memeorandum: Murray, Ryan face new mission impossible on the budget (Erik Wasson/The Hill)

11:55 AM ET, March 26, 2013

Top Items:

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Alaska Sen. Mark Begich Says “Same Sex Couples Should Be Able To Marry” — “Government should keep out of individuals' personal lives — if someone wants to marry someone they love, they should be able to,” the senator says in a statement. — Image by Alex Wong / Getty Images

Wall Street Journal:

. . . Gays Deserve Equal Rights — States shouldn't remain free to discriminate for as long as they wish. — Four years ago, the two us of joined forces and launched a federal constitutional challenge to Proposition 8, a ballot initiative which eliminated the right of same-sex couples in California to marry.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Althouse and msnbc.com

Susan Page / USA Today:

GOP chairman urges tolerance for views on gay marriage — Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus, on USA TODAY's Capital Download, says the party shouldn't act ‘like Old Testament heretics’ on same-sex marriage but should welcome those who support it. — WASHINGTON — The GOP platform leaves …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Bill Clinton's Decision, and Regret, on Defense of Marriage Act

Discussion: Yahoo! News, CNN, ABCNEWS, msnbc.com, The Times of Israel and The Caucus

Washington Wire:
Live Blog: Supreme Court Weighs Gay Marriage

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Numbers / Pew Research Center for the People …:
Supreme Court's Favorable Rating Still at Historic Low

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Right Turn, CNN, BuzzFeed, Taking Note, The Fix, New York Times, Liberal Values, Infowars and Politico

Sarah Parnass / ABCNEWS:
Senators Abandon ‘Discriminatory’ DOMA Before Supreme Court Arguments

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Yahoo! News, PinkNews.co.uk, Mashable, Towleroad News #gay, Firedoglake and Joe. My. God.

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
What Is Going To Happen At The Supreme Court This Week?

Discussion: The Dish

Facebook:
Mark Warner · 20,148 like this

Discussion: PinkNews.co.uk, The Fix, Politico, Towleroad News #gay, BuzzFeed, ABCNEWS, First Read, Box Turtle Bulletin, Advocate, Hot Air, The Raw Story and ThinkProgress

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:
CNN Anchor Gets In Explosive Personal Battle With Conservative Over ‘Legality’ Of Gay Marriage

Discussion: NewsBusters blogs, Hawkings Here, ABCNEWS, Hot Air, CNN and Wall Street Journal

Jonathan Allen / Politico:

Rand Paul and Ted Cruz threaten filibuster on guns — Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are threatening to filibuster gun-control legislation, according to a letter they plan to hand-deliver to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office on Tuesday. — “We will oppose the motion …

Discussion: CNN, Hit & Run, Infowars, The Week, Hot Air, BizPac Review, Prairie Weather, msnbc.com, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, American Spectator, The Hill and First Read

CBS News:

Poll: Support for stricter gun control wanes — Poll analysis by Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Anthony Salvanto and Fred Backus — Soon after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced an assault weapons ban would not be part of a gun control bill, a new CBS News poll shows support …

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air and National Review

Frank Bruni / New York Times:
Rand Paul's Loopy Ascent

Discussion: TheBlaze.com

NewsMax.com:

Jeb Bush: States Should Decide Gay Marriage — More ways to share... Mixx — Stumbled — LinkedIn — Vine — Buzzflash — Newstrust — Technocrati — Forward Article — The day before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on the constitutionality of gay marriage …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Run 2016 and Joe. My. God.

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Can gay marriage survive SCOTUS loss?

Discussion: New York Times, Daily Kos and The Plum Line

Bruno Waterfield / Telegraph:

Cyprus bail-out: savers will be raided to save euro in future crises, says eurozone chief — Savings accounts in Spain, Italy and other European countries will be raided if needed to preserve Europe's single currency by propping up failing banks, a senior eurozone official has announced.

Discussion: New York Times, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, LewRockwell.com Blog, Patterico's Pontifications, The Lonely Conservative and Vodkapundit

New York Times:

In Private, Quinn Displays a Volatile Side — Christine C. Quinn was not pleased. — A session of the New York City Council had descended into chaos, and lawmakers were openly questioning her leadership. Ms. Quinn, the Council speaker, decided there was one person to blame: Betsy Gotbaum …

Discussion: American Prospect, Capital New York and Gothamist

Fox News:

Gun store rescinds Mark Kelly's rifle purchase, questions his ‘intent’ — A Tucson gun store owner has decided to rescind the sale of a military-style rifle to Mark Kelly, the husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, after Kelly said he had intended the purchase to make a political point …

Discussion: BizPac Review and The Gateway Pundit

Pat Buchanan / Townhall.com:

Who Killed the New Majority? — The Republican National Committee has produced an “autopsy” on what went wrong in 2012, when the party failed to win the White House and lost seats in Congress. — Yet, the crisis of the Grand Old Party goes back much further. — First, some history.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

John Kerry / US Department of State:

Remarks With President Hamid Karzai After Their Meeting — Remarks — Presidential Palace Kabul, Afghanistan — PRESIDENT KARZAI: (Via interpreter) In the name of God, the most merciful, the most compassionate, dear media members both Afghan and foreign, welcome to our press conference today.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch

Dan Friedman / NY Daily News:

Mayor Bloomberg's $12 million ad blitz backing gun control causes headaches for Democrats in gun-friendly territory — The drive intends to counter the NRA. Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Kay Hagan of North Carolina, who are up for re-election next year, are among those Bloomberg's ads target.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Runnin' Scared

Emily Miller / Washington Times:
Mayor Bloomberg's irresponsible gun attack ads

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Michelle Malkin, NewsBusters and The Gateway Pundit

Tyler Durden / Zero Hedge:

Have The Russians Already Quietly Withdrawn All Their Cash From Cyprus? — Yesterday, we first reported on something very disturbing (at least to Cyprus' citizens): despite the closed banks (which will mostly reopen tomorrow, while the two biggest soon to be liquidated banks Laiki and BoC …

Discussion: Daily Mail and Vox Popoli

Quinnipiac News + Events:

Release Detail — March 26, 2013 - New Jersey Voters Want Christie For Gov, Less For Pres, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Girth And Gender Are Tiny Issues In Governor's Race — New Jersey voters, by overwhelming margins, approve of the job Gov. Christopher Christie is doing …

Discussion: Politico, nation.foxnews.com, CNN and The Run 2016

Justin Sink / The Hill:

After taking hit in the polls, Obama pivots back to immigration reform — The White House hopes to bolster President Obama's political standing by shifting attention from the bruising budget battles of the last month to immigration reform and gun control. — Democrats welcome the pivot …

Discussion: Post Politics, The Plum Line, Right Wing News, Vodkapundit and New York Times

Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters blogs:

Sharpton's MSNBC Show Sponsored By Manufacturer Of ‘Big, Brutal’ Rifles — Don't tell us that Al Sharpton and MSNBC are hypocrites? Noooo!! The Reverend Al opened his show by praising President Obama's efforts to promote tougher gun control laws. But 28 minutes into the show …

NBCNews.com:

Italy court: Amanda Knox to be retried for Meredith Kercher murder — Amanda Knox was ordered to stand trial again for the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher by Italy's top appeal court on Tuesday, but there appeared to be little the country could do to force her to return for the new hearings.

Discussion: New York Times, Mediaite, Gawker, Taylor Marsh and The Raw Story