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:
Bench Memos, Christy Hardin Smith, SCOTUSblog, The BLT, Associated Press, Politics Daily, Washington Post, The New Ledger, Top of the Ticket, Daily Kos, NY Daily News, MSNBC, Newshoggers.com, The Nation, Jules Crittenden, George's Bottom Line, Swords Crossed, Devil's Advocate, Outside The Beltway, Betsy's Page, Philly.com, Newsweek Blogs, Blue Virginia, Raw Story, PoliGazette, Salon, Michelle Malkin, Townhall.com, Pam's House Blend, Liberty Street, Above the Law, RedState, Ben Smith's Blog, Pajamas Media, QandO, TalkLeft, The Washington Independent, Open Left, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Donklephant and Stop The ACLU
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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.
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.
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.
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 …
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
White House Cheat Sheet: Souter Retirement (Further) Roils Political Landscape
White House Cheat Sheet: Souter Retirement (Further) Roils Political Landscape
Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Souter Reportedly Planning to Retire From High Court
Souter Reportedly Planning to Retire From High Court
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, SCOTUSblog, Taegan Goddard's …, Law Blog, The BLT, LiberalOasis, The Volokh Conspiracy and AmSpecBlog
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
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
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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.
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.
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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.
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
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Tipping Point? — I think most of us can see that despite some painful setbacks, and likely more to come, time is definitely on the side of marriage equality in the United States. But are we hitting some sort of tipping point under a new administration and with a rush of recent successes in several states around the country?
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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 …
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The Politico:
Bunning poised to retire — Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning, the most endangered Republican up for reelection in 2010, appears headed for retirement after giving his leading GOP rival the blessing to prepare to run for his seat next year. — Bunning's retirement would be a huge victory …
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket, The Caucus, DownWithTyranny!, Lynn Sweet, Commentary, PoliticalBase.com Blog, The Hill, Betsy's Page and Don Surber