memeorandum: Food Stamp Rolls to Grow Through 2014, CBO Says (Damian Paletta/Real Time Economics)

8:30 PM ET, April 19, 2012

Top Items:

Edgar Sandoval / NY Daily News:

EXCLUSIVE: First photos of Colombia escort in explosive Secret Service hooker scandal — 24-year-old single mom is known as Dania, she says agent offered $30 for $800 service — CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA - The Daily News can reveal the first photo of the 24-year-old Colombian call girl whose encounter …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, ABCNEWS, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, msnbc.com, Hit & Run, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, TMZ.com, HotAirPundit and nation.foxnews.com

Norah O'Donnell / CBS News:
Source: Ousted Secret Service agent plans to sue

Discussion: msnbc.com, Bangor Daily News, The Week, News Desk and Taylor Marsh

ABCNEWS:
Secret Service Pre-Planned Party at Colombian Hotel

Discussion: Washington Post, neo-neocon, Althouse, New York Times and New York Magazine

Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:
Gingrich's Secret Service detail likely costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars a day

Discussion: Don Surber, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway and The Political Carnival

Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Secret Service scandal: More firings likely according to top lawmaker

Discussion: CNN, Campaign 2012, The Week and New York Times

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Obama has small lead; Christie would help Romney — PPP's newest national poll finds Barack Obama leading Mitt Romney 49-46. A similar poll in February found Obama leading 49-42. Obama's not losing support but Romney is consolidating it as it becomes more and more clear that he will be the Republican nominee for President.

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Hot Air, Hit & Run, Taegan Goddard's …, The Hill and Guardian

Quinnipiac University:

Big Lead With Women Gives Obama An Edge On Romney, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Christie, Rubio, Ryan Top GOP Running Mate List — President Barack Obama holds a thin 46 - 42 percent lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Hot Air, 2012 Decoded, ABCNEWS, Shakesville, American Prospect, Ballot Box, Yahoo! News, GOP 12, The Caucus, 24Ahead, Clarion-Ledger and CNN

Olivier Knox / ABCNEWS:

Dogfight over Obama's dog-meat-eating childhood joined by White House — Proving that election fights can unleash the worst jokes, the White House press secretary Jay Carney said Thursday that conservatives gleefully noting that President Barack Obama was fed dog meat as a child in Indonesia were just …

Discussion: Politico, Yahoo! News, Crooks and Liars and The Daily Caller

Michael Patrick Leahy / The Daily Caller:
The coming conservative landslide

Discussion: The Agonist

Neil King Jr / Wall Street Journal:
Poll Frames Rivals' Strengths

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Reuters:
Exclusive: Obama to renominate Republican to nuclear panel

Discussion: Politico, New York Times and Campaign 2012

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:

Pelosi: Amend the First Amendment — (CNSNews.com) - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday endorsed a movement announced by other congressional Democrats on Wednesday to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow Congress to regulate political speech when it is engaged …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Hot Air and Weasel Zippers

Darius Dixon / Politico:

Allen West backs Ted Nugent — Ted Nugent doesn't bear “any ill will” toward President Barack Obama, Rep. Allen West said Thursday despite the rocker's appointment with the Secret Service over his controversial comments. — “I think he was just expressing maybe his opinion about something …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CNN, ABCNEWS, Mother Jones, No More Mister Nice Blog, theGrio and Weasel Zippers

LZ Granderson / CNN:

Ted Nugent should be in jail — Editor's note: LZ Granderson, who writes a weekly column for CNN.com, was named journalist of the year by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and a 2011 Online Journalism Award finalist for commentary. He is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com.

Discussion: Mediaite, CANNONFIRE and Wizbang

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:

Cantor Suggests Anti-Semitism Is A Problem Within The House GOP Caucus — A few weeks ago, the House GOP was up in arms over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's (R-VA) $25,000 donation to anti-incumbent candidate Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who ultimately defeated his opponent, incumbent Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL).

Discussion: Hot Air, Mediaite, National Review and Wonkette

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:
Cantor Suggests Raising Taxes On The Poor: 'You've Got To Discuss That Issue'

Discussion: Daily Kos and Faith in Public Life

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Cantor's small-business tax cut passes House in 235-173 vote

Discussion: Politico and ThinkProgress

Aram Roston / The Daily Beast:

New Account: Zimmerman Told Cops Trayvon's Last Words Were ‘Okay, You Got It’ — In exclusive reporting from Sanford, Fla., Aram Roston offers a new inside account of what Zimmerman told police after the shooting. — Last December, George Zimmerman hosted a small gathering at a clubhouse in Lake Mary, Florida.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Daily Caller and theGrio

Sabrina Eaton / Plain Dealer:

Lorain officials question use of gypsum plant as Romney backdrop — WASHINGTON, D.C. - Nearly four years after National Gypsum shuttered its drywall plant in Lorain, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will reuse the facility on Henderson Drive as a backdrop for his message …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, ABCNEWS and Yahoo! News

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Romney speaks at shuttered Ohio plant, blasts Obama's economic record

Discussion: Politico, CNN and FreakOutNation

Nia-Malika Henderson / Washington Post:
Romney ties Obama to factory closed under Bush

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Maddow Blog

Kris Maher / Washington Wire:

Romney's Cookie Comment Bites Back — In a campaign stop Tuesday outside Pittsburgh, Mitt Romney made what many locals considered a tasteless remark about cookies from a local landmark bakery. … Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, met with four couples …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, Indecision Forever, ThinkProgress and GOP 12

NationalJournal.com:

Rubio's Vice Presidential Freudian Slip — The Florida senator says he will say no if anyone asks, but demonstrates the job's on his mind. — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said Wednesday that “I don't want to be the vice president right now, or maybe ever. I really want to do a good job in the Senate.”

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air and Fox News

ABCNEWS:

Marco Rubio Says He Would Turn Down VP Slot If Asked — Sen. Marco Rubio said today he would decline any offer from Mitt Romney to be a part of the GOP ticket this fall. — “I don't want to be the vice president,” the Florida Republican said during an interview with Major Garrett of the National Journal.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Wonkette, Washington Post and New York Magazine

Jon Pareles / New York Times:

Levon Helm, Drummer in the Band, Dies at 71 — Levon Helm, who helped forge a deep-rooted American music as the drummer and singer for the Band, died on Thursday in Manhattan. He was 71 and lived in Woodstock, N.Y. — His death was announced by a spokeswoman for Vanguard Records, for which he had recorded several albums.

Rolling Stone:
Levon Helm, Drummer and Singer of the Band, Dead at 71

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and The Maddow Blog

Javier Manjarres / The Shark Tank:

Michele Bachmann- Obama “Waving a Tar Baby in the Air” — During our sit-down interview with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Bachmann skewered President Obama's energy policy and his farcical view of energy “independence.” — Bachmann said that Obama doesn't know “zilch about the economy …

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Indecision Forever, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, The Gateway Pundit and The Raw Story

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Bachmann's “Tar Baby”

Discussion: Shakesville

John Lichfield / The Independent:

François Hollande builds lead as Nicolas Sarkozy allies admit writing is on the wall — Poll saying socialist could win by 14 per cent leaves right wing in despair — NOTE: WE DO NOT STORE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS(ES) BUT YOUR IP ADDRESS WILL BE LOGGED TO PREVENT ABUSE OF THIS FEATURE.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Maddow Blog, The Agonist and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Steven Erlanger / New York Times:
Sarkozy Re-election Bid in Trouble

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

How Much “Violence Against Women” Do Republicans Support? — If you've been following the debate in the Senate over the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, you know that Republicans are complaining that they don't want the act to expire, but object to “poison pills” …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Politico

Steve Benen / The Maddow Blog:
Violence Against Women Act takes center stage

Discussion: Roll Call, New York Times, The Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Mother Jones

Melissa Russo / nbcnewyork.com:

Pollster's Phone Call Saves NYC Woman's Life — Bobby Berlin was going into diabetic shock when she answered the call from Marist pollsters — When pollsters call, people usually don't want to answer — but for one Upper West Side woman, the call from Marist College pollsters helped save her life.

Discussion: Hotline On Call and Gothamist

NEWS.com.au:

Worker injured during sex gets compensation payout — A WOMAN who was injured while having sex in her hotel room during a work trip is entitled to compensation. — In the Federal Court today Justice John Nicholas ruled that the woman was injured during her “course of employment”.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Gawker, JOSHUAPUNDIT and The PJ Tatler

Molly Ball / The Atlantic Online:

What Newt Gingrich Lost by Running for President — His almost certainly failed campaign for the Republican nomination leaves his stature diminished — and his empire in shambles. — LANCASTER, Penn. — Newt Gingrich has gotten noticeably fatter over the course of his campaign.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway