memeorandum: Reid blocks Senate vote on Obama's deficit-reduction plan (Ramsey Cox/The Hill)

1:05 PM ET, December 6, 2012

Top Items:

Sen. Jim DeMint to Head Heritage Foundation — South Carolina U.S. Senator Jim DeMint will replace Ed Feulner as president of the Heritage Foundation. Mr. DeMint will leave his post as South Carolina's junior senator in early January to take control of the Washington think tank, which has an annual budget of about $80 million.

Manu Raju / Politico:

Jim DeMint to resign to head Heritage Foundation — Sen. Jim DeMint abruptly announced plans to resign his South Carolina Senate seat to run the conservative Heritage Foundation, a stunning move that could have repercussions in the chamber and in Senate GOP primaries across the country.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Red Alert Politics and Connecting.the.Dots

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:

Sources: DeMint wants Rep. Tim Scott to take his place in Senate — Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has made it known in South Carolina that he wants Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to replace him in the Senate, two state Republican sources tell The Hill. — The sources, requesting anonymity to speak candidly …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The State, theGrio and The PJ Tatler

Jim DeMint / CNN:

BREAKING: Sen. Jim DeMint will step down from Senate — Washington (CNN) - Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina will resign from his Senate seat as of Dec. 31 to take over as head of the Heritage Foundation, his office announced Thursday. — “I honestly believe that I can do a lot …

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation, The Daily Caller and The Political Carnival

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:
11 Reasons You're Glad Jim DeMint Is Leaving The Senate

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and American Prospect

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Jim DeMint resigns from Senate

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed

Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box: South Carolina's GOP chairman: DeMint resignation ‘a shocker’

Evan McMorris-Santoro / Talking Points Memo: WSJ: Jim DeMint To Leave Senate, Lead Heritage Foundation

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:

Boehner Gains Strong Backing of House G.O.P. — WASHINGTON — With a daunting fiscal crisis looming and conservatives outside the House torching him at every turn, Speaker John A. Boehner might be assumed to have a shaky hold on his gavel. Instead, it appears he is enjoying the broadest support …

Discussion: The Fix, Booman Tribune, The Caucus and Prairie Weather

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Republicans wave the white flag — Speaker John Boehner emerged from his weekly huddle with House Republicans on Wednesday morning to take his place behind a mahogany lectern in front of a brown backdrop. The dark tones provided ideal camouflage for the deeply tanned speaker — as though he were trying to vanish into the background.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The New Republic

Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:

The Political Risks of Cliff-Diving — Republicans will get the blame, but it is the president who will be weakened most. — President Barack Obama has clear advantages in the public-opinion contest over the fiscal cliff. He recently won re-election, Democrats increased their Senate majority and the GOP controls only the House.

Discussion: Politico, Right Turn, msnbc.com and TheBlaze.com

Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:
WH ‘Absolutely’ Willing To Go Off ‘Fiscal Cliff’

Discussion: Wake up America, The Democratic Daily, The Reaction, CNBC, Taylor Marsh, ABCNEWS, Reuters, Washington Examiner, Politico, Questions and Observations, New York Times, Crooks and Liars, Washington Free Beacon, The Moderate Voice and Speaker.gov

Connie Cass / Associated Press:
HOW FAR OVER THE ‘FISCAL CLIFF’ COULD THEY GO?

Discussion: Federal Eye

Washington Post:
Some in GOP urge lawmakers to back tax hikes for changes in safety-net programs

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Plum Line, Post Politics, Sun-Times Politics, The Week, Think Tanked, Daily Kos, Los Angeles Times, National Review, msnbc.com, Wonkblog and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:
Obama-friendly business group given great access to the White House

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hill and First Read

Josh Tyrangiel / Business Week:

Tim Cook's Freshman Year: The Apple CEO Speaks — Prior to his death on Oct. 5, 2011, Steve Jobs made sure that the elevation of Tim Cook—his longtime head of operations and trusted deputy—to Apple chief executive officer would be drama-free. “He goes, ‘I never want you to ask what I would have done,’” recalls Cook.

