Top Items:
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Darrell Issa: Lois Lerner lost her rights — House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa said embattled IRS official Lois Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment rights and will be hauled back to appear before his panel again. — The California Republican …
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
She Has To Go — Yesterday we noted that Lois Lerner, the IRS official in charge of the unit overseeing tax exempt groups, would apparently plead the fifth at today's hearings (here's video of her testimony today). Rick Hasen said he thinks the issue is that she's the person who is most likely …
Discussion:
Right Turn, Taylor Marsh, The PJ Tatler, Weekly Standard and Patterico's Pontifications
Katie Glueck / Reuters:
Rush Limbaugh: Darrell Issa let Lois Lerner get away at IRS hearing — Rush Limbaugh on Wednesday charged that House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa went soft on IRS official Lois Lerner. — “Issa basically let her get away with it,” the conservative talk show host said, according to a transcript.
Discussion:
CNN, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Politico
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Darrell Issa slams IRS watchdog
Darrell Issa slams IRS watchdog
Discussion:
Daily Mail, CNN, Liberal Values, BuzzFeed, Hot Air and Roll Call
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
U.S. Acknowledges Killing 4 Americans in Drone Strikes — WASHINGTON — One day before President Obama is due to deliver a major speech on national security, his administration on Wednesday formally acknowledged that the United States had killed four American citizens in drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Moderate Voice, Yahoo! News, Hit & Run, Hot Air, Mediaite, Twitchy, Weasel Zippers, USA Today, WJLA-TV, Outside the Beltway, The Spectacle Blog, Business Insider and Truthdig
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New York Times:
Holder Letter on Counterterror Strikes Against U.S. Citizens — The day before President Obama's planned speech on drone policy, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. wrote a letter to members of Congress acknowledging the deaths of four Americans, including Anwar al-Awlaki, in counterterrorism strikes …
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Guardian, Wired and The Plum Line
Daily / Telegraph:
‘Soldier beheaded’ in ‘Islamist terror attack’ oustide barracks in Woolwich — Two suspected terrorists were shot by armed police after attacking a pedestrian, believed to be a soldier, with a machete-style knife close to military barracks in an ‘Islamist attack’.
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BBC:
Man dead in suspected Woolwich terror attack — A man has died and two are injured after police responded to a reported machete attack in south-east London. — The government is reported to be treating the attack as a suspected terrorist incident and the prime minister said it was “truly shocking”.
Talking Points Memo:
Ted Cruz: 'I Don't Trust The Republicans' — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Wednesday defended his objection to initiating House-Senate budget negotiations unless Democrats take a debt limit increase off the table, saying he doesn't trust his party to hold the line.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Maddow Blog, The Impolitic and The PJ Tatler
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Ginger Gibson / Politico:
Ted Cruz: 'I don't trust the Republicans' — Sen. Ted Cruz proclaimed on the Senate floor Wednesday that he doesn't trust other Republicans to fix the country's fiscal situation, explaining why he objects to sending the Senate budget to conference with the House.
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, CNN, Hot Air and National Review
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Harry Reid escalates ‘nuclear’ threat
Harry Reid escalates ‘nuclear’ threat
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, The Huffington Post, PostPartisan, Hullabaloo and Plain Dealer
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
GOP moderates feud with conservatives over stall tactics on budget
GOP moderates feud with conservatives over stall tactics on budget
Discussion:
A plain blog about politics, Booman Tribune and Post Politics
WESH-TV:
Orlando man killed by FBI agent was questioned in Boston Marathon bombings, friend says — Man knew Boston bombing suspect, friend says — An FBI agent was involved in a deadly shooting overnight that could have ties to the Boston Marathon bombings. — Officials said the special agent …
Discussion:
CBS News, U.S. News, CBS Boston, Wall Street Journal, WCVB.com, Hot Air, Gawker, Twitchy, Wired, WXIX-TV, The Week, Business Insider, No More Mister Nice Blog, Scared Monkeys, The Other McCain, Weasel Zippers, msnbc.com, Riehl World News, Washington Free Beacon, The Hinterland Gazette and Mediaite
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Susan Candiotti / CNN:
Sources: Man killed by FBI agent confessed to triple murder
Sources: Man killed by FBI agent confessed to triple murder
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway and Blazing Cat Fur
Claire Duffin / