Top Items:
Nina Totenberg / NPR:
Supreme Court Justice Souter To Retire — · NPR has learned that Supreme Court Justice David Souter is planning to retire at the end of the court's current term. — The court has completed hearing oral arguments for the year and will be issuing rulings and opinions until the end of June.
Discussion:
Christy Hardin Smith, SCOTUSblog, The BLT, Associated Press, Politics Daily, Washington Post, The New Ledger, Top of the Ticket, Daily Kos, NY Daily News, The Nation, MSNBC, Jules Crittenden, Newshoggers.com, George's Bottom Line, Swords Crossed, Devil's Advocate, Outside The Beltway, Betsy's Page, Philly.com, Bench Memos, Newsweek Blogs, Raw Story, PoliGazette, Blue Virginia, Salon, Michelle Malkin, Townhall.com, Pam's House Blend, Liberty Street, Above the Law, RedState, Ben Smith's Blog, Pajamas Media, QandO, The Washington Independent, TalkLeft, Open Left, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Donklephant, Stop The ACLU and The Moderate Voice
RELATED:
New York Times:
Souter Said to Be Leaving Court in June — WASHINGTON — Justice David H. Souter plans to retire at the end of the term in June, giving President Obama his first appointment to the Supreme Court, four people informed about the decision said Thursday night. — Justice Souter …
The Huffington Post:
Souter Replacements: Obama's Five Likely Picks (SLIDESHOW) — News of Justice David Souter's plan to retire at the end of the Supreme Court's current term immediately set off one of Washington D.C.'s most cherished parlor games: speculating who will take his place.
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Specter Defection Will Haunt Dems On Souter Replacement — News is breaking that Supreme Court Justice David Souter is retiring. There will be a fight over his replacement, for sure. And Arlen Specter switching may have given Republicans a trump card to block an unacceptable replacement.
Ed Whelan / Bench Memos:
Filling the Souter Seat — Some initial thoughts on President Obama's opportunity to appoint a successor to Justice Souter: — 1. Obama's own record and rhetoric make clear that he will seek left-wing judicial activists who will indulge their passions, not justices who will make their rulings with dispassion.
The Politico:
Souter exit starts court war — Supreme Court Justice David Souter's planned retirement touches off a fierce fight between the parties that could reinvigorate moping Republicans and, depending on his choice, enhance or tarnish President Barack Obama's bipartisan image.
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Souter Said To Be Retiring; Who Would Replace Him? — AP, NBC, and NPR report that Justice David Souter, an associate justice of the Supreme Court for 18 years, will retire at the end of the term. Administration officials were caught by surprise, though I suspect some at high levels were informed …
MSNBC:
NBC: Souter to retire from Supreme Court — Departure would give Obama his first chance to nominate a justice — WASHINGTON - Justice David Souter is planning to retire after nearly two decades on the Supreme Court, several government sources told NBC News.
Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Souter Reportedly Planning to Retire From High Court
Souter Reportedly Planning to Retire From High Court
Discussion:
SCOTUSblog, Taegan Goddard's …, Law Blog, The BLT, LiberalOasis, The Volokh Conspiracy and AmSpecBlog
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
White House Cheat Sheet: Souter Retirement (Further) Roils Political Landscape
White House Cheat Sheet: Souter Retirement (Further) Roils Political Landscape
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
A Few More Thoughts — Some stories, like the Souter retirement …
A Few More Thoughts — Some stories, like the Souter retirement …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Mark Sherman / Associated Press:
Does Souter's silence on hiring mean he's leaving?
Does Souter's silence on hiring mean he's leaving?
Discussion:
MSNBC
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
An Affordable Salvation — The 2008 election ended the reign of junk science in our nation's capital, and the chances of meaningful action on climate change, probably through a cap-and-trade system on emissions, have risen sharply. — But the opponents of action claim that limiting emissions …
ABCNEWS:
The CIA's $1,000 a Day Specialists on Waterboarding, Interrogations — The New Focus on Two Retired Military Psychologists Called the ‘Architects’ of the CIA's Techniques — As the secrets about the CIA's interrogation techniques continue to come out, there's new information about the frequency …
Discussion:
Buck Naked Politics, Pirate's Cove, The Mahatma X Files, Raw Story, Fox News, The Plum Line, TigerHawk, TBogg and Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
CNN:
Survey: Churchgoers more likely to back torture — WASHINGTON (CNN) — The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey. — More than half of people who attend services at least once a week …
Stephen Ohlemacher / Associated Press:
INSIDE WASHINGTON: Taxpayers to get rude surprise — INSIDE WASHINGTON: Millions of couples, retirees may have to repay some of Obama tax credit — WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of Americans enjoying their small windfall from President Barack Obama's “Making Work Pay” tax credit are in for an unpleasant surprise next spring.
JTA:
Case against ex-AIPAC staffers dropped — WASHINGTON (JTA) — A source with intimate knowledge of the case against two ex-AIPAC staffers accused of passing along classified information says the case has been dropped. — Keith Weissman, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's former Iran analyst …
Discussion:
The Cable
John Schwartz / New York Times:
Plea Deal Reached With Agent for Al Qaeda — During the nearly six years that Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri spent in isolation in a Navy brig as the last enemy combatant held on United States soil, he denied the government's charges that he was a sleeper agent for Al Qaeda, his lawyers said.
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Laid-Off Lawyer From Bethesda Fatally Shoots Self — A 59-year-old lawyer with an Atlanta-based firm who was about to lose his job because of the economy was found dead in his Washington office yesterday of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to police.
Zachery Kouwe / New York Times:
The Lenders Obama Decided to Blame — Peter A. Weinberg and Joseph R. Perella are part of a band of Wall Street renegades — “a small group of speculators,” President Obama called them Thursday — who helped bankrupt Chrysler. — That, anyway, is the Washington line.
Washington Post:
Poll: Rising U.S. Support for Social Issues, Such as Gay Marriage — Republicans may not be able to rely on social issues as they try to rebound against a popular president and increasingly dominant Democratic Party, as a new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows rising support for same-sex marriage …
RELATED:
Matt Pressman / Vanity Fair:
Ari Fleischer: Subpoena Me on Torture — Panelists Josh Rushing, Ari Fleischer, and Tina Brown, with moderator Gideon Yago. Photo by Diane Bondareff/IFC. — What's the easiest way to get a roomful of media people together? Offer them free lunch and a panel discussion on their favorite topic: themselves!
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
Huma Khan / The Note:
Senate Rejects Bankruptcy Bailout for Troubled Homeowners — ABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports from Capitol Hill: On the same day that the White House announced that overextended Chrysler would go into a “quick” bankruptcy — its loans rewritten by a judge to emerge for life another day …
RELATED: