memeorandum: Tip from imam led police to 'first known al-Qaeda plan of attack that we've experienced' (Globe and Mail)

1:20 PM ET, April 23, 2013

Top Items:

Jake Tapper / The Lead with Jake Tapper:

Boston bombing suspect tells officials older brother was driving force behind attack — A U.S. government source tells CNN that in preliminary interviews with the Boston Marathon terrorist attack bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has told law enforcement that no foreign terrorist groups …

Discussion: Gothamist, Gawker, Outside the Beltway and Riehl World News

Emily Bazelon / Slate:

John McCain and Lindsey Graham's ludicrous, harmful campaign to get him declared one. — Sen. Lindsey Graham pushed for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to be declared an enemy combatant. — A group of Republican senators, led by Lindsey Graham and John McCain …

Discussion: Hot Air, ImmigrationProf Blog, The Hinterland Gazette, Daily Kos, msnbc.com and Wall Street Journal

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:
Why Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev's Autopsy Should Include A Check For CTE

Discussion: FP Passport, Business Insider and msnbc.com

Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: Chinese carjack victim of Boston bombers only escaped when they stopped for Red Bull …

Discussion: emptywheel, Business Insider and Riehl World News

New York Times:
Boston Bombing Suspect's Bedside Hearing

Discussion: CNN, Business Insider, Mediaite, News Desk, msnbc.com, Hot Air, emptywheel, Lawfare, American Power, The Jawa Report, Outside the Beltway, Hullabaloo, Taylor Marsh, CBS New York and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Is Probing Suspect's Alleged Links to Militants

Discussion: Weekly Standard, CNN and Hot Air

Tim Murphy / Mother Jones:
The 11 Most Mystifying Things the Tsarnaev Brothers Did

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Times and Los Angeles Times

Ken White / Popehat:
Thoughts On The Tsarnaev Complaint

Discussion: Wired, New York Times, Salon, Patterico's Pontifications, Mediaite, The Volokh Conspiracy and Hot Air

Anne Bartlett / Post Politics:

Baucus to retire rather than seek reelection in 2014, strategists say — View Photo Gallery —The 2014 midterm elections are just around the corner. These are the races to watch. — Baucus, 71, first elected in 1978,has been the top Democrat on the powerful committee since 2001.

Discussion: The Plum Line, Rothenblog, Wake up America, The Fix, The Maddow Blog, Roll Call, Weasel Zippers, Weekly Standard, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Caller, The Raw Story, First Read, Joe. My. God. and National Review

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Max Baucus retiring — Montana Sen. Max Baucus will not seek reelection in 2014, becoming the latest senior red-state Democrat to bail out of a potentially difficult reelection campaign, a senior Democratic official confirmed to POLITICO. — Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Cassandra Files, The Hinterland Gazette and Outside the Beltway

Ian Swanson / Ballot Box:
Max Baucus to retire from Senate

Discussion: CNN

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Baucus Won't Seek Re-election to Senate

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Althouse

Andrew Kitzenberg / getonhand.com:

Boston Bombing Suspect Shootout Pictures — On Thursday night [Friday morning] at 12:45am EST. I was in my living room working on my computer when I heard multiple “pops” coming from outside. At that point, I had no idea that I was about to become an eye witness to the biggest news story in the country.

Discussion: Chicago Boyz, CBS Boston, Deadspin, Weasel Zippers, Vox Popoli, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider and Poynter

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Nevada Senate Votes To Repeal Ban On Same-Sex Couples' Marriages — During the course of the debate, Nevada Sen. Kelvin Atkinson told his colleagues — and the world — that he is gay. Monday's vote was the first step in a long process. — WASHINGTON — Late Monday …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Joe. My. God. and Shakesville

Laura Smith-Spark / CNN:

French lawmakers approve same-sex marriage bill — Protests over France's gay marriage bill … (CNN) — French lawmakers voted to legalize same-sex marriage Tuesday, despite vocal protests from some conservatives opposed to the step. — The nation's lower house approved a marriage bill …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Advocate

BBC:
France approves gay marriage law

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Anjeanette Damon / Las Vegas Sun News:
In split vote, Nevada Senate passes measure to begin repeal of gay marriage ban

