memeorandum: Unions file suit to halt collective bargaining legislation (JSOnline)

8:40 PM ET, June 15, 2011

Top Items:

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

War Powers Act Does Not Apply to Libya, Obama Argues — WASHINGTON — The White House is telling Congress that President Obama has the legal authority to continue American participation in the NATO-led air war in Libya, even though lawmakers have not authorized it.

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy, CBS News, Pajamas Media, National Review, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wonkette, Balloon Juice, The BLT, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, Mother Jones, New York Magazine and HotAirPundit

Reid J. Epstein / The Politico:

Lawmakers sue President Obama over Libya — A bipartisan group of House members announced on Wednesday that it is filing a lawsuit charging that President Obama made an illegal end-run around Congress when he approved U.S military action against Libya. — “With regard to the war in Libya, we believe that the law was violated.

Discussion: Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich, Fox News, Atlas Shrugs, iOwnTheWorld.com, Little Green Footballs, Washington Times, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Wake up America, Indecision Forever and Gothamist

JONATHAN TURLEY:

Members of Congress Challenge Libyan War in Federal Court — Today, I have the honor of representing ten members of the United States House of Representatives in challenging the constitutional basis for the Libyan War — and the underlying claims made by President Obama.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Outside the Beltway and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Sam Youngman / The Hill:
White House warns Congress against ‘mixed messages’ on Libya

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Pajamas Media

Jonathan Allen / Reuters:
John Boehner gets into War Powers Act

Discussion: Political Punch, CNN, The Hill, No More Mister Nice Blog, Swampland, The Foundry, Battleland, The Nation, Instapundit, Washington Monthly, The Daily Dish, Balloon Juice, The Agonist, Daily Kos, americanthinker.com, Booman Tribune and Associated Press

Michael Isikoff / msnbc.com:

Gingrich's wife at center of presidential campaign turmoil, sources say — New details, including concerns over his third wife, Callista, have emerged about why Newt Gingrich's entire senior campaign staff walked out on the presidential hopeful. NBC's Michael Isikoff reports. — By Michael Isikoff

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Associated Press, Mediaite and Reuters

TMZ.com:

Topless Newt Gingrich — On a Rock, In a Hard Place — TMZ has obtained a photo of a glistening Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich laying topless on a beach in Greece ... days before his campaign staff quit over the timing of his two-week vacation. — The photo was taken on June 2 …

Discussion: The Note, Mediaite, Salon, Gawker, New York Magazine and Hotline On Call

Neil King Jr / Washington Wire:
Gingrich Support Drops, Poll Shows

Discussion: Hot Air, Daily Kos and The Hill

Oliver Tree / Daily Mail:

Judgement day: Weiner's wife returns home to confront errant husband as new images emerge showing congressman cross dressing and ‘oiled up’ — Beleaguered congressman Anthony Weiner is set to face his humiliated wife Huma Abedin after she arrived at the family home in Washington home earlier today.

Discussion: Hot Air, Don Surber, The Hayride, Weasel Zippers, The Jawa Report, Pajamas Media, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Other McCain, JammieWearingFool, Fox News, iOwnTheWorld.com and Fox Nation

Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:

Pelosi's wealth grows by 62 percent — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) saw her net worth rise 62 percent last year, cementing her status as one of the wealthiest members of Congress. — Pelosi was worth at least $35.2 million in the 2010 calendar year, according to a financial disclosure report released Wednesday.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Fox Nation and americanthinker.com

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Decision time? Weiner's wife returns

Discussion: NY Daily News, TMZ.com, Gawker, NationalJournal.com, Gothamist and The Hill

Chris Jones / Esquire:

Exclusive Interviews: Jon Huntsman Is Tired of Waiting — On Tuesday, Jon Huntsman — the former governor of Utah and, more recently, the U.S. ambassador to China — will officially enter the race for the Republican presidential nomination. But he has already begun to distinguish himself …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Note, Hot Air, New York Times, Fox News, Pajamas Media, Outside the Beltway, Swampland, The Caucus, The Hill, Guardian, Oliver Willis, GOP 12, New York Times, msnbc.com and Daily Kos

Molly Ball / The Politico:

Debbie Wasserman Schultz: ‘We own the economy’ — Democrats are ready to take responsibility for the state of the economy and they deserve credit for putting it on the right track, the party's chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, said on Wednesday. — “We own the economy.

Discussion: Hot Air, National Review and Pajamas Media

CNN:

John Edwards' mug shot released — (CNN)-Former U.S. Senator John Edwards, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and campaign law violations in early June. His mug shot was obtained by CNN following a Freedom of Information Act request. — The plea came after a federal grand jury indicted him on six counts …

Discussion: Big Journalism, Runnin' Scared, Patterico's Pontifications and Mediaite

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
John Edwards mug shots released

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and FrumForum

Al Gore / Al's Journal:

Good for Mitt Romney — though we've long passed the point where weak lip-service is enough on the Climate Crisis — While other Republicans are running from the truth, he is sticking to his guns in the face of the anti-science wing of the Republican Party: “It seemed like a straightforward question …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Little Green Footballs, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, The Politico, Michelle Malkin, Conservatives4Palin, The Daily Caller and Fox Nation

Jordan Fabian / Ballot Box:
Gore lauds Romney on climate position

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Politico and Conservatives4Palin

The New Republic:
Mitt Romney: The Campaign Within the Conservative Movement to Take Him Down

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Politico, The Hill, Washington Monthly, DownWithTyranny!, PERRspectives, Weekly Standard and Healthwatch

Lewis Page / The Register:

Earth may be headed into a mini Ice Age within a decade — Physicists say sunspot cycle is ‘going into hibernation’ — What may be the science story of the century is breaking this evening, as heavyweight US solar physicists announce that the Sun appears to be headed into a lengthy spell of low activity …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, National Geographic, Liberal Values, YID With LID, Hot Air, Dot Earth, PoliPundit.com, AMERICAN DIGEST, Vox Popoli, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, americanthinker.com, Power Line, RedState, Transterrestrial Musings, The Jawa Report, The Lonely Conservative and Barcepundit

TMZ.com:

Weiner: 'You Aren't Giving My Package Due Credit' — Ginger Lee — the former porn star, current “featured dancer” and aspiring real estate agent — just told reporters about her relationship with Congressman Anthony Weiner, saying he repeatedly texted her about his “package” but denies she ever sexted him.

Discussion: The Note, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller and iOwnTheWorld.com

Mark Egan / Reuters:
Former porn star says Weiner asked her to lie

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, TMZ.com and New York Magazine

John / Power Line: If He's Lost Ginger Lee...

Michelle Goldberg / The Daily Beast:

Michele Bachmann's Unrivaled Extremism — THE DAILY BEAST ON: — Her anti-gay platform has alienated parts of her family. A mentor she described as a “great influence” has a history of addresses to white supremacists. A book she collaborated on advocates theocracy.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The New Republic, Wall Street Journal, Towleroad News #gay, Queerty, Salon, Weigel, A plain blog about politics, Guardian, Democratic Strategist, Pharyngula, New York Magazine and The Daily Beast

The Politico:

Top Barack Obama donors net government jobs — Telecom executive Donald H. Gips raised a big bundle of cash to help finance his friend Barack Obama's run for the presidency. — Gips, a vice president of Colorado-based Level 3 Communications, delivered more than $500,000 in contributions …

Discussion: Hot Air, Sister Toldjah, New York Magazine and FrumForum

Sjohnson / iWatch News:
Obama rewards big bundlers with jobs, commissions, stimulus money, government contracts, and more

Discussion: The Politico, Political Punch, Fox News, The Raw Story, Lynn Sweet, The Lonely Conservative, The Daily Caller, White House Dossier and Wake up America

William Heisel / IHME:

Life expectancy in most US counties falls behind world's healthiest nations — The most current county-level analysis finds large disparities nationwide. Women fare worse than men, and people in Appalachia, the Deep South, and Northern Texas live the shortest lives.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Dish, The Reality-Based Community, The Incidental Economist, ThinkProgress, Healthwatch, Wonkette and Prairie Weather

Noam N. Levey / Los Angeles Times:
Life expectancy of U.S. women slips in some regions

Discussion: Unfogged

Yinka Adegoke / Reuters:

Cable worried about poverty, not Netflix — (Reuters) - For all the talk about competitive threats from the likes of Netflix Inc or Apple Inc, it is rising poverty among households that TV executives say is their biggest source of concern. — Executives from News Corp, Comcast Corp and Time Warner Inc …

Discussion: The Awl, The Consumerist and The Impolitic, more at Mediagazer »

JSOnline:

Unions file suit to halt collective bargaining legislation — Madison - One day after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered the reinstatement of collective-bargaining legislation that potentially affects thousands of public-sector employees, a coalition of unions filed suit in federal court seeking to block it.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Volokh Conspiracy

The Politico:

Top radio talkers sell endorsements — If you're a regular listener of Glenn Beck's radio show and you wanted to contribute to a political group that would advance the populist conservative ideals he touts on his show, you'd have plenty of reason to think that FreedomWorks was your best investment.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, The Note, FrumForum and Hullabaloo

Nicko Margolies / Sunlight Foundation Blog:

Announcing Sarah's Inbox — Today the Sunlight Foundation is proud to unveil Sarah's Inbox, our attempt to make Sarah Palin's recently released email records easier to use with a searchable function and an interface similar to Gmail. It builds on Elena's Inbox, our wildly popular project …

Discussion: Sunlight Labs blog, Guardian, The Note and Anchorage Daily News

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Obama Approval Rally Largely Over — Averaged 46% last week after averaging 50% for much of May — PRINCETON, NJ — President Obama's job approval rating averaged 46% for the week ending June 12, a significant decline from his weekly averages for most of May and nearly back to the level before Osama bin Laden's death on May 1.

Discussion: Firedoglake and Mother Jones

Ynetnews:

Glenn Beck's Jerusalem rally program unveiled — TV star's solidarity event is expected to draw thousands of Israelis, Americans with music, pyrotechnics. Sarah Palin, republican presidential candidates set to drop by — Tzvika Brot — Tens of thousands of excited Israelis and Americans …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Democratic Strategist, The Raw Story, The Hill, Weigel, Ben Smith's Blog, Conservatives4Palin, GOP 12 and FrumForum

Vanessa O'Connell / Wall Street Journal:

Lawyers Settle... for Temp Jobs — As clients seek to cut costs, the field of ‘contract’ attorneys expands — When he decided to become a lawyer, Jose Aponte followed a familiar path: He took the LSAT, spent more than $100,000 on law school, took a grueling bar exam and paid for continuing education.

Discussion: EconLog, DownWithTyranny! and Gawker

Stephanie Banchero / Wall Street Journal:

Students Stumble Again on the Basics of History — National Test Shows Little Progress in Grasping Democracy, U.S. Role in World — WSJ's Stephanie Banchero has details of a National Assessment of Educational Progress study showing students at the fourth, eighth and twelfth grade levels struggle with basic history questions.

Discussion: JONATHAN TURLEY, Hot Air, OpenMarket.org, Althouse and The Lonely Conservative