memeorandum: Sanford in first ad: ‘None of us go through life without mistakes’ (Ashley Killough/CNN)

11:40 AM ET, February 18, 2013

Top Items:

Mike Allen / Politico:

HILLARY CLINTON UNVEILS FIRST PHASE OF NEW LIFE — Rubio's last laugh — POTUS golfs with Tiger — 10th anniv. of Iraq war is March 19; MSNBC special 9 p.m. — Yoko Ono is 80 — EXCLUSIVE: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will hit the paid speaking circuit this spring (likely April or May) …

Discussion: CNN, Taylor Marsh, p m carpenter's commentary, Prairie Weather and msnbc.com

New York Times:

Obama's Plan Sees 8-Year Wait for Illegal Immigrants — WASHINGTON — A plan by President Obama for an overhaul of the immigration system would put illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship that could begin after about eight years and would require them to go to the back of the line behind …

Discussion: p m carpenter's commentary, msnbc.com, The Daily Caller, rubber hose, Hot Air, Associated Press, ABCNEWS, Connecting.the.Dots, The Hill and USA Today

BuzzFeed:
White House Press Corps “Extremely Frustrated” Over Lack Of Access To Obama Golf Trip

Discussion: Daily Kos

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Gingrich: Republicans Will Oppose Any Immigration Plan Backed By Obama Because They Hate Obama

Discussion: The Plum Line, NewsBusters blogs and NBC Latino

Zack Colman / The Hill:
Green groups rally on climate, urge Obama to reject Keystone project

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Truthdig, Politico, The Gateway Pundit and The PJ Tatler

Michael O'Brien / First Read:
McCain concedes: Hagel ‘will probably have the votes necessary’

Discussion: About.com US Politics

CNN:
Obama tees off with Tiger Woods

Discussion: The Hill, Hot Air, Scared Monkeys and Weasel Zippers

Dylan Stableford / Reuters:

McCain claims ‘massive cover-up’ on Benghazi — While discussing the contentious confirmation hearings for defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel, things got a bit heated on Sunday's “Meet The Press” when Sen. John McCain referred to the lack of information from the White House surrounding the Sept. 11 …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Hot Air

Charles C. Johnson / The Daily Caller:

Supporter of Iranian dictatorship brought Chuck Hagel to Rutgers University for 2007 speech — A pro-Hezbollah, pro-Hamas candidate for the Iranian presidency, a man linked to Iranian-controlled front groups, brought former Republican Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel to speak at Rutgers University in 2007 …

Discussion: Israel Matzav, Power Line, Washington Post, Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Free Beacon and Commentary Magazine

Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:

No excuse to lift the filibuster — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) revealed on “Fox News Sunday” that defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel responded to his letter jointly signed by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) asking whether he made the reported comment at Rutgers University that the State Department …

Discussion: New York Times, Outside the Beltway, Weekly Standard and The Spectacle Blog

Leonard Greene / New York Post:

Alec fast & slur-ious — Blasts Post fotog in a ‘racist’ rant — Actor Alec Baldwin allegedly called a black Post photographer a racial epithet, a “crackhead” and a “drug dealer” during a confrontation on an East Village street yesterday morning, prompting police to intervene.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller, Gawker, Poynter and TMZ.com

Jerry Mitchell / Clarion-Ledger:

Historic oversight corrected: Film ‘Lincoln’ inspires look into slavery vote — Oscar-nominated “Lincoln,” which depicts the political fight to pass the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, played a role in Mississippi officially ratifying the amendment this month — a century and a half later.

Discussion: Mediaite, Taegan Goddard's …, The Raw Story and Gawker

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Supreme Court to Hear Alabama County's Challenge to Voting Rights Act — EVERGREEN, Ala. — Jerome Gray, a 74-year-old black man, has voted in every election since 1974 in this verdant little outpost of some 4,000 people halfway between Mobile and Montgomery.

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

Report: Rubio PAC raises $100,000 from sale of water bottles — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has raised more than $100,000 thanks to his water break moment during last week's GOP response to the State of the Union, according to a report. — Rubio's political action committee began selling …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Marco Rubio Has Sold More Than 3100 Water Bottles, Raising $100,000

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, Weasel Zippers, Riptide 2.0, Washington Examiner and The Moderate Voice

City Press:

Exclusive - The case against Oscar — A bloodied cricket bat is the central piece of evidence in the unfolding murder investigation into ReevaSteenkamp's death. — City Press can reveal that police are investigating different scenarios involving the bat - one of which is that her boyfriend …

Discussion: CNN, The Sun, The Week, msnbc.com, Guardian, Scared Monkeys, New York Post, Deadspin, Mail&Guardian, The Hinterland Gazette, Telegraph, TMZ.com and alan.com

T.W. Farnam / Washington Post:

Congressional staffers often travel on tabs of foreign governments — About a dozen congressional staffers flew business class on a trip to China last summer and stayed at luxury hotels while touring the Great Wall and the Forbidden City and receiving a “briefing on ancient artifacts and dynasties” at the Shanghai Museum.

Discussion: Cause of Action

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Raise That Wage — President Obama laid out a number of good ideas in his State of the Union address. Unfortunately, almost all of them would require spending money — and given Republican control of the House of Representatives, it's hard to imagine that happening.

Discussion: Prairie Weather and Daily Kos

Ashley Killough / CNN:

Sanford in first ad: ‘None of us go through life without mistakes’ — (CNN) - Former Republican Gov. Mark Sanford addressed the controversy that derailed his marriage and reputation in his first television ad for the special election in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, The Daily Caller and Roll Call