memeorandum: North Dakota Personhood Measure Passes State House (Laura Bassett/The Huffington Post)

2:00 PM ET, March 23, 2013

Top Items:

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Senate passes its first budget in four years on 50 to 49 vote — The Senate early Saturday passed its first budget in four years by a vote of 50 to 49. — The close vote was a big victory for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) …

Discussion: The Hill, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and The Reaction

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Senate Passes $3.7 Trillion Budget, Its First in 4 Years — WASHINGTON — After a grueling, all-night debate that ended close to 5 a.m., the Senate on Saturday adopted its first budget in four years, a $3.7 trillion blueprint for 2014 that would fast-track passage of tax increases …

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, CNN and Outside the Beltway

Ginger Gibson / Politico:

Senate passes budget — first for four years — In the early morning hours Saturday after almost 13 continuous hours of voting, the Senate passed a budget resolution for the first time in nearly four years. — The proposal, which Democratic drafters say will reduce the deficit …

Jordy Yager / The Hill:

Obama presses Congress to vote on assault weapons ban — President Obama in his weekly address urged both chambers of Congress to hold a vote on a series of gun-control measures, including the controversial assault weapons ban and a limit on magazine sizes.

Discussion: CNN

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Senate on record opposing use of chained CPI — The Senate voted Friday night to oppose cutting entitlement benefits for veterans using a new method of calculating inflation. — President Obama has put the new method, known as chained consumer price index, on the table in deficit talks with Republicans.

Discussion: CNN and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

David Lawder / NBCNews.com:
Senate passes budget with $1 trillion tax hike

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Michelle Malkin

Zack Colman / E2-Wire:
Keystone XL picks up Senate backing

Discussion: Politico, The Agonist, Daily Kos, Booman Tribune and Yahoo! News

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

On third anniversary, Obama touts health law's benefits — President Obama on Saturday touted his landmark healthcare reform law on its third anniversary, but cautioned that there was “more work to do to implement” its provisions. — “Three years ago today, I signed into law the principle …

Discussion: Politico

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:

Ted Cruz Amendment To Repeal Obamacare Fails — WASHINGTON — The Senate on Friday rejected an effort by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to repeal Obamacare, an outcome that was expected but is far from the last attempt by Republicans to dismantle President Barack Obama's signature accomplishment.

Discussion: ThinkProgress

New York Times:

Walking While Black in New York — The New York City Police Department has a long history of violating constitutional rights by stopping, questioning or frisking people on the streets without legal justification. The city has steadfastly denied that the detentions — made under …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Gothamist and Capital New York

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:
New York City Cop Testifies That He Was Told To Target Young Black Men

Discussion: NY Daily News, Prairie Weather, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and New York Times

Daily Mail:

Massachusetts lawmaker 'took pictures of his genitals and put them on a female coworker's computer' — A state representative in Massachussetts is being investigated after allegedly sending pictures of his genitals to a government computer. — The investigation is ongoing and the committee …

Discussion: Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Weasel Zippers, The Other McCain, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and CBS Boston

Laura Bassett / The Huffington Post:

North Dakota Personhood Measure Passes State House — North Dakota became the first state on Friday to pass a fetal personhood amendment, which grants legal personhood rights to embryos from the moment of fertilization. The state House of Representatives voted 57 to 35 to pass the amendment …

Discussion: Gawker and ThinkProgress

Laura Bassett / The Huffington Post:
North Dakota Republican Pols To Protest Anti-Abortion Laws: ‘We Have Stepped Over The Line’

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic Online and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Miss Israel: Obama ‘world-class hunk’ — President Barack Obama has earned a new title: world-class hunk. — That was the assessment of Miss Israel, the 21-year-old Ethiopian immigrant Titi Aynaw who met Obama on Thursday. — “He's an exciting man, a world-class hunk …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Weasel Zippers and The Hinterland Gazette

Joe Nocera / New York Times:

Saving Children From Guns — For nearly two months, my assistant, Jennifer Mascia, and I have been publishing a daily blog in which we aggregate articles about shootings from the previous day. Of all the stories we link to, the ones I find hardest to read are those about young children …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Prairie Weather

Al Baker / New York Times:

Girls Outnumbered in New York's Elite Public Schools — In the United States, girls have outshined boys in high school for years, amassing more A's, earning more diplomas and gliding more readily into college, where they rack up more degrees — whether at the bachelor's, master's or doctoral levels.

Discussion: Gothamist and Unfogged

Jenna Portnoy / New Jersey Online:

Gov. Christie says he does not believe in gay conversion therapy — Gov. Chris Christie speaks in Edison earlier this month. Christie said today he doesn't believe in gay conversion therapy. (Photo by Ed Murray/The Star-Ledger) — TRENTON — Under pressure from Democrats …

Discussion: msnbc.com, PinkNews.co.uk, ABCNEWS, Gay Star News and Joe. My. God.

Los Angeles Times:

The 1% aren't like the rest of us — The ultra-rich share few of the priorities of most Americans, but their access to policymakers is greater, a study finds. — Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer, left, and Debbie Stabenow are seen at the conclusion of a news conference held by Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill.

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, The Talking Dog, Mother Jones and Daily Kos

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

The New Republic Fires Timothy Noah — On Thursday, New Republic columnist Timothy Noah received an email from editor Frank Foer asking him to meet at 2:30 pm on Friday. During the meeting, Foer told Noah that he was out of a job. — When Noah got to the New Republic's lobby …

Discussion: Media Decoder and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

TIME:

FAA To Close 149 Air Traffic Towers Under Cuts — (CHICAGO) — Under orders to trim hundreds of millions of dollars from its budget, the Federal Aviation Administration released a final list Friday of 149 air traffic control facilities that it will close at small airports around the country starting early next month.

Discussion: The National Memo