memeorandum: George Osborne's austerity is costing UK an extra £76bn, says IMF (Heather Stewart/Guardian)

7:40 PM ET, October 14, 2012

Top Items:

Arlen Specter dies; he was Pennsylvania's longest-serving senator — View Photo Gallery — Former senator Arlen Specter dies: Specter, who represented Pennsylvania in the Senate from 1981 to 2011, died Sunday at his home in Philadelphia from complications of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He was 82.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Outside the Beltway, Booman Tribune, Stinque and Business Insider

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Arlen Specter, 82, Dies; Former Senator From Pennsylvania

Discussion: Democracy in America, The Other McCain, Hit & Run and Daily Kos

Joe Sterling / CNN:
Arlen Specter dead at 82

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Towleroad News #gay, Scared Monkeys and PoliPundit.com

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
Arlen Specter, former Pa. senator, dies at 82

Discussion: Politico and Associated Press

Jonathan Amos / BBC:

Skydiver Felix Baumgartner breaks sound barrier — Highlights from Felix Baumgartner's leap into the record books — Austrian Felix Baumgartner has become the first skydiver to go faster than the speed of sound, reaching a top speed of 833.9mph (1,342km/h).

Discussion: The Impolitic, The Hinterland Gazette, The Agonist and Planetsave

John Tierney / New York Times:

Felix Baumgartner Was Just Thinking About Coming Home — ROSWELL, N.M. — Felix Baumgartner, the professional daredevil, said he was not thinking about setting records or collecting scientific data in the moments before he jumped from a capsule more than 24 miles high.

Discussion: CNN, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, Hot Air and Balloon Juice

Margaret Talev / Bloomberg:

Libyan Ambassador's Death Not a Political Issue, Says Dad — The father of Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya who was killed in the attack in Benghazi last month, said his son's death shouldn't be politicized in the presidential campaign. — “It would really be abhorrent …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Mediaite, The Political Carnival, AMERICAblog and The Raw Story

Ed Henry / Fox News:

Obama camp tips hand on debate, hints president will attack Romney on Bain — FILE: Oct. 3, 2012: President Obama and Mitt Romney shake hands with Ann Romney after the first presidential debate at the University of Denver, in Denver.AP — WILLIAMSBURG, VA. - As President Obama began …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, PoliPundit.com and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Ben Geman / Ballot Box:
Axelrod defends White House on Libya, says Romney seeking to ‘exploit’ issue

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Sam Youngman / Reuters:
Romney closing gap in Ohio as poll numbers, crowds rise

Discussion: Da Tech Guy's Blog, Wake up America, The Other McCain and Scared Monkeys

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
What Happened In Benghazi — The State Department has released …

Discussion: Sense of Events, Atlas Shrugs, American Power, National Review, BuzzFeed and Fausta's Blog

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama leads 51-46 in Ohio

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Examiner, American Power, The PJ Tatler, Outside the Beltway, Ballot Box and Booman Tribune

David Rose / Daily Mail:

Global warming stopped 16 years ago, reveals Met Office report quietly released... and here is the chart to prove it — The figures reveal that from the beginning of 1997 until August 2012 there was no discernible rise in aggregate global temperatures — This means that the 'pause …

Discussion: Riehl World News, Weasel Zippers, Power Line, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Chicago Boyz, Watts Up With That? and Instapundit

Zack Beauchamp / ThinkProgress:

GOP Senator Denies Indisputable Facts On Obama's Employment Record — On ABC News' This Week Sunday morning, anchor Jake Tapper pressed GOP Sen. Rob Portman (OH) on Paul Ryan's false claim during the Vice Presidential debate that the unemployment rate is higher today then when Obama took office.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:

Another CEO Threatens To Fire Employees If Obama Wins — Last week, billionaire CEO David Siegel, who runs a timeshare empire, threatened to fire employees if President Obama is reelected in November, saying in an email, “the economy doesn't currently pose a threat to your job.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and In These Times

Jennifer O'Mahony / Telegraph:

Muslims protest ‘age of mockery’ as thousands descend on Google HQ — Thousands of Muslims have pledged a series of protests against Google HQ for a “hateful and offensive” anti-Islam video, saying they now live in an “age of mockery”. — A protest by 10,000 Muslims outside the offices …

Discussion: Jihad Watch

Chrystia Freeland / New York Times:

The Self-Destruction of the 1 Percent — IN the early 14th century, Venice was one of the richest cities in Europe. At the heart of its economy was the colleganza, a basic form of joint-stock company created to finance a single trade expedition. The brilliance of the colleganza …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Middle Earth Journal, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly and The Mahablog

Andy Sullivan / Reuters:

Obama grabs wide lead among those who have already voted: Reuters/Ipsos poll — (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are neck and neck in opinion polls, but there is one area in which the incumbent appears to have a big advantage: those who have already cast their ballots.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:

Sen. Rob Portman: Romney ‘Probably’ Could Win Election Without Winning Ohio — Speaking to me this morning on “This Week,” Ohio Sen. Rob Portman said GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney could “probably” win the White House without a victory in the Buckeye State, a feat that no other Republican has accomplished.

Discussion: Washington Wire and The Hinterland Gazette

CBS News:

“Face the Nation” transcripts, October 14, 2012: Sen. Graham, Rep. Issa, Rep. Cummings — (CBS News) Below is a transcript of “Face the Nation” on October 14, 2012, hosted by CBS News' Bob Schieffer. Guests include: Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. …

Discussion: Althouse

Mercury News:

California's retiring state workers cash in vacation for big bucks — They could leave their hearts in San Francisco — or any of the Golden State's other big vacation spots — but thousands of California's state workers won't even leave their desks. — An analysis of the last three years …

Discussion: Doug Ross