Discussion: Advocate, Truth Wins Out, The Raw Story, Post Politics and Towleroad News #gay

New York Times:

In Gun Bill Defeat, a President Who Hesitates to Twist Arms — WASHINGTON — Senator Mark Begich, Democrat of Alaska, asked President Obama's administration for a little favor last month. Send your new interior secretary this spring to discuss a long-simmering dispute over construction …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, American Prospect, Spectator, The Maddow Blog, The Plum Line, Booman Tribune, Mediaite, The Caucus and American Power

Susan Page / Associated Press:

USA TODAY Poll: Public support for gun control ebbs — WASHINGTON — Four months after the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a USA TODAY Poll finds support for a new gun-control law ebbing as prospects for passage on Capitol Hill seem to fade.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Reuters, NewsBusters, Right Wing News, Twitchy, Hot Air, National Review, Weasel Zippers and Sense of Events

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

As Bush library opening puts his presidency back in the spotlight, his approval rating is up — George W. Bush will return to the spotlight this week for the dedication of his presidential library, an event likely to trigger fresh public debate about his eight fateful years in office.

Discussion: The Hill, The Fix, Guardian, No More Mister Nice Blog and Weasel Zippers

Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:
Bush is back — It took less than 4 1/2 years of the Obama presidency …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice and Daniel W. Drezner

UN Watch:

UN Official Justifies Boston Bombings as ‘Retribution’, Blames America & ‘Tel Aviv’ — Richard Falk warns of “worse blowbacks,” says “Those to whom evil is done, do evil in return” — In a letter sent today to UN chief Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice (see below) …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Richard Falk / Foreign Policy Journal:
A Commentary on the Marathon Murders

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, “The Lid”, Weasel Zippers and Israel Matzav

Globe and Mail:

Tip from imam led police to 'first known al-Qaeda plan of attack that we've experienced' — A tip from a Toronto imam sparked an investigation that culminated in the arrests of two men who allegedly plotted to derail a Via passenger train. — The imam alerted authorities more than a year ago …

Discussion: New York Times, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway and Jihad Watch

Joseph Brean / National Post:
Two ‘religiously strict’ men behind foiled al-Qaeda-supported plot to derail VIA train

Discussion: USA Today, The Spectacle Blog, Jihad Watch and CBC News

Matt Viser / Boston Globe:

Mitt Romney's all-star retreat in June will include David Axelrod, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan — WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney this morning announced a series of high-profile speakers who will address a retreat that the former Republican presidential nominee is putting together in June.

Discussion: The Hill and Taegan Goddard's …

Deborah Kotz / The Boston Globe:

Injury toll from Marathon bombings rises to 282 — Only two patients wounded in the Boston Marathon bombings remained in critical condition Monday, but the count of injured people who were treated in area hospitals has risen sharply to 282, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.

Discussion: The Lede and Weasel Zippers

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:
Injury Toll From Boston Marathon Bombings Rises To Nearly 300 People

Discussion: Shakesville and New York Times

Kate Nocera / BuzzFeed:

Marco Rubio's Immigration Plan Sparks Conservative Civil War — “It's a circular firing squad that Republicans are famous for, we're eating our young,” Gabriel says. Rubio versus the Breitbartians. — Rubio, flanked by Sen. Charles Schumer, left, and Sen. John McCain, right.

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Emily Schultheis / Politico:

Immigration reform could be bonanza for Dems — The immigration proposal pending in Congress would transform the nation's political landscape for a generation or more — pumping as many as 11 million new Hispanic voters into the electorate a decade from now in ways that, if current trends hold …

Discussion: Guardian, The PJ Tatler, New Republic, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers and The Maddow Blog

Mark Hertsgaard / The Daily Beast:

What BP Doesn't Want You to Know About the 2010 Gulf Spill — The 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill was even worse than BP wanted us to know. — “It's as safe as Dawn dishwashing liquid.” That's what Jamie Griffin says the BP man told her about the smelly, rainbow-streaked gunk coating the floor of the …

Discussion: ThinkProgress