GARY JOHNSON? LIBERTARIAN PARTY? PRESIDENT? MAYBE?

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1. GARY JOHNSON? LIBERTARIAN PARTY? PRESIDENT? MAYBE?

Can Gary Johnson actually get into the presidential election fray? Maybe. "Johnson has many flaws as a candidate, but being unlikable is not one of them. If he is allowed to debate Trump and Clinton, the two most unpopular presumed nominees in decades, then the most unpredictable election in modern times could get even weirder. When pollsters include Johnson with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in their surveys, he has been the choice of roughly ten per cent of respondents, and in a Times/CBS News poll released last week he hit twelve per cent. If his standing in the polls rises to fifteen per cent, he will likely qualify to participate in the Presidential debates." From The New Yorker - The Libertarians' Secret Weapon

+ " It is either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton," Paul Ryan said. "You don't get a third option. It's one or the other." "The fact of the matter is there are a lot of areas where Clinton is going to support things Paul Ryan personally stands for. Indeed, you could make a decent argument that Ryan will get more deals done under a Hillary Clinton presidency." From Vox - How Paul Ryan could win the 2016 election — no matter who's president

2. DO YOU YAHOO!

Apparently, not for long. The end appears near for, what used to be, a tech innovator and bellwether. " [Yahoo] is expected to draw significant bids from a host of players including Verizon, AT&T and an investment group that comprises private equity firms and is backed by Warren Buffett. Some analysts project a sale could be done by the end of the month." From WaPo - Yahoo misses profit expectations in what could be its last-ever earnings report

3. PRIVATE PARTS

When your urge to get "likes" trumps common sense and humility, you get this. "Dani Mathers, Playboy’s 2015 Playmate of the Year, was at L.A. Fitness when the body of a fellow gym-goer offended her. Mathers took to Snapchat to post the woman’s body — naked. Under law, Mathers could be charged in the state of California with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor that can include a fine of up to $1,000 or six months in jail." From WaPo - A Playboy Playmate found this normal woman’s naked body gross. So she posted it online

+ "Trump took a rare pause when asked whether the American public would care about his complicated personal life, and in particular his affair with Maples. 'I haven’t thought about it. I don’t see it as a very big situation. It was a long time ago and, number two, the marriage was over, not officially.' He added: 'I may be wrong. I am learning everything I do is a big deal.'" From WaPo - 2016 is the year of the messy private life — and the year when it no longer matters

4. WHAT AILES YOU

These cases follow a fairly predictable trajectory. If there is a remote shred of truth, once one brave soul (Gretchen Carlson) musters the courage to step out, others follow. It looks like this will bring down longtime Fox News chief Roger Ailes. From NY Magazine - Sources: Megyn Kelly Told Murdoch Investigators That Roger Ailes Sexually Harassed Her

5. WHO SAYS WE CAN'T DO MATH

We know we can solve complex problems, that's what Americans do and why we are great. Now this. "The United States has won the 57th International Mathematical Olympiad. The competition included teams from over 100 countries. The winning U.S. team score was 214 out of a possible 252, ahead of the Republic of Korea (207) and China (204). Rounding out the top ten were Singapore (196), Taiwan (175), North Korea (168), Russian Federation (165), United Kingdom (165), Hong Kong (161) and Japan (156). From NYT - U.S. Team Wins First Place at International Math Olympiad

BOTTOM OF THE NEWS

- The temperature keeps rising. "Gavin Schmidt, the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies, said that while the first six months of 2015 made it the hottest half-year ever recorded, '2016 really has blown that out of the water.' Dr. Schmidt said the world was now “dancing” with the temperature targets set last year in the Paris climate treaty for nations to limit climate change." From NYT - Global Temperatures Are on Course for Another Record This Year

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