Discussion: New York Times, Guardian, The Verge, New York Magazine, The Week, AllThingsD, The Consumerist, BBC, The Tell, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Engadget, GigaOM and Mashable!, more at Mediagazer »

Ronnie Polidoro / Rock Center with Brian Williams:

Apple CEO Tim Cook announces plans to manufacture Mac computers in USA — In an exclusive interview with Brian Williams airing tonight at 10pm/9c on NBC's “Rock Center,” Apple CEO Tim Cook announced one of the existing Mac lines will be manufactured exclusively in the United States next year.

Discussion: Politico, The Verge, GigaOM, Engadget and VentureBeat

Bloomberg:
Apple to Invest in Manufacturing Macs in U.S., Cook Says

Discussion: CNN, The Week and Fortune

Judy Kurtz / The Hill:

Lawmaker chews out staffer for riding on members-only elevator — Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) chewed out a House staffer after catching her riding on a “members only” elevator, according to an ITK tipster who was on the scene. — But Foxx's office is calling our lookout's description of events in the elevator an “exaggeration.”

Discussion: Gawker and Taegan Goddard's …

New York Times:

U.S.-Approved Weapons Transfer Ended Up With Libyan Jihadis — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration secretly gave its blessing to arms shipments to Libyan rebels from Qatar last year, but American officials later grew alarmed as evidence grew that Qatar was turning some of the weapons …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, The Right Sphere, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Right Wing News, Vox Verax, The PJ Tatler, Jihad Watch and Lawfare

Bill Gertz / Washington Free Beacon:
Politicizing the Truth — The CIA removed references to al Qaeda …

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Jenny Marlar / Gallup:

U.S. Unadjusted Unemployment Shoots Back Up — Unemployment situation best for college grads, whites, men, and older workers — WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, was 7.8% for the month of November, up significantly from 7.0% for October.

Discussion: The Other McCain, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Business Insider and The PJ Tatler

Ramsey Cox / The Hill:

Reid blocks Senate vote on Obama's deficit-reduction plan — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday offered an amendment to force a vote on President Obama's deficit-reduction plan, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was having none of it.

Discussion: Politico, Michelle Malkin, Roll Call, Scared Monkeys and Weekly Standard

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
How Democrats' Main Filibuster Reform Would Work

Discussion: Washington Monthly, American Prospect, Daily Kos and ACS Blog

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:

Olive Garden Suffering From Bad PR After Anti-Obamacare Comments — Darden Restaurants, Inc. — owner of Red Lobster and Olive Garden — is battling back negative press attention in light of its October announcement that the company will use Obamacare as a reason to shift to part-time employees.

Discussion: Business Insider, Daily Kos and The Hill

Michael Levenson / The Boston Globe:

After her record haul, Warren slips into red — Elizabeth Warren raised a whopping $42 million for her Senate race — more than any other congressional candidate in the country. Yet the noted scholar on the root causes of debt and bankruptcy made a surprising admission on Wednesday: she needs a little help paying her bills.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Daily Caller

Michael Levenson / Boston Globe:
Elizabeth Warren ended Senate campaign in debt despite record fund-raising

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Da Tech Guy's Blog

World News:

Syria loads chemical weapons into bombs; military awaits Assad's order — So far, intelligence sources say, bombs loaded with the components of sarin haven't yet been loaded onto planes. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports. — The Syrian military is prepared to use chemical weapons …

Discussion: Fox News, The Jawa Report, Taylor Marsh, Weasel Zippers, News Desk, The Daily Caller, BuzzFeed, msnbc.com, Telegraph and The Agonist

David Bauder / Associated Press:

FOX'S CORRESPONDENT ON FRONT LINES WITH OBAMA — NEW YORK (AP) — Ed Henry's assignment covering the White House would be a challenge for any journalist, no matter his employer. — Yet Henry works at Fox News Channel, home base for viewers who longed for President Barack Obama's defeat.

Discussion: Politico and Mediaite