memeorandum: Biden's Complex Closed for Sequestration (Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard)

6:50 PM ET, March 5, 2013

Top Items:

HUGO CHAVEZ, FIERY VENEZUELAN LEADER, DIES AT 58 — CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez, the fiery populist who declared a socialist revolution in Venezuela, crusaded against U.S. influence and championed a leftist revival across Latin America, died Tuesday at age 58 after a nearly two-year bout with cancer.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Hot Air, Ed Driscoll and The PJ Tatler

William Neuman / New York Times:

Chávez Dies, Leaving Bitterly Divided Nation — CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela died Tuesday afternoon after a long battle with cancer, the government announced, leaving behind a bitterly divided nation in the grip of a political crisis that grew …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, New Republic, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Outside the Beltway and Balloon Juice

Lori Ziganto / Twitchy:

Foul: Rep. Serrano tweets rest in peace; Praises Chavez as ‘empowering the powerless’; Update: Doubles down, photo with Chavez — Appalling. — As Twitchy reported, the Venezuelan tyrant Hugo Chavez has died. Rep. Serrano (D-N.Y.) grossly tweeted the above, upon learning of the news that had most freedom-lovers relieved.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

CNN:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dies — Army Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez, who led a 1992 attempted coup, speaks to reporters on March 26, 1994, after he was freed from jail. Chavez was freed after charges were dropped against him for leading the first of two attempted coups against the government …

Discussion: Business Insider, Mediaite, Taegan Goddard's …, The Daily Pulp, AEIdeas, FP Passport and Gothamist

José De Córdoba / Wall Street Journal:
Venezuelan Leader Chávez Dies After Cancer Battle

Discussion: News Desk and Fausta's Blog

Daniel Wallis / Reuters:
Chavez's breathing problems worsen, has severe new infection

Discussion: BBC, NBCNews.com, Babalú Blog, The Heritage Foundation, Pat Dollard, Business Insider and Hit & Run

Simon Romero / New York Times:
Hugo Chávez, 1954-2013: Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's Leader, Dies at 58 — Obituary

Discussion: Politicker

Russell Goldman / ABCNEWS: Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan President, Dead at 58

Adam Serwer / Mother Jones:

Obama Administration Says President Can Use Lethal Force Against Americans on US Soil — Drones: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Always Afraid to Ask — Here's Why Obama Won't Say Whether He Can Kill You With a Drone: Because He Probably Can — 8 Drones That Aren't Out to Kill You

Discussion: The Plum Line, Hit & Run, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Holder: Obama could order lethal force in U.S.

Discussion: CNN and Outside the Beltway

CNN:
CNN's GUT CHECK for March 5, 2013

Discussion: Washington Times and Politico

Scott Shane / New York Times:
Brennan Vote by Senate Intelligence Panel

Discussion: News Desk and Lowering the Bar

Bernie Becker / The Hill:

House spending bill requires Saturday mail delivery — The new House GOP spending bill directs the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail six days a week, against the wishes of the nation's postmaster general. — A House Appropriations aide confirmed that the spending measure …

Discussion: Washington Times, Outside the Beltway and National Review

Mike Lillis / The Hill:

House Dems back down from strongly opposing GOP spending bill — House Democratic leaders have decided against uniting their party's rank and file in opposition to a Republican spending bill that would fund the government. — House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the GOP's continuing resolution …

Discussion: The Plum Line, The Maddow Blog, Politico, Taylor Marsh, Hullabaloo and Reuters

Steve Benen / The Maddow Blog:
A tale of two falsehoods — Education Secretary Arne Duncan …

Discussion: The Plum Line, Politifact.com Truth …, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly and Weasel Zippers

Mike Fleming Jr / Deadline.com:

Jon Stewart Taking Summer ‘Daily Show’ Hiatus To Direct ‘Rosewater;’ John Oliver To Sub — EXCLUSIVE: Jon Stewart will take a 12-week hiatus from hosting Comedy Central's The Daily Show to make his feature directing debut this summer. Stewart has written the script, and will direct Rosewater …

Discussion: New York Times, ABCNEWS, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh, The Raw Story, Gawker and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

O. Kay Henderson / Radio Iowa:

Bill would forbid parents from getting no-fault divorce — Seven Republicans in the Iowa House are pushing a bill to prohibit parents of minor children from getting a “no fault” divorce and the proposal could be debated in a House committee this week. — A three-member subcommittee debated the bill today.

Discussion: Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Shakesville, The Hinterland Gazette and The Raw Story

The Huffington Post:
Iowa GOP Lawmakers Try To Curtail Divorce, Worry It Makes Young Women More ‘Promiscuous’

Discussion: Daily Kos

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Jeb Bush Disagrees With His Own Book Hours After It's Published — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) told MSNBC's Morning Joe on Tuesday that he would support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants “if you can craft that in law where you can have a path to citizenship …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, Washington Examiner, msnbc.com, Daily Kos, ABCNEWS, Naked Politics, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, USA Today, ABCNEWS, Taylor Marsh, The Week and First Read

Benjy Sarlin / Talking Points Memo:
Jeb Bush Bashes Romney, Obamacare In New Book

Discussion: Latino Decisions, New Republic, American Prospect, msnbc.com, The Fix and Brad DeLong

Beth Reinhard / NationalJournal.com:
Jeb Bush's Poorly Timed Flip -Flop on Immigration

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, First Read, National Review, Washington Monthly, MiamiHerald.com, Slate, The Dish, Balloon Juice, Post Politics, NBCNews.com, Hot Air and The Huffington Post

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:

Email tells feds to make sequester as painful as promised — The Obama administration denied an appeal for flexibility in lessening the sequester's effects, with an email this week appearing to show officials in Washington that because they already had promised the cuts would be devastating, they now have to follow through on that.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Michelle Malkin, The Gateway Pundit, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers, NetRight Daily and Pat Dollard

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:

White House cuts tours, citing sequester — The White House is cancelling all public tours starting Saturday in an effort to respond to sequestration that also jabs at members of Congress who opposed a deal to avert spending cuts. — In an email sent to members of Congress, the White House said …

Discussion: msnbc.com

Amie Parnes / The Hill:
White House cancels tours due to sequester

Discussion: CNN

Peter Nicholas / Washington Wire:
White House Cancels Tours, Blaming Sequester

Discussion: Business Insider

Jeff Plungis / Bloomberg:

TSA Will Permit Knives, Golf Clubs on U.S. Planes — The U.S. Transportation Security Administration will let people carry small pocketknives onto passenger planes for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, along with golf clubs, hockey sticks and plastic Wiffle Ball-style bats.

Discussion: Business Insider, Red Alert Politics and Mother Jones

Adam Snider / Politico: TSA allowing knives back on planes

Cindy Adams / New York Post:

Hotel boots rowdy Rodman over Kim Jong Un scene — Dennis Rodman, just back from visiting Kim Jong Un, was escorted out of the Time Hotel in Midtown on Sunday after spending hours at the restaurant bar loudly telling anyone who would listen what a great guy the North Korean dictator is.

Discussion: Red Alert Politics, Gothamist and Jammie Wearing Fools

Yahoo! News:

Zimmerman Stuns Court, Waives Right to ‘Stand Your Ground’ Hearing in Trayvon Martin Case — ABC News - Zimmerman Stuns Court, Waives Right to ‘Stand Your Ground’ Hearing in Trayvon Martin Case (ABC News) — George Zimmerman's attorneys stunned court observers Tuesday when they waived …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and National Review

Rachel Weiner / Post Politics:

Bob McDonnell not invited to speak at CPAC — Chris Christie isn't the only Republican governor getting snubbed by the Conservative Political Action Conference. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell was not invited, according to someone close to CPAC who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, Roll Call, The Maddow Blog, Hot Air and Washington Post

Roger Simon / Politico:
Simon: GOP yearning for crazy

Discussion: CNN and The Daily Caller

John Feehery / The Hill:

Tag-teaming Obama — Don't tell the Tea Party, but the tag team of John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are currently mopping the floor with Barack Obama. — The president convincingly won a second term in November, but since that time, the congressional Republican leadership has outfoxed …

Discussion: Politico and The Other McCain

Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:

GOP centrists balk at Ryan Medicare shift — House Republican centrists are furious that GOP leaders are considering abandoning their pledge not to change Medicare retirement benefits for people 55 years and older. — According to several sources, a handful of centrist GOP lawmakers attending …

Discussion: CNN, New Republic, Talking Points Memo, The Plum Line, AEIdeas, Politico, Washington Post and Daily Kos

Zach Carter / The Huffington Post:

ACORN, In New GOP Budget Bill, Would Be Defunded Again, Even Though It No Longer Exists — WASHINGTON — A new short-term budget bill introduced on Monday by House Republicans includes a bizarre provision banning federal funding to anti-poverty group ACORN, despite the fact that the group …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Raw Story, The Political Carnival, Daily Kos, The Maddow Blog and Hullabaloo