Top Items:
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
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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 …
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.
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:
Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, The Maddow Blog, Weekly Standard, americanthinker.com, PostPartisan, Right Turn, neo-neocon, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite, The Week, Prairie Weather, Betsy's Page, Economist's View, The Right Scoop, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Vodkapundit, The Plum Line, Post Politics and New York Times
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
GOP takes off the suicide bomb vest
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, msnbc.com, Hullabaloo, The Maddow Blog, PostPartisan, Business Insider, Daily Kos and Capital New York
Jake Sherman / Politico:
House Republicans plan debt ceiling vote
House Republicans plan debt ceiling vote
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Slate
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
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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
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 and NewsBusters
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Mark Hemingway / Weekly Standard:
PolitiFact Concedes Their ‘Lie of the Year’ is the ‘Literal Truth’
PolitiFact Concedes Their ‘Lie of the Year’ is the ‘Literal Truth’
Discussion:
The PJ Tatler
Neal Karlinsky / ABCNEWS:
Lance Armstrong May Have Lied to Winfrey: Investigators — Lance Armstrong may have lied to Oprah Winfrey during his so-called confession Thursday night about his doping during the Tour de France bicycle race, investigators told ABC News today. — Armstrong, 41, admitted …
Discussion:
SBNation.com
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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
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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
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, Booman Tribune, Weasel Zippers 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
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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:
Forbes, The Atlantic Online and Eschaton
Daniel W. Drezner:
How the current GOP thinks like revolutionaries — and why that's a bad thing — In an exit interview with the Wall Street Journal, outgoing U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said some provocative things about the state of America's political system and how that affects our standing in the world.
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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:
Associated Press, Politico, Business Insider, TalkLeft and The Raw Story
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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:
Capital New York, New York Times, The Week, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, First Read, Lynn Sweet, msnbc.com and CNN
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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, Hullabaloo, 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.
Mike Farrell / Broadcasting & Cable:
Time Warner Cable Bans Gun Ads — Company-wide initiative comes weeks after Sandy Hook tragedy — Just weeks after the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Time Warner Cable has initiated a company-wide ban on certain gun ads.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Deadline.com, CNY Central and The Right Scoop, more at Mediagazer »
Chris McGreal / Guardian:
US confirms one American hostage killed in Algeria attack — State department declines to say how many hostages are still being held but insists US does not negotiate with terrorists — US officials have confirmed the death of at least one American and said others are still being held hostage …
Discussion:
Infowars
RELATED:
Reuters:
One American dead in Algeria hostage crisis
One American dead in Algeria hostage crisis
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Politico and Weasel Zippers
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, The Fix, Politico, Gothamist, Los Angeles Times, Hot Air, Mediaite, Reuters, Post Politics and The Political State
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