memeorandum: Gropez even ‘ogled’ a child: Accusation he made creepy comments on 14-year-old intern (Sally Goldenberg/New York Post)

10:45 AM ET, February 13, 2013

Top Items:

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Marco Rubio's drinking problem — Twitter exploded during Sen. Marco Rubio's Republican response to the State of the Union, as the Florida senator appeared a little sweaty and dry-mouthed at mid-speech, taking an awkward swig from a bottle of water that had been placed off-camera.

Discussion: Associated Press, CBS News, The Raw Story, First Read, Connecting.the.Dots and NewsHounds blog

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Everyone On Twitter Made The Exact Same Joke About Marco Rubio's Water Break — The fall of western civilization is complete.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Jonathan Martin / Politico:

Marco Rubio as the anti-Mitt Romney — His desperate need for a drink of water created the immediate headline, but Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-Fla.) much-anticipated speech Tuesday night had a very serious intent: it was as much an exercise in erasing Mitt Romney's legacy on the Republican Party …

Discussion: Hot Air, Reuters and Washington Post

Kevin Cirilli / Politico:

Marco Rubio: ‘I needed water’ — Even the Republican savior gets thirsty. — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) joked Wednesday about his abrupt, awkward water-break during his delivery of the GOP rebuttal to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday — by doing the same thing again, and then again.

Discussion: Althouse

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Rubio jokes: ‘I needed water’ while delivering Republican response — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Wednesday joked about his water break as he delivered his rebuttal to President Obama's State of the Union address. — “I mean I needed water, what am I going to do,” Rubio said on NBC's …

Discussion: Politico

New York Times:

Obama's 2013 State of the Union Address — The following is the text as prepared for delivery of President Obama's State of the Union Address, as provided by the White House: — PRESIDENT OBAMA: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, fellow citizens:

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, Power Line, Quartz, Macleans.ca, Guardian, Fox News Insider, Daniel W. Drezner, Politico, ABCNEWS, msnbc.com, Althouse, Business Insider and MiamiHerald.com

Washington Post:

State of the Union 2013: President Obama's address to Congress (Transcript) — Here is a full transcript of President Obama's 2013 State of the Union address as delivered. — PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. Please, everybody, have a seat. — Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Fix, News Desk and The Daily Caller

rubio.senate.gov:

Statement on my Vote Against the Violence Against Women Act — I believe we should have re-authorized the existing Violence Against Women Act that has helped reduce the annual incidence of domestic violence by more than 50 percent, among other successes. I also continue supporting the work …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, msnbc.com, his vorpal sword, Post on Politics, Politico and The Buzz Florida Politics Feed

Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Marco Rubio opposes Violence Against Women Act

Discussion: Mediaite and Twitchy

Talking Points Memo:
Rubio Explains Vote Against Violence Against Women Act

Discussion: ACS Blog, Daily Kos, The National Memo and Guardian

Lauren / CBS Los Angeles:

Officials: Christopher Dorner May Be Dead Following Deadly Standoff — SEVEN OAKS (CBSLA.com) — LAPD Cmdr. Andy Smith says that despite earlier reports, Christopher Dorner's body has not been recovered from a burned out cabin where he was reportedly holed up during a deadly shootout with authorities earlier today.

Discussion: CNN, KTLA 5, Twitchy, Scared Monkeys, Associated Press, Gawker, Infowars, L.A. NOW, This Just In, CBS News, The Moderate Voice, LAist, Michelle Malkin and The Verge

NBC Southern California:
Charred Human Remains Found in Rubble of Burned-Out Cabin

Discussion: Associated Press, NBCNews.com, L.A. NOW, The Other McCain, CANNONFIRE, Crime and Consequences Blog, Crooks and Liars, Infowars and TMZ.com

Fox News:
Fugitive ex-cop reportedly exchanges fire with authorities

Discussion: L.A. NOW, Mercury News, Associated Press, The Right Scoop, LewRockwell.com Blog, The Lonely Conservative, The Other McCain, alan.com, The Moderate Voice, Bob Owens and Reuters

Shelby Grad / L.A. NOW:
Christopher Dorner: Police demolish cabin, hear single gunshot

Discussion: Mashable!, Da Tech Guy's Blog, National Updates and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

Roy Blunt says Republicans have votes to delay Chuck Hagel nomination — Sen. Roy Blunt signaled Wednesday that there may be enough votes in the Senate to delay debate on the nomination of Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon. — Blunt (R-Mo.) said he believed there were 40 votes in the Senate that indicated …

Discussion: Weekly Standard

First Read / NBCNews.com:
Obama punctuates laundry list with plea on gun violence

Discussion: NBCNews.com, New York Times and First Read

Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:
Hagel will need 60 votes to get confirmed as defense secretary

Discussion: A plain blog about politics, Fox News, Israel Matzav, The Plum Line and National Review

Steve Kornacki / Salon:

The gun control president — “They deserve a vote!” is a powerful argument, but will it be enough to shame the GOP into allowing one? — In a way, it was fitting that the cable news networks were forced by the drama in Big Bear to blow up hours of long-planned pre-State of the Union coverage Tuesday night.

Discussion: The Plum Line

Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect:
The President's Dream State

Discussion: Wonkblog, The Plum Line, Booman Tribune and naked capitalism

Glenn Thrush / Politico:
President Obama goes old-time Democrat in State of the Union

Discussion: Slate and NewsBusters blogs

Politico:

Tea party State of the Union 2013 rebuttal: Rand Paul response (full text, video) — Sen. Rand Paul's tea party response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, as prepared for delivery and provided by his office. — I speak to you tonight from Washington …

Discussion: CNN, The Lonely Conservative, Campaign for America's Future, DCist, Slate and Balloon Juice

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
CNN Poll: 53% who watched speech give president thumbs up

Discussion: National Review, Taegan Goddard's … and The Fix

ABCNEWS:
Energy Secretary to Skip State of Union Address

Discussion: CNN and Politico

Jed Graham / Investor's Business Daily:

The Deficit Chart That Should Embarrass Budget Hawks — Here's a pretty important fact that virtually everyone in Washington seems oblivious to: The federal deficit has never fallen as fast as it's falling now without a coincident recession. — To be specific, CBO expects the deficit …

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Post, The Atlantic Online, Calculated Risk, Wonkblog, Business Insider and New York Times

Matthew Vollenweider / GOP.com:
OBAMA WILL USE TONIGHT'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS TO LAY OUT A PLAN THAT DOESN'T INCREASE …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Sally Goldenberg / New York Post:

Gropez even ‘ogled’ a child: Accusation he made creepy comments on 14-year-old intern — There's a creepy new accusation in the sexual-harassment probe of Assemblyman Vito Lopez — that he even leered at a 14-year-old intern and made comments about her sexy attire, sources told the The Post.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Politicker and Jammie Wearing Fools

New York Times:

Challenged for His Seat at 89, a Senator Does Not Go Gentle — WASHINGTON — As he approached his 89th birthday this year, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey was finally considering retirement, an option he had tried a decade earlier and hated so much that he jumped at the chance to return to political life.

Discussion: Ballot Box, Taegan Goddard's … and Roll Call

David Taintor / Talking Points Memo:

Coburn: ‘I Agree We Need To Vote On Guns’ — Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) said Wednesday morning he agrees with President Obama's State of the Union call that gun violence prevention legislation deserves a vote in Congress. — “I agree we need to vote on guns,” Coburn said on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.”

Anon Relations:

Anonymous CALL TO IMMEDIATE ACTION! #opSOTU — Last year we faced our greatest threat from lawmakers. We faced down SOPA, PIPA, CISPA and ACTA. — And we won! — But that victory did not come easily. Nor did it come without a price. — Aaron Swartz was one of the leading voices …