memeorandum: Fox News Poll: Obama Approval Drops, Romney Tops GOP Preference (Dana Blanton/Fox News)

10:15 AM ET, June 9, 2011

Top Items:

Weiner's Wife Is Pregnant — Their marriage has become the subject of intense speculation and scrutiny amid an embarrassing online sex scandal. — Now, Representative Anthony D. Weiner and Huma Abedin are about to make news of a different kind: they are expecting their first child.

Fox News:

It's Out: Purported X-Rated Weiner Photo on Internet — It only took two days. — After Andrew Breitbart, publisher of the conservative BigGovernment.com and other sites, claimed Monday he had an X-rated photo of Rep. Anthony Weiner, the purported image has surfaced on the Internet.

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, Pajamas Media, Watts Up With That?, Mediaite, Fox Nation, Outside the Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Atlantic Wire, Little Green Footballs, Althouse, Wake up America and Patterico's Pontifications

Andrew Breitbart / Big Government:

Statement on Opie & Anthony's Illicit Capture and Release of Photograph — Earlier today, a photograph resembling one that I had withheld from publication in the Weinergate saga was released without my knowledge or permission. — Prior to the publication of our story on BigGovernment.com …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Patterico's Pontifications, Mediaite, Salon, Rumproast, The Huffington Post, Politisite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Doug Ross, Little Green Footballs and American Power

Karoun Demirjian / Las Vegas Sun:

Another Rep. Weiner sexting partner emerges, reluctantly — WASHINGTON - The identity of another of Rep. Anthony Weiner's social media sexting partners is emerging, but this time, by accident. — Lisa Weiss, Ginger Lee, and Megan Broussard were all too eager to provide the details …

Discussion: Mediaite, New York Magazine and Patterico's Pontifications

Kirsten Powers / The Daily Beast:

Anthony Weiner's Ex: He Lied to Me — THE DAILY BEAST ON: — Anthony Weiner's former girlfriend, Kirsten Powers, defended him on TV to millions of people after he insisted to her that he didn't send lewd photos on Twitter. Now she takes him to task for his rampant misogyny—and says he must resign immediately.

Discussion: UrbanGrounds, JammieWearingFool, Associated Press, US News, National Review, neo-neocon, Mediaite, CNN, BizzyBlog, Althouse, Fox Nation and Washington Post

Jonathan Allen / The Politico:
Dems start bailing on Weiner

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Salon, Washington Post, Arkansas News, Hot Air, Top of the Ticket, Weasel Zippers, Washington Wire, The Raw Story, UALR Public Radio, Swampland, TPMDC, Suburban Guerrilla, Pajamas Media, FrumForum, National Review and Politisite

Adrian Chen / Gawker:
Anthony Weiner's Cock Shot Emerges

Dan Gillmor / Guardian:
Andrew Breitbart and the unwilling suspension of disbelief | Dan Gillmor

Discussion: Boing Boing

New York Post:
Weiner on wife support

Discussion: Fox Nation, Pajamas Media, ABCNEWS, New York Magazine, The Politico and Wall Street Journal

Sean J. Miller / Ballot Box:
Rep. Weiner's failure to pay party dues may haunt him

Discussion: The Politico, Washington Post, The Hill, TPMDC and The Hill

Charles Johnson / Little Green Footballs:
Fact Checking Breitbart's Statement on the Leaked Photo

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications and Balloon Juice

Devlin Barrett / Wall Street Journal:
Democrats Push Weiner to Go

Discussion: The Other McCain, AmSpecBlog, CNN, American Power and Verum Serum

Lisa Lambert / Reuters:

New jobless claims unexpectedly rise — A woman browses job openings at a job fair in Los Angeles, California, October 12, 2010. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week …

Discussion: Fox Nation, Scared Monkeys and The Lonely Conservative

Bob Willis / Bloomberg:

Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Climb in the U.S. — U.S. initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week, a sign that the labor market is struggling to gain traction. — Jobless claims increased by 1,000 to 427,000 in the week ended June 4, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington.

Discussion: The Page

The U.S. Department of Labor:

Skip to page content — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis — EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION — Program Contact: — TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL — (202) 693-4676 — UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT — SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

Discussion: BizzyBlog and Hot Air

Bloomberg:

Obama Team Eyes Payroll Tax Break for Employers — President Barack Obama's advisers have discussed seeking a temporary cut in the payroll taxes businesses pay on wages as they debate ways to spur hiring amid signs that the recovery is slowing, according to people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, The New Republic and Money Game

Neil King Jr / Wall Street Journal:

New Whispers of Perry 2012 Bid — For months, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has told potential donors and Republican higher-ups he has no interest in running for the White House in 2012. — But over the past two weeks, political advisers and friends say, Mr. Perry has changed his tune on a possible presidential campaign.

