memeorandum: Heat Wave 2011: States Cut Programs Helping Families Pay Electric Bills (Tom Coyne/Associated Press)

1:15 PM ET, July 22, 2011

Top Items:

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:

Democrats Set Drop-Dead Date For Debt Ceiling Backup Plan — President Obama's quest to reach a historic budget agreement with House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) fell into deep doubt Thursday, after a noisy rebellion by Senate Democrats over reports that Obama might hand Republicans the farm …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, The New Republic, The Daily Dish, Daily Kos, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, No More Mister Nice Blog, Eschaton and The Huffington Post

Major Garrett / NationalJournal.com:

Cantor's Moment of Choosing — The House majority leader has become a darling of fiscal conservatives by saying “no.” What happens if he needs to say “yes”? — King for a day: Eric Cantor's mini-coup last week presages his long-term ambition.) — The day of reckoning on the debt ceiling is coming …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online

Josiah Ryan / The Hill:

Senate votes to kill House GOP's ‘cut, cap and balance’ measure — The Senate voted 51-46, along strict party-lines, on Friday to kill the House Republicans' “cut, cap and balance” legislation. — The measure would have cut spending by $111 billion in 2012, capped spending over the next decade …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine and The Politico

The Politico:
Latest debt deal under fire

Discussion: AMERICAblog News, Washington Post, USA Today, Hot Air, Sky Dancing, The Page, emptywheel, americanthinker.com and The Raw Story

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Reid: 'I'm the Senate majority leader. Why don't I know about this deal?'

Discussion: Hot Air, Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, Pundit & Pundette, RealClearPolitics Video Log, Michelle Malkin and New York Times

The Politico:
John Boehner: House must act by Wednesday

Discussion: The Note, Guardian and Politics

The Hill:
Progress seen in debt talks, but outrage from Dems over lack of tax hikes

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation

Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
Obama, Boehner pursue a deal as Democrats fume

Discussion: Roll Call, Washington Monthly, The Politico, New York Magazine, DownWithTyranny!, Daily Kos and AMERICAblog News

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Dems poised for House gains

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and The Daily Caller

Brian Ross / ABCNEWS:

Oslo Explosion: One of Two Blasts Result of Massive Vehicle Bomb, Sources Say — At least one of two explosions that rocked a Norwegian government building in Oslo today was result of a massive vehicle bomb, according to U.S. government sources on the scene.

Discussion: Guardian, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Don Surber, Pajamas Media, americanthinker.com, Clusterstock and Confederate Yankee

BBC:

Norway: Blast near prime minister's office in Oslo — Eyewitness: “Police are beginning to seal off streets where there is a danger of falling glass” — A large explosion has hit near government headquarters in the Norwegian capital Oslo. — At least one person was killed in the city centre blast …

Discussion: Telegraph, The Moderate Voice, msnbc.com, AmSpecBlog and Gawker

Michelle Malkin:

Terror blast in Oslo - “massive vehicle bomb;” Update: Norway had taken action against jihadi cleric who threatened to kill politicians — Scroll for updates...including an elucidating exchange with a Johns Hopkins Expert — George Gooding (Seixon) passes along this photo of a massive bomb blast at government offices in Oslo:

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Aftenposten, The Other McCain and Sister Toldjah

Walter Gibbs / Reuters:

Blast rocks central Oslo, Norway PM's office — (Reuters) - A huge explosion wrecked government buildings in central Oslo Friday including Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's office, injuring several people, a Reuters journalist said from the scene.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Guardian, Wizbang, New York Magazine and Shakesville

New York Times:
Big Blasts at Government Buildings in Oslo; 1 Dead

Discussion: Guardian, This Just In, The Lede, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Balloon Juice and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Douglas Stanglin / USA Today:
Reuters: 8 people injured in Oslo blast at government offices

Discussion: Hot Air, ThinkProgress, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, George Gooding, Talking Points Memo and Pajamas Media

Wall Street Journal:

Justice Department Prepares Subpoenas in News Corp. Inquiry — The U.S. Justice Department is preparing subpoenas as part of preliminary investigations into News Corp. relating to alleged foreign bribery and alleged hacking of voicemail of Sept. 11 victims, according to a government official.

Discussion: Guardian, ThinkProgress, Corruption Currents, MediaFile, New York Magazine, TVNewser, Mashable!, The Politico, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, News Desk, ProPublica, Gawker, The Wire and msnbc.com, more at Mediagazer »

Bob Owens / Pajamas Media:
Gunwalker: Justice Dept. Inspector General Opens Investigation

Discussion: NPR, Hot Air and Confederate Yankee

CNN:

CNN Poll: Perry near the top in GOP nomination race — Washington (CNN) - As Texas Gov. Rick Perry comes closer and closer to jumping into the race for the White House, he's also close to the top of a new national survey in the battle for the GOP presidential nomination.

