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, Instapundit, Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, Firedoglake, Outside the Beltway, TPM LiveWire, United States of Jamerica, Taylor Marsh, Ezra Klein, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Mediaite, The Consumerist, ProPublica, newsfeed.time.com, The Mahablog, Townhall.com, Matthew Yglesias, Michelle Malkin, Corrente, Washington Post, The Political Carnival, Left Coast Rebel, The Oil Drum, Weasel Zippers, Another Black Conservative, The Faster Times, The Corner on National …, Raw Story, Guardian, Sense of Events, Questions and Observations and MyFox Philadelphia
RELATED:
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.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Time, The Oil Drum, Associated Press, LA Times Environment Blog, CNN, USA Today, Guardian, NPR, Crooks and Liars, The Confluence, Grist, Daily Kos, RaceWire, The Daily Caller, New Orleans Times-Picayune, New York Magazine, Mish's Global Economic …, Mashable!, Vanity Fair, newsfeed.time.com and Fausta's Blog
The White House:
Remarks by the President on the Gulf Oil Spill — THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. Before I take your questions, I want to update the American people on the status of the BP oil spill — a catastrophe that is causing tremendous hardship in the Gulf Coast, damaging a precious ecosystem …
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 …
Discussion:
The Note, ABCNEWS, The Politico, Hot Air, The Daily Dish, The Hill, Mediaite, MyDD and Joe. My. God.
RELATED:
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.
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:
Hot Air, Liberty Pundits Blog, Charleston City Paper, TPMMuckraker, Right Now, The Daily Caller and The Other McCain
RELATED:
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.
RELATED:
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.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, The Caucus, The Confluence, Wonkette, New York Times, No More Mister Nice Blog and Balloon Juice
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.
RELATED:
Jim Meyers / NewsMax.com:
Sestak-gate: White House Offered Romanoff Job, Too
Sestak-gate: White House Offered Romanoff Job, Too
Discussion:
Hot Air, Right Now, Wizbang, Breitbart.tv, Weasel Zippers, Pundit & Pundette and Nice Deb
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, The Daily Beast and Pajamas Media
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 …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The Confluence, Laura Rozen's Blog, Don Surber and The Washington Independent
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.
RELATED:
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:
Boston Globe:
Mass. Senate passes crackdown on illegal immigrants — With one lawmaker citing President Lincoln's respect for the rule of law, the Massachusetts Senate passed a far-reaching crackdown this afternoon on illegal immigrants and those who would hire them, going further, senators said …
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.
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 …
Mark Milian / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
Twitter's fake BP spokesman too slick for the oil company — As if the all-too-real BP oil spill weren't enough of a circus, a satirical Twitter account called @BPGlobalPR adds some dark humor to a sludgy situation. — The fake BP Twitter page was created a week ago and already has 42,000 followers …
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,” …