memeorandum: Romney's Twitter account surging with phony followers (Gustav Wynn/NYaltnews)

12:55 PM ET, July 22, 2012

Top Items:

NCAA source: “Unprecedented” penalties against Penn State — (CBS News) CBS News has learned that the NCAA will announce what a high-ranking association source called “unprecedented” penalties against both the Penn State University football team and the school.

Discussion: CollegeFootballTalk, The Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, TMZ.com, New York Magazine, Deadspin and Sporting News Feed RSS

Associated Press:

Statue of Hall of Fame Penn State coach Joe Paterno taken down from outside football stadium — STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The famed statue of Joe Paterno was taken down from outside the Penn State football stadium Sunday, eliminating a key piece of the iconography surrounding …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Scared Monkeys and Sense of Events

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Rep. McCarthy says colleagues lack spine to take on the NRA — Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), one of Congress's most outspoken advocates for gun control, criticized her colleagues Sunday for not standing up to the National Rifle Association to “save lives.”

Discussion: Politico

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Hickenlooper: Stricter gun laws would likely not have stopped killer — Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) said Sunday he doubted tougher gun control laws would have averted the movie-house killings in Aurora, Colo., speculating the attacker could have found various ways to perpetrate a massacre.

Discussion: CNN and The Hinterland Gazette

Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:

Rupert Murdoch Tweets Support for Gun Control — Conservative media baron Rupert Murdoch has Tweeted his support for gun control: … I guess this makes him a short-sighted, liberal, tree hugger. — Or are some things too important to remain in the septic tank of American political polemics?

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Daily Beast, Mashable! and The Agonist, more at Mediagazer »

NY Daily News:
Blood on hands of Obama, Mitt and NRA!

Discussion: Pirate's Cove, The Hinterland Gazette, Doug Ross, Althouse, The Moderate Voice, American Power, Joe. My. God. and New York Times

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Gun Control Legislation: Frank Lautenberg Readies Bill In Wake Of Aurora Shooting

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Denver Post, Associated Press, The Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Joe. My. God. and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

KDVR.com:

Police interview associate of movie theater suspect — AURORA, Colo. — Aurora Police said they interviewed an associate of the suspect in the shooting spree Friday at the Century 16 Movie Theaters. — Sources tell FOX31 Denver reporter Justin Joseph that a second man is now a person …

Discussion: Twitchy, The PJ Tatler, CANNONFIRE, Mediaite and The Hinterland Gazette

Christina Ng / ABCNEWS:

ABC News Exclusive: First Video of Colorado Shooting Suspect James Holmes Emerges — ABC News has obtained exclusive video and photos of Colorado shooting suspect James Holmes. The video was recorded six years ago when Holmes was 18. — Federal authorities and local police today …

Discussion: L.A. NOW, Mashable! and TMZ.com

NY Daily News:

Aurora shooting suspect James Holmes jailed in solitary: ‘All the inmates were talking about killing him’ — ‘He was spitting at the door and spitting at the guards,’ a just-released inmate told the Daily News. 'He's spitting at everything. Dude was acting crazy.'

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The PJ Tatler, New York Magazine and TMZ.com

Washington Post:
Explosives removed from James Holmes's apartment, officials say

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Aviva Shen / ThinkProgress:

Tea Party Senator: Keeping Guns From ‘Demented Individuals’ Will ‘Restrict Our Freedoms’ — Responding to the tragic shooting in Colorado during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said he would oppose gun control efforts that could be used to “restrict our freedoms” …

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Feinstein urges assault weapons ban renewal after Colo. shootings

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools

iowahawk:

You Didn't Build That — 1 In the beginning Govt created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the economy was formless and void, darkness was over the surface of the ATMs, and the Spirit of Govt was hovering over the land. — 3 And Govt said, “Let there be spending,” and there was spending.

Los Angeles Times:

Obama's campaign attack on Romney was costly — President Obama's campaign spent $58 million in June, chiefly in TV advertising assailing his GOP rival's business record and personal finances. Romney spent less, but raised more than Obama. — Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Hot Air and Politico

Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:
Democratic billionaires boost pro-Obama super PAC

Discussion: New York Magazine and Weekly Standard

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

McCain blasts Obama handling of Syria, warns of chemical weapons threat — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted the Obama administration Sunday for failing to do more to help rebel fighters in Syria. — McCain urged the president to move swiftly to provide U.S. arms and equipment to rebels.

Discussion: CNN

James Asher / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

McClatchy's Washington Bureau establishes no-alter quote policy — To our staff and to our readers: — As you are aware, reporters from The New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg and others are agreeing to give government sources the right to clear and alter quotes as a prerequisite to granting an interview.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh and Wake up America, more at Mediagazer »