Discussion: Office Of The Governor, Conservatives4Palin, Ballot Box, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Politico, GOP 12, Iowa Caucuses, Fox News and The Note

Michele Bachmann / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Romney, Perry, Bachmann Top 2012 GOP Picks

Discussion: Red Dog Report, Weasel Zippers, The Politico and National Review

The Note:
Shadow Campaign: Mitt Romney's Iowa Playbook

Discussion: CNN and blogs.abcnews.com

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Lesser Depression — These are interesting times — and I mean that in the worst way. Right now we're looking at not one but two looming crises, either of which could produce a global disaster. In the United States, right-wing fanatics in Congress may block a necessary rise in the debt ceiling …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Moderate Voice, Shakesville, Connecting.the.Dots and Prairie Weather

Grover G. Norquist / New York Times:

Read My Lips: No New Taxes — THE Taxpayer Protection Pledge has received increased attention as the Aug. 2 deadline for raising the debt ceiling approaches. My organization, Americans for Tax Reform, created the pledge in 1986 as a simple, written commitment by a candidate or elected official …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Hullabaloo, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Booman Tribune, The Politico and National Review

Scot Lehigh / Boston Globe:
Playing the pledge game

Discussion: CNN

New York Post:

Weiner in therapy; says hard part will be convincing Hillary Clinton he's recovered — Forget his wife — Anthony Weiner has an even bigger problem on his hands: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. — The horndog ex-House member from Queens is telling friends that while he's finally started therapy …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Jon Ward / The Huffington Post:

Tim Pawlenty: Jesus Christ Is One Of My ‘Heroes’ … WEBSTER CITY, IOWA — When George W. Bush came to Iowa in 1999 and named Jesus as his favorite philosopher, that statement helped boost him to a decisive win in this first-in-the-nation caucus state. — GOP 2012 candidate Tim Pawlenty is following Bush's playbook.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Ben Smith's Blog and The Politico

Jennifer Jacobs / Iowa Caucuses:
ABC Sports says Pawlenty violated copyright with ‘Miracle on Ice’ footage

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Post, MN Progressive Project, TPMDC, Pajamas Media, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Top of the Ticket, The Washington Independent, Politics, The Daily Caller, National Review, CNN and GOP 12

Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary — Technical information: — Employment: (202) 691-6559 * sminfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/sae — Unemployment: (202) 691-6392 * lausinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/lau — Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov

Discussion: Washington Post, Money & Company and Calculated Risk

Robinson / nation.foxnews.com:

Donald Trump Will Re-enter the Presidential Race If ... GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST So I did research on you. I follow you all the time because I know you were toying with the idea of running for president, then you said no, then maybe run as an independent.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Scott Wong / The Politico:

Senate rejects ‘Cut, Cap, Balance’ — The Democratic-controlled Senate on Friday narrowly voted to block a Republican measure that would force Congress to pass a stringent balanced budget amendment and cap spending before increasing the debt ceiling. — The legislation, a conservative priority …

Discussion: Red Dog Report

Aaron Task / Yahoo! Finance:

Return of Mass Layoffs a Grim Sign for U.S. Workers — Putting pressure on an already lousy job market, the mass layoff is making a comeback. In the past week, Cisco, Lockheed Martin and Borders announced a combined 23,000 in job cuts. (See: Another Retailer Bites the Dust: Borders Doomed by Amazon Deal, Davidowitz Says)

Discussion: Hot Air

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:

A Goodbye To Borders — When I was growing up, the kind of people who today are lamenting the decline of physical books in the face of e-reading were busy bemoaning the decline of independent bookstores in the face of ruthless national chains. As it happens, where I grew …

Discussion: Dave Weigel and Eschaton

The Hill:

OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Battle over coffee cups, light bulbs to hit House floor — Friday's Big Story: House lawmakers are slated to vote on separate amendments to spending legislation Friday that would block funding for the use of polystyrene cups and compact fluorescent light bulbs in the Capitol complex.

Discussion: The Politico, ThinkProgress and New York Times

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Obama could be comeback kid if he mimics Clinton — Here's a scary exercise for Republicans. First, make a graph of Bill Clinton's job approval ratings for the nine months following November 1994, when Republicans dealt him a crushing defeat in midterm elections.

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog