memeorandum: FBI opens inquiry after report that News Corp. tried to hack phones of 9/11 victims (Jerry Markon/Washington Post)

11:55 PM ET, July 14, 2011

Top Items:

GOP Senator: Maybe We Shouldn't Have Tied Debt Vote To Deficit Deal (VIDEO) … WASHINGTON — Some Republicans are starting to have buyer's remorse over their party's insistence that a vote to raise the debt limit be tied to a long-term deficit reduction package.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:

Go Ahead, GOP, Make Obama's Day — So how can the GOP get something it wants out of the sodden mess of our debt negotiations? Here's my answer: pass a short-term debt-ceiling increase. It seems pretty clear to me that there's no time or common ground for a grand bargain before August 2nd, so pass a short-term increase.

Josiah Ryan / The Hill:

Reid: Cantor acted ‘childish’ and shouldn't be at the negotiation table — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) acted “childish” in the debt talks. — He is the the latest Democratic leader to accuse Cantor of impeding progress …

Discussion: The Politico, CNN, The Caucus, The Note, The Sundries Shack, Washington Monthly, The TrogloPundit, Connecting.the.Dots, The Gateway Pundit, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Riehl World View

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Harry Reid And Mitch McConnell: ‘Hybrid’ Solution To Debt Standoff … Barack Obama , Harry Reid , Mitch McConnell , Cantor Debt Ceiling , Debt Ceiling , Cantor Obama , Debt Ceiling Approach , Debt Ceiling Mcconnell , Debt Ceiling Negotiations , Hybrid Debt Ceiling , Mcconnell Debt Ceiling Plan …

Discussion: TPMDC, The Politico, Firedoglake, Washington Post, Hot Air, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, TalkLeft, msnbc.com, National Review, Prairie Weather and White House Dossier

The Politico:

Washington loses its cool — Tensions are running so high over debt talks that Capitol Hill leaders turned down a trip to Camp David before the White House even invited them. — The mood among debt-limit negotiators appeared as sour Thursday as it was the night before …

Discussion: White House Dossier, NewsBusters.org, New York Magazine, GOP 12, The Huffington Post, The Heritage Foundation, Daily Kos, Doug Ross, The Reaction, The Page and The Democratic Daily

Guy Benson / Townhall.com:

Guy Benson Paul Ryan on Debt Negotiations: “Grand Deal” Unlikely, “Not A Fan” of McConnell Compromise, but Won't Rule Out Support — I just concluded an extensive sit-down interview with House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. We'll eventually post full video of the exchange on the home page …

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative and The New Republic

New York Times:

‘Decision Time’ on Budget, Obama Tells Leaders — WASHINGTON — President Obama threw the deadlocked budget negotiations back to Congress on Thursday, telling Republicans and Democrats to try to work out an agreement to avert a government default, and suggesting that more ambitious efforts to cut the deficit had hit a wall.

Discussion: FrumForum

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
The White House's case for a big deficit deal

Discussion: The New Republic, Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo, Firedoglake, AMERICAblog News, Daily Kos and The Huffington Post

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Dems' new strategy: Isolate Eric Cantor as face of GOP intransigence

Discussion: TPMDC, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Mother Jones, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, The Caucus, Washington Monthly and Crooks and Liars

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Wonkbook: Why Obama walked out

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, ThinkProgress, The Moderate Voice, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Global Public Square, Washington Monthly and The Mahablog

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
John McCain turns ‘pea’ shooter on Obama

Discussion: JustOneMinute, TPMDC, The Western Experience and FrumForum

Wall Street Journal:
Plan B Emerges on Debt

Discussion: FrumForum

Manu Raju / The Politico:
Obama demands ‘concrete’ progress

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, The Hill, Washington Post, The Hill and The Atlantic Online

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

“Republican Candidate” Extends Lead vs. Obama to 47% to 39% — Margin marks first statistically significant lead among registered voters — PRINCETON, NJ — Registered voters by a significant margin now say they are more likely to vote for the “Republican Party's candidate for president” …

Discussion: White House Dossier, The Western Experience, Hot Air, Pajamas Media, nation.foxnews.com, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Taylor Marsh, CNN, Nice Deb, Weasel Zippers, The TrogloPundit, Poll Watch Daily, The Lonely Conservative, Indecision Forever, Outside the Beltway and Shakesville

Paul Krugman:
Obama, Moderate Republican

Discussion: RADAMISTO, Grasping Reality …, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Confluence, Modeled Behavior, Daily Kos, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Gallup

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Quinnipiac poll finds more voters would blame GOP on debt

Discussion: Roll Call, Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, The Hankster, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Moderate Voice and Investor's Business Daily

Katie Glueck / Washington Wire:
Gallup Poll: ‘Generic Republican’ Leads Obama by 8 Points

Discussion: MyFox Twin Cities

Bruce Orwall / Wall Street Journal:

In Interview, Murdoch Defends News Corp. — In his first significant public comments on the tabloid newspaper scandal that has engulfed his media empire, News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch vigorously defended the company's handling of the crisis but said it would establish …

Discussion: Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Company Town, The Daily Dish, Salon, Gawker, New York Magazine, FT Alphaville, The Lede, Runnin' Scared and Crooked Timber, more at Mediagazer »

Jerry Markon / Washington Post:
FBI opens inquiry after report that News Corp. tried to hack phones of 9/11 victims

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CNN and AMERICAblog News

Judicial Watch:

