memeorandum: Judiciary Committee Launches Probe of Kagan's Involvement in Obamacare (Terence P. Jeffrey/CNSNews)

2:20 PM ET, July 7, 2011

Top Items:

In debt talks, Obama offers Social Security cuts — President Obama is pressing congressional leaders to consider a far-reaching debt-reduction plan that would force Democrats to accept major changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for Republican support for fresh tax revenue.

Discussion: The Hill, The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, ThinkProgress, Ben Smith's Blog, CNN, Oliver Willis, The Moderate Voice, The Nation, oftwominds.com, Hullabaloo, The Note, Los Angeles Times, Capital Gains and Games blogs, The Confluence, American Power, MiamiHerald.com, skippy the bush kangaroo, msnbc.com, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Booman Tribune, Brilliant at Breakfast, Questions and Observations, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, The Caucus, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Connecting.the.Dots, Prairie Weather, Scarecrow's myFDL diary, The Politico, Daily Kos, Gawker, Shakesville, Taylor Marsh, The Sideshow, Weasel Zippers, Wall Street Journal, AMERICAblog News, Indecision Forever, The Democratic Daily, Political Punch, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Bark Bark Woof Woof, The Other McCain, Corrente, The Agonist, FrumForum and TPMDC

New York Times:

Obama to Push for Wider Deal With G.O.P. on Deficit Cuts — WASHINGTON — Heading into a crucial negotiating session on a budget deal on Thursday, President Obama has raised his sights and wants to strike a far-reaching agreement on cutting the federal deficit as Speaker John A. Boehner …

Billy House / NationalJournal.com:

Boehner: ‘Maybe 50-50’ Chance of a Debt Deal Reached Within 48 Hours — House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, speaks with reporters after a meeting with House Republicans on Capitol Hill on Thursday. — House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, informed fellow House Republicans on Thursday …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Online, Hot Air, RedState, Outside the Beltway, Taegan Goddard's …, New York Magazine and FrumForum

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:

The budget deals of Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Obama, in one chart — There are two ways to read the current stalemate in the debt-ceiling negotiations. There's David Brooks's take, which is that watching Republicans pass up “the deal of the century” should leave conservatives convinced there's something wrong with the GOP.

Discussion: AmSpecBlog, The New Republic and Sky Dancing

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Obama Aide On Social Security Cut Story: It ‘Overshoots The Runway’ (UPDATED) … Social Security , Debt Ceiling , Debt Limit , Obama Social Security , Social Security Benefits , White House Debt Talks , Debt , Obama Social Security Cuts , Social Security Cuts , White House Debt Ceiling , White House Social Security , Politics News

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, ThinkProgress, AMERICAblog News and Corrente

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate Democrats fuming over Obama's apparent move on Social Security — Senate Democrats reacted angrily Thursday to a report that President Obama has proposed significant cuts to Medicare and Social Security in closed-door talks with GOP leaders. — Democratic lawmakers said they were dismayed …

Discussion: Firedoglake

John T. Bennett / The Hill:

Defense faces $700B spending cut — National security spending could be cut by as much as $700 billion in a deal to raise the debt limit, defense sources said. — That's almost twice the amount President Obama originally proposed. — Obama directed the Defense Department …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Prairie Weather, americanthinker.com and The Western Experience

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Public Wants Changes in Entitlements, Not Changes in Benefits — GOP Divided Over Benefit Reductions — OVERVIEW — As policymakers at the state and national level struggle with rising entitlement costs, overwhelming numbers of Americans agree that, over the years, Social Security …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, PewResearch.org, TPMDC and Ricochet Conversation Feed

Bob Cusack / The Hill:
Obama move on Social Security puts him at odds with Dem leaders Reid, Pelosi

Discussion: Washington Post, iOwnTheWorld.com and Swampland

New York Times:
Obama Says Debt Talks ‘Constructive,’ but Big Gaps Remain

Discussion: Brendan Nyhan, Political Insider and FrumForum

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
The Big Break? Taxes Remain Major Unknown In Potential Grand Deficit Bargain

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Obama Ready to Go Big on Budget Deal?

Discussion: CNN, Firedoglake, The New Republic, Modeled Behavior, Washington Post, The Note and The Page

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate Dems rally around Conrad's left-leaning budget proposal, tax raises

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Pajamas Media

BBC:

News of the World to close amid hacking scandal — Police are investigating allegations of phone hacking by the News of the World — This Sunday's issue of the News of the World will be the last edition of the paper, News International chairman James Murdoch has said.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, EU Referendum, Left Foot Forward, Reuters and Biased BBC, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Murdoch to Close Tabloid Amid Fury Over Hacking — LONDON — The mass-circulation tabloid at the center of the British phone hacking scandal is to be closed after a final, ad-free Sunday edition this weekend, according a statement by a top official at News Corp., James Murdoch, that acknowledged …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Wall Street Journal, Gothamist, The Lede, AllThingsD and Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

Telegraph:
Phone hacking: families of war dead ‘targeted’ by News of the World

Discussion: The Politico, CNBC, Guardian, Left Foot Forward, New York Magazine, Washington Post, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, msnbc.com, American Power and FrumForum

Guardian:
News of the World to close on Sunday - live coverage

Discussion: Telegraph, News of the World, The Huffington Post, New York Times, New York Magazine, AlterNet and Shakesville, more at Mediagazer »

Peter Oborne / blogs.telegraph.co.uk:
David Cameron is in the sewer because of his News International friends

Discussion: Guardian, Guy Fawkes' blog, EU Referendum, Left Foot Forward, Los Angeles Times and The Lede, more at Mediagazer »

Sally Jacobs / Boston Globe:

Father spoke of having Obama adopted — US immigration files from '61 reveal Kenyan student's plan — President Obama as a young boy, with his father, who left when his son was 2. (Obama for America via Associated Press) — In the spring of 1961, President Obama's father revealed …

Discussion: The Hill, Taegan Goddard's …, Political Punch, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, New York Magazine, Salon, Althouse, Babalú Blog, Weasel Zippers, JammieWearingFool, The Daily Caller and Lynn Sweet

Wall Street Journal:

The Only Reform That Will Restrain Spending — All 47 Senate Republicans now support changing the Constitution to balance the federal budget. — Whatever happens when President Obama meets with congressional leaders of both parties at the White House today, no long-term solution is on the table …

Discussion: Erick's blog, Ballot Box, FrumForum, National Review and The Lonely Conservative

Paul Broun / National Review:

Thinking Outside the Box: Let's Lower the Debt Ceiling — In the midst of our economic emergency, which is beginning to resemble a full-on Greece-style meltdown, every politician in America has taken to the soap box to say the exact same thing: We need to reduce our national debt and cut spending to get America back on track.

Discussion: Salon, Outside the Beltway, Confederate Yankee, Mother Jones, The Lonely Conservative, Balloon Juice and Zandar Versus The Stupid

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Jim DeMint, Olympia Snowe: Amend Constitution

Discussion: FrumForum

New York Post:

‘Fast & Furious’ gets hotter for Holder — Don't look now, but the real action in Washington this week isn't the parti san wrangling over the debt ceiling but something — literally — even more incendiary: Operation Fast and Furious, which seems about to explode right in the face …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Pajamas Media, Mudville Gazette and Confederate Yankee

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
“Fast and Furious” Blows Sky-High

Discussion: Doug Ross, Townhall.com, Sister Toldjah, Moe Lane, Ricochet Conversation Feed, Pajamas Media, The Lonely Conservative and Nice Deb

Reuters:

Exclusive: Treasury secretly weighs options to avert default — (Reuters) - A small team of Treasury officials is discussing options to stave off default if Congress fails to raise the debt limit by the August 2 deadline, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Felix Salmon, The Daily Caller, The Mahablog, The Heritage Foundation, americanthinker.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Pundit and FrumForum

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
White House Paints Doomsday Default Scenario

Discussion: FrumForum

RushLimbaugh.com:

Mitt Runnin' Against the Tea Party? — BEGIN TRANSCRIPT — RUSH: I swear every time Mitt Romney opens his mouth I think he's running against me. Well, ethanol, global warming. He's the guy that can work with Democrats. I think it was Romney who said that. — BREAK TRANSCRIPT

Discussion: GOP 12 and Daily Pundit

Julianna Goldman / Bloomberg:
Unemployment Rate Won't Hobble Obama's Re-Election, White House Aide Says

Discussion: Scarecrow's myFDL diary, Hullabaloo and JammieWearingFool

Jim Acosta / CNN:
Christian right, Tea Party still wary of front-runner Romney

Discussion: Hot Air

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Michele Bachmann on Iowa TV: ‘Waterloo’ — Michele Bachmann is going up in Iowa with the first television ad of her presidential campaign, a 30-second spot titled “Waterloo” that Bachmann's team says will start running statewide today. — The bio spot, produced by Strategy Group Media …

Discussion: Washington Wire, The New Republic, Pajamas Media, CNN, FrumForum and RealClearPolitics Video Log

David Brody / The Brody File:

Brody File Exclusive: GOP Presidential Candidates Will be Asked to Sign a Marriage Vow — The Brody File has learned that The Family Leader, an influential pro-family group in Iowa will ask each of the 2012 presidential candidates to sign a marriage pledge that professes everything …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Hill, Ben Smith's Blog, GOP 12, TPMDC and Fox News

Christian Heinze / GOP 12:

Pawlenty likes “Bad Romance” — Tim Pawlenty, weighing in on his favorite Lady Gaga songs while in Iowa. … T-Paw is often fond of saying he's not as exciting as Lady Gaga, but this is the first time he's gone deeper into Gaga. — Comes 2:10 in... You can watch the Gaga acapella performance here.

Discussion: USA Today and Gawker

Joseph E. Stiglitz / Slate Magazine:

The Great Recession, Part II — The world could be headed for another economic disaster if we continue to listen to free-market ideologues. — Just a few years ago, a powerful ideology—the belief in free and unfettered markets—brought the world to the brink of ruin.

Tim Rogers / Christian Science Monitor:

Could Donald Trump reenter the presidential race? — During a visit to Panama to inaugurate the first Trump hotel and tower outside the US, real estate mogul Donald Trump called President Ricardo Martinelli an example for Washington. — Panama City, Panama

Discussion: FrumForum

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

Ruthless People — Libs to Ginsburg: Drop dead. — Some legal observers would like to be rid of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Associated Press reported over the weekend. These aren't conservatives who find her too activist but liberals who find her too old and worry that if she doesn't get out soon …

Discussion: SCOTUSblog, Don Surber, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Mish's Global Economic …

David W. Chen / City Room:

Democrats Pick David Weprin, an Assemblyman, to Run for Weiner's Seat — Queens Democratic leaders on Thursday named David I. Weprin, a 58-year-old state assemblyman, as their nominee in a Sept. 13 special election to replace former Representative Anthony D. Weiner, according to Democratic officials.

Discussion: New York Post, Runnin' Scared, New York Magazine and FrumForum

Timothy Williams / New York Times:

Casey Anthony to Be Released Next Week — Casey Anthony, who earlier this week was found not guilty of killing her daughter, was sentenced on Thursday to four years in jail for lying to investigators, but will be released next Wednesday after getting credit for time served.