barclays in New York.

The Fed last month upgraded its assessment of the labor market, describing it as continuing to "improve, with solid job gains and declining unemployment."

The U.S. central bank said its policy-setting committee anticipated it would be appropriate to raise lending rates when it has seen "some further improvement" in the jobs market. It has not raised rates since 2006.

U.S. stocks fell after the jobs data as traders saw a greater chance of a rate hike next month. The dollar rose to near a four-month high against a basket of currencies before weakening. Prices for longer-dated U.S. Treasuries were up.

Though hiring has slowed from last year's robust pace - mostly because of job losses in the energy sector - it remains at double the rate needed to keep up with population growth.

Average hourly earnings increased five cents, or 0.2 percent, last month after being flat in June. That put them 2.1 percent above the year-ago level, but well shy of the 3.5 percent growth rate economists associate with full employment.

Still, the gain supported views that a sharp slowdown in compensation growth in the second quarter and consumer spending in June were temporary. The aggregate weekly payrolls index, a proxy for take-home wages, rose 0.6 percent in July and was up 4.9 percent from a year ago.

Economists had forecast nonfarm payrolls increasing 223,000 last month and wages rising 0.2 percent.

WAGE VIGIL

Wage growth has been disappointingly slow. But tightening labor market conditions and decisions by several state and local governments to raise their minimum wage have fueled expectations of a pickup.

In addition, a number of retailers, including Walmart, the nation's largest private employer, Target and TJX Cos have increased pay for hourly workers.

The jobless rate is near the 5.0 percent to 5.2 percent range most Fed officials think is consistent with a steady but low level of inflation.

A broad measure of joblessness that includes people who want to work but have given up searching and those working part-time because they cannot find full-time employment fell one-tenth of a percentage point to a seven-year low of 10.4 percent in July.

The short-term unemployment rate slipped to 3.8 percent from 3.9 percent in June, while the jobless rate for the long-term unemployed held steady at 1.4 percent.

But the labor force participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed or at least looking for a job, held at a more than 37-1/2-year low of 62.6 percent.

The fairly healthy employment report added to robust July automobile sales and service industries data in suggesting the economy continues to gather momentum after growing at a 2.3 percent annual rate in the second quarter.

Last month's increase in the workweek together with the solid payrolls gain lifted the index of total hours worked by 0.5 percent, the largest rise since October. The hours worked index is seen as a proxy for gross domestic product.

"We think this represents another solid employment report that meets the criteria for 'some further improvement' in the labor market and keeps the Fed in play for September," said Michelle Girard, chief economist at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut. 

Employment gains in July were broad-based, with the share of industries adding jobs hitting a seven-month high. Construction payrolls rose 6,000 thanks to a strengthening housing market, after being unchanged in June.

Factory payrolls increased 15,000 after rising 2,000 in June. The retail sector added 35,900 jobs.

Professional and business services payrolls gained 40,000 after increasing 69,000 in June. The slowdown reflected a drop of 8,900 in temporary employment, which was the weakest reading since September 2012.

More layoffs in the energy sector, which is grappling with last year's sharp decline in crude oil prices, were a drag on mining payrolls, which shed 4,000 jobs in July. The mining sector has lost 78,000 jobs since December.

Oilfield giants Schlumberger and Halliburton and many others in the oil and gas industry have announced thousands of job cuts in the past few months.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Clive McKeef and Paul Simao)

Source: Reuters

It's all about Trump at raucous Republican debate

Republican 2016 U.S. presidential candidate businessman Donald Trump (C) heads to the stage between Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (L) and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (R) for the start of the first official Republican presidential candidates debate of the 2016 U.S....

REUTERS/BRIAN SNYDER

Donald Trump refused to rule out an independent White House bid and bristled at questions about his attitudes toward women, leaving his rivals struggling for attention on Thursday during a feisty first Republican presidential debate.

The nine other Republicans sharing the stage with Trump turned on one another at times but largely avoided direct challenges to the combative real estate mogul who has rocketed to the top of opinion polls in the 2016 race.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky did take on Trump, confronting him after Trump kicked off the debate by refusing to pledge his support for the Republican nominee in the November 2016 election.

"I will not make the pledge at this time," said Trump, who for weeks has said he would not rule out an independent bid that would almost certainly split the Republican vote and boost the chances of victory for the Democratic nominee.

Trump's response drew boos from the crowd and a rebuke from Paul, who said Trump was keeping his options open to support Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, a reference to his past friendship with both Clinton and her husband, Bill.

"He's already hedging his bets because he's used to buying politicians of all stripes," Paul said.

