Top Items:
The Politico:
Biden says avoid planes, subways; puts out clarifying statement — Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would not recommend taking any commercial flight or riding in a subway car “at this point” because swine flu virus can spread “in confined places.”
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Xana O'Neill / NBC New York:
Biden: Stay Off Subways During Swine Flu Panic — World Health body raises alert to level 5, one notch short of full pandemic — Vice president Joe Biden said today he would tell his family members not to use subways in the U.S. and implied schools should be shuttered as the swine flu outbreak spread …
Discussion:
The New Ledger, Commentary, The Campaign Spot, Democracy in America, Clusterstock, Moe Lane, Redhot, NO QUARTER and Moe_Lane's blog
Wall Street Journal:
Administration Official Says Chrysler to Enter Chapter 11; Obama to Speak at Noon — WASHINGTON - An Obama administration official said that Chrysler LLC, after failing to convince all of its lenders to agree to a debt-reduction deal, will file for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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Wall Street Journal:
Chrysler Chapter 11 Is Imminent — Creditor Talks Collapse as Hedge Funds Balk at Deal; Fiat Waiting in the Wings — WASHINGTON — Talks between the Treasury Department and lenders aimed at keeping Chrysler LLC out of bankruptcy broke down Wednesday, making it all but certain the car maker …
Discussion:
Emptywheel, Wonk Room, Guardian, Dealbreaker, Clusterstock, The Big Picture, Salon and Washington Post
Chris Isidore / CNNMoney.com:
Chrysler to file for bankruptcy — Some lenders refuse offer to reduce debt, leading to likely bankruptcy filing. But Chrysler expected to remain in business and complete deal with Fiat. — NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Chrysler LLC is going to file for bankruptcy, an administration official confirmed to CNN Thursday.
Discussion:
D-Day
New York Times:
G.O.P. Debate: A Broader Party or a Purer One? — WASHINGTON — A fundamental debate broke out among Republicans on Wednesday over how to rebuild the party in the wake of Senator Arlen Specter's departure: Should it purge moderate voices like Mr. Specter and embrace its conservative roots …
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Top Dems rebel on Specter — Senior Senate Democrats are objecting to the deal Majority Leader Harry Reid made with Sen. Arlen Specter, saying they will vote against letting the former Republican shoot to the top of powerful committees after he switches parties.
Discussion:
The Note, Wake up America, Bloomberg, Taylor Marsh, The Foundry, The Hill's Pundits Blog and Hullabaloo
Celeste Katz / NY Daily News:
Elizabeth Edwards write about husband's affair in book … Campaign cad John Edwards' cheating ways made his wife, Elizabeth, sick to her stomach - literally. — After the former presidential hopeful confessed his betrayal, Elizabeth Edwards writes in her new book, “I cried and screamed, I went to the bathroom and threw up.”
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, CBS News, Politics Daily, Fox News, The Swamp, Democracy in America, Raw Story and Radio Iowa
Cenk Uygur / The Huffington Post:
Condi Rice Pulls A Nixon: When the President Does It, That Means It is Not Illegal — Condoleezza Rice was recently speaking at Stanford when students asked her an excellent question on waterboarding and torture. They have her answer on tape and it isn't pretty. Condi Rice absolutely pulls a Nixon.
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Ali Frick / Think Progress:
Rice Channels Nixon: Since The President Authorized Torture, That Makes It Legal — Recently, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke with some students at Stanford University, where she is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institute. When a student asked whether Rice had authorized torture …
Discussion:
D-Day
Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:
GOP's Big Names Try to Forge New Agenda — Looking to rebrand a struggling Republican Party, a group of party heavyweights including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) are launching a new group that will hold town halls around the country and look to produce GOP ideas on issues like education and health care.
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Philip Elliott / Associated Press:
GOP policy group launched outside RNC
GOP policy group launched outside RNC
Discussion:
The Atlantic Politics Channel
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Obama and Churchill — Obama followed Bush last night in using Winston Churchill as his example of a war president: — “I was struck by an article that I was reading the other day talking about the fact that the British during World War II, when London was being bombed to smithereens …
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Eric Zimmermann / The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:
Steele: GOP ‘disingenuous’ criticizing bailouts — RNC chairman Michael Steele says the GOP is being “disingenuous” in blaming Democrats for poor economic performance, since Republicans started the bailout process in the first place. — “Look, we can't go back out and start pointing fingers …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
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Gregg Levine / Firedoglake:
Steele: My Bad — Well, they say the first step toward fixing …
Steele: My Bad — Well, they say the first step toward fixing …
Discussion:
Think Progress
Tom Shales / Washington Post:
Obama Deftly Handles Another Prime-Time News Conference — The questions put to Barack Obama at his news conference last night covered nearly every topic but the Craigslist Killer, and if that had come up, Obama probably would have answered it in stride. You ask, he'll answer — earnestly …
Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:
Dead Certain — Tonight President Obama said he was “absolutely convinced” that he had made the right decision in putting an end to the use of the harsh interrogation techniques employed by the Bush administration. After eight years of President Bush, it certainly is refreshing to have a leader …
Discussion:
Macsmind
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Alicia Dennis / People.com:
Sarah Palin to Appear on American Chopper — Turns out the hockey mom is also a motorcycle maven. — Alaska Governor Sarah Palin recently welcomed the crew from Orange County Choppers - whose custom motorcycle business is featured on TLC's American Chopper - to Anchorage …
Discussion:
Moe Lane, NewsBusters.org, The Mudflats, KIKO'S HOUSE, Don Surber, Conservatives4Palin.com and The Washington Independent
Above the Law:
Justice Scalia Responds to Fordham Privacy Invasion! — Last week, we wrote about the Fordham law professor who assigned his information privacy law class to compile a dossier on Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. — The professor had chosen Scalia as the target for privacy invasion …
McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Is Obama wrong on Iraq? Baghdad violence worst in year — BAGHDAD — April was the bloodiest month for violence in Baghdad in more than a year, another sign that Iraq's security gains are beginning to reverse. — President Barack Obama acknowledged Wednesday night that violence has risen …
STRATFOR:
A Chilling Effect on U.S. Counterterrorism — Over the past couple of weeks, we have been carefully watching the fallout from the Obama administration's decision to release four classified memos from former President George W. Bush's administration that authorized “enhanced interrogation techniques.”