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Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:
Current TV Dismisses Keith Olbermann — 5:13 p.m. | Updated Current TV said Friday afternoon that it had terminated the contract of its lead anchor, Keith Olbermann, scarcely a year after he was hired to reboot the fledgling channel in his progressive political image.
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Current TV:
Open letter to the viewers of Current — To the Viewers of Current: — We created Current to give voice to those Americans who refuse to rely on corporate-controlled media and are seeking an authentic progressive outlet. We are more committed to those goals today than ever before.
Discussion:
Guardian, AdAge, Gothamist, Conservative Hideout 2.0, TVbytheNumbers and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
Keach Hagey / Politico:
Olbermann out, Spitzer in on Current TV — Current TV has terminated its relationship with Keith Olbermann and will replace his show with a program hosted by Eliot Spitzer. — The complete memo:
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Truthdig and iOwnTheWorld.com
Keith Olbermann / TwitLonger:
TwitLonger — My full statement: — I'd like to apologize to my viewers and my staff for the failure of Current TV. — Editorially, Countdown had never been better. But for more than a year I have been imploring Al Gore and Joel Hyatt to resolve our issues internally …
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The Huffington Post, Business Insider, TMZ.com, Stinque and Towleroad News #gay, more at Mediagazer »
Alyssa Rosenberg / ThinkProgress:
Current TV Fires Keith Olbermann, Replaces Him With Spitzer Immediately, Olbermann to Sue — The New York Times' Brian Stelter breaks the news that Current TV has let go Keith Olbermann, and will replace him starting tonight with Eliot Spitzer, denying Olbermann to give a send-off or special comment to his viewers.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter and Booman Tribune
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Broccoli and Bad Faith — Nobody knows what the Supreme Court will decide with regard to the Affordable Care Act. But, after this week's hearings, it seems quite possible that the court will strike down the “mandate” — the requirement that individuals purchase health insurance — and maybe the whole law.
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Adam Liptak / New York Times:
News Analysis: Justice Anthony M. Kennedy May Be Key to Health Law Ruling — WASHINGTON — The way to frame a Supreme Court argument meant to persuade Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is to talk about liberty. It is his touchstone and guiding principle, and his conception of liberty is likely …
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USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Hill, The Huffington Post, Althouse and The BLT
Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
Obamacare Is On Trial. So Is the Supreme Court. — Before this week, the well-being of tens of millions of Americans was at stake in the lawsuits challenging the Affordable Care Act. — Now something else is at stake, too: The legitimacy of the Supreme Court. — Nobody knows how the justices will rule.
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Supreme Court May Be Most Conservative in Modern History
Supreme Court May Be Most Conservative in Modern History
Discussion:
Ezra Klein
Tom Goldstein / SCOTUSblog:
The RNC shoots itself in the mouth
The RNC shoots itself in the mouth
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The Maddow Blog, Hullabaloo, Law Blog, Ballot Box, The Raw Story, Daily Kos and Health Care at the High Court
Terry / CNSNews:
Justice Breyer on Obamacare: 'I Haven't Read Every Word of That, I Promise'
Justice Breyer on Obamacare: 'I Haven't Read Every Word of That, I Promise'
Discussion:
protein wisdom
Bloomberg:
Republicans Tampered With Court Audio in Obama Attack Ad
Republicans Tampered With Court Audio in Obama Attack Ad
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Politico, ThinkProgress, Health Care at the High Court, Business Insider, The Impolitic, Taylor Marsh and New York Magazine
Amanda Peterson Beadle / ThinkProgress:
Michele Bachmann Thinks People ‘Choose’ To Not Have Health Insurance, Not Because They Can't Afford It
Michele Bachmann Thinks People ‘Choose’ To Not Have Health Insurance, Not Because They Can't Afford It
Discussion:
Dave Winer's …, The Raw Story and Wonkette
Kate Sheppard / Mother Jones:
Arizona Outdoes Everyone With New Anti-Abortion Bill — Bills limiting the time period during which abortion is legal have proliferated in recent years as other states have followed Nebraska's lead and banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. But a law under consideration in Arizona …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, ECHIDNE of the snakes and Hullabaloo
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Georgia lawmakers pass abortion bill on last, emotional day
Georgia lawmakers pass abortion bill on last, emotional day
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Associated Press, WXIA-TV and The Moderate Voice
Norma Love / Associated Press:
NH House votes to ban abortion after 20 weeks
NH House votes to ban abortion after 20 weeks
Discussion:
Salon, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, LifeNews.com and ThinkProgress
Alexander Burns / Politico:
Romney campaign: Release all transcripts of all meetings with foreign leaders — Via National Journal, the Mitt Romney campaign ratchets up the transparency game in a novel direction, in response to a call for Romney to release decades' worth of tax returns:
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Mark Maremont / Wall Street Journal:
Obama Campaign Seeks Romney Tax Returns
Obama Campaign Seeks Romney Tax Returns
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Business Insider
Daniel Bice / JSOnline:
Barrett will run in recall election — By Daniel Bice of the Journal Sentinel — It took a little while, but Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has finally decided whether or not to run in the upcoming recall election. — He's in. — In a Friday afternoon email to supporters, Barrett …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Washington Post and Althouse
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Scott Walker / CNN:
Recall vote scheduled in Wisconsin, Republican ad war continues
Recall vote scheduled in Wisconsin, Republican ad war continues
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Hot Air
Mj Lee / Politico:
Paul Ryan: Why I'm backing Mitt Romney — Rep. Paul Ryan threw his support behind Mitt Romney on Friday, hailing him as the “best person to beat the president” and warning that the Republican primary needs to come to an end soon. — “Who will make the best president?
