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:
The Atlantic Politics Channel, Politics Daily, The BLT, The Nation, Newshoggers.com, Swords Crossed, Top of the Ticket, Betsy's Page, Daily Kos, Blue Virginia, Philly.com, Devil's Advocate, Outside The Beltway, Above the Law, Newsweek Blogs, PoliGazette, Raw Story, Salon, Townhall.com, Liberty Street, Don Surber, RedState, Ben Smith's Blog, Pam's House Blend, Michelle Malkin, Pajamas Media, TalkLeft, Open Left, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Washington Independent, Donklephant, Stop The ACLU, Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, The Anchoress, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, QandO and MoJo Blog Posts
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 …
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.
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 — Justice Might Stay Until Nominee Confirmed — Justice David H. Souter, the Republican-appointed New England jurist who has become a reliable member of the liberal bloc on the Supreme Court, has told friends that he plans to retire, according to a government official.
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.
Discussion:
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
A Few More Thoughts — Some stories, like the Souter retirement, mainly speak for themselves. Almost to a certainty we knew President Obama would get one or more nominations to the Court. With Souter being the first, it seems likely he'll get one or two more in his first term.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
White House Cheat Sheet: Souter Retirement (Further) Roils Political Landscape — The news that Supreme Court Justice David Souter is planning to retire as early as next month is likely to set off a massive campaign-style fight over the man or woman that President Obama nominates to fill …
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:
MyDD
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:
Stop The ACLU, Buck Naked Politics, Raw Story, Fox News, The Mahatma X Files, The Plum Line, 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.
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:
Sen. Robert Byrd / The Huffington Post:
Our Obligation to Investigate — In President Obama's inaugural …
Our Obligation to Investigate — In President Obama's inaugural …
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, Betsy's Page, The Hill, Don Surber, The Page and MyDD
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:
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?
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Neuroworld, The Daily Dish, Matthew Yglesias, FiveThirtyEight, The Huffington Post and Guardian
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.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Above the Law, JONATHAN TURLEY, Law Blog, Clusterstock and The BLT
Urbzen / Teablogging:
TCOT (Teabagger Catfight On Twitter) — Sorry kids, Mom and Dad are getting a divorce. And yeah, it is kind of your fault. — This morning teabagger-in-chief and “Top Conservatives on Twitter” (TCOT) co-founder Rob Neppell posted this message on TopConservativesOnTwitter.org …
RELATED:
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Tapper to Gibbs: Can you clarify Biden's moronic comment about subways? — Funny but mean in that it's a question designed simply to make Gibbs squirm. No one can “clarify” what Greasy Joe said because what he said was perfectly clear: He's freaked out about swine flu — needlessly …