memeorandum: A New Threat In Iraq — While the Bush administration struggles … (David Ignatius/Washington Post)

7:40 PM ET, April 18, 2007

Top Items:

Full coverage: Virginia Tech massacre — April 18: NBC News releases a picture of Cho Seung-Hui that was in the package the Virginia Tech gunman sent to NBC between the two shootings on Monday. — Photos & audio — Virginia Tech students, faculty come to terms with the horror of the mass shooting at the Blacksburg, Va., school.

Discussion: The Corner, Redstate, On Deadline, Sister Toldjah, Riehl World View, Verum Serum, Macsmind, Joanne Jacobs, Ace of Spades HQ, No More Mister Nice Blog, TIME, The Moderate Voice, Captain's Quarters, Donklephant, Confederate Yankee, Romenesko and Shakesville

Glenn Reynolds / NY Daily News:

People don't stop killers. People with guns do — On Monday, as the news of the Virginia Tech shootings was unfolding, I went into my advanced constitutional law seminar to find one of my students upset. My student, Tara Wyllie, has a permit to carry a gun in Tennessee, but she isn't allowed to have a weapon on campus.

ABCNEWS:

VT Killer Ruled Mentally Ill by Court; Let Go After Hospital Visit — Harassed Two Female Students; Concerns He Was Suicidal — A Virginia court found that Virginia Tech killer Seung-Hui Cho was "mentally ill" and potentially dangerous. Then the state let him go.

Discussion: A Second Hand Conjecture and Leibowitz's Canticle

Jack Shafer / Slate:

In Praise of Insensitive Reporters — WE'D HATE THEM EVEN MORE IF THEY DIDN'T OVERCOVER THE VT STORY. — Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui — Everybody is too busy right now consuming the Virginia Tech slaughter coverage to accuse the press of going overboard.

Discussion: CJR Daily and Blog P.I.

New York Times:

Two-Hour Delay Is Linked to Bad Lead — The police identified Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old student, as the killer of 32 people in the shooting rampage at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, releasing new information on Tuesday about the troubled mind of a young man few people on campus knew.

Discussion: MSNBC, Flopping Aces, Althouse, BLACKFIVE, TalkLeft, Captain's Quarters, The Strata-Sphere, Feministe and The Volokh Conspiracy

Jules Crittenden: Killer Reax — People with guns stop killers."

Jennifer A. Dlouhy / The Columbus Dispatch:
Shootings renew gun-control debate

Discussion: WorldNetDaily, Media Matters for America and Booker Rising

Dinesh D'Souza / News Bloggers Blog:
Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?

Discussion: Pharyngula

Ryan Grim / The Politico:
Tancredo Spokesman Disputes 'Deadliest Massacre' Claims

Discussion: The Swamp and The Corner

Matthew Yglesias:
In Defense of Crass Politicization

Discussion: Blog P.I.

Jeff Goldstein / protein wisdom: "People don't stop killers. People with guns do"

David B. Kopel / Wall Street Journal:
'Gun-Free Zones' — The bucolic campus of Virginia Tech …

Discussion: Debbie Schlussel

Mark Sherman / Associated Press:

Court Backs Ban on Abortion Procedure — WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court upheld the nationwide ban on a controversial abortion procedure Wednesday, handing abortion opponents the long- awaited victory they expected from a more conservative bench. — The 5-4 ruling said the Partial …

Discussion: Happy Furry Puppy Story …, Wizbang, Hotline On Call, The Mahablog, Wake up America, Iowa Voice, Right Wing News, The Strata-Sphere, Blue Crab Boulevard, The New York Observer …, The Democratic Daily, Unfogged, Outside The Beltway, Middle Earth Journal and Vox Popoli

Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:

Court upholds federal abortion ban — Dividing 5-4, the Supreme Court on Wednesday gave a sweeping — and only barely qualified — victory to the federal government and to other opponents of abortion, upholding the 2003 law that banned what are often called "partial-birth abortions."

Bill Mears / CNN:

Justices uphold ban on abortion procedure … WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a law that banned a type of late-term abortion, a ruling that could portend enormous social, legal and political implications for the divisive issue. — The sharply divided 5-4 ruling could prove historic.

Discussion: The Caucus, Cliff Schecter, Brilliant at Breakfast, Patterico's Pontifications, SCOTUSblog and ProfessorBainbridge.com ®

Washington Post:
Court Backs Ban on Late-Term Abortion Procedure

Discussion: Political Animal, AMERICAblog and Blue Gal

Marty Lederman / Balkinization:
The Profound Effects of Justice O'Connor's Retirement

Discussion: SCOTUSblog

Orin Kerr / The Volokh Conspiracy:
PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION BAN UPHELD, BUT ON NARROW GROUND: The opinions are here.

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:
`Partial Birth' Abortion Ban Upheld by Top U.S. Court (Update2)

Discussion: NION, On Deadline, On Politics, Think Progress and PoliPundit.com

Ann / Feministing:
"Today's decision is alarming."

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns and Money and Matthew Yglesias

Balkinization:
Gonzales v. Carhart— Three Comments

Discussion: The Next Hurrah, Gawker and ACSBlog

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

A New Threat In Iraq — While the Bush administration struggles to stabilize Baghdad, a major new threat is emerging in the Kurdish areas of northern Iraq. If it isn't defused, this crisis could further erode U.S. goals in Iraq — drawing foreign military intervention …

Discussion: The Newshoggers and Middle Earth Journal

Matthew Yglesias:
How Come Nobody Thought of This!?!?!

Discussion: TIME: Swampland

Alexander Mooney / CNN Political Ticker:

Poll reveals most negative assessment of Iraq war yet — In the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, taken April 10-12, 69 percent of Americans say things are going badly for the United States in Iraq. That's the most negative assessment yet recorded, up from 54 percent …

Discussion: Rasmussen Reports, The Carpetbagger Report, TalkLeft and Daily Kos

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup Poll:

Democratic Race Tightens as Views of Clinton Become More Negative — Forty-five percent favorable rating one of lowest ever for Clinton — PRINCETON, NJ — A majority of Americans have an unfavorable image of New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Discussion: Power Line, Booman Tribune, Hot Air, Brendan Nyhan, Don Surber, Right Wing News and On Politics

Paul Blumenthal / Sunlight Foundation blogs:

Who Placed a Secret Hold on Sunlight? — Yet again an anonymous Senator has placed a secret hold on legislation that would increase transparency. This time a secret hold has been placed on a bill, S. 223, that would mandate that Senators file their campaign finance reports electronically.

Discussion: The Caucus, Prairie Weather, TPMmuckraker and The Impolitic

Debbie Schlussel:

Is This "Ismail" Cho Seung-Hui? — Yesterday, I wrote about the many mainstream media reports that Virginia Tech massacre perpetrator Cho Seung-Hui had "Ismail Ax" written in red ink on one of his arms. More on possible meanings of that, later. — All day long, bloggers and e-mailers sent …

Discussion: Reason Magazine, Crooks and Liars, Black Shards … and Sadly, No!

Ian / Hot Air:

Video: Eisner says it's time to get the public "emotional" about gun control — Appeals to reason are so passe. Or so suggested the former Disney CEO during his appearance this afternoon on CNBC's "Power Lunch," in which he called explicitly for the abolition of handguns in America.

Nico / Think Progress:

Breaking: FBI Raids Rep. Doolittle's Home — Roll Call reports, "The FBI has raided the Northern Virginia home of Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.), according to Congressional sources. No details are publicly available yet about the circumstances of the raid, but Doolittle and his wife …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, On Deadline, Obsidian Wings and Shakesville