memeorandum: The Most Ridiculous Law of 2013 (So Far): It Is Now a Crime to Unlock Your Smartphone (Derek Khanna/The Atlantic Online)

Manu Raju / Politico:

Senate group reaches immigration deal — A powerful group of senators from both parties has reached a deal on the outlines of a comprehensive immigration overhaul, a development that will drive an emotional debate on a hot-button issue unseen in Washington for more than half a decade.

Discussion: CNN, msnbc.com, The Maddow Blog and Michelle Malkin

Los Angeles Times:

Senators agree on immigration overhaul plan — The bipartisan group's proposal would grant legal status to most of the country's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants. — A pier in Imperial Beach, Calif., marks part of a new border fence extending farther into the surfline.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and ImmigrationProf Blog

Julia Preston / New York Times:

Senators Offer a New Blueprint for Immigration — A bipartisan group of senators has agreed on a set of principles for a sweeping overhaul of the immigration system, including a pathway to American citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants that would hinge on progress in securing the borders …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Balloon Juice

Manu Raju / Politico:
Senate group reaches immigration deal

Discussion: Michelle Malkin

Laura Meckler / Wall Street Journal:
Immigration Debate Gears Up

Discussion: The Seattle Times and TalkLeft

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:
McCain: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Must Include Path To Citizenship

Discussion: Hot Air, Crooks and Liars, Balloon Juice, The Other McCain, Taylor Marsh, Eschaton and The Hinterland Gazette

CBS News:

Obama and Clinton: The 60 Minutes interview — The following script is from “The President and the Secretary of State” which aired on Jan. 27, 2013. Steve Kroft is the correspondent. Michael Radutzky, Maria Gavrilovic and L. Franklin Devine, producers. — There are few people …

Discussion: The Week, The Fix, The Moderate Voice, ABCNEWS, Taylor Marsh, The National Memo and The Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Obama and Clinton Appear on ‘60 Minutes’ — WASHINGTON — They sat side by side, trading laughs and finishing each other's thoughts. Five years ago, the very prospect of such a moment would have been “improbable,” as one of them put it. — But now as the improbable partnership between President Obama …

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Week, The Caucus and TalkLeft

Jeremy Herb / The Hill:
Obama, Clinton defend record in Middle East

Discussion: Politico and Israel Matzav

Yeganeh Torbati / Reuters:

Iran launches monkey into space: state news agency — DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has successfully launched a live monkey into space, the state news agency IRNA said on Monday, touting it as an advance in a missile and space program that has alarmed the West and Israel.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Yaakov Lappin / Jerusalem Post:

Ex-CIA man: Iran blast largest sabotage case in decades — Former Revolutionary Guards member tells ‘Post’ that such a blow to Fordow nuclear facility would harm Iran drastically; says Tehran “has decided to retaliate against Israel from Lebanon.” — Iranian dissident-turned CIA operative …

Discussion: Israel Matzav and Israpundit

Manu Raju / Politico:

Democrats, tea party unite vs. Mitch McConnell — Tea party activists looking to oust Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a GOP primary may get some help from an unlikely source: Democrats. — Big Democratic donors, local liberal activists and a left-leaning super PAC in Kentucky …

Greta Van Susteren / Gretawire:

President Obama names Fox? And what does President Obama think happens when Democrat works with Republicans? What happens to that Democrat in the left leaning press? — While I disagree with what the President says below ( I don't attack - his word - politicians on either side …

Discussion: Mediaite, Weasel Zippers and NewsHounds blog

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Makers, Takers, Fakers — Republicans have a problem. For years they could shout down any attempt to point out the extent to which their policies favored the elite over the poor and the middle class; all they had to do was yell “Class warfare!” and Democrats scurried away.

Discussion: Prairie Weather and Daily Kos

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Paul Ryan Embraces Spending Cuts He Said Would Devastate The Country — During an interview on Meet The Press on Sunday, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) predicted that the sequester cuts are “going to happen” and made no concrete proposals for how to avoid the reductions.

Discussion: National Review, Prairie Weather and Wonkblog

Bob Woodward / Washington Post:

Why Obama picked Hagel — Bob Woodward is an associate editor of The Post. His latest book is “The Price of Politics.” Evelyn M. Duffy contributed to this column. — In the first months of the Obama presidency in 2009, Chuck Hagel, who had just finished two terms as a U.S. senator …

Discussion: msnbc.com

Keith Koffler / Politico:

The perils of invoking ‘absolutism’ — A nation should be concerned when it seems its leader has tired of the grueling work of democracy. — One of the most remarkable and frightening aspects of President Barack Obama's inaugural address was his dismissal of his opposition …

Discussion: CNN

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Eric Cantor, the G.O.P. Majority Leader, Looks Beyond Debt — WASHINGTON — With House Republicans gathered behind closed doors this month at a resort in Williamsburg, Va., Representative Eric Cantor hushed the crowd with a long slide presentation on the prospects of a government default.

Discussion: Business Insider

Michael Isikoff / Open Channel:

Obama campaign gives database of millions of supporters to new advocacy group — President Barack Obama's presidential campaign has turned over its most valuable asset — a massive computer database containing personal data on millions of American voters — to a new advocacy group created …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Associated Press:

Fire at Brazil club kills more than 230 as partiers stampede toward exit, choke on toxic smoke — View Photo Gallery — Brazil nightclub fire leaves hundreds dead: A blaze swept through a crowded club in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing at least 232 people and leaving at least 200 injured, police say.

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Discussion: Gawker, Gothamist, American Power, BBC and The Lede