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First Read's Morning Clips: Dead Heat

A roundup of the most important political news stories of the day
Image: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump
Hillary Clinton and Donald TrumpAP file | Getty file

OFF TO THE RACES: Dead heat

From our new NBC/WSJ poll: "Hillary Clinton's advantage over Donald Trump has narrowed to just three points — resulting in a dead-heat general-election contest with more than five months to go until November, according to a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Clinton, who remains a heavy favorite to win the Democrat nomination, leads the presumptive GOP nominee 46 percent to 43 percent among registered voters, a difference that is within the poll's margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.1 percentage points. In April, Clinton held an 11-point advantage over Trump, 50 percent to 39 percent, and had led him consistently by double digits since December."

Do voters prefer "forward" or "great" as slogans? Our new poll shows some mixed results.

And here's the new Washington Post/ABC poll out over the weekend as well.

Both Democratic candidates are getting ready to barnstorm California.

CLINTON: On Meet the Press over the weekend, she questioned Trump's "level of success."

The Washington Post writes that Bill Clinton has finally figured out his role as a supporting actor.

Clinton is warning against treating Trump's as a "normal candidacy."

SANDERS: He's supporting Debbie Wasserman Schultz's primary opponent and says he wouldn't reappoint her as the leader of the DNC.

From the New York Times: "There are plenty of signs that Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has left a mark on the political moment. But some liberal Democrats are beginning to worry that as Mr. Sanders continues his quest for the nomination, his chance to build a lasting legacy may be slipping away."

He's breaking with the White House over the plan to rescue Puerto Rico. From the AP: "The Vermont senator writes in a letter released Monday that the deal reached last week between the White House and House Republicans and Democrats would empower an "unelected and undemocratic oversight board" and allow the governor of Puerto Rico to slash the minimum wage to $4.25 an hour for up to five years."

Sanders is trying to extend voter registration in California.

TRUMP: Ari Melber notes that Trump's $43 million contribution to his campaign is still structured as a loan that he can repay himself until August.

Trump mentioned several different stances regarding guns in classrooms over the weekend.

He has called global warming a hoax but is also trying to build a sea wall at his Ireland golf course to protect against its effects.

Paul Ryan says Trump could win, but he's not betting on it.

The AP looks at Trump’s struggles to win over white women in swing state suburbs.

OBAMA AGENDA: Ending a final relic of the Cold War

The AP: "U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday lifted a half-century-old ban on selling arms to Vietnam, looking to bolster a government seen as a crucial, though flawed partner in a region that he has tried to place at the center of his foreign policy legacy."

"The U.S. drone strike that killed Taliban chief Akhtar Mohammad Mansour represents another escalation in U.S. involvement in the war in Afghanistan by trying to cripple an insurgent group that has for years found refuge on Pakistani soil," writes the Washington Post.