Top Items:
New York Times:
Obama Meeting Fails to End Stalemate Over Federal Budget — WASHINGTON — President Obama and Congressional leaders said Wednesday that a late-night White House bargaining session produced no budget breakthrough that would avert a government shutdown this weekend but agreed the two sides …
Discussion:
CNN, The Note, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, TPMDC, White House.gov Blog, The Hill, Shakesville and Guardian
RELATED:
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
Rifts Within Both Parties Test Leaders in Budget Fight — WASHINGTON — On one level, the budget showdown that continued to play out here on Wednesday is all about the balance of power between the two parties, a question of whether President Obama has regained his footing and can still control …
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, msnbc.com and The Agonist
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
WOULD BOEHNER SHUT DOWN THE GOVERNMENT OVER PLANNED PARENTHOOD?.... The good news is, Democrats and Republicans have reportedly reached a general agreement on the size of the cuts for the rest of the fiscal year. As of this morning, the package is up to $34.5 billion, from $33 billion …
Discussion:
The Caucus
The Hill:
Reid ‘less optimistic’ about averting government shutdown — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday he is “less optimistic” about averting a government shutdown one day after a White House meeting failed to lead to a breakthrough in talks. — Reid (D-Nev.) said he is significantly …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Carrie Dann / msnbc.com:
Reid on shutdown: “It looks like it's headed in that direction”
Reid on shutdown: “It looks like it's headed in that direction”
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Costs of federal shutdown would be felt far and wide
Costs of federal shutdown would be felt far and wide
Discussion:
American Spectator
Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Boehner: I'm with the tea party
Boehner: I'm with the tea party
Discussion:
Pat Dollard, George's Bottom Line, Washington Post, The Reaction, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Dish and The Moderate Voice
The Hill:
Leaders see progress in budget talks
Leaders see progress in budget talks
Discussion:
CNN, George's Bottom Line, AMERICAblog News, Politics and The Hill
Washington Post:
Donald Trump. Seriously? — Donald Trump finished second in the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll testing the 2012 Republican presidential field. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DunandIn the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, businessman and reality television star Donald Trump finished second behind …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Hill, Latest Open Salon Blog, Wonkette, USA Today, The Raw Story and The Politico
RELATED:
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Wire:
WSJ/NBC Poll: A Donald Trump Surprise — By Jonathan Weisman and Scott Greenberg — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appears to be the early front-runner in the largely unformed race for the Republican nomination for president, but real estate magnate Donald Trump may be a surprise contender …
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Barbour, Bryant lead in Mississippi — Mississippi Republicans want Haley Barbour to be their nominee for President next year, and he's doing far better in his home state than most of the other Republicans looking at the race are doing in theirs. 37% say Barbour is their first choice …
Discussion:
GOP 12
Lauraklairmont / CNN:
Obama friend arrested in Hawaii — (CNN) - A friend of President Barack Obama was arrested Monday for allegedly soliciting sex from an undercover officer posing as a prostitute, according to CNN affiliate Hawaii News Now. — Robert Richard Titcomb, 49, was arrested with three …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune and New York Magazine
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Minna Sugimoto / Hawaii News Now:
President Obama's close friend arrested during prostitution sting — HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - One of President Obama's closest friends is scheduled to appear at Honolulu District Court next month, after he allegedly solicited sex from an undercover officer.
Discussion:
The Raw Story and msnbc.com
David Jackson / USA Today:
Trump keeps beating ‘birther’ drum against Obama — Donald Trump just won't let go of the President Obama citizenship issue. — The potential maverick Republican presidential candidate continued to question Obama's American citizenship during an appearance on NBC's Today show, saying …
Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit:
OBAMA: Get Used To High Gas Prices. “Obama needled one questioner who asked about gas prices, now averaging close to $3.70 a gallon nationwide, and suggested that the gentleman consider getting rid of his gas-guzzling vehicle.” — High gas prices aren't a bug, they're a feature.
