Top Items:
Jim Tankersley / Los Angeles Times:
‘Top kill’ effort succeeds in blocking oil leak, Coast Guard admiral says — Thad Allen, who is coordinating the government response, says the well still has low pressure, but cement will be used to cap the well permanently as soon as the pressure hits zero.
Discussion:
WWL, Hot Air, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Wall Street Journal, Instapundit, Matthew Yglesias, Mother Jones, Taylor Marsh, Firedoglake, Mediaite, TPM LiveWire, newsfeed.time.com, ProPublica, Outside the Beltway, Ezra Klein, Washington Post, Townhall.com, Michelle Malkin, The Consumerist, Corrente, Left Coast Rebel, The Political Carnival, Raw Story, Another Black Conservative, Guardian, Weasel Zippers, The Faster Times, The Oil Drum, The Corner on National …, Fausta's Blog, Questions and Observations and MyFox Philadelphia
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New York Times:
‘Top Kill’ Effort Seems to Be Working, U.S. Says Cautiously — HOUSTON — The latest effort to plug a gushing underwater oil well in the Gulf of Mexico appeared to be working, officials and engineers said on Thursday morning, though definitive word on its success was still hours away.
Ian Urbina / New York Times:
BP Used Riskier Method to Seal Oil Well Before Blast — WASHINGTON — Several days before the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, BP officials chose, partly for financial reasons, to use a type of casing for the well that the company knew was the riskier of two options, according to a BP document.
Lynn Sweet:
Obama on BP oil spill: “I'm fully engaged.” Press conference transcript
Obama on BP oil spill: “I'm fully engaged.” Press conference transcript
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Michelle Malkin, Wall Street Journal, Wonk Room and Climate Progress
Alex Seitz-Wald / Think Progress:
Rove Finally Admits That Bush Really Blew It During Katrina — Today in the Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove pens an op-ed titled: “Yes, the Gulf Spill is Obama's Katrina.” He predictably places blame on Obama for a “lethargic,” “slow,” and “unacceptable” response to the BP oil spill.
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Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Obama: Critics 'don't know the facts' — Tackling an environmental crisis quickly becoming one of the most serious political threats to his presidency, President Barack Obama insisted Thursday that critics of the federal government's response to the oil spill in the Gulf “don't know the facts.”
New York Times:
Senate Panel Votes to Repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy — WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday voted to let the Pentagon repeal the ban on gay men, lesbians and bisexual people from serving openly in the military, a big step toward dismantling …
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Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Senate Panel Votes To End Don't Ask, Don't Tell — Equal rights activists scored a major victory today, as the Senate Armed Services committee voted 16-12 to give the Pentagon the power to overturn Don't Ask, Don't Tell—a policy that bans openly gay people from serving in the military.
Discussion:
Wonk Room, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Outside the Beltway, The Political Carnival and Daily Kos
Donna Miles / American Forces Press Service:
Mullen: Proposed Legislation Retains Prerogative — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday that he's comfortable with proposed legislation that seeks to repeal the law that bans gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military because it includes “very clear language” …
Nathaniel Frank / The Huffington Post:
In Ending DADT, America Comes Out of the Closet
In Ending DADT, America Comes Out of the Closet
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay
Gene Fynes / Ezra Klein:
Here comes impeachment — What's at stake in the elections this fall? Energy/climate? Tax cuts? Management of the economy? — Well, sure, all those things. It's worth pointing out, however, that what's also at stake is the impeachment of Barack Obama.
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Jim Meyers / NewsMax.com:
Sestak-gate: White House Offered Romanoff Job, Too
Sestak-gate: White House Offered Romanoff Job, Too
Discussion:
Right Now, Hot Air, Time, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Breitbart.tv, Weasel Zippers and Nice Deb
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Karl Rove: Joe Sestak's lying or he's protecting a felon in Barack …
Karl Rove: Joe Sestak's lying or he's protecting a felon in Barack …
Erick Erickson / RedState:
BREAKING: We Know Who Did It — Who paid Will Folks? He was allegedly offered money. A LOT of money. In fact, RedState now confirms through a whole heap of sources that he's been trying to sell this story for a year. — We know who bit. — We know who didn't bite.
Discussion:
The Other McCain, Liberty Pundits Blog, Charleston City Paper, Right Now and TPMMuckraker
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
DEFINE ‘SUFFICIENTLY ENRAGED’.... The New York Times's Jeff Zeleny live-blogged President Obama's press conference this afternoon, and wrapped things up asking whether the president demonstrated to the country that he's “in control of the crisis on the Gulf.” … At least he resisted the urge to compare Obama to Spock.
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Kate Phillips / The Caucus:
Live Blogging Obama's News Conference
Live Blogging Obama's News Conference
Discussion:
New York Times, Left Coast Rebel, Grist, The Confluence, Firedoglake, Daily Kos and JustOneMinute
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Palin neighbor sought author as tenant — Sarah Palin's next-door neighbor sought out author Joe McGinniss as a tenant, McGinniss's son said. — “No one is stalking anyone,” Joe McGinniss, Jr., a novelist whose father is the non-fiction writer, wrote in response to an email from a Palin supporter …
Discussion:
PostPartisan, Conservatives4Palin.com, The Plum Line, Swampland, The Political Carnival, The Daily Caller, Wonkette, TBogg and The Nation
RELATED:
Shannyn Moore / The Huffington Post:
Sarah Palin Takes Up Fencing.
Sarah Palin Takes Up Fencing.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, ABCNEWS, palingates, The Daily Dish, Gretawire, Tim Blair, Right Now and The Political Carnival
Daniel Indiviglio / The Atlantic Online:
Kenneth Starr Charged With Running $30 Million Ponzi Scheme — [Somewhere, Bill Clinton is smiling. One-time special prosecutor who uncovered the dirty details of the former President's affair with intern Monica Lewinsky has been engaged in some bad behavior of his own …
Discussion:
U.S. Securities …, FT Alphaville, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Pajamas Media and The Daily Beast
David Einhorn / New York Times:
Easy Money, Hard Truths — ARE you worried that we are passing our debt on to future generations? Well, you need not worry. — Before this recession it appeared that absent action, the government's long-term commitments would become a problem in a few decades.
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Kos / Daily Kos:
KY-Sen: A real race in red territory — Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 5/24-26. Likely voters. MoE 4% (5/10-12 results) — Rand Paul (R) 44 (42) — Jack Conway (D) 41 (39) — Undecided 9 — Favorable/Unfavorable — Paul 53/33 (56/27) — Conway 48/43 (46/44)
RELATED:
Fox News:
Counterterror Adviser Defends Jihad as ‘Legitimate Tenet of Islam’ — White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan speaks to reporters in the White House Jan. 7. (AP Photo) — The president's top counterterrorism adviser on Wednesday called jihad a “legitimate tenet of Islam,” …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Clinton: ‘The rich are not paying their fair share’ — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a rare foray into domestic politics today, offering her view that — given America's high unemployment — wealthy Americans don't pay enough taxes. — “The rich are not paying their fair share …
Yuval Levin / The Corner on National Review Online:
'Obama's Katrina' — By: Yuval Levin — I think it's actually right to say that the BP oil spill is something like Obama's Katrina, but not in the sense in which most critics seem to mean it. — It's like Katrina in that many people's attitudes regarding the response to it reveal completely unreasonable expectations of government.
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Brown up big in California — The big winner from the Republican primary for Governor in California? It might be Jerry Brown. The likely Democratic nominee, benefiting from bad feelings between Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner, has commanding double digit leads over both of them.
Discussion:
The Political Carnival