memeorandum: Two Lawsuits Challenge the Lack of Air-Conditioning in Texas Prisons (Manny Fernandez/New York Times)

1:05 PM ET, June 27, 2012

Top Items:

Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania Swinging To Obama, Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll Finds; Voters Back President On Immigration, Split On Economy — This compares to the results of a May 3 Swing State Poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University, showing Obama …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Politico, The Caucus, Washington Wire, Ballot Box, New York Magazine, CNN, Mediaite, Guardian, Examiner, Hot Air, GOP 12, Outside the Beltway, Hotline On Call, Public Policy Polling and Reuters

Wall Street Journal:

Obama Clings to a Narrow Lead — New Poll Shows Him Doing Better Than Romney in Swing States; Both Candidates Face Challenges — President Barack Obama has managed to retain a narrow lead in his race for re-election despite a spate of bad economic news and surging GOP optimism …

Discussion: American Prospect, Business Insider, Washington Wire, Ballot Box, Washington Examiner, Jared Bernstein and CANNONFIRE

Alexander Burns / Politico:
Quinnipiac: Swing states inch toward Obama

Discussion: Washington Wire and americanthinker.com

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

Discussion: American Prospect, The Atlantic Wire, Daniel W. Drezner, Daily Kos, Taegan Goddard's …, The Maddow Blog, The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, NewsBusters.org blogs, CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Magazine and Public Policy Polling

Samuel P. Jacobs / Reuters:

Democratic campaign chair tells candidates to avoid convention — (Reuters) - The man responsible for getting Democrats elected to the U.S. Congress this fall has a message for his party's candidates: Stay away from the Democratic National Convention. — “If they want to win an election …

Jonathan Martin / Politico:

Dems go AWOL in class war — Labor unions hoped to turn the Wisconsin recall election into a rallying cause for their ailing movement. But a Democratic president couldn't be dragged off the sidelines for the fight. — Anti-Wall Street activists were itching to see JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon bashed …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Althouse

Katherine Eban / Fortune:

The truth about the Fast and Furious scandal — A Fortune investigation reveals that the ATF never intentionally allowed guns to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. How the world came to believe just the opposite is a tale of rivalry, murder, and political bloodlust.

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Moderate Voice, The Reality-Based Community, National Review, Business Insider and Taegan Goddard's …

Investor's Business Daily:
Issa's Right: Tougher Gun Laws Fast And Furious Goal

Discussion: Questions and Observations and BizzyBlog

Sean Trende / Real Clear Politics:

Why the Whole Health Care Law Is in Jeopardy — The real Supreme Court news on Tuesday wasn't the Arizona immigration decision or even the summary reversal of the Supreme Court of Montana in the “Citizens United 2” case. It was that the chief justice of the United States didn't write any of these opinions.

Discussion: National Review, Right Wing News and Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:
Justices' personal health struggles may influence their decision

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Jake Sherman / Politico:
GOP plan for ‘Obamacare’: Nothing

Discussion: Reuters, The Maddow Blog, CNN and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Washington Post:
On health care, the public doesn't like its options

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Mother Jones, Associated Press, Pirate's Cove and Roll Call

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: Media Decoder, Guardian, Feministing, ABCNEWS, The Confluence, PrawfsBlawg, Roger L. Simon, Poynter, BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post, Shakesville, Muckety, Althouse, 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: The Moderate Voice, Guardian, New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Daily What and First Draft, more at Mediagazer »

Liz Smith / wowowow:
Liz Smith on Nora Ephron

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

Jordy Yager / The Hill:

Second House Dem backs measure to place Holder in contempt — Democratic Rep. John Barrow (Ga.) said on Wednesday he plans to vote in favor of placing Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. — Barrow becomes the second Democrat to publicly announce plans to buck his party …

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools and Ballot Box

Larry Margasak / Associated Press:
Some Democrats may follow NRA and support contempt

Discussion: Hot Air, Power Line, Speaker.gov, americanthinker.com, Politico, The Political Carnival, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Right Scoop

Ryan Mauro / World Threats:
The Other Eric Holder Scandal

Discussion: Doug Ross, Weasel Zippers and Israpundit

Deirdre Walsh / CNN:
Boehner: Contempt vote on Holder will proceed

Discussion: Georgia Tipsheet

Matt Canham / Salt Lake Tribune:
Matheson: Holder should be held in contempt

Discussion: Hot Air, Power Line, Hotline On Call, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, RedState, Wake up America and Influence Alley

