Top Items:
Joe Holley / Houston Chronicle:
Cornyn: Congress will not allow default — Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican whip, said in Houston Thursday that Congress will not allow an impasse over raising the debt ceiling to result in the federal government defaulting on its spending obligations. — “We will raise the debt ceiling.
RELATED:
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
The Republican Debt Ceiling Gambit Is Unconstitutional — House Republicans are backing away from their threat to plunge the United States into a catastrophic budget default and will instead pursue the somewhat less reckless strategy of passing a three-month increase in the debt limit.
Discussion:
Post Politics and The Maddow Blog
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
A new strategy for the GOP — It has become conventional wisdom that Republicans are suffering an internal split that President Obama is successfully exploiting to neuter the Republican House. It is not true, however, that the Republican split is philosophical and fundamental.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, americanthinker.com, The Maddow Blog, Weekly Standard, PostPartisan, Right Turn, Mediaite, neo-neocon, Taylor Marsh, The Week, Betsy's Page, Prairie Weather, Economist's View, Wall Street Journal, The Right Scoop, Business Insider, The Plum Line, Vodkapundit, Post Politics, New York Times, FreedomWorks blogs and Hot Air
Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
House G.O.P. Agrees to Lift Debt Ceiling for 3 Months — WASHINGTON — Backing down from their hard-line stance, House Republicans said Friday that they would agree to lift the federal government's statutory borrowing limit for three months, with a requirement that both chambers of Congress pass …
Discussion:
American Prospect, Paul Krugman, Taking Note, American Spectator, The Page, The People's View, Trail Blazers Blog and msnbc.com
Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
House Republicans agree to vote on bill to raise debt limit for 3 months — Video: President Obama said today in a White House press conference that he won't negotiate with Republicans on the federal debt ceiling. Post economic policy reporter Zachary Goldfarb stops by to explain which bills …
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
GOP takes off the suicide bomb vest — Big news. Eric Cantor has just made it official: The GOP leadership is prepared to agree to a three month debt ceiling hike. This is a major de-escalation of the crazy and effectively means Republicans have all but taken the threat of default off the table completely.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, msnbc.com, The Maddow Blog, Daily Kos, PostPartisan, Business Insider and Capital New York
Jake Sherman / Politico:
House Republicans plan debt ceiling vote
House Republicans plan debt ceiling vote
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Slate
David Lawder / Reuters:
Republicans seek three-month debt limit increase, Senate budget
Republicans seek three-month debt limit increase, Senate budget
Discussion:
The New Republic, Guardian, Hot Air, Washington Examiner and The Hill
Russell Berman / The Hill:
House GOP to vote next week on three-month increase to debt limit
House GOP to vote next week on three-month increase to debt limit
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
Aaron Blake / Post Politics:
Stephen Colbert's sister will run for Congress — Stephen Colbert may have “run for president,” but his sister is actually going to run for Congress. — Elizabeth Colbert-Busch's soon-to-be-official campaign has informed South Carolina Democratic Party executive director Amanda Loveday …
Discussion:
Roll Call, The Political Carnival, Mediaite, Gawker and The Raw Story
RELATED:
Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box:
Sister of Stephen Colbert to run for Rep. Tim Scott's seat
Sister of Stephen Colbert to run for Rep. Tim Scott's seat
Discussion:
CNN
Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed:
Stephen Colbert's Sister To Run For Tim Scott's House Seat
Stephen Colbert's Sister To Run For Tim Scott's House Seat
Discussion:
Jezebel
Gordon Russell / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Ray Nagin indictment: First New Orleans mayor to face corruption charges — A federal grand jury on Friday indicted former Mayor Ray Nagin with 21 counts of corruption, alleging that while in office, Nagin took cash bribes and gifts from two city contractors and used his power as mayor …
Discussion:
Politico, TalkLeft, Business Insider and The Raw Story
RELATED:
Michael Kunzelman / Associated Press:
Ray Nagin, Former New Orleans Mayor, Indicted On 21 Corruption Charges, Including Bribery, Fraud
Ray Nagin, Former New Orleans Mayor, Indicted On 21 Corruption Charges, Including Bribery, Fraud
Discussion:
New Orleans Times-Picayune
Hayes Brown / ThinkProgress:
New Study Highlights Threat From Far Right-Wing Groups In U.S. — A new study from a think tank connected to the West Point Military Academy highlights the threat of violent far-right movements in the United States, leading to the conclusion that, while diverse in in their causes …
Discussion:
The Impolitic, The Agonist, Washington Monthly, Mediaite, Alan Colmes' and Shakesville
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Rowan Scarborough / Washington Times:
West Point center cites dangers of ‘far right’ in U.S.
