memeorandum: NBC/WSJ poll: Obama, Romney remain in dead heat (First Read/msnbc.com)

7:15 AM ET, June 27, 2012

Top Items:

Charles McGrath / New York Times:

Nora Ephron | 1941-2012: Nora Ephron, Essayist, Screenwriter and Director, Dies at 71 — Nora Ephron, an essayist and humorist in the Dorothy Parker mold (only smarter and funnier, some said) who became one of her era's most successful screenwriters and filmmakers, making romantic comedy hits like …

Discussion: Roger L. Simon, Poynter, Connecting.the.Dots, Althouse, Guardian, Mashable! and Truthdig, more at Mediagazer »

Adam Bernstein / Washington Post:

Nora Ephron, prolific author and screenwriter, dies at age 71 — View Photo Gallery — Nora Ephron dies: Ephron, who emerged over the past four decades as one of America's warmest and most acute chroniclers of contemporary culture and society, has died. She was 71.

Discussion: New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Daily What, BuzzFeed and Guardian

Liz Smith / wowowow:

Liz Smith on Nora Ephron — I am sitting here with an open box of mail from and to Nora Ephron between the years of the early 60s and a month ago. It should be crammed but I realize from reading my own answers to Nora that there is a plethora of her witty responses.

Discussion: TMZ.com, Mediaite, msnbc.com, Gothamist and Gawker

Laura Bassett / The Huffington Post:

Rand Paul Fetal Personhood Amendment Stalls Flood Insurance Bill … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Harry Reid , Rand Paul, Video, Floods, Floods, Flood Insurance Bill, Rand Paul Abortion, Rand Paul Abortion Amendment, Rand Paul Fetal Personhood, Rand Paul Personhood, Politics News

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos, The Impolitic and Wall Street Journal

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Reid, McConnell say they have a deal on student loan interest rates — Senate leaders say they have a deal on student loan legislation, pending approval by House Republicans, who have unexpectedly balked at Senate deals before. — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) …

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, Politico, Daily Kos and ThinkProgress

Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Flood insurance bill snag: Abortion

Discussion: Balloon Juice and The Raw Story

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:
Republican Senator Tries To Add Conception Amendment To Flood Insurance Bill

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Addicting Info, Jesus' General and The Political Carnival

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Reid vows to block vote on Paul's ‘life at conception’ amendment to flood bill

Discussion: Wonkette and Guardian

Larry Margasak / Associated Press:

Some Democrats may follow NRA and support contempt — WASHINGTON (AP) — Now that the politically potent National Rifle Association is keeping score, some Democrats may join House Republicans if there's a vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress in a dispute …

Discussion: Speaker.gov, Politico, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Political Carnival

LZ Granderson / CNN:

Don't be nosy about Fast and Furious — 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 is a 2011 Online Journalism Award finalist for commentary.

Discussion: Hot Air and Hit & Run

Mhigginscbs / CBS DC:
Hoyer: Some Dems Will Vote To Hold Holder In Contempt For Fast And Furious

Discussion: Nice Deb and The Daily Caller

Ryan Mauro / World Threats:
The Other Eric Holder Scandal

Discussion: Doug Ross, Weasel Zippers, Israpundit and RedState

First Read / msnbc.com:

NBC/WSJ poll: Obama, Romney remain in dead heat — By NBC News Senior Political Editor Mark Murray — President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney remain locked in a tight contest, with each candidate displaying significant strengths and weaknesses four months …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, New York Magazine, CNN, Hot Air, NewsBusters.org blogs and No More Mister Nice Blog

Mj Lee / Politico:

Jan Brewer: Obama says ‘drop dead’ to Arizona — Just hours after hailing the Supreme Court's ruling on Arizona's immigration law as a “legal victory” for her state, Gov. Jan Brewer changed her tone, accusing the Obama administration of telling her state to “drop dead.”

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, BBC, Mother Jones, Hot Air, Riehl World View, Daily Kos and CNN

Liz Goodwin / Yahoo! News:
Arizona implements immigration law as feds push back

Discussion: Firedoglake and Arizona Capitol Times

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Romney: If health law invalidated, Obama's first term was a waste

Discussion: New York Times, ABCNEWS, Indecision Forever, The Caucus, CNN and Connecting.the.Dots

Los Angeles Times:
Arizona police see immigration law as enforcement headache

Discussion: Hot Air and New York Times

Pema Levy / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM2012 — Claire McCaskill Will Not Attend Democratic National Convention — Claire McCaskill will not be attending the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, a McCaskill aide confirmed to TPM Tuesday. McCaskill joins a list of vulnerable Democratic politicians whose home districts …

Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:

EXCLUSIVE POLL: Women's Health Issues Create Surprising Vulnerability For Eric Cantor's Reelection Bid — New polling from Virginia's 7th Congressional District, one of the more reliably conservative districts in the country, shows surprising vulnerabilities for Republican House Majority …

Discussion: The Political Carnival

Natashajaynesmith / natasha smith:

“Please God. Please make it stop.” — I have been forced to leave Cairo prematurely following a horrific sexual and physical attack in Tahrir Square. — The atmosphere was one of jubilation, excitement, and happiness as I walked, accompanied by two male companions for safety along Kasr El Nil bridge.

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Public Secrets, The PJ Tatler, The Jawa Report and Weasel Zippers

Steve Holland / Reuters:

Romney “willing to risk being one-term president”: Portman — (Reuters) - Republican Mitt Romney would tackle tough debt and deficit problems if elected on November 6 in ways that could leave him at risk of being a one-term president, a potential vice presidential running mate, Senator Rob Portman, said on Tuesday.

Discussion: Business Insider

Joe Biden / CNN:
Biden: Romney is a job creator in India, China

Discussion: The Political Carnival, Politico and Liberal Values

Thomas Kaplan / New York Times:

Rangel Fends Off Challengers to Win Difficult Primary — Surviving one of the toughest re-election fights of his career, Representative Charles B. Rangel fended off four challengers on Tuesday to win the Democratic nomination for a 22nd term in Congress. — Mr. Rangel's victory capped …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and New York Magazine

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:

Mia Love for Congress — Today's Washington Post contains a front page story about Mia Love, the Republican candidate for Congress in Utah's Fourth Congressional District. Love, age 36, is the mayor of Saratoga Springs, a rapidly growing Utah town of about 18,000. She is also Black, Mormon, and quite conservative.

Discussion: heraldextra.com

Rachel Rose Hartman / ABCNEWS:

Incumbents Rangel, Hatch win primary elections — Two very different sitting incumbents— New York Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel and Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch— defied the odds Tuesday night and won re-election despite strong primary challenges in their respective states.

Stephanie Gaskell / Politico:

SCOTUS to rule on military lying — Is falsely claiming to be a military hero a white lie or theft? SCOTUS decides Thursday. Reuters — Close — The Supreme Court's got more than health care left to decide, including a case about whether it's a crime to lie about being a military hero.

Michael O'Connell / Hollywood Reporter:

CNN Hits 21-Year Ratings Low in Second Quarter — Battered by a series of rough weeks and big losses for Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan, the cable news network sinks with total viewers and in the coveted adults 25-to-54 demo. — After several months of bad ratings news for CNN …

Discussion: Media Decoder, Mediaite, New York Magazine and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Agoldberg / The Smoking Gun:

George Zimmerman Passed Police Lie Detector Test Day After Trayvon Martin Killing — A day after killing Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman passed a police lie detector test when asked if he confronted the teenager and whether he feared for his life “when you shot the guy,” according to documents released today by Florida prosecutors.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys, Mediaite, Riehl World View and UrbanGrounds

Helen Gao / The Atlantic Online:

The Education System That Pulled China Up May Now Be Holding It Back — China wants inventors and entrepreneurs, but its schools, built around the notorious gaokao exam, are still designed to produce cookie-cutter engineers and accountants. — On the morning of June 7 every year, Beijing's normally chaotic streets fall silent.

Kurt Schlosser / msnbc.com:

Author Maurice Sendak spoke of desire to kill Bush, Cheney — In one of his final interviews, celebrated children's book author Maurice Sendak said he fantasized about killing former President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. — The “Where the Wild Things Are” author and illustrator …