memeorandum: White House helping Town Hall “pregnant woman” (CBS News)

5:05 PM ET, May 13, 2011

Top Items:

Exclusive: Pornography found in bin Laden hideout: officials — (Reuters) - A stash of pornography was found in the hideout of Osama bin Laden by the U.S. commandos who killed him, current and former U.S. officials said on Friday. — The pornography recovered in bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad …

Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:

George W. Bush Gives First Public Reaction to Osama Bin Laden Death — Former President George W. Bush made his first candid public comments on the killing of Osama bin Laden during an appearance Wednesday at a conference of hedge fund managers in Las Vegas.

The Note:

George W. Bush Eating Souffle When Obama Called About Osama bin Laden — ABC News' Devin Dwyer Reports: Former president George W. Bush said he was eating souffle at a restaurant with his wife and friends when President Obama called with the Osama bin Laden news.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Salon and Booman Tribune

Martha Raddatz / ABCNEWS:
Porn Found in Osama Bin Laden Evidence Trove

Discussion: Hit & Run, Mediaite and Informed Comment

Brian Ross / ABCNEWS:
Osama Bin Laden Wanted To Kill President Obama

Discussion: Gothamist, The Daily Caller and The Jawa Report

Fran Townsend / CNN:
U.S. interviews ‘hostile’ bin Laden widows, with Pakistan officials

Discussion: Mudville Gazette, Guardian, New York Times, New York Magazine, CBS News, Reuters, Top of the Ticket, Salon, Taylor Marsh, Scared Monkeys, TalkLeft, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Beast and Gawker

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:

Huckabee to Announce Decision on Presidential Run Saturday — Updated Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, will announce on Saturday whether he will run for president, the producer of his show on the Fox News Channel said Friday. — “Governor Huckabee will announce tomorrow night …

Discussion: Washington Post, Ballot Box, msnbc.com, New York Magazine, Gawker, Hot Air, Shakesville and Race 4 2012

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Wire:

Does the Huck Stop Here? — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee looks like he'll give the 2012 White House campaign a pass, says Mr. Huckabee's top political operative. … Mr. Huckabee has told followers to tune in to his Saturday evening show on Fox News for what he calls a major announcement.

Discussion: GOP 12 and The Raw Story

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Huckabee to make 2012 announcement

Discussion: Cubachi and Ben Smith's Blog

The Note:
Mike Huckabee Teases ‘Very Important Announcement’ Coming On Saturday

Discussion: Huck PAC, Weasel Zippers and TPMDC

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Mike Huckabee will show his hand on Saturday

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and FrumForum

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:

Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl retires — Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl won't run for re-election in 2012. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg — Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl announced his retirement Friday, a decision that sets up a competitive open seat contest in a state that has already drawn considerable national attention this year.

Discussion: Hot Air, TPMDC, The Other McCain, Online NewsHour, The Page, National Review, Michelle Malkin, Moe Lane, Talking Points Memo and New York Magazine

The Note:
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan to “Take Some Time” to Mull U.S. Senate Bid

Discussion: Ballot Box, JSOnline and National Review

Stuart Rothenberg / The Rothenberg Political Report:
Wisconsin Senate: Moved from Safe Democrat to Lean Democrat

Discussion: Washington Blade, Lez Get Real, FiveThirtyEight, Daily Kos and Pam's House Blend

Josiah Ryan / The Hill:
Aide: Senate likely to vote on Ryan budget plan next week

Discussion: Daily Kos

Michael O'Brien / Ballot Box:
Kohl decides against '12 bid in blow to Dem efforts to keep Senate

Discussion: CNN, UrbanGrounds, JSOnline and The Note

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

White House Reacts To Mitt Romney's Speech: He Took A ‘Smart Approach Toward Health Care’ … Mitt Romney , White House , Romney Health Care , Carney , Carney Romney , Mitt Romney Health Care Speech , White House Health Care , Politics News — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and FrumForum

Matthew Yglesias / Yglesias:
National Review Turns On Mitt Romney

Discussion: Wonk Room, National Review, The Apothecary and Daily Kos

National Review:
PowerPoint Failure — National Review endorsed Mitt Romney …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Democracy in America, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, The Apothecary, Yglesias and Conservatives4Palin

Tyler Cowen / Marginal Revolution:
Can one change one's mind on the health care mandate?

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The New Republic, EconLog, National Review and Wonk Room

Gallup:

Americans Oppose Raising Debt Ceiling, 47% to 19% — Thirty-four percent don't know enough about the issue to say — PRINCETON, NJ — By a 47% to 19% margin, Americans say they would want their member of Congress to vote against raising the U.S. debt ceiling, while 34% don't know enough to say.

Discussion: Ballot Box, Don Surber, Wake up America, TPMDC, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Scared Monkeys, The Mahablog, The Hill, Hotline On Call and National Review

Jon Walker / Firedoglake:
McConnell Admits Bipartisanship is About Subverting Accountability

Discussion: Daily Kos

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Mitch McConnell's not-so-secret strategy

Discussion: Slate, Crooks and Liars, New York Times, CNN, Washington Post and Suburban Guerrilla

Michael Barbaro / New York Times:

Buying a Trump Property, or So They Thought — For many middle-class Americans, it is the most coveted brand in real estate, synonymous with sky-piercing luxury and can't-miss quality: Donald J. Trump. — Far from the New York City towers that bear his name, in cities like Tampa, Fla. …

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Raw Story, Ben Smith's Blog, The Note, Capital Tonight, New York Magazine and PolitickerNY

Jan Crawford / CBS News:

Daniels closer to deciding on presidential bid — INDIANAPOLIS — With 1,100 people chanting “Run Mitch, Run,” Gov. Mitch Daniels took the stage here Thursday night and did something he's never done before: He introduced his wife Cheri, and then he turned the microphone over to her to address the sold-out crowd.

Discussion: The Politico, New York Magazine, Hot Air, JSOnline, Washington Post, Weasel Zippers, USA Today, The Daily Caller, msnbc.com, Race 4 2012 and Ballot Box

Jon Ward / The Huffington Post:
The Anti-Romney Primary: Tim Pawlenty Waits For Mitch Daniels To Decide

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog

Dan Carden / nwitimes.com:

Court: No right to resist illegal cop entry into home — Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes. — In a 3-2 decision …

Discussion: LewRockwell.com Blog, The Agitator and National Review

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:

U.S. Mideast Envoy Resigns After 2 Years of Frustration — WASHINGTON — President Obama's chief envoy to the Middle East, former Senator George J. Mitchell Jr., is leaving that post after two mostly futile years pressing Israelis and Palestinians to make peace, administration officials said on Friday.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Swampland and Prairie Weather

Aharding / CNN:
George Mitchell resigns as Middle East envoy

Discussion: The Politico and The Note

Andy Birkey / Minnesota Independent:

High schooler challenges Bachmann to debate on U.S. Constitution — A high school sophomore from New Jersey is challenging Rep. Michele Bachmann to a debate on civics and the U.S. Constitution. In an open letter to to Bachmann, Amy Myers of Cherry Hill, N.J., said, “I have found quite a few …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, Jezebel and Towleroad News #gay

Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:

John Ensign Sex Report Like Dime Store Novel — As unbelievable as it might be from today's perspective, there was a lot of presidential campaign buzz in May 2009 surrounding a trip Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., was planning to the early caucus state of Iowa. — Today, Ensign is no longer …

Discussion: Jezebel

Gschwarzcnn / CNN: TIME: Ensign Ethics Charges Referred to Justice Department and FEC, Lurid Details Emerge

Paolo Biondi / Reuters:

Gaddafi likely wounded and not in Tripoli: Italy — (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has likely been wounded in western airstrikes and has probably left Tripoli, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Friday. — A Libyan government spokesman immediately denied that Gaddafi had been harmed.

Discussion: Mediaite, AMERICAblog News and Pundit Press

Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:

The “Al Gore Problem,” Defined — Dana Milbank compares Mitt Romney to Al Gore: … This is a perfect demonstration of an Al Gore problem, but I'd define the problem differently. An Al Gore problem is what happens when the media forms an impression of your character and decides …

Discussion: Paul Krugman, uofmhealth.org and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Lee Fang / ThinkProgress:

Jane Corwin Voted To Allow Women To Be Shackled During Childbirth — In the past, Assemblywoman Jane Corwin (R-NY), the GOP nominee for the special election in New York's 26th congressional district, called attention to her economic views by declaring that, “we need to create …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Business Wire