Top Items:
Alexei Barrionuevo / New York Times:
8.8-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Chile — RIO DE JANEIRO — A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, shaking the capital of Santiago for 90 seconds and sending tsunami warnings from Chile to Ecuador. — Chile's TVN cable news channel was reporting 78 deaths, with the toll expected to rise.
Discussion:
Guardian, FP Passport, The Lonely Conservative, MyDD, Hot Air, Vanity Fair, TalkLeft, The Confluence, Breitbart.tv, Matthew Yglesias, Fausta's Blog, American Power and The Agonist
RELATED:
CNN:
Powerful earthquake rattles Chile; tsunami warning issued — (CNN) — An magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck central Chile early Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. — The quake's epicenter was located near the city of Concepcion, 212 miles (341 kilometers) from the capital of Santiago.
Discussion:
Achenblog, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Clusterstock, EW.com, The Moderate Voice and Pam's House Blend
Robert Mackey / The Lede:
Latest Updates on Earthquake in Chile — A map showing the location of Saturday's 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile from the Web site of the U.S. Geological Survey. … About one hour ago, Reuters reported that a bulletin from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said …
Reuters:
Huge earthquake batters Chile, 78 dead — SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck south-central Chile early on Saturday, killing at least 78 people, knocking down homes and hospitals, and triggering a tsunami. — Buildings caught fire and residents huddled …
BBC:
Massive earthquake strikes Chile — A massive earthquake has hit central Chile, killing at least 82 people, the interior minister says. — The 8.8 magnitude quake struck at 0634 GMT about 115km (70 miles) north-east of the city of Concepcion and 325km south-west of the capital, Santiago.
Associated Press:
Huge quake hits Chile; tsunami threatens Pacific — TALCA, Chile - A devastating earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, toppling homes, collapsing bridges and plunging trucks into the fractured earth. A tsunami set off by the magnitude-8.8 quake threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean — roughly a quarter of the globe.
Fox News:
Massive Magnitude 8.8 Quake Hits Chile, Killing Over 80 — BREAKING NEWS — President Michele Bachelet declared a “state of catastrophe” in central Chile after a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, killing over 80. — The most powerful quake to hit the country …
Andy McCarthy / The Corner on National Review Online:
Transformation — By: Andy McCarthy — On Sean's panel last night, when the conversation turned to how nervous Democrats supposedly are over what for now is teeing up like a very bad November, I felt like I was channeling Mark Steyn, Mark Levin and Rush. That is, I think our side is analyzing …
RELATED:
Robert Pear / New York Times:
Democrats to Press Health Bill With Simple Majority — WASHINGTON — Seeing no prospect of a bipartisan agreement on health care, Congressional Democrats said Friday that they would make another effort to pass sweeping health care legislation on their own. — If anything, Democrats said …
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Coburn warns against majority-vote tactic in weekly Republican address — Should Democrats use the budget reconciliation process to pass healthcare reform, it would fly in the face of public opinion, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said in the Republicans' weekly address.
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Ben Nelson: Dems may have to abandon comprehensive health bill, go step-by-step
Ben Nelson: Dems may have to abandon comprehensive health bill, go step-by-step
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, The New Republic, JammieWearingFool, Political Punch and The Corner on National …
Alex Seitz-Wald / Think Progress:
Rep. Trent Franks: African-Americans were better off under slavery. — Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) — one of the most conservative member of Congress, according to a new National Journal ranking — decried the strained state of political discourse in an interview today with blogger-activist Mike Stark.
Discussion:
New York Times, Salon, American Power, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Hotline On Call and Firedoglake
RELATED:
Elizabeth Landau / CNN:
Liberalism, atheism linked to IQ — (CNN) — Political, religious and sexual behaviors may be reflections of intelligence, a new study finds. — Evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa at the the London School of Economics and Political Science correlated data on these behaviors with IQ …
Lynn Sweet:
White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers to step down — WASHINGTON—White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers told me Friday she will step down next month, after presiding over 330 events in the White House in 14 months. — Rogers is departing after achieving a major goal …
RELATED:
Bruce Bartlett / Forbes:
How To Clean Up The Tax Code — Does Wyden-Gregg point the way? — On Feb. 23 Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire) introduced S. 3018, a bill to reform the federal income tax. Unlike utopian reform ideas such as the flat tax, which would tear the existing tax system …
The Politico:
Sen. Jim Bunning holds floor: ‘Tough s—t’ — Increasingly, more Democratic senators came to engage in the debate - and increasingly, those Democrats were angry. — “It is simply unfair for one senator to attempt to hold the Senate hostage on this issue,” Durbin said.
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
MEET THE NEW WAY FORWARD (SAME AS THE OLD WAY FORWARD).... The road to legislative success on health care reform has been readily apparent for several weeks: the House passes the Senate bill, the Senate approves changes through reconciliation. It's been the pass-the-damn-bill solution since last month's unpleasantness in Massachusetts.
RELATED: