memeorandum: Texas Prosecutors May Have Been Killed by ‘Lone Wolf’ (New York Times)

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:

Democrat changes story about talks with Progress Kentucky leaders — The Democrat who said the leaders of the liberal group Progress Kentucky told him they bugged Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) campaign office is backing off a key part of his earlier account.

Discussion: Reuters

Politico:

Amateur hour in politics — The political establishment has some advice for anyone out there thinking of forming a super PAC: leave it to the pros. — The two men being investigated for secretly recording Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were enthusiastic activists, but definitely not professional operatives — far from it.

Discussion: Page One and The Fix

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:
21st-Century Watergate

Discussion: WFPL, The Daily Caller, Riehl World News, Politico, The Other McCain and Althouse

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:

Abortionist Slit Born Baby's Necks in Front of Teenager; Told Assistant: 'That's What You Call a Chicken With Its Head Cut Off' — [Editor's note: This story includes a graphic photograph, taken from a grand jury report, that shows a murdered baby with its spinal chord severed.]

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Other McCain and Riehl World News

The Independent:

Full statement by MMR scare doctor Andrew Wakefield: 'The Government has tried to cover up putting price before children's health' — This is the full statement by Dr Andrew Wakefield from healthimpactnews.com — In the wake of further media distortion, misrepresentation …

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Guardian and BBC

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

The GOP Amendment That Could Kill Gun Reform — On Thursday, gun reform proponents overcame a key hurdle in the Senate after 68 senators — including 16 Republicans — voted to proceed to a comprehensive package that expands background checks for gun purchases, increases penalties against gun trafficking, and invests in school safety.

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Jesse McKinley / New York Times:

Albany Teacher Gives Pro-Nazi Writing Assignment — ALBANY — High school is full of hypotheticals, like “How does one solve for x?” and “What happens if I skip class?” But this week, students at Albany High School were given an alarming thought puzzle: How do I convince my teacher that I think Jews are evil?

Discussion: neo-neocon, Balkinization, americanthinker.com, Althouse and Albany Times Union

John Merrow / Taking Note:

Michelle Rhee's Reign of Error — With the indictment of former Atlanta School Superintendent Beverly A. Hall and 34 other public school employees in a massive cheating scandal, the time is right to re-examine other situations of possible illegal behavior by educators. Washington, DC, belongs at the top of that list.

Discussion: Colorlines and Balloon Juice

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Daily Kos

Zeke J Miller / TIME:

Republicans Fear Clinton in 2016 — HOLLYWOOD — Republican leaders plotted their party's political comeback on Thursday with plans to court minority voters and modernize their political operations. But some wondered if one person could make it all for naught: Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway

New York Times:

Texas Prosecutors May Have Been Killed by ‘Lone Wolf’ — KAUFMAN, Tex. — Soon after one of his prosecutors was shot and killed here in January, the district attorney in this rural county outside Dallas, Mike McLelland, told colleagues that he believed the victim was the target …

Discussion: Business Insider

Washington Post:

Gun debate in Senate likely to feature amendments to weaken or strengthen laws — As the Senate prepares to begin debate next week on the biggest gun-control bill in nearly two decades, the gun rights lobby and its Senate allies are working on a series of amendments that could have the opposite effect …

Discussion: The Reaction

Reuters:

Senate plan would deport illegal immigrants entering U.S. after 2011 — (Reuters) - Senators crafting an immigration bill have agreed that foreigners who crossed the U.S. border illegally would be deported if they entered the United States after December 31, 2011, a congressional aide said on Friday.

Discussion: The Hill

Charles Abbott / Reuters:

Pact is reached on immigration reform for farm labor — (Reuters) - U.S. growers, the United Farm Workers union and key senators agreed in principle on immigration reform for farm laborers, a grower coalition said on Friday, assuring the issue will be part of a comprehensive immigration bill to be unveiled next week.

Discussion: The Hill and americanthinker.com

Will Oremus / Slate:

The Real Reason No One's Buying PCs Anymore: They've Gotten Too Good — Dude, you're not getting a Dell. — PC sales suffered their steepest decline in history last quarter, plummeting 14 percent worldwide, according to a report from market research firm IDC.

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and Dean's World