 Jeb Bush, pictured here in New Hampshire two weeks ago, is keeping an aggressive fundraising schedule. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post) THE BIG IDEA: Jeb Bush will raise money from American expatriates in Hong Kong next week. The Republican presidential candidate and some of his senior advisers are appearing on a Tuesday conference call for donors who live in the autonomous Chinese territory. It's one of a handful of buzzy, and potentially controversial, events on a copy of the former Florida governor's upcoming fundraising schedule that was obtained by The Daily 202. The Bush campaign, which did something similar for expats in London earlier this year, confirmed the Hong Kong call. "We fully comply with all laws and ask for copies of passports for any donor with a foreign address to confirm they are lawful donors," a spokesperson said. We already told you about the luncheon fundraiser that Jeb's doing with George W. Bush next week in New York City, just one day before the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. But the former president also plans to headline a separate event for Jeb in Tyler, Texas, on Sept. 24. The huge war chest basically guarantees Jeb will wind up being a finalist for the Republican nomination, despite his single-digit showing in current polls and his intensifying battle against Donald Trump. Bush's super PAC, which raised more than $100 million in the first half of the year, will go on the air with significant television buys in the early states over the coming days. Since three top Bush fundraisers abruptly left the campaign last Friday, the candidate himself has begun pushing back on news stories about problems within his finance operation, including a report that the pace of fundraising slowed over the summer. In Miami on Tuesday, Jeb noted that he attended seven fundraisers last week alone and suggested that people will be impressed by his third quarter fundraising number. It’s all against a backdrop of the GOP establishment’s concern about how Jeb should tackle a rising Trump. In a notable strategy shift, Bush has begun to attack Trump fiercely and directly, going so far as to accuse Trump of using a racial “dog whistle” yesterday. Here are other events on Jeb's aggressive schedule: He'll be in Boston on Sept. 9, Seattle on Sept. 14 and Portland, Oregon, on Sept. 15. The day after the next GOP primary debate, he'll do a breakfast fundraiser in Bakersfield, California, and an evening reception in Las Vegas. Then he's off to Atlanta on Sept. 19, Washington on Sept. 24, Boca Raton on Sept. 25, St. Louis on Sept. 28 and Oklahoma City on Sept. 29. The third quarter ends Sept. 30. His son, Jeb Jr., is also keeping a fairly heavy schedule to fill the campaign's coffers. He's in Los Angeles for a joint luncheon with his mom on Sept. 15 and then appears solo in Silicon Valley on Sept. 17, Miami on Sept. 24, and Gainesville on Sept. 26.  The booking photo for Rowan County clerk Kim Davis (Carter County Detention Center/Handout via Reuters) — Kentucky clerk Kim Davis is waking up in a county jail this morning, after a federal judge appointed by George W. Bush found her in contempt for ignoring a Supreme Court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. U.S. District Judge David Bunning has ordered five of her six deputy clerks to begin issuing licenses to all couples this morning. The lone exception is the deputy clerk, who happens to be her son. What's next? "A person held in civil contempt by a federal judge may stay behind bars for up to 18 months, or less if a judge becomes satisfied that the person is no longer disobeying a court order," the Post's front-page story explains. "A person may be held longer if a judge finds the person in criminal contempt and issues a formal sentence." More below on the 2016 implications.  A paramilitary police officer carries the lifeless body of Aylan Kurdi, 3, after a boat carrying his family to the Greek island of Kos capsized. The family embarked on the perilous journey only after their bid to move to Canada was allegedly rejected. (AP Photo/DHA) — The horrible photographs of a three-year-old boy washed up on a Turkish beach are finally focusing the world's attention on the migrant crisis. The toddler's five-year-old brother also died when their boat capsized. They came from the Kurdish-dominated region in northern Syria. The European Union's sharpening divisions over the spiraling refugee crisis broke into the open yesterday when the Hungarian prime minister said the asylum-seekers were threatening "Europe's Christian roots." UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced today that his government will provide resettlement to “thousands” more Syrian refugees in response to the crisis, the BBC reports. This problem is generating enough coverage that it is likely to enter the 2016 conversation. Yesterday, Chris Christie went so far as to blame President Obama’s policies for the death of the