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.
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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:
The Hill, 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:
americanthinker.com, The Maddow Blog, Weekly Standard, PostPartisan, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Right Turn, Mediaite, neo-neocon, Taylor Marsh, 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, Taking Note, American Spectator, The People's View, Paul Krugman, The Page, 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 …
Discussion:
Wonkblog, The Fix, Sunlight Foundation Blog, The Impolitic, PostPartisan, Booman Tribune, Right Turn, The National Memo, The Week, Post Politics and ABCNEWS
Jake Sherman / Politico:
House Republicans plan debt ceiling vote — House Republicans will vote next week on a bill that would raise the nation's debt ceiling for three months and stop pay for members of Congress if the Senate doesn't pass a budget, GOP officials said Friday. — The plan comes as GOP lawmakers across …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Slate
Daniel W. Drezner:
How the current GOP thinks like revolutionaries — and why that's a bad thing
How the current GOP thinks like revolutionaries — and why that's a bad thing
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, Portland Press-Herald, The Hill, A plain blog about politics, Washington Wire, Right Turn and The Agonist
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
GOP takes off the suicide bomb vest
GOP takes off the suicide bomb vest
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The Maddow Blog, Hullabaloo, msnbc.com, Daily Kos, PostPartisan, Business Insider, New York Magazine and Capital New York
Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:
GOP De-Escalates Debt Limit Fight
GOP De-Escalates Debt Limit Fight
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Moderate Voice and The Caucus
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
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:
The Political Carnival, Roll Call, Gawker, Mediaite and The Raw Story
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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
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Gordon Russell / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Ray Nagin, former New Orleans mayor, charged with taking bribes while in office
Ray Nagin, former New Orleans mayor, charged with taking bribes while in office
Discussion:
New Orleans Metro Real … and Washington Free Beacon
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
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
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:
Alan Colmes', The Raw Story and Daily Kos
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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
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:
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.
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Conservative group blasts Schumer for supporting Hagel — The conservative American Future Fund group is questioning Sen. Charles Schumer's (D-N.Y.) decision to back former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) for secretary of Defense. — The group, which launched a media campaign earlier in the week …
Discussion:
CNN
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Michael Volpe / Front Page Magazine:
Former Dem Senator Praises Hagel Pick on Iranian State TV
Former Dem Senator Praises Hagel Pick on Iranian State TV
Discussion:
Power Line
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Is Lance Armstrong the world's biggest liar? — “[This was] one big lie that I repeated a lot of times.” — It is fair to say that in more than three decades of reporting, The Fact Checker has never written a sports story. But The Fact Checker has written a lot about people who stretch the truth …
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Brent Schrotenboer / Associated Press:
Lance Armstrong to Oprah: Story was ‘one big lie’
Lance Armstrong to Oprah: Story was ‘one big lie’
Discussion:
The Heritage Foundation, The New Republic, Infowars, msnbc.com, Taylor Marsh and American Power
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
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:
snopes.com, The Week and Glenn Beck
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
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Americans Call for Term Limits, End to Electoral College — Virtually no partisan disagreement on these long-discussed constitutional reforms — PRINCETON, NJ — Even after the 2012 election in which Americans re-elected most of the sitting members of the U.S. House and Senate …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Hot Air, CNN, The Daily Caller, Politico and The Hill