Trump's veiled threat to bolt the party if necessary could risk his support among Republican primary voters and stall his momentum, although the billionaire reality television star has repeatedly defied predictions of political doom.

In a show of hands, participants in a Fox News focus group who supported Trump before the debate overwhelmingly indicated they had changed their minds about him, critical of his refusal to commit to backing the eventual Republican nominee.

"I think he took out a gun and shot his campaign in the head," said Florida Republican strategist Rick Wilson.

(For candidates' comments at a glance: reut.rs/1gNN90T)

NO CLEAR WINNER

No candidate emerged the clear winner from the two-hour debate, leaving the Republican race potentially more unsettled than ever. A record 17 candidates are vying for their party's nomination.

During a combustible performance, Trump fired off insults at Paul, Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly, comedian Rosie O'Donnell, the Mexican government and an assortment of other targets.

He tangled with Kelly when she pressed him about past derogatory comments he had made about women, including calling them “fat pigs,” “dogs,” and "slobs," Trump dismissed the question as “political correctness.”

He accused Kelly of not treating him well, drawing more boos from the audience.

“Honestly Megyn, if you don’t like it, I’m sorry. I’ve been very nice to you although I could probably maybe not be based on the way you have treated me,” Trump, whose base of support is overwhelmingly male, said to a mixture of boos and applause.

The debate's feisty tone suited the flamboyant Trump, who has been the center of campaign attention for weeks for his personal attacks on rivals and his scathing comments about U.S. Senator John McCain's war record and about Mexican immigrants.

Trump kept it up in the debate, calling the Mexican government "much smarter, much sharper, much more cunning and they send the bad ones over."

The sometimes combative nature of the debate made bystanders at times of more measured rivals such as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who is No. 2 in the polls, and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

Bush called Trump's rhetoric "divisive" and said "we're going to win when we unite people with an optimistic message."

Bush's senior advisers said after the debate they were happy with his mistake-free performance, which focused on him talking up his record as Florida governor.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson finished second behind Trump in the number of mentions on Twitter. Trump led with 30 percent, while Carson was second at 12 percent and Paul was third with almost 10 percent.

SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON

The debate was the first chance for Republican voters to make a side-by-side comparison of the top 10 presidential contenders. Trump's rivals had to decide whether to directly confront him or to try to stay above the fray and look presidential.

Paul, who has lagged in the opinion polls, went on the offensive. In addition to challenging Trump on his potential independent run, Paul accused Trump of not realizing that Republicans opposed a single payer healthcare system. But Trump dismissed his attacks.

"You're having a hard time tonight," Trump said.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie belittled Paul's efforts in the Senate to curtail the government's electronic surveillance system, saying there should be more tools for tracking terrorists.

"When you're sitting in the subcommittee just blowing hot air about this, you can say things like that," Christie said.

Before the main event, seven candidates whose poll ratings did not qualify them for prime time took part in a separate daytime debate. Several challenged Trump's conservative credentials, noting he had changed positions on abortion, healthcare and other issues.

But Carly Fiorina, a former business executive and the only woman in the Republican field, acknowledged Trump had tapped into a broad sense of frustration with Washington.

"Whatever your issue, your cause, the festering problem you hoped would be resolved, the political class has failed you. That's what Donald Trump has tapped into," said Fiorina, who was the runaway choice at more than 80 percent when Fox News asked viewers to tweet who they thought won the first debate.

Shortly after the early debate, social media interest in Fiorina surpassed interest in Trump, according to Google analytics. The next Republican debate is on Sept. 16.

(Additional reporting by Megan Cassella, Luciana Lopez, Amanda Becker; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Ross Colvin and Howard Goller)

Source: Reuters

Here's Who Republicans Wish Hadn't Been Left Out Of The Debate

Just because they're not planning to vote for a candidate doesn't mean they don't want to watch them onstage.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Republicans mostly don't mind having their first primetime debate capped at 10 candidates, but they'd prefer a slightly different lineup. 

Fox News, which is hosting the debate on Thursday, chose the politicians receiving the most support in an average of recent surveys, with the remaining seven consigned to a separate forum. But a new HuffPost/YouGov poll, which instead directly asked Republicans to pick up to 10 different candidates they'd like to see debate, found slightly different results.

While they agree with the top eight contenders, rank-and-file Republicans say they'd swap out the two lowest-polling candidates included, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Instead, they'd rather watch two politicians who missed the cut: former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and businesswoman Carly Fiorina.

Christie is disliked by a sizeable fraction of his own party, many of whom who don't see him as adequately conservative; Kasich, meanwhile, remains unknown to most in the GOP.

Read more at The Huffington Post