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Note, Washington Post, BizzyBlog, Texas Politics, Hotline On Call and Hot Air

Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:

U.S. Is Intensifying a Secret Campaign of Yemen Airstrikes — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has intensified the American covert war in Yemen, exploiting a growing power vacuum in the country to strike at militant suspects with armed drones and fighter jets, according to American officials.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Salon, The Reaction, Weasel Zippers, PoliPundit.com, Global Public Square, Washington Post and FrumForum

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Rudy's Running — I'm told by two reliable sources that Rudy Giuliani intends to run for the GOP nomination for president in 2012. He may throw his hat in the ring soon. — Rudy's theory of the race: In the fall of 2007, he decided he couldn't compete with both Mitt Romney and John McCain …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Raw Story, Balloon Juice, Hot Air, AmSpecBlog, Outside the Beltway, GOP 12, ThinkProgress, Pajamas Media and New York Magazine

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Jon Huntsman's no-names strategy — Jon Huntsman is trying out a novel strategy: running for president without criticizing the incumbent by name. — Since returning from his post as ambassador to China last month, Huntsman has made scant mention of the man who appointed him in May 2009—President Barack Obama.

Discussion: GOP 12 and Taylor Marsh

Ann Althouse / Althouse:

Wisconsin protesters disrupt a Special Olympics ceremony! — In front of the Capitol today, protesters dressed as zombies stood between Governor Scott Walker and the group of Special Olympics participants he was honoring. — Quite aside from the unbelievable rudeness …

Discussion: Power Line, The Gateway Pundit, Sister Toldjah and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
It's come to this: Wisconsin liberals protest Scott Walker at ... Special Olympics ceremony

Discussion: Confederate Yankee, The Lonely Conservative, Washington Post, Weasel Zippers and New York Times

CBS News:

Obama approval rating falls below 50 percent — CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. — Updated 8 p.m. ET — President Obama's approval ratings fell to below 50 percent for the first time since …

Discussion: Hot Air and CBS News

Simonhernandezarthur / CNN:

Joe Wilson endorses Pawlenty in South Carolina — Washington (CNN) - Republican presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty secured a major endorsement in the early primary state of South Carolina on Wednesday, picking up the support of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson. — Wilson will serve as co-chairman …

Discussion: The Politico, The Hill, Washington Post, National Review, GOP 12 and The Daily Caller

Richard Vedder / Wall Street Journal:

Time to Make Professors Teach — My new study suggests a simple way to cut college tuition in half. — No sooner do parents proudly watch their children graduate high school than they must begin paying for college. As they write checks for upwards of $40,000 a year …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Big Picture and TaxProf Blog

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Romney draws early fire from conservatives over views on climate change — It seemed like a straightforward question on a second-tier issue: Would Mitt Romney disavow the science behind global warming? — The putative Republican presidential front-runner, eager to prove his conservative bona fides …

Discussion: EnviroKnow, Conservatives4Palin and Power Line

Ta-Nehisi Coates / New York Times:

You Left Out the Part About ... Last weekend, like seemingly half the country, I took my son to see “X-Men: First Class,” the latest, and best, big-screen incarnation of the popular comic book franchise. — My son and I represent two generations of X-fans.

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Glenn Thrush / The Politico:

President Obama's campaign expands its 2012 map — CHICAGO — President Barack Obama's campaign team is gaming out complex state-by-state scenarios for 2012 that anticipate uphill battles in recession-ravaged blue states — and new opportunities in Arizona and Georgia.

Discussion: Booman Tribune and FrumForum

Business Wire:

ExxonMobil Announces Three Discoveries in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico — IRVING, Texas—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) today announced two major oil discoveries and a gas discovery in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico after drilling the company's first post-moratorium deepwater exploration well.

Discussion: The Foundry

Brian / Right Wing Watch:

Barton: Founding Fathers Were Against Teaching Evolution; Revolution Was Fought To End Slavery — Pseudo-historian David Barton visited the Christian television program Celebration on the Daystar Television Network with host Jodi Lamb on Monday to discuss his right-wing, pro-GOP view of American history.

Discussion: Pharyngula and Washington Monthly

Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:

AFL-CIO urges recess appointment for Warren — The AFL-CIO is calling for a recess appointment of Elizabeth Warren as the head of the fledgling Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). — In an email sent to the labor federation's activists Thursday, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka asked …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Weasel Zippers

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Democrats struggle to beat maverick Sen. Brown in Massachusetts — Scott Brown has spent most of his Senate career with a target on his back. But his maverick voting record and fundraising prowess have positioned him to achieve the unthinkable: winning statewide reelection in Massachusetts as a Republican.

Caitlin McDevitt / The Politico:

Ann Coulter's book gets Matt Drudge's touch — Coulter is promoting her book ‘Demonic: How the LIberal Mob is Endangering America.’ — There's a flattering photo of Ann Coulter in a form-fitting white dress and pointy red shoes on the cover of her new book — the back cover, that is.

Wall Street Journal:

Eyes on Goldman-Libya Dealings — Regulators Are Examining Whether the Big Bank, and Others, May Have Broken Bribery Laws — U.S. securities regulators are examining whether Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and other financial firms might have violated bribery laws in dealings with Libya's sovereign-wealth fund …