Top Items:
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:
Breaking: Stupak Will Retire — Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) plans to announce his retirement today, Democrats briefed on his decision said. Stupak, the leader of a pro-life faction within his party, had received death threats and was under intense political pressure after he agreed to support …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Hill, Taylor Marsh, Newsweek Blogs, DISSENTING JUSTICE and Liberty Pundits dot net
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The Politico:
Stupak to retire, putting seat in play — Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who had a central role in the health reform fight as the leader of anti-abortion Democrats, plans to announce Friday that he will not run for reelection, a Democratic official said. Without Stupak on the ballot …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, The Swamp, Power Line, Ben Smith's Blog, Hot Air, Real Clear Politics and Sister Toldjah
Fox News:
AP: Rep. Bart Stupak Retiring After 18 Years in Congress — Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak of Michigan tells The Associated Press he'll retire from Congress rather than seek a 10th term this year.
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Bart Stupak to retire — Michigan Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak will not seek reelection this fall, a decision that comes hard on his front-and-center (and controversial) role in the recent passage of President Barack Obama's health-care legislation. — Stupak confirmed his decision …
Stephanie Condon / CBS News:
Bart Stupak to Retire — Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak, the congressman who led anti-abortion rights Democrats in the House during health care negotiations, will retire this year, CBS News has learned. He is expected to announce his plans later this morning. — Had Stupak sought re-election …
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
WRONG QUESTION, RIGHT ANSWER.... President Obama sat down with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive interview in Prague yesterday, on the heels of the president signing in a new arms treaty with Russia. The interview, portions of which were aired this morning on “Good Morning America …
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Tabassum Zakaria / Reuters:
President Obama questions Sarah Palin's nuclear acumen — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday made clear he was not going to take advice from Republican Sarah Palin when it comes to decisions about the U.S. nuclear arsenal. — Palin, the former vice presidential candidate …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Daily Dish, JustOneMinute, INSTAPUTZ, Another Black Conservative, Gateway Pundit, No More Mister Nice Blog, Scared Monkeys, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Hot Air, Connecting.the.Dots, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Sadly, No!, GOP 12, The Reaction, JammieWearingFool, Balloon Juice, CBS News and The Note
Karen Travers / ABCNEWS:
EXCLUSIVE: President Obama on Nukes, Palin, Confederacy and Iran — Obama Brushes Back Criticism from Former Alaska Governor, Questions Virginia Civil War Controversy — After signing the historic nuclear disarmament treaty with Russia, President Obamapushed back in an interview with ABC News …
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Political Punch, Below The Beltway, Townhall.com, The Note and NPR Topics
Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Obama vs. Palin: ‘Not... nuclear expert’ — In this “nuclear Spring” of the new administration Nuclear Posture Review announced this week, the New START agreement that the American and Russian presidents signed in Prague this week and the international summit in Washington next week to confront …
Ron Fournier / Associated Press:
Gingrich: Obama is ‘most radical president ever’ — NEW ORLEANS - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a potential presidential candidate in 2012, called Barack Obama on Thursday “the most radical president in American history” who oversees a “secular, socialist machine.”
Discussion:
The Caucus, Shakesville, Pajamas Media, PoliBlog, Top of the Ticket, Washington Wire, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Firedoglake and Washington Post
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Republicans convene in New Orleans, with no mention of Katrina — Five years after President Bush's failed response to a natural disaster in New Orleans deeply damaged his party's credibility and helped sweep them from power, top Republicans speaking to supporters in New Orleans tonight made no mention of Hurricane Katrina.
Mike Madden / Salon:
Newt Gingrich: Say yes to government shutdowns!
Newt Gingrich: Say yes to government shutdowns!
Discussion:
The Hill, Think Progress, Washington Monthly, Right Now, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and msnbc.com
Washington Post:
Anger over health-care reform spurs rise in threats against Congress members — Anger over the health-care overhaul has led to a nearly threefold increase in recent months in the number of serious threats against members of Congress, federal law enforcement officials said.
Wall Street Journal:
Big Banks Mask Risk Levels — Quarter-End Loan Figures Sit 42% Below Peak, Then Rise as New Period Progresses; SEC Review — Major banks have masked their risk levels in the past five quarters by temporarily lowering their debt just before reporting it to the public, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Discussion:
The Baseline Scenario, The Big Picture, Deal Journal, The Washington Independent, DealBook, The Page and Balloon Juice
Roger L Simon / Pajamas Media:
BREAKING: Obama Administration Denies Visas to Israeli Nuclear Scientists — The Obama administration is now denying U.S. visas to Israeli scientists who work at that nation's Dimona nuclear reactor. This startling reversal of traditional policy was reported April 7, 2010 …
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Mark Sherman / Associated Press:
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens retiring — WASHINGTON (AP) - Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the court's oldest member and leader of its liberal bloc, says he is retiring. President Barack Obama now has his second high court opening to fill.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin
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Linda Greenhouse / Opinionator:
Across the Border, Over the Line
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Learning From Greece — The debt crisis in Greece is approaching the point of no return. As prospects for a rescue plan seem to be fading, largely thanks to German obduracy, nervous investors have driven interest rates on Greek government bonds sky-high, sharply raising the country's borrowing costs.
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Ezra Klein:
What makes NPR (and the Economist) so special? — I've been thinking a bit about this NPR graph that's been floating around. I wish it included another data point: The Economist magazine. Their explosive growth over the last decade is well known, but consider that the publication had a record year in 2009.
Frank Newport / Gallup:
Democratic Party Image Drops to Record Low — Favorable images of Democratic, Republican Parties now tied — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' favorable rating of the Democratic Party dropped to 41% in a late March USA Today/Gallup poll, the lowest point in the 18-year history of this measure.
Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:
The Conservative Misinformation Feedback Loop, Cont'd — A few weeks ago, I wrote a post entitled “The Doc Fox Myth And The Right's Misinformation Feedback Loop.” I used the example of a medium-sized claim that's demonstrably false, but has recirculated endlessly among conservatives, most prominently rising star Paul Ryan.
Little Green Footballs:
The Methane Apocalypse — Some very frightening news from the world of climate science, as an international scientific team discovers that the Arctic permafrost in Siberia may be starting to leak huge amounts of methane into the atmosphere. — And if this proves to be true, my friends …
Discussion:
Dennis the Peasant
New York Times:
Mine Operator Escaped Extra Oversight After Warning — The operator of the West Virginia mine that exploded on Monday, killing at least 25 people, was warned by federal officials just over two years ago that it could be cited for having a “pattern of violations,” which would have allowed far stricter federal oversight of the mine.