Documents Show Obama White House Attacked, Excluded Fox News Channel — White House Emails Detail anti Fox Bias inside Obama White House: “I'm putting some dead fish in the fox cubby — just cause” “[FNC Anchor] Bret Baier...is a lunatic” — Judicial Watch, the public interest group …

Discussion: Political Punch, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Sister Toldjah, No More Mister Nice Blog, YID With LID, Weasel Zippers, Verum Serum, Hot Air, The Atlantic Online, Big Journalism, The Gateway Pundit, Doug Ross, The Lonely Conservative, Pajamas Media and Gawker

Siobhan Gorman / Wall Street Journal:

Bin Laden Plotted to Attack U.S. on 9/11 Anniversary — Osama bin Laden was working to assemble a team of militants to attack the U.S. on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 hijackings, according to communications that Navy SEALs seized from his Pakistani hideout when they killed the al Qaeda leader this spring.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Politico, Gothamist, MyFox Twin Cities, Runnin' Scared, Israel Matzav, FrumForum, Politics and New York Magazine

MyFox Twin Cities:

End to Minnesota Shutdown in GOP Hands — Special session could be called within three days — ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton sent a letter Thursday to House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, saying he “reluctantly” agrees to accept …

Discussion: Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, Don Surber, Moe Lane, Power Line, Cold Fury, Pajamas Media, Daily Pundit and The Lonely Conservative

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
Dayton Caves? — Here in Minnesota, Governor Mark Dayton …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Monica Davey / New York Times:
Minnesota Leaders Reach Deal to End State Shutdown

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and FrumForum

Washington Post:

S&P warns that chance of downgrading U.S. credit rating is 50 percent — Standard & Poor's said late Thursday that it could downgrade the U.S. credit rating as soon as this month, and there is a 50 percent chance it will do so within three months, if Washington fails to come to an agreement over the nation's debt.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Politics and Weasel Zippers

Felix Salmon:
The damage already done by the debt ceiling debate

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Atlantic Online

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
U.S. credit rating not worth saving, Ron Paul says

Discussion: New York Times, CNN and LewRockwell.com Blog

The Note:

Sarah Palin Paid Almost $14,000 to Decorate Her Tour Bus and More From SarahPAC's FEC Report — ABC News' Sheila Marikar (@SheilaYM) and Michael Falcone (@michaelpfalcone) report: — Sarah Palin spent almost $14,000 to adorn her “One Nation” tour bus with larger-than-life renditions of the Constitution …

Discussion: TPMDC

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Palin raises over $1.6 million

Discussion: The Politico, Conservatives4Palin and The Note

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Palin PAC raises $1.6M in first half of year

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air and American Power

Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:

Debt Ceiling: What's the End Game For Republicans? — Jonathan Podhoretz reads a Quinnipiac poll showing that by a margin of 48-34, the public is going to blame Republicans and not Obama if we don't raise the debt ceiling, and joins the ranks of the Washington sellouts:

Discussion: Commentary Magazine, Pajamas Media, Daniel W. Drezner and Instapundit

Amy Gardner / Washington Post:

Palin political committee spent tens of thousands on bus trip — Sarah Palin's political action committee spent tens of thousands of dollars covering the costs of the former Alaska governor's “One Nation” East Coast bus tour this spring — a trip that Palin (R) has repeatedly characterized as a “family vacation.”

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Jonathan Dienst / NBC New York:

The Accused Killer in His Own Words — Read a partial transcript of the confession that police say Levi Aron gave during questioning … My name is Levi Aron... On Monday evening around 5:30 I went to my dentist, Dr. Sorcher, to make a payment for visit for exam routine.

Discussion: msnbc.com, City Room, ABCNEWS, Runnin' Scared, Gothamist and The Daily Dish

Jake Tapper / Political Punch:

Which Is Worse? Default or Voting to Raise the Debt Ceiling Again in 2012?: Today's Qs for O's WH - 7/14/2011 — CARNEY: That is a bad scenario. I'm not sure — I mean — TAPPER: Is it worse — CARNEY: You know, there are things you could anticipate. But I — yes.

Discussion: Swampland, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Verum Serum, Moe Lane, National Review and Cold Fury

Robert Costa / National Review:

McCain on the Debt Limit — As rain splatters the windows of Sen. John McCain's second-floor office on Capitol Hill, the 74-year-old Arizona Republican leans back, clasps his hands, and recalls the Nineties. Brinksmanship, he says, cost the party then, and it could cripple Republicans this summer …

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, New York Magazine, TPMDC, The Hill and Mediaite

Benjy Sarlin / TPMDC:

GOP Demand Obama Protect Seniors From Default, Won't Name What To Cut Instead — Republican lawmakers are pushing President Obama to put seniors, troops, and bondholders at the front of the line should Congress fail to raise the debt ceiling. The rest? Well, that's up to him.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Washington Monthly and Hullabaloo

The Note:

Mitt Romney Breaks Silence on Debt Ceiling — ABC News' Emily Friedman(@EmilyABC) reports: — It didn't take long for Mitt Romney to field a question on the debt ceiling negotiations today during an event at the Portsmouth Rotary Club in New Hampshire. — After Romney's opening remarks …

Discussion: The Politico, The Hill, RedState, CNN, Ben Smith's Blog, TPMDC, FrumForum, Taylor Marsh and Daily Kos

WSB-TV:

Obama To WSB-TV: America Is Stressed Out — WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Barack Obama said America is a “stressed out” nation in an exclusive interview with Channel 2 Action News at the White House on Thursday. — The Obama administration invited Channel 2's Scott MacFarlane to a short interview …