David Seifman / New York Post:

Mayor rigs wacky A/C to keep his SUV chilled — Who's full of hot air? — Mayor Bloomberg wants to maintain his politically correct credentials on global warming — but hates to get into a hot car when he leaves an air conditioned building. — The solution his aides came up with could easily …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, National Review, New York Magazine, Jammie Wearing Fools and The Daily Caller

NY Daily News:

Charles Barron won't accept landslide loss in Brooklyn's 8th Congressional District against Hakeem Jeffries — With 54% of precincts reporting, the Associated Press deemed Jeffries the easy winner, 75% of the vote to Barron's 25%. — Charles Barron concession speech at Sistas Cafe in Bed Stuy …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and Washington Examiner

Gersh Kuntzman / New York Times:
Hakeem Jeffries Defeats Charles Barron in Bitter Democratic Primary

Discussion: Runnin' Scared and National Review

Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:

The 7 Most Anti-Gay U.S. Representatives — Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) - The Most Anti-Gay U.S. Representative — So far this Congress, anti-LGBT Republicans have introduced at least ten major anti-gay bills, resolutions, and amendments in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay

Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:
EXCLUSIVE POLL: Women's Health Issues Create Surprising Vulnerability For Eric Cantor's Reelection Bid

Discussion: The Political Carnival and Suburban Guerrilla

Benny Johnson / TheBlaze.com:

PROTESTERS SHOW UP TO RALLY AGAINST KARL ROVE — BUT CAN'T REALLY SAY WHO KARL ROVE IS — Organized protesters set out to counter the issue of money in politics while marching over a mile through Washington DC last week. The heat index was a blistering 90 degrees, which seemed to add …

Discussion: Power Line

Natalie DiBlasio / USA Today:

A third of Earthlings believe in UFOs, would befriend aliens — Aliens often compete with superheroes, vampires and zombies to top hit movie lists — but more than a third of Americans say UFOs are not a fantasy. — That's the word from a new National Geographic Channel study finding …

Discussion: Mediaite, White House Dossier and Mother Jones

Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:

Obama Hails The ‘Miami Heats’ — Unfazed by a partisan spat sparked by his comment on former Red Sox player Kevin Youkilis, President Obama tonight again opined on a professional sports team, publicly praising the NBA champion Miami Heat at a campaign fundraiser in the city.

Discussion: Twitchy, The Hill, Hit & Run, Scared Monkeys, Jammie Wearing Fools, The Spectacle Blog, American Spectator and JustOneMinute

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

ACLU to represent KKK group — The American Civil Liberties Union will champion a Ku Klux Klan outfit's right to “adopt” a section of highway in Union County, an ACLU official said Tuesday — on the same day that key members of the KKK group acknowledged they live in a neighboring county.

Discussion: The Raw Story, Guardian, Towleroad News #gay, Business Insider and nation.foxnews.com

Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Metropolitan Area 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: ThinkProgress and Business Insider

Molly Ball / The Atlantic Online:

Democrats' Money Panic: Is Obama About to Get Swamped by GOP Cash? — Liberals increasingly fear they will be outspent in November the way they were in Wisconsin — and they may be right. — As the Wisconsin recall unfolded, Democrats watched in horrified helplessness as their candidate …

Discussion: Betsy's Page and Instapundit

Hans Villarica / The Atlantic Online:

Study of the Day: Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Don't Attract Crime — UCLA researchers look at crime locations in Sacramento and find that, contrary to what many assume, they don't revolve around medical marijuana outlets. — PROBLEM: As more and more states in the U.S. legalize the use …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

New York Post:

Cargo ship from Pakistan with alleged ‘stowaways’ arrives in Port Newark — The Villa De Aquarius today at Port Newark. — A cargo ship from Pakistan carrying stowaways - some believed to be dead - pulled into Port Newark this morning and was greeted by teams of emergency responders, officials said.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Walter Russell Mead / Via Meadia:

German Court Declares Judaism A Crime — Hard to believe, but that's what the decision handed down by the regional court in Cologne, Germany means: circumcising a child under the age of consent is a crime, notwithstanding the religious beliefs of the parents.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Agence France Presse, Vox Popoli and Ed Driscoll