three-year-old Syrian refugee. The New Jersey governor suggested Obama’s failure to bomb Syria when it developed chemical weapons was responsible for the refugee crisis now plaguing Europe, saying: “That young child today is a symbol for this country's inaction and this president's deceit.” WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING:  Joe Biden at the Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Atlanta last night (Erik S. Lesser/EPA) — Joe Biden signaled last night that he’s still a long way from being emotionally ready to launch a presidential campaign. Appearing at an Atlanta synagogue to speak about the Iran nuclear agreement, he was asked by an audience member about his possible candidacy. His answer was telling, and it showed the extent to which Biden is still reeling after brain cancer killed his 46-year-old son Beau. "The most relevant factor in my decision is whether my family and I will have the emotional energy to run,” he said. “Unless I can go to my party and the American people and say I'm able to devote my whole heart and my whole soul to this endeavor, it would not be appropriate.” - The VP in his own words: “Everybody talks about a lot of other factors: other people in the race, whether I can raise money and whether I can put together an organization. That's not the factor. The factor is: Can I do it? Can my family undertake what is an arduous commitment that we'd be proud to undertake in ordinary circumstances? The honest to God answer is: I just don't know. … If I can reach that conclusion and we can do it in a fashion that would still make it viable, I would not hesitate to do it.”
- Elsewhere, the Biden buzz continues: The chairman of Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party, Jim Burn, put out a statement through the Draft Biden committee earlier in the day to say he’s “very excited” about the possibility of the VP running.
— Hours after declaring he won’t leave the Republican fold, Donald Trump found himself stumped on several foreign policy questions during an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. First, The Donald mistook the Iranian Quds forces for the Kurds, a Middle Eastern ethnic group: “Well, that is a gotcha question, though,” he said. “I will be so good at the military, your head will spin.” Trump then refused to say how he’d react as commander-in-chief if China sunk a Japanese or Filipino ship, calling his unpredictability an advantage. He explained his theory that it is useful to know the names of leaders of significant terrorist groups (al Qaeda, for example) because they’ll all be wiped out by the time he’s in the Oval Office. He also appeared not to know the difference between Hamas and Hezbollah. Hewitt will be asking questions during the next GOP debate, on Sept. 16, and it will focus on foreign policy. The Trump campaign announced separately that the billionaire businessman plans to give a “historic” address on national security and veterans’ issues from the USS Iowa, a retired battleship, the day before all the candidates appear at the Ronald Reagan presidential library. Listen to the six-minute exchange between Trump and Hugh here: 
— Four American and two international peacekeepers were wounded in two bomb blasts on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, and required medical evacuation. “All six troops were with the Multinational Force of Observers, an international coalition set up to keep the peace between Egypt and Israel after a treaty was reached between the two nations at Camp David in 1978,” Dan Lamothe reports. GET SMART FAST: - The Justice Department will now require law enforcement agencies to obtain warrants to deploy devices that track cellphones in criminal probes, and tell judges when they’ll be used.
- The jobs number that posts at 8:30 a.m. Eastern could have a big effect on Federal Reserve decision making about interest rates.
- About 900,000 military veterans have pending applications to access health care from the VA, according to a report by the department's inspector general. “One-third of those veterans are thought to be dead, but problems with the data makes it tough to know how many former troops were still struggling to get care,” Emily Wax-Thibodeaux reports. “VA has said it has no way to purge the list of dead applicants.”
- "The discovery of live anthrax outside a containment area at a military lab in Utah prompted military officials to order an immediate freeze on operations at nine biodefense laboratories that work with dangerous viruses, toxins and bacteria," USA Today reports.
- A grand jury has charged a white Portsmouth, Va., police officer with first degree murder in connection with the killing of an 18-year old African American man who was suspected of shoplifting at a Wal-Mart. (Fred Barbash)
- South Carolina prosecutors announced they will seek the death penalty against Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old accused Charleston church shooter.
- Just hours after resigning, Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina was jailed pending a hearing into a multi-million-dollar customs fraud case.
- French officials confirm that the debris which washed ashore on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean recently belonged to Malaysian Airlines Flight 370.
- The speaker of Iran's parliament suggested in an interview with NPR that Americans imprisoned in Iran, including a Washington Post reporter, could be swapped for Iranians in U.S. jails.
- Five Chinese Navy ships are apparently on their way out of the Bering Sea, the Navy said.
POWER PLAYERS IN THE NEWS: - Marco Rubio will come out against Chapter 9 bankruptcy for Puerto Rico as he campaigns on the island today, differentiating himself from Jeb and aligning himself with the Koch brothers’ political network. (We explained the tough spot that the senator was in on this issue in the July 6 edition of The Daily 202, and he’s steadfastly avoided taking a position until now.)
- Three more Senate Democrats endorsed the Iran deal: New Jersey’s Cory Booker, Virginia’s Mark Warner and North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp. That gives Obama 37 of the 41 votes he needs to filibuster the GOP’s resolution of disapproval.
- Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, announced his retirement. (Star Tribune)
- The Office of Congressional Ethics concluded that there is “substantial reason to believe” that Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) improperly used taxpayer funded congressional staff and resources for campaign activity in 2012 and 2014. The House Ethics Committee will now expand its investigation.
- Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman Randy Brogdon is resigning after five tumultuous months.
- Edward Snowden told Al Jazeera that it’s “completely ridiculous” for Hillary Clinton to claim that she did not jeopardize national security secrets by using a private e-mail server.
- Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s former chief of staff, testified in a closed session before the House Select Committee on Benghazi. Chairman Trey Gowdy said after the hearing that she answered all of the committee's questions: “The dialogue was professional and productive."
 Cheryl Mills, far right, arrives for her testimony on the Hill yesterday. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) WAPO HIGHLIGHTS: — “Trump’s party loyalty pledge ends one GOP problem and brings others,” by Robert Costa: “Trump made his announcement at an afternoon news conference after meeting with the loyalty statement's author, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, whose relationship with the mogul has been cordial but delicate since he entered the 2016 race. He said that he sees ‘no circumstances under which I would tear up that pledge’ [and] ‘I have no intention of changing my mind.’ … Watching the slightly surreal drama of this odd-couple alliance play out on the airwaves, veteran GOP voices expressed discomfort about the way the Republican Party is trying to manage Trump, and with the power Trump is accumulating within the party. Priebus's travel to Trump Tower spoke volumes, several said.”  Trump looks at the pledge he signed during a news conference in Trump Tower yesterday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) — “How AIPAC lost the Iran deal fight,” by Karoun Demirjian and Carol Morello: “Many say AIPAC's efforts were doomed to fail in the aftermath of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's combative speech to Congress in March — an appearance brokered by Israel's ambassador to the U.S. along with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) without White House consultation. Many of AIPAC's supporters also blame President Obama and what they see as a process he rigged and a debate he polarized. But whether or not the White House won a lasting victory in securing the Iran deal's fate, AIPAC may have lost their claim to iron-clad influence over lawmakers on issues pertaining to Israel.” SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ: — ZIGNAL VISUAL: Another really bad week for Hillary Clinton on social media. With so much focus on Donald Trump, our analytics partners at Zignal Labs turned their attention to the Democratic contest for a week in review. Once again, on social media, Bernie Sanders continues to give Hillary Clinton a run for her money. 
This week was another rough one for the former Secretary of State, with a former tech aide opting to plead the Fifth instead of testifying before a congressional committee, and the week once again dominated by another tranche of emails. (Who could have predicted at the start of the week that #GefilteFish would be trending?) The first map below shows a state-by-state breakdown by volume of which candidate had more Twitter mentions from Saturday morning through midnight Thursday night. The blue states on the map below show states where Clinton received a majority of the Tweets. The red states are states where Sanders received more: 
Interestingly, Clinton received more mentions in traditionally Republican states, while Sanders showed strength in Democratic population centers like California, Illinois and the Northeast. But more doesn’t always mean better. This next map shows a breakdown by sentiment. States that are blue are states where Clinton had higher negatives than Sanders. In the red states, Sanders’ negatives were higher. Again, the darker the color, the higher the negatives. 
As you see, Hillary had higher negatives everywhere except New York and New Mexico. She represented the former in the Senate; we're not sure what to make of the latter. But, together, the maps tell a compelling story: Clinton continues to inspire vitriol from Republicans, while the Sanders traffic tends to be more positive. Note the dark blue throughout the Deep South (and Sanders’ home state of Vermont): –Pictures of the day: Here’s a close-up of the GOP loyalty pledge signed by Donald Trump:  (realdonaldtrump) Here’s how Jeb responded:  (@JebBush) Meanwhile, a web developer from Colorado created a parody logo that went viral. “Just noticed how well the Obama logo works for Trump with some simple color changes and rotation,” Matthew Gordon tweeted:  (@ratherironic) –Tweets of the day: “@HillaryClinton is on my NYC premiere,” Ellen DeGeneres tweeted, along with this photo:  (@TheEllenShow) Clinton joined in the joke: Trump celebrated Tom Brady’s win in court (perhaps a play for New Hampshire primary voters?): Vulnerable incumbent Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) also offered supporting, tweeting “BRADY IS FREE!” with this picture:  (@KellyAyotte) President Obama commented on a Humans of New York post on Facebook:  (@WhiteHouse) Mike Huckabee doubled down on his defense of Kim Davis with a series of provocative tweets. He also announced that he will travel to Kentucky next Tuesday to hold an #ImWithKim rally:  (@GovMikeHuckabee) Carly Fiorina joined the chorus of Republican decrying the contempt sentence: “Lois Lerner goes on paid administrative leave from the IRS, but KY clerk #KimDavis goes to jail?” –Instagrams of the day: Ted Cruz remembered William Rehnquist, for whom he was a law clerk, on the 10th anniversary of the Chief Justice’s death:  (sentedcruz) Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) shared an old back-to-school photo:  (speakerboehner) Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), a candidate for Senate, went back even further for #ThrowbackThursday. “I’ve supported unions (like IAFF) since birth,” he wrote:  (repalangrayson) Ann Romney shared an Instagram video (click below) of family picture day. “Always an adventure!” she wrote:  (annromney) GOOD READS FROM ELSEWHERE: — New York Times, “For his unconventional campaign, Donald Trump looks to an unorthodox manager,” by Maggie Haberman: “In searching for someone to steer his effort, Mr. Trump went not to someone with a depth of experience in national elections, but to someone he appears to see as a kindred spirit: a deeply ambitious, sometimes-mercurial master of self-reinvention (he has also been a New Hampshire state public safety officer and a real estate agent). And, like Mr. Trump, exactly what his political leanings are beyond a belief in small government is uncertain…While some candidates look for a manager who will rein in their impulses, [Corey]. Lewandowski channels them. He is not interested in telling Mr. Trump what to do or in being a master strategist. His greatest attribute, Mr. Trump said in an interview, is that ‘he knows when to speak up.’ ‘He leaves me alone, but he knows when to make his presence felt,’ Mr. Trump said.” HOT ON THE LEFT Huckabee compares Kim Davis to Abraham Lincoln. From ThinkProgress: “[Kim] Davis, the now-infamous Kentucky county clerk, is refusing to issue marriage licenses to a same-sex couples, despite the Supreme Court's recent ruling giving gay couples the constitutional right to wed … Appearing on MSNBC, Huckabee said that's just like Abraham Lincoln, who was not in favor of the Supreme Court's 1857 Dred Scott decision which held that African Americans were not full citizens. ‘Look, you would have hated Lincoln, because he disregarded the Dred Scott 1857 decision that said black people aren't fully human,’ he said.” HOT ON THE RIGHT Plans targets health care bias against transgender people. From the Associated Press: “Mirroring a shift in society, the Obama administration proposed Thursday to ban discrimination against transgender people throughout the health care system. Once the proposed regulations are final, they should expand insurance coverage for gender transition and prohibit health care facilities from denying transgender people access to restrooms that match their individual gender identity. The new protections are part of a broader rule from the Department of Health and Human Services to carry out anti-bias provisions of President Barack Obama’s health care law.” DAYBOOK: — What’s happening today on the campaign trail: Hillary Clinton sits for an interview with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell and campaigns in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Marco Rubio also greets voters in San Juan. Bernie Sanders campaigns in Muscatine, Tama and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In New Hampshire, Martin O'Malley makes a stop in Manchester, Chris Chris holds a town hall meeting in North Conway and Lindsey Graham campaigns in Sugar Hill, Dalton, Lancaster, Errol and Millsfield. Finally, Scott Walker continues his Texas trip with a meet-and-greeet in Midland, Texas.
— On the Hill: Both chambers are in recess. — At the White House: Back in the White House, President Obama will hold a bilateral meeting and working lunch with King Salman bin Abd alAziz of Saudi Arabia, part of a broader effort to reassure the Gulf States in the wake of the Iran deal. Later, Obama and Biden will meet with Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "He's the sitting vice president," Hillary Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said during a telephone press briefing about the possibility of Joe Biden entering the Democratic presidential contest. "He's certainly going to be a commanding presence in the race." NEWS YOU CAN USE IF YOU LIVE IN D.C.: — “One last hotter day before a cold front tries to take it down a notch. Though, it isn't exactly cool and dry behind this front, so… we don't exactly trade up that much. At times the breezes may require a light, late-night, extra piece of outerwear. Clouds may be more numerous than we want on a holiday weekend, but Sunday and Labor Day look pretty good,” the Capital Weather Gang forecasts. — The Nationals battered the Atlanta Braves, 15-1. — With QB Colt McCoy at the helm for their last preseason game, the Redskins fell to Jacksonville, 17-16. — Gas prices are the lowest they’ve been for Labor Day since 2004, per AAA. VIDEOS OF THE DAY — After apparently being pushed from behind outside of Trump Tower yesterday, a member of Trump’s security team reportedly hit a protester in the face. He was holding a sign that said, “Trump: Make America Racist Again.” Watch the video here. — Jorge Ramos got in an on-air shouting match with Bill O’Reilly during an appearance on Fox News, defending his confrontation with Trump at an Iowa press conference. "How can you possibly cover illegal immigration when you're an activist .… You should excuse yourself from it … or become like me, a commentator," O'Reilly said Wednesday night. The Univision anchor replied, "I don't think you are the right person to lecture me on advocacy in journalism." Watch the 7-minute exchange here. — Here’s a compilation of politicians trying — many unsuccessfully — to speak Spanish:  (Univision’s Daily Brief) — Jeb Bush and Stephen Colbert continue to mess with each other ahead of next week’s Late Show premiere. First, Bush offered supporters a chance to win a ticket to the show for a minimum $3 donation. Then, Colbert launched his own contest: a minimum $3 donation to charity for a chance to give him a question to ask Bush (plus two tickets to the taping). Bush teased Colbert on Wednesday, saying he thought Amy Schumer would be hosting next week’s show (click below):  (@JebBush) Which prompted Amy Schumer to pretend to be Colbert in a video posted on his account:  (@StephenatHome) If that’s not complicated enough, Bush responded: — Obama danced with middle-school students in Alaska on the last day of his trip. CNN sets the scene: “The children, donning native headpieces and attire, performed four Yup’ik dances. Obama smiled broadly and grinned during the performance of a song called, ‘Don’t be afraid to play basketball.’ During the last song, the President surprised both the performers and the audience by jumping up and declaring, ‘I’ve been practicing’ before joining the dancers for a final number.” Watch here. — Finally, a drone video captured a man being swept over a 30-foot waterfall during a flash flood in Hawaii. He survived. Watch here. Have a great (and safe!) Labor Day weekend… | 
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