memeorandum: Arkansas Adopts Strictest Abortion Law in the U.S. (Erik Eckholm/New York Times)

8:55 AM ET, March 7, 2013

Top Items:

Ashley Parker / The Caucus:

Republicans, Led by Rand Paul, Finally End Filibuster — Updated WASHINGTON — A small group of Republicans, led by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, stalled the Senate on Wednesday by waging a nearly 13-hour old-school, speak-until-you-can-speak-no- more filibuster over the government's use …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, The Maddow Blog, Gawker, National Review, Mother Jones, The Fix, The Reaction, The Week and AL.com

Ramsey Cox / The Hill:

Rand Paul launches talking filibuster against CIA nominee — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is staging a talking filibuster against the nomination of John Brennan to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). — “I'm here to filibuster John Brennan's nomination to be director of CIA,” Paul said on the Senate floor Wednesday.

Discussion: The Week, his vorpal sword, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway and Hot Air

Washington Post:

Paul's filibuster in opposition to Brennan, drone policy ends after nearly 13 hours — One of the oldest and most storied traditions of the Senate made a sudden return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday when a junior senator seized control of the chamber with an hours-long filibuster involving …

Discussion: The Fix, News Desk, The Week, msnbc.com, Post Politics, Politico and The Spectacle Blog

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:

Senate Democrats Threaten To Reignite Filibuster Reform — The Senate's leading champion of filibuster reform called for renewing the effort to weaken the minority's obstruction power, concluding that a modest rules change enacted in January has failed to discourage Republicans from grinding the chamber to a halt.

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, The Maddow Blog, Mother Jones and Post Politics

Jim Michaels / Associated Press:
Rand Paul ends epic filibuster over Brennan

Discussion: Politics Extra, The Week, Mediaite and National Review

Michael A. Memoli / Los Angeles Times:
Rand Paul vows to speak ‘as long as it takes’ to block Brennan

Discussion: Firedoglake and Vox Popoli

Catalina Camia / Associated Press:
Longest Senate filibusters went on and on ... and on

Discussion: USA Today and Taylor Marsh

Jon Swaine / Telegraph:
Barack Obama ‘has authority to use drone strikes to kill Americans on US soil’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Joel Gehrke / Washington Examiner:
Rand Paul filibustering over drones: I will not let Obama ‘shred the Constitution’

Discussion: Power Line, Weasel Zippers and NetRight Daily

Ashley Parker / The Caucus:
Rand Paul Leads Filibuster of Brennan Nomination

Discussion: Corrente, Ricochet Conversations Feed and alicublog

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Rubio, NRSC heads join Rand Paul's filibuster — and could get political boost

Discussion: Wired, Washington Examiner, BuzzFeed, Hot Air and Politico

Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call:
Filibuster Overhaul Effort Should Be Revived, Durbin Says

Discussion: The Political Carnival, Daily Kos, American Prospect and PostPartisan

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
A great day for the filibuster, and for filibuster reform

Discussion: Prairie Weather, A plain blog about politics and Daily Kos

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:

Republicans emerge from Obama dinner optimistic about deficit deal — Senate Republicans are more optimistic about the prospect of a grand bargain on the deficit after an intimate dinner with President Obama Wednesday evening in downtown Washington. — Obama and a dozen Republicans discussed …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Right Wing News, The Moderate Voice and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Jesse Helfrich / The Hill:

Obama takes GOP lawmakers out on a deficit dinner date in downtown DC — President Obama and congressional Republicans on Wednesday began a series of meetings aimed at chipping away years of accumulated mistrust and laying the groundwork for a major deficit-reduction deal.

Discussion: Politico and Washington Free Beacon

Jake Novak / CNBC:
Boehner Wants Budget Deals ‘Out in the Open’

Discussion: First Read, PoliticusUSA, Politico, Daily Kos, Post Politics and The Reaction

Linda Greenhouse / Opinionator:

‘A Big New Power’ — Years from now, when the Supreme Court has come to its senses, justices then sitting will look back on the spring of 2013 in bewilderment. On what basis, they will wonder, did five conservative justices, professed believers in judicial restraint, reach out to grab …

Joel B. Pollak / BREITBART.COM:
RAND PAUL, IN DRONE FILIBUSTER, TELLS OBAMA TO REVISIT LOCHNER CASE

Discussion: Hot Air and The Volokh Conspiracy

Joleen Chaney / KFOR-TV:

GRAPHIC: Woman packing heat, drugs in private parts — WARNING: Content could be considered graphic to some audiences. — ADA, Okla. - An unusual and graphic case in Pontotoc County leads police to a bizarre find inside a female suspect. — It began at Dairy Lou Drive Inn in Ada.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Agoldberg / The Smoking Gun:
Cops: Perp Had Loaded Revolver In Her Vagina

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Balloon Juice, Gawker and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Samuel Tadros / Weekly Standard:

Michelle Obama and John Kerry to Honor Anti-Semite and 9/11 Fan — On Friday March 8, Michelle Obama will join John Kerry at a special ceremony at the State Department to present ten women the Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award. The award, says the press release …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Twitchy, Israel Matzav, Weasel Zippers and Washington Free Beacon

Mark Memmott / NPR:

Alvin Lee Is Going Home: ‘Ten Years After’ Guitarist Dies … Guitarist Alvin Lee, whose incendiary performance with the British band Ten Years After was one of the highlights of the 1969 Woodstock festival, has died. … He was 68. Lee's website says he “passed away early this morning …

Discussion: BBC

Erik Eckholm / New York Times:

Arkansas Adopts Strictest Abortion Law in the U.S. — In the sharpest challenge yet to Roe v. Wade, Arkansas adopted Wednesday what is by far the country's most restrictive ban on abortion, at 12 weeks of pregnancy, around the time that a fetal heartbeat can be detected by abdominal ultrasound.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Political Carnival, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Liberal Values and Shakesville

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

In U.S., 71% Back Raising Minimum Wage — Most Democrats and independents, and half of Republicans, favor increase to $9 — PRINCETON, NJ — Seven in 10 Americans say they would vote “for” raising the minimum wage to $9 per hour if given the opportunity, while 27% would vote against such a bill.

Discussion: Politico, jobsanger, The Political Carnival and ThinkProgress

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Chief White House Calligrapher Gets Paid $96,725 Per Year — With the White House closing its doors to public tour groups in order to save money for the sequester, it's worth remembering some of the other costs the White House incurs annually. — Like the “Chief Calligrapher,” …

Discussion: Politico, The Shark Tank, Mediaite, TheBlaze.com, Hot Air, Hit & Run, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Impolitic and The Daily Caller

James Joyner / Outside the Beltway:
Calligraphy-Gate — The Weekly Standard's Daniel Halper …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Balloon Juice and The Daily Caller

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

The Professors' Big Stage — I just spent the last two days at a great conference convened by M.I.T. and Harvard on “Online Learning and the Future of Residential Education” — a k a “How can colleges charge $50,000 a year if my kid can learn it all free from massive open online courses?”

Discussion: Inside Higher Ed, Somewhat Reasonable and Power Line

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Fed: Obama's health law leading to layoffs — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday released an edition of its so-called “beige book,” that said the 2010 healthcare law is being cited as a reason for layoffs and a slowdown in hiring. — “Employers in several Districts cited the unknown effects …

Discussion: Weekly Standard

Jeff Spross / ThinkProgress:

Big One-Year Jump In Atmospheric CO2 Brings Climate Catastrophe Closer — The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere underwent one of its biggest single-year jumps ever in 2012, according to researchers at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, jobsanger, The Political Carnival and The Raw Story

Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:

Virginia Republican: It Can Be Better To Be Uninsured Than On Medicaid … Wealthy investor and Republican candidate for Virginia Lt. Governor Pete Snyder released a new campaign ad Wednesday criticizing bipartisan efforts to expand Medicaid under Obamacare.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Jon Cohen / The Fix:

Cut government spending? Sure....in theory. — Americans broadly support an across-the-board cut in spending for a government often seen as wasteful, but there is wide opposition to blanket cuts to the military, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.