memeorandum: Gingrich's Deep Ties to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Eric Lichtblau/New York Times)

8:50 AM ET, February 4, 2012

Top Items:

EXCLUSIVE: Ari Fleischer Secretly Involved In Komen Strategy On Planned Parenthood — Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for George W. Bush and prominent right-wing pundit, was secretly involved in the Komen Foundation's strategy regarding Planned Parenthood.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Mercury Rising and Roger Ailes

Adam Serwer / Mother Jones:

What Does Komen's Latest Statement on Planned Parenthood Really Mean? — Breast cancer foundation Susan G. Komen for the Cure has reversed its decision to stop funding cancer screening referrals by Planned Parenthood, according to a letter from founder Nancy Brinker first obtained by Tom Benning …

Discussion: Mercury News, Jill Stanek, Mediaite, Pressthink, The Moderate Voice, Political Mojo, Nation Now, TBogg, The Daily Caller, LifeSiteNews.com Latest …, Live Action News & Opinion, Off the Kuff and Right Wing Watch

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Komen caved. Or did it? — As you may have heard, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation just announced that it was reversing its decision to ban Planned Parenthood from applying for grants to cover breast cancer screenings — after a massive outcry that spread from women's groups to social media to Capitol Hill.

Simon Maloy / Media Matters for America:

National Review Sees “Gangsterism” Behind Komen's Planned Parenthood Shift — Earlier today the Susan G. Komen Foundation released a statement “apologizing” for their decision earlier this week to cease grants to Planned Parenthood to pay for breast cancer screenings.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Hullabaloo, Crooks and Liars, Booman Tribune, National Review and Big Think

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:
Susan G. Komen Foundation Says It Is Not Connected To Pink ‘Hope’ Handgun [UPDATE]

Discussion: Opinion L.A., Gothamist, CBS Seattle, ThinkProgress, Runnin' Scared, Religion Dispatches, Daily Kos and Gawker

Jill Lepore / New Yorker:
DAILY COMMENT — [Update: On Friday, Susan G. Komen …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Mediaite, pandagon.net, Guardian, Hullabaloo, American Prospect, Jezebel and The Scoop

Reuters:
Komen reverses move to cut Planned Parenthood funding

Discussion: The American Independent, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, THEROOT.COM, The Atlantic Online and Fox News

Tyler Durden / ZeroHedge:

Implied Unemployment Rate Rises To 11.5%, Spread To Propaganda Number Surges To 30 Year High — Sick of the BLS propaganda? Then do the following calculation with us: using BLS data, the US civilian non-institutional population was 242,269 in January, an increase of 1.7 million month over month …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Viking Pundit, ThinkProgress, Doug Ross, The Spectacle Blog, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Wizbang, Don Surber, The PJ Tatler, Vodkapundit and Reuters

James Pethokoukis / The Enterprise Blog:

Why the official 8.3 percent unemployment rate is a phony number—and what it means for Obama's reelection — The January jobs report is out and it seems pretty strong, at least superficially. The unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent, the lowest rate since February 2009.

Discussion: RedState and Weasel Zippers

Lynn Vavreck / Washington Post:
For 2012, the unemployment rate doesn't matter. The change in it does.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Saint Petersblog

Washington Post:
Unemployment report: January job gains have economists rethinking outlooks

Discussion: The Democratic Daily, Booman Tribune and Political Mojo

Newt Gingrich / CNN:

Gingrich sharpens attacks against Romney's wealth — Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) - Newt Gingrich, intensifying his efforts to frame the Republican presidential race as a showdown between his populist insurgency and Mitt Romney's establishment-backed campaign, sharpened his criticisms Friday of Romney's wealth and corporate resume.

Discussion: Reuters, Politico, Political Mojo and Hot Air

Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:

Gingrich's Deep Ties to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — WASHINGTON — On a trip to Ireland in 1998, Speaker Newt Gingrich researched his Irish roots, discussed the prospects for peace in Northern Ireland and entertained speculation about his presidential ambitions.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Caucus, Prairie Weather, Hot Air and ProPublica

Ginger Gibson / Reuters:
Newt Gingrich's Nevada campaign unraveling

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk, CNN and Campaign 2012

Newt Gingrich / CNN: Gingrich: Romney didn't deserve congrats

Politico:

Mitt Romney splits with Brett O'Donnell — A GOP operative who won plaudits for bolstering Mitt Romney's recent debate performances is not being retained by the frontrunner's campaign, an apparent victim of internal tensions over staff receiving too much credit for the candidate's comeback, POLITICO has learned.