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Mark Murray / msnbc.com:
NBC/Marist Poll: Romney leads in Wisconsin primary
NBC/Marist Poll: Romney leads in Wisconsin primary
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JSOnline, The Caucus, Washington Post, The Current.com, Guardian, Reuters, Hot Air, Firedoglake, Don Surber, Newsy, Outside the Beltway, Campaign 2012, Ballot Box and americanthinker.com
Bruce Vielmetti / JSOnline:
Federal court strikes down parts of Act 10 — By Bruce Vielmetti and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel — A federal judge in Madison on Friday ruled that portions of Act 10 - which removed most collective bargaining for most public employees - are unconstitutional.
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Bruce Vielmetti / JSOnline:
Federal court throws out parts of public union law
Federal court throws out parts of public union law
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Main Street and The Maddow Blog
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Mitt Romney's PAC Funded Anti-Gay Marriage Group Under The Radar … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Elections 2012, Mitt Romney, Video, Mitt Romney Gay, Election 2012, Free And Strong America, Marriage Romney, Mitt Romney 2012, Mitt Romney Gay Marriage, Romney Gay Marriage, Romney Gay Marriage Funding …
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ThinkProgress, Poliglot, Good As You, Towleroad News #gay, Outside the Beltway, Guardian, Mother Jones and Gay Politics
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Scott Wooledge / The Huffington Post:
How Much Racial Division and Hostility Did Mitt Romney Buy with His $10,000 Donation to NOM?
How Much Racial Division and Hostility Did Mitt Romney Buy with His $10,000 Donation to NOM?
Discussion:
Washington Post, Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD
Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect:
Willful Ignorance — This, from YouGov, tells you everything you need to know about contemporary race relations in a single, compact chart: — For 66 percent of white Americans to agree with this statement—"Irish, Italian, Jewish, and many other minorities overcame prejudice and worked their way up.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, American Power and Shakesville
Matthew O'Brien / The Atlantic Online:
Wall Street Thinks It Knows the Future of Obamacare—Why? — Nobody except Justice Anthony Kennedy knows what will happen to Obamacare. But Wall Street, whose predictive powers are dubious, thinks it does. The proof is in the healthcare stocks. — The below chart shows Aetna's stock price the past week.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Health Care at the High Court and Prairie Weather
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
MasterCard, VISA Warn of Processor Breach — VISA and MasterCard are alerting banks across the country about a recent major breach at a U.S.-based credit card processor. Sources in the financial sector are calling the breach “massive,” and say it may involve more than 10 million compromised card numbers.
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Guardian, Mashable!, BBC, The Raw Story and Gothamist
NY Daily News:
George Zimmerman lost job as party security guard for being too aggressive, ex-co-worker says — Zimmerman at center of firestorm for fatally shooting unarmed teen Trayvon Martin last month — Trayvon Martin was shot along a dark walkway just behind Cheryl Brown's apartment while her son Austin …
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CNN, Wonkette, The Daily Caller, Fox News, The Lede, Shakesville and The Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
Tim Mak / Politico:
C-SPAN hammers Sen. Saxby Chambliss — C-SPAN unloaded Friday on Sen. Saxby Chambliss after he charged that its televised proceedings of Congress were responsible for the partisan rancor in the Senate, pointing out the Georgia Republican had appeared on the network 599 times.
Wall Street Journal:
Not-So-Smooth Operator — Obama increasingly comes across as devious and dishonest. — Something's happening to President Obama's relationship with those who are inclined not to like his policies. They are now inclined not to like him. His supporters would say, “Nothing new there,” but actually I think there is.
Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Chart of the Day: Conservatives Don't Trust Science — A new study by Gordon Gauchat takes a look at public trust in science and finds that it's unchanged over the past few decades for most groups. The one exception is conservatives, whose trust in science has plummeted:
Discussion:
DeSmogBlog, Taylor Marsh, Paul Krugman, Crooked Timber, The Maddow Blog, ThinkProgress and Los Angeles Times