West Point center cites dangers of ‘far right’ in U.S.
Discussion:
National Review, Infowars, Weasel Zippers, Booman Tribune and protein wisdom
Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:
NRA President Blames Obama For ‘Hundreds’ Of Death Threats … On a right-wing talk show on Thursday, David Keene, the president of the National Rifle Association, blamed President Obama and the left for what he says have been hundreds of death threats made against him and his family.
Discussion:
Addicting Info, Alan Colmes', The Raw Story and Daily Kos
RELATED:
Ernest Istook / BREITBART.COM:
NRA PRESIDENT: DEATH THREATS AGAINST ORG REFLECT OBAMA'S TACTICS
NRA PRESIDENT: DEATH THREATS AGAINST ORG REFLECT OBAMA'S TACTICS
Discussion:
Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit
Jeff Plungis / Bloomberg:
Naked-Image Scanners to Be Removed From U.S. Airports — The U.S. Transportation Security Administration will remove airport body scanners that privacy advocates likened to strip searches after OSI Systems Inc. (OSIS) couldn't write software to make passenger images less revealing.
Discussion:
ProPublica, The Raw Story, Hot Air, Techdirt, TalkLeft and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Hugo Martin / Los Angeles Times:
TSA ends contract with Rapiscan, maker of full-body scanner
TSA ends contract with Rapiscan, maker of full-body scanner
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and Eschaton
Politico:
Up next for Obama: A looming Democratic divide — As President Barack Obama approaches his second inaugural on Monday, he presides over a party that has largely papered over its divisions for the past four years thanks to the president's commanding popularity.
Discussion:
New York Times, Capital New York, The Week, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, First Read, Lynn Sweet and CNN
RELATED:
Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:
Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theories Edge Toward The Mainstream — “By far the hottest topic of the moment.” Ignore it and it won't go away. — There are two kinds of conspiracy theories: The ones about the Illuminati and about mysterious “chemtrails,” which lurk forever in the online twilight zone …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, snopes.com, The Week and Glenn Beck
Tevi Troy / Washington Post:
Five myths about this year's flu — Tevi Troy is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former deputy secretary of health and human services. — The rapid onset of the flu season this year has led to illness, absenteeism, hospitalizations and, tragically, death.
Michael Volpe / Front Page Magazine:
Former Dem Senator Praises Hagel Pick on Iranian State TV — Iran's English language propaganda arm said last week that the choice of Chuck Hagel for secretary of Defense indicates that the United States would allow Iran to get a nuclear bomb rather than confront the Islamic Republic.
Discussion:
Power Line
RELATED:
Mark Hemingway / Weekly Standard:
Whoops: PolitiFact's ‘Lie of the Year’ Turns Out to Be True — Last month, PolitiFact selected its “Lie of the Year.” Given PolitiFact's dubious record of singling out Republicans for lying far more often than Democrats, you probably could have guessed the winner of this particular sweepstakes was a Mitt Romney campaign ad:
Discussion:
Reuters
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Next Four Years — President Obama's second inaugural comes at an interesting moment, what you might call the end of the era of the Grand Bargain. Throughout his first term, Democrats and Republicans didn't achieve a Grand Bargain on spending and taxes, but there was a sense that history was moving in that direction.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Wonkblog, Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, No More Mister Nice Blog and msnbc.com
lauraingraham.com:
Shut Up & Blog — Sen. Rand Paul slams Christie for NRA comments, Sandy aid — Today on The Laura Ingraham Show, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) gave a wide-ranging interview, during which he attacked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for his criticism of the NRA and his grandstanding on Sandy aid …
Discussion:
Addicting Info, Politico, Gothamist, The Fix, Los Angeles Times, Hot Air, Mediaite, Reuters, Post Politics and The Political State
Aaron Blake / Post Politics:
Gallup and USA Today part ways — Gallup will no longer be conducting polls for USA Today, the two organizations announced Friday. — Both said the split, after 20 years of collaboration, was a mutual decision based on the changing media and polling landscape.
Discussion:
Politico