Discussion: Naked Politics, Reuters and Taylor Marsh

CNN:

Romney campaign lets go of new debate coach — (CNN) - Mitt Romney's presidential campaign has parted ways with debate coach Brett O'Donnell, a Romney campaign source confirmed Friday. — O'Donnell, a former Michele Bachmann adviser who also did debate prep sessions with John McCain …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

John Cook / Gawker:

Anonymous' Latest Release Includes Private Info About Sexual Assault Victims and Guantanamo Lawyers — Earlier today, Anonymous announced what sounded like an awesome caper: The group had compromised the email of a law firm that represented Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich …

Discussion: The Raw Story and Crooks and Liars

Adrian Chen / Gawker:

Anonymous Leaks Huge Cache of Emails From Iraq War Crimes Case — Anonymous is on a rampage today. Just hours after leaking a confidential phone call between the FBI and Scotland yard, members have released a huge archive of emails and documents related to the 2005 Haditha Massacre, which left 24 Iraqi civilians dead.

Discussion: VentureBeat, Mashable!, TalkLeft and New York Magazine

Niall Stanage / Ballot Box:

With Mitt in the lead, anti-Romney Republicans weigh their options — Mitt Romney is the odds-on favorite to become the GOP presidential nominee following his 14-point victory in the Florida primary Tuesday and heading into the Nevada caucuses with a big lead. Those conservatives who have long opposed his candidacy are at a loss.

Discussion: Prairie Weather

CBS Las Vegas:

Controversial Artist Depicts Obama Trampling The Constitution — Provo, Utah (CBS Las Vegas) - In front of the White House a man is sitting on a park bench in the throes of depression. He is surrounded by all 43 presidents. In the forefront, purposefully ignoring the depressed man is President Obama …

Rosie Gray / Politics:

Santorum Unlikely To Make Indiana Ballot — Santorum fails to pass a low bar, coming some thirty votes short in Marion County. Campaign waiting on a recount. — (AP / Ed Andrieski) — Rick Santorum is on the verge of being left off the ballot in the the Indiana primary, three sources told BuzzFeed Friday.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Hot Air, GOP 12 and Guardian

Eric Berman / Indy's News Center:
Santorum Fails to Qualify for Indiana Ballot

Discussion: CNN, Politico, The Caucus, The Hill and HotAirPundit

OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL:

A.G. SCHNEIDERMAN ANNOUNCES MAJOR LAWSUIT AGAINST NATION'S LARGEST BANKS FOR DECEPTIVE & FRAUDULENT USE OF ELECTRONIC MORTGAGE REGISTRY — Complaint Charges Use Of MERS By Bank Of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, And Wells Fargo Resulted In Fraudulent Foreclosure Filings

Discussion: Vox Popoli, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Business Insider and TalkLeft

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Schneiderman Sues Three Big Banks, MERS for Deceptive Practices, Illegal Foreclosures

Discussion: Politics and Suburban Guerrilla

Neil Genzlinger / New York Times:

Ben Gazzara, a Risk-Taking Actor of Stage and Screen, Dies at 81 — Ben Gazzara, an intense actor whose long career included playing Brick in the original “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” on Broadway, roles in influential films by John Cassavetes and work with several generations of top Hollywood directors …

Discussion: Inside Movies, msnbc.com, PopWatch and Big Hollywood

Amanda Terkel / The Huffington Post:

Koch Brothers, Allies Pledge $100 Million At Private Meeting To Beat Obama … Barack Obama , Newt Gingrich 2012 , Barack Obama 2012 , Newt Gingrich , Obama , President Obama , Video , Charles Koch , David Koch , Koch Brothers , Sheldon Adelson , Winning Our Future , Ken Griffin …

Discussion: Republic Report, The Hill, AlterNet, Political Mojo, ThinkProgress, The BRAD BLOG and Politico

New York Times:

Activists Fight Green Projects, Seeing U.N. Plot — Across the country, activists with ties to the Tea Party are railing against all sorts of local and state efforts to control sprawl and conserve energy. They brand government action for things like expanding public transportation routes …

Discussion: Pirate's Cove

Kathryn Jean Lopez / National Review:

Army Silenced Chaplains Last Sunday — In Catholic Churches across the country, parishioners were read letters from the pulpit this weekend from bishops in their diocese about the mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services giving Catholics a year before they'll be required …

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed

Erick Erickson / RedState:

Danger Will Robinson . . . or Ann Coulter — This week is a career milestone for me. I appear in Time magazine writing about the state of the conservative movement. As a kid living overseas, my American history teacher subscribed us all to Time and U.S. News and World Report.

Discussion: Daily Pundit, The Daily Caller, Whiskey Fire, Conservatives4Palin and Riehl World View

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Santorum To Gay Man: You Don't Deserve ‘Privilege’ Of Marriage Because Gay Unions Don't ‘Benefit Society’ — Rick Santorum told a gay man in Fulton, Missouri Friday afternoon that he didn't deserve the “privilege” of marriage because his same-sex relationship does not “benefit” society in the same way that opposite-sex marriage does.