Top Items:
Robert Lopez / L.A. NOW:
Famed crime boss James ‘Whitey’ Bulger arrested in Santa Monica — Legendary Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger, who has been on the run for more than a decade, was arrested Wednesday in Santa Monica, multiple law enforcement sources told The Times. — Bulger, 81, has been the subject …
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New York Times:
Whitey Bulger Is Arrested in California — LOS ANGELES — James (Whitey) Bulger, a legendary Boston crime boss indicted in 19 murders and who is on the F.B.I.'s 10 Most Wanted list, was arrested by federal authorities Wednesday night in Santa Monica, ending an international manhunt that had gone …
Discussion:
L.A. NOW, Gothamist, The Caucus, New York Magazine and Balloon Juice
Shelley Murphy / Boston Globe:
Whitey Bulger arrested — Boston gangster surrenders quietly in Calif. after 16 years on run — Fugitive South Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, wanted for 19 murders, was captured last night in Southern California, the result of a tip from FBI television spots that began airing this week.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Democratic Daily, AmSpecBlog and JammieWearingFool
NY Daily News:
Senate Republicans moving closer to saying ‘I do’ to gay marriage in New York State — ALBANY - Senate Republicans on Wednesday were close to signing off on a religious protection provision that could boost the chances that gay marriage will pass in New York.
Discussion:
gaycitynews.com, New York Magazine, Associated Press, Prop 8 Trial Tracker, Capital Tonight and AMERICAblog Gay
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Erica Werner / Associated Press:
Obama heads to NY under pressure on gay marriage — WASHINGTON (AP) — Talk about timing. President Barack Obama is about to hold a gala fundraiser in New York City on Thursday for gay supporters — his first as president — just as the New York state Legislature stands on the brink of legalizing gay marriage.
Discussion:
The Politico, Taylor Marsh, Indecision Forever, AMERICAblog Gay, Towleroad News #gay and The Gist
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
New York Senators Say Same-Sex Marriage Bill Will Likely See Vote Today
New York Senators Say Same-Sex Marriage Bill Will Likely See Vote Today
Discussion:
Reuters, Associated Press, Above the Law, PolitickerNY, The New Civil Rights Movement and Feministing
Jacob Gershman / Wall Street Journal:
Legislators in Late Scramble
Legislators in Late Scramble
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay and The New Civil Rights Movement
Wall Street Journal:
Cantor Pulls Out of Biden-Led Budget Talks — WASHINGTON—House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Thursday said he was pulling out of the bipartisan budget talks headed by Vice President Joe Biden for now because the group has reached an impasse over taxes that only President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) could resolve.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Felix Salmon, New York Magazine, Hullabaloo, Gawker, The Raw Story, Slate and National Review
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Dan Berman / Reuters:
W.H. to release 30M barrels of oil — The Obama administration will release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to offset oil supply disruptions in the Middle East, the Energy Department announced Thursday morning. — Other International Energy Agency countries …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, CNN, Datechguy's Blog, The Heritage Foundation and HotAirPundit
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Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
Global Oil Reserves Tapped in Effort to Cut Cost at Pump
Global Oil Reserves Tapped in Effort to Cut Cost at Pump
Discussion:
Free exchange, Washington Monthly and Outside the Beltway
Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:
Geert Wilders Verdict: Not Guilty All Counts! Eureka! “Today is a victory for freedom of speech” — UPDATE: “I am delighted with this ruling,” says Geert Wilders. “It is a victory, not only for me but for all the Dutch people. Today is a victory for freedom of speech.
Discussion:
Jihad Watch
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Reuters:
Dutch populist Geert Wilders acquitted of hate speech
Dutch populist Geert Wilders acquitted of hate speech
Discussion:
National Review and americanthinker.com
Jurjen van de Pol / Bloomberg:
Dutch Court Acquits Freedom Party Leader Geert Wilders of Defaming Muslims
Dutch Court Acquits Freedom Party Leader Geert Wilders of Defaming Muslims
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Zilla of the Resistance
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Why Obama Is Likely to Lose in 2012 — Even a small drop in the share of black voters would wipe out his winning margin in North Carolina. — President Barack Obama is likely to be defeated in 2012. The reason is that he faces four serious threats. The economy is very weak and unlikely …
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The New Republic and GOP 12
Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
EXCLUSIVE — Herman Cain: Jon Stewart Attacked Me 'Because I'm Black' — ThinkProgress filed this report from Iowa Falls, Iowa. — Earlier this month, ThinkProgress reported that GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain told an audience in Pella, Iowa that he would not sign a bill longer than three pages.
