memeorandum: Obama Administration Says President Can Use Lethal Force Against Americans on US Soil (Adam Serwer/Mother Jones)

8:50 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: Politico, Firedoglake, Twitchy, Hot Air, Booman Tribune and The PJ Tatler

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: Michelle Malkin and Weasel Zippers

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 Moderate Voice, The Jawa Report, ABCNEWS, New Republic, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Truthout Stories, Outside the Beltway and Balloon Juice

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

The Carter Center:
Statement From Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on the Death of Hugo Chavez

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller and Ed Driscoll

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

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

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

Discussion: Washington Wire, News Desk and Fausta's Blog

William Neuman / New York Times:
Chávez Dies, Leaving a Bitterly Divided Venezuela

Discussion: NBC Latino, Taylor Marsh and The Reaction

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: Hullabaloo, The Plum Line, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

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

Discussion: CNN and Outside the Beltway

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

Discussion: News Desk

Rand Paul:
AG Holder Asserts Authority to Conduct Drone Strikes on U.S. Citizens

Discussion: Firedoglake, Hit & Run and Lowering the Bar

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

Discussion: Politico

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: ABCNEWS, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh, Gawker and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Brooks Barnes / ArtsBeat:

Jon Stewart to Direct Serious Film, Will Take Hiatus From ‘Daily Show’ — LOS ANGELES — Jon Stewart, serious film director? — Mr. Stewart, the stand-up satirist and “Daily Show” host, said on Tuesday that he would direct his first movie, a drama called “Rosewater,” from a screenplay that he wrote.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Red Alert Politics and The Raw Story

Benjy Sarlin / Talking Points Memo:

Jeb Bush Bashes Romney, Obamacare In New Book — Jeb Bush's new tome, “Immigration Wars: Forging An American Solution,” hit bookstores on Tuesday and is already making waves in the immigration debate and 2016 sweepstakes alike. — Bush's book, co-authored by Goldwater Institute director Clint Bolick …

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

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Jeb Bush Disagrees With His Own Book Hours After It's Published

Discussion: Politico, The Moderate Voice, msnbc.com, Daily Kos, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Naked Politics, USA Today, ABCNEWS, The Week, Taylor Marsh, First Read, The Maddow Blog, Taking Note and The Huffington Post

Benjy Sarlin / Talking Points Memo:
Is Jeb Bush Already Backing Down On A Path To Citizenship?

Discussion: The Political Carnival, Business Insider and msnbc.com

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

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

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, Doug Ross, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, NetRight Daily, The PJ Tatler, Michelle Malkin and Pat Dollard

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: No More Mister Nice Blog, Politico, 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

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

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

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

White House cancels tours due to sequester — The White House announced Tuesday that it was canceling tours of the executive mansion beginning on Saturday until further notice due to “staffing reductions resulting from sequestration.” — An e-mail sent to lawmakers from the White House visitor's office …

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Fox News, Mediaite, msnbc.com and Pat Dollard

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
More sequester pain: White House cancels tours

Discussion: Red Alert Politics, Hot Air and The Daily Caller

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

Jonathan Cohn / New Republic:
Paul Ryan Ups the Ante

Discussion: Politico, National Review, Mother Jones, PostPartisan, Talking Points Memo and The Plum Line

FBI:

FBI Seeks Public's Assistance in Identifying, Locating Unmanned Aircraft and Operator … On Monday, March, 4, 2013, at approximately 1:15 p.m., the pilot of Alitalia Flight #608 spotted a small, unmanned aircraft while on approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Discussion: VICE, New York Times, Wired, The Jawa Report and The Raw Story

Aaron Cooper / CNN:
Pilot reports spotting ‘drone’ over Brooklyn

Discussion: ABCNEWS, BuzzFeed, Runnin' Scared, Gawker and Red Alert Politics

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: Red Alert Politics, Business Insider and Mother Jones

Adam Snider / Politico: TSA allowing knives back on planes

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

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, Power Line, CNN and The Other McCain

Toddstarnes / Fox News:

Obama Admin Wants to Deport Christian Home School Family — The Romeike family fled their German homeland in 2008 seeking political asylum in the United States - where they hoped to home school their children. Instead, the Obama administration wants the evangelical Christian family deported.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, TBogg and nation.foxnews.com

Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:

Do Conservatives Actually Want to Win Elections? — People who want to see American politics take a turn to the right, and a few who don't, have been giving a lot of advice to conservatives lately. Move this way on the social issues; move that way on economics; get more technology-savvy.