RELATED:
Peter Nicholas / Los Angeles Times:
White House fears gas prices could tank Obama
White House fears gas prices could tank Obama
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Right Wing News
Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:
Election fraud allegations fly in close Wisconsin Supreme Court race — Wisconsin citizens and election experts are questioning the veracity of the state's Supreme Court race, which the Associated Press reports left-wing legal activist JoAnne Kloppenburg won by 204 votes over Justice David Prosser …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Wall Street Journal, TPMDC, The Political Carnival and It's academic
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JSOnline:
Kloppenburg declares victory
Kloppenburg declares victory
Discussion:
WisPolitics Election Blog, Weigel, The Atlantic Online, The Political Carnival, The Other McCain, JustOneMinute, The Debate Link, Politics, The BRAD BLOG, The Lonely Conservative, Hot Air, Firedoglake, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, AMERICAblog News, Pajamas Media, Outside the Beltway and Taylor Marsh
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Obama's support among blacks slips unexpectedly, Hispanics too — Barack Obama rode to a comfortable presidential election win in 2008 on the electoral wings of a coalition based on liberal whites, independents and blacks, especially blacks. — Obama lost much of his independent support during …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
RELATED:
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Obama Approval Slips Among Blacks, Hispanics in March
Obama Approval Slips Among Blacks, Hispanics in March
Discussion:
Moe Lane
Ben Geman / The Hill:
Amendment that says climate change is occurring fails in House — The House rejected a Democratic amendment Wednesday that would have put the chamber on record backing the widely held scientific view that global warming is occurring and humans are a major cause.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Taegan Goddard's …, Pirate's Cove, New York Times and Climate Progress
RELATED:
Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:
Senate rejects block to EPA climate regs
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
EVEN THE THREAT OF A SHUTDOWN IS EXPENSIVE.... If congressional Republicans go through with their threat and shut down the government tomorrow night, the costs will be considerable. It's ironic that those hoping to cut the budget will force a shutdown that's needlessly expensive.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Telegraph:
First homosexual caveman found — Archaeologists have unearthed the 5,000-year-old remains of what they believe may have been the world's oldest known gay caveman. — The male body - said to date back to between 2900-2500BC - was discovered buried in a way normally reserved only for women …
Discussion:
The Raw Story and iOwnTheWorld.com
John Marzulli / NY Daily News:
Judge gives ‘Juror No. 799’ indefinite jury duty after she makes racist remarks on questionnaire — An incensed federal judge sentenced a racist Brooklyn woman to indefinite jury duty on Tuesday after she trashed the NYPD and minorities. — “This is an outrage, and so are you!”
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and LewRockwell.com Blog
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Eugene Volokh / The Volokh Conspiracy:
Judge Punishing Juror for Making Racist Comments on Questionnaire?
Judge Punishing Juror for Making Racist Comments on Questionnaire?
Discussion:
Daily Pundit
Leigh Remizowski / CNN:
Maryland man glued to Wal-Mart toilet seat — (CNN) — Police in Maryland are on the hunt for the perpetrator of what appears to be an April Fools' prank that left a man glued to a toilet at a Wal-Mart store. — If caught, the jokester who doused the seat with glue at the Elkton Wal-Mart …
Discussion:
The Jawa Report and Runnin' Scared
Taffy Brodesser-Akner / Salon:
I can't believe my best friend is a Republican — I love everything about Janet — except how she stands for all the things I find bad and wrong in the world — Janet and I would likely have never met, save for the thing that unites so many women across divides of income and age: fat.
Discussion:
Vox Popoli, Betsy's Page, iOwnTheWorld.com and The Other McCain
Robert Pear / New York Times:
Federal Departments Lay Out Plans in the Event of a Government Shutdown — WASHINGTON — With the possibility of a government shutdown looming, Obama administration officials raced Wednesday to identify essential government services that would have to be provided if the government ran out of money.
Discussion:
The Politico and Washington Post
Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:
Labor Panel to Press Reuters Over Reaction to Twitter Post — In what would be the first government case against an employer involving Twitter, the National Labor Relations Board told Thomson Reuters on Wednesday that it planned to file a civil complaint accusing the company of illegally reprimanding …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Poynter and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Obama pays tribute to Al Sharpton — Chief Political Correspondent Follow Him @ByronYork — During his trip to New York Wednesday, President Obama stopped by the Sheraton Hotel for the 20th anniversary celebration of the National Action Network …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, JammieWearingFool and NY Daily News