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Wire, Fox Nation, Outside the Beltway and Gawker
Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
President Obama's Afghanistan speech confirms America's decline — The American Century just ended. This was the phrase coined by Henry Luce, which so aptly described America as the modern-day colossus, more powerful than any nation had ever been. Wednesday night, President Obama said that power had reached its limit.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Jack & Jill Politics and Mediaite
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Ta-Nehisi Coates / New York Times:
The Haunting of Rick Perry — Should Gov. Rick Perry of Texas enter the 2012 presidential race, he would enjoy a strange and remarkable escort — the irrepressible ghost of Cameron Todd Willingham. — Charged with the horrific crime of intentionally torching his home and leaving …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Balloon Juice and Daily Kos
Heidi Przybyla / Bloomberg:
Ryan Medicare Plan Would Make Americans Worse by 57%-34%, Poll Shows — Representative Paul Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman who has become a star in the Republican Party with his plan to overhaul Medicare, is emerging as a polarizing figure among Americans.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Reuters, Washington Post and Healthwatch
Stephen Moore / Wall Street Journal:
Drafting Rubio — The Republican nomination for president is completely up for grabs, but there's a lot of agreement on who the vice presidential pick should be: freshman senator Marco Rubio. — The Republican nomination for president is completely up for grabs, but there's a lot of agreement …
Discussion:
GOP 12, Taegan Goddard's …, The Daily Pulp, Ben Smith's Blog, AmSpecBlog and The Daily Caller
Lucia Mutikani / Reuters:
Jobless claims point to weak labor market — (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, suggesting little improvement in the labor market this month after employment stumbled in May. — Initial claims for state unemployment benefits climbed 9,000 …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Just-A-Small-Town-Country-Boy, Sweetness & Light, Don Surber and The Right Scoop
James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
I Liked the ‘Chinese Professor’ Ad, But This Is Stupid and Offensive — (See update below.) Unlike many people, I admired the panache and artistry of the “Chinese Professor” ad used during last fall's campaign to warn about the self- destructive tendencies of America's borrow-and-spend era.
Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
A Strange Time For A Deficit Panic — Deficits can impede economic growth. No borrower is safer than the government. So when the government wants to borrow a lot of money and investors start charging it a high interest rate, the borrowing costs for everyone else go up.
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Liberal Dems slam Obama for ‘pursuing wrong mission’ in Afghanistan — A number of liberal Democrats expressed dissatisfaction with President Obama's plan to expedite the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. — They said the administration's nation-building strategy is destined to fail …
Lawrence B. Solum / SSRN:
The Interpretation-Construction Distinction — Constitutional Commentary, Vol. 27, pp. 95-118, 2010 — Abstract: — The interpretation-construction distinction, which marks the difference between linguistic meaning and legal effect, is much discussed these days.
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy
Amy Gardner / Washington Post:
Some of Tim Pawlenty's top aides working for little or no pay, source says — At least five top advisers to former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty have been working for little or no pay for several months, a campaign source said Wednesday. — The news establishes with more certainty …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Hotline On Call, The Hill and GOP 12
Sabato's Crystal Ball:
Democrats Blue as Senate Acquires a Reddish Tinge — Larry J. Sabato and Kyle Kondik, U.Va. Center for Politics — As we take a fresh look at next year's Senate races, one thing is clear: Barring an unexpected reelection landslide by President Obama, Republicans are at least slightly favored to take the Senate.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Huffington Post
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Chris Christie — When I last spoke to Chris Christie in 2009 he was locked in a primary battle for the New Jersey governorship with an opponent who claimed he was insufficiently conservative. He was brimming then with ideas about cutting employee benefits …
Paul Bentley / Daily Mail:
Has O.J. Simpson confessed murder to Oprah? Huge TV interview planned in which convict ‘will admit he killed Nicole in self-defence as she pulled a knife on him’ — O.J Simpson has confessed to Oprah Winfrey that he murdered his former wife, it has been reported.
Wall Street Journal:
Inside the Anonymous Army of ‘Hacktivist’ Attackers — HOOGEZAND-SAPPEMEER, Netherlands—In this sleepy Dutch town last December, police burst into the bedroom of 19-year-old Martijn Gonlag as he hurriedly pulled on jeans over his boxer shorts. He was hauled away on suspicion of taking part …
Discussion:
New York Magazine and American Power
Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:
Private emails detail Obama admin involvement in cutting non-union worker pensions post-GM bailout — New emails obtained by The Daily Caller contradict claims by the Obama administration that the Treasury Department would avoid “intervening in the day-to-day management” of General Motors post-auto bailout.
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, Nice Deb, Hot Air, Questions and Observations and Weasel Zippers
Washington Post:
Marine reservist charged in D.C.-area military shootings — A 22-year-old Alexandria man has been charged with shooting at military buildings in the D.C. region last fall, and federal officials said in court papers that he videotaped himself shouting “Allah Akbar” after he fired shots at the U.S. Marine Corps museum in October.
Discussion:
Datechguy's Blog
Katie Zezima / New York Times:
New Hampshire: Lawmakers Override Veto of Abortion Consent Bill — The State Legislature on Wednesday overrode Gov. John Lynch's veto of a bill that requires abortion providers to notify parents of minors 48 hours before performing the procedure. The House overrode the veto by a 266-102 vote; the Senate vote was 17-7.
Discussion:
Hot Air