memeorandum: Obama In Prague: Launches Effort To Rid World Of Nuclear Weapons (Jennifer Loven/Associated Press)

1:00 PM ET, April 5, 2009

Top Items:

Defying World, North Koreans Launch Rocket — SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea defied the United States, China and a series of United Nations resolutions by launching a rocket on Sunday that the country said was designed to propel a satellite into space, but that much of the world viewed …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, BBC, Commentary, Time, Associated Press, Outside The Beltway, Washington Monthly, Scared Monkeys, Gawker, TalkLeft and UPI

New York Times:

North Koreans Launch Rocket Over the Pacific — SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea defied the United States, China and a series of United Nations resolutions by launching a rocket on Sunday that the country said was designed to propel a satellite into space, but that much of the world viewed …

Discussion: The Atlanticist, The Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh, PoliGazette, Cup O' Joe, The Mahablog, JammieWearingFool and D-Day

The Politico:

Obama calls for ‘world without’ nukes — PRAGUE - Hours after North Korea launched a long-range rocket, President Barack Obama called for “a world without nuclear weapons” and said the United States had a “moral responsibility ” to lead the way, as the only nation ever to have use them.

Discussion: American Power and Gateway Pundit

Helene Cooper / New York Times:

Obama Asks Security Council to Punish N. Korea — PRAGUE — President Obama said that North Korea violated international rules when it tested a rocket that could be used for long-range missiles, and he called on the United Nations Security Council to take action.

Discussion: Associated Press, D-Day and Democrats.com

Associated Press:

NKorea launches rocket, defying world pressure — SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea defied international warnings and sent a rocket hurtling over the Pacific on Sunday, a launch President Barack Obama called an illicit test of the regime's long-range missile technology that threatened the security of nations “near and far.”

Discussion: Power Line, BBC, CNN, Paco Enterprises and MyDD

Jennifer Loven / Associated Press:

Obama In Prague: Launches Effort To Rid World Of Nuclear Weapons — PRAGUE — Declaring it “matters to all people everywhere,” President Barack Obama promised on Sunday to lead the world into a nuclear-free future, giving a hawkish edge to a peacenik pursuit even as North Korea upstaged …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Blaine Harden / Washington Post:

North Korea Defies Warnings, Launches Powerful Rocket — North Korea launched a long-range missile over Japan on Sunday, defying repeated international warnings and prompting the U.N. Security Council to schedule an emergency meeting for Sunday afternoon. — The midday launch …

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Evan Ramstad / Wall Street Journal: North Korea Launches Rocket

BBC:
Defiant N Korea launches rocket

Discussion: Washington Post, Pajamas Media, Reuters, Don Surber, ScrappleFace and Neptunus Lex

Alexander Mooney / CNN:

Axelrod hits back at Cheney: Not behaving like a ‘statesman’ — (CNN) — Top Obama adviser David Axelrod sharply criticized Dick Cheney's recent contention that the president's national security policies have made the country less safe, suggesting the former vice president is not behaving like a “statesman.”

Discussion: Think Progress and Washington Monthly

Jon Meacham / Newsweek:

The End of Christian America — The percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 points in the past two decades. How that statistic explains who we are now—and what, as a nation, we are about to become. — From the magazine issue dated Apr 13, 2009

Discussion: PoliGazette, Political Byline, Macsmind, Riehl World View, American Power, Hot Air and Cup O' Joe

Kathleen Parker / Washington Post:
Is a New Generation of Christians Finished with Politics?

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Other McCain, Hullabaloo, Liberal Values and Pam's House Blend

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Flashback: NYT scolded Clinton for almost bowing to royalty — So far, the media has remained entirely silent on Barack Obama's deep-waist bow to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. They used to defend American protocol a lot more closely, as The Anchoress discovered in doing research on the subject.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Power Line, five feet of fury, Scared Monkeys and Whiskey Fire

Mike Allen / The Politico:

GM planning for bankruptcy — Fritz Henderson, GM's new president and CEO, said for the first time Sunday that the automaker is planning for the possibility of restructuring within bankruptcy, although he said he still hoped to avoid that public-relations nightmare.

Discussion: The Note

KDKA-TV:

Gunmen Kills Three Pittsburgh Police Officers — PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) ― A man opened fire on officers during a domestic disturbance call Saturday morning, killing three of them, a police official said. — Friends said 23 year-old Richard Poplawski feared the Obama administration was poised to ban guns.

Discussion: The Daily Dish and Clayton Cramer's BLOG