memeorandum: Schumer moves ahead with background-check bill as discussions stall (Alexander Bolton/The Hill)

1:00 PM 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 …

Wall Street Journal:

Rand Paul's Drone Rant — Give Rand Paul credit for theatrical timing. As a snow storm descended on Washington, the Kentucky Republican's old-fashioned filibuster Wednesday filled the attention void on Twitter and cable TV. If only his reasoning matched the showmanship.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Business Insider, Mediaite and TheBlaze.com

Grace Wyler / Business Insider:

IT'S WAR: John McCain And Lindsey Graham Are Tearing Into Rand Paul Right Now On The Senate Floor — U.S. Sen. John McCain blasted fellow Republican Rand Paul on the Senate floor this morning for his 13-hour filibuster against the Obama administration's drone policies.

Discussion: Hit & Run, American Spectator and Weasel Zippers

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Harry Reid Winks At Revisiting Filibuster Reform

Discussion: The Monkey Cage, The Maddow Blog and Hullabaloo

Washington Post:
Paul's filibuster in opposition to Brennan, drone policy ends after nearly 13 hours

Discussion: The Fix, Post Politics, News Desk, The Plum Line, Politico, Shakesville, msnbc.com, Taking Note and The Spectacle Blog

Ryan Grim / The Huffington Post:
Democrats Absent During Rand Paul Filibuster Of John Brennan Nomination

Discussion: Washington's Blog, Taylor Marsh, ProfessorBainbridge.com and Post Politics

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

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

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

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

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: Washington Post, Politico, Washington Monthly, CNN, The Caucus, The Week, Taylor Marsh, The Moderate Voice, Booman Tribune, The Hill, Connecting.the.Dots, Right Wing News and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

Obama invites Paul Ryan to lunch — President Barack Obama —seeking to sell Republicans on a revival of “grand bargain” talks — has invited 2012 GOP veep candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the chairman of the House Budget Committee, over to the White House for lunch on Thursday, POLITICO has learned.

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, The Hinterland Gazette, Hot Air and Wall Street Journal

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:

How the White House silenced gun control groups — President Barack Obama's gun control agenda is looking more doomed by the day, but gun control advocates still haven't said a word to complain. — That's no accident. — The White House knew its post-Newtown effort would require bringing key gun-control groups into the fold.

Discussion: ABCNEWS

Jackie Calmes / The Caucus:
G.O.P. Senators Give Obama Dinner Thumbs Up

Discussion: The Maddow Blog and Politico

Washington Post:
House votes to avert shutdown as Obama looks for big deal

Discussion: p m carpenter's commentary, The Week, Roll Call, Mother Jones, Post Politics and The Fix

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
Obama's just now starting to call rank-and-file Republicans?

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Weasel Zippers, Politico, Post Politics and The Maddow Blog

Jesse Helfrich / The Hill:
Obama takes GOP lawmakers out on a deficit dinner date in downtown DC

Discussion: Politico and Washington Free Beacon

Jack Kim / Reuters:

North Korea warns U.S. of preemptive nuclear strike — SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea threatened the United States on Thursday with a preemptive nuclear strike, raising the level of rhetoric while the U.N. Security Council considers new sanctions against the reclusive country.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

New Sanctions Imposed on North Korea as It Warns of Pre-emptive Nuclear Attack — The United Nations Security Council approved a new regimen of sanctions on Thursday against North Korea for its underground nuclear test last month, imposing penalties on North Korean banking …

Discussion: US Department of State, The Hill, The Week and The Daily Caller

Harry Hawkins / The Sun:

north korea says it will launch nuclear attack on america — Tensions ... North Korea leader Kim Jong-un — NORTH Korea led by tyrant Kim Jong-un has sensationally vowed to launch a NUCLEAR attack on the USA. — The provocative statement comes weeks after the country conducted underground nuclear tests …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Vodkapundit and The Jawa Report

Associated Press:
Furious over sanctions, NKorea vows to nuke US

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Jim Messina / CNN:

Why we're raising money to support Obama agenda — Jim Messina says among the policies that Organizing for Action has pushed support to is Obama's plan to curb gun violence … (CNN) — You can't change Washington from the inside. President Obama was criticized for stating that simple truth during …

Discussion: The Hill, Roll Call, Washington Free Beacon and American Spectator

First Read / NBCNews.com:

First Thoughts: A tale of two Senates — A tale of two Senates on display last night... Obama's dinner with 12 GOP senators vs. Rand Paul's filibuster... Paul's filibuster actually forces a debate... Principle vs. politics... Obama's dinner gets positive reviews, but it raises three questions …

Discussion: New York Times, The Plum Line, PoliticusUSA, The Dish, Daily Kos, CNN and Politico

Joel Gehrke / Washington Examiner:
McConnell extends Rand Paul filibuster: It'll take 60 votes to proceed with Brennan nomination

Discussion: Hit & Run and Patterico's Pontifications

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Al Gore Sued Over Current TV Sale to Al Jazeera (Exclusive) — A $5 million lawsuit claims Gore was “adamant” about not selling his network to oil-rich Qataris but had a “change of heart,” then stiffed the man who came up with the idea for the deal. — Current TV's $500 million sale …

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, TVNewser and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »

ThinkProgress:

Paul Ryan Balances New Budget By Embracing Obama Policies — But next week, just four months after losing the November election, Ryan plans to unveil a budget that incorporates many of the policies he campaigned against, since the very changes he opposed as a vice presidential candidate …

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Judiciary panel approves bill to crack down on illegal firearms trafficking — The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved legislation to crack down on the illegal trafficking and straw purchasing of firearms, despite strong objections from seven Republicans on the panel.

Discussion: Politico

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Schumer moves ahead with background-check bill as discussions stall

Discussion: Daily Kos, Booman Tribune, The Maddow Blog, The Plum Line, Politico, First Read, CNN and The Hill

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

The Fox News-iest Segment in Fox News History — If you have never seen Fox News before, here is a four-minute clip that captures the essence of the network so perfectly that you need never watch anything on it again. It's all here. At the center, you have an old conservative white guy …

Discussion: p m carpenter's commentary, The Mahablog, The Reaction and The Week

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

A Devastating 26-Word Challenge to President Obama's Leadership — A single sentence from Senator Ron Wyden sums up the radicalism of the administration's national-security policies. — Reuters — When Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, stopped by the Senate floor Wednesday to help …

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:

Texas GOP: Planned Parenthood Is Convincing Teens To Get Pregnant So It Can Perform Their Abortions — Texas has already spent the past year targeting Planned Parenthood, effectively defunding the organization's affiliates and forcing thousands of women to search for new doctors.

Discussion: The Raw Story