Top Items:
Mark S. Smith / Associated Press:
Rodent scurries by as Obama lauds Wall Street vote — WASHINGTON - In his battle with the titans of Wall Street, President Barack Obama almost got upstaged by a rat. — But he didn't even seem to notice. Assuming that's what it was, scurrying in front of his podium Thursday in a sun-drenched Rose Garden.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, Fausta's Blog, No More Mister Nice Blog, No Sheeples Here, Gateway Pundit and Gawker
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Brady Dennis / Washington Post:
Senate passes financial regulation bill — The Senate approved far-reaching new financial rules on Thursday aimed at preventing the risky behavior and regulatory failures that brought the economy to the brink of collapse two years ago and cost millions of Americans their jobs and savings.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Shakesville, Wall Street Journal, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Indecision Forever
Silla Brush / The Hill:
Wall Street bill nearing finish line as Senate passes legislation 59-39 — President Barack Obama on Thursday moved to the cusp of winning a major overhaul of Wall Street, following the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. — The Senate on Thursday voted 59-39 to support …
Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Dems: Wall St. reform in homestretch
David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
Bill to Overhaul Financial Rules Clears Hurdle in Senate Vote
Bill to Overhaul Financial Rules Clears Hurdle in Senate Vote
Political Punch:
Exclusive: President Obama To Replace Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair* — ABC News has learned that President Obama will replace the Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Dennis Blair (ret.) His resignation will come as soon as tomorrow, sources tell ABC News.
Discussion:
The Note, The Atlantic Online, Washington Post, Federal Eye, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, NO QUARTER, Raw Story, Firedoglake, The Corner on National …, The Foundry, Power Line, Laura Rozen's Blog, Politics Daily, Emptywheel, Newsweek Blogs, Hot Air, Outside The Beltway, CNN, Israel Matzav, The Political Carnival, Daily Kos, TPMDC and The Washington Independent
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Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
Facing a Rift, U.S. Spy Chief to Step Down — WASHINGTON — Dennis C. Blair, whose often tumultuous tenure as director of national intelligence was marked by frequent clashes with White House officials and other spy chiefs in America's still fractured intelligence apparatus, announced Thursday that he was resigning.
Discussion:
The Swamp, New York Post, Pajamas Media, PostPartisan, Questions and Observations, Christian Science Monitor, TalkLeft, Swampland, Mediaite and The Page
Washington Post:
Rand Paul comments about civil rights stir controversy — Two days after becoming the newest symbol of “tea party” politics, Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul of Kentucky thrust himself, his party and the movement into an uncomfortable conversation about the federal government's role …
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The Politico:
Rand Paul's trial by misfire
Rand Paul's trial by misfire
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, Washington Wire, Guardian, National Review, TPMDC, Page One and Hot Air
Ezra Klein:
Rand Paul may not be a racist, but he is an extremist
Rand Paul may not be a racist, but he is an extremist
Discussion:
Mother Jones, TalkLeft, The Rachel Maddow Show, Yahoo! News, Left Coast Rebel, American Power, TPMDC, The Moderate Voice, First Draft, Gawker, Barefoot and Progressive, Liberal Values, Page One, The Atlantic Online, Hit & Run, Politics Daily, United States of Jamerica, NPR Topics, Townhall.com, Mother Jones and The Impolitic
reason-contest.s3.amazonaws.com:
And The Winner of The Everybody Draw Mohammad Contest is... To remind readers of the stakes: In recent months, a Swedish cartoonist that sketched Mohammed as a “roundabout dog” as part of a planned street installation was assaulted during a lecture and, the following week, two extremists attempted to burn his house down.
Discussion:
iowahawk, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, Grim's Hall, Dean's World, Outside The Beltway, Hot Air and Townhall.com
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Oscar Avila / Chicago Tribune:
Immigration crackdown for Illinois — Feds to step up enforcement — In the midst of an outcry over illegal immigration and Arizona's new crackdown, a top Department of Homeland Security official visiting Chicago on Wednesday said his agency intended to step up enforcement in places such as Illinois.
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Lost Decade Looming? — Despite a chorus of voices claiming otherwise, we aren't Greece. We are, however, looking more and more like Japan. — For the past few months, much commentary on the economy — some of it posing as reporting — has had one central theme: policy makers are doing too much.
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:
The New Term for the War on Terror — If you blinked, you might have missed it. The Obama administration has unofficially rebranded “war on terror” phrase that dominated public discourse throughout the Bush administration. The replacement phrase, carefully chosen, is “CVE” — Countering Violent Extremism.
Discussion:
normblog, Outside The Beltway, Hotline On Call, Freedom's Lighthouse, Weasel Zippers, Gothamist and USS Neverdock
CNN:
THE SITUATION ROOM — Interview with Mexican President Felipe Calderon; Analysis of Special Election Results — THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. — WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Thanks very much, guys. — Happening now, the presidents …
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Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times:
Chuck DeVore has a staunch conservative record — The Senate candidate is a veteran of politics who portrays himself as an outsider. — Chuck DeVore argues that his military experience gives him an edge over his primary rivals. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Story of an Angry Voter — Let's imagine a character named Ben. A couple of decades ago, Ben went to high school. — It wasn't easy. His parents were splitting up. His friends would cut class to smoke weed. His sister got pregnant. But Ben worked hard and graduated …
Rasmussen Reports:
71% in Arizona Now Support State's New Immigration Law — Arizona voters now support the state's new immigration law more than ever and are still more inclined to think the law will be good for the state's economy rather than bad. A lot of voters in the state are thinking it's payback time …
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Charles Krauthammer / Real Clear Politics:
The Fruits of Weakness — WASHINGTON — It is perfectly obvious that Iran's latest uranium maneuver, brokered by Brazil and Turkey, is a ruse. Iran retains more than enough enriched uranium to make a bomb. And it continues enriching at an accelerated pace and to a greater purity (20 percent).
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
House Panel Rejects a Plan to Shift Detainees to Illinois — WASHINGTON — The House Armed Services Committee has dealt a blow to President Obama's hopes to shutter the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, by unanimously approving legislation that would prohibit creating a detention center inside the United States.
Peter Nicholas / Los Angeles Times:
Democrats point the finger at Obama's chief of staff for immigration reform's poor progress — Rahm Emanuel, who in the past referred to the issue as the ‘third rail of American politics,’ has argued privately that it's a bad time to push an immigration bill.
Mark Landler / New York Times:
Clinton Condemns Attack on South Korean Ship — TOKYO — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton harshly condemned North Korea on Friday for a deadly torpedo attack on a South Korean Navy warship last March, and promised to marshal an international response in the coming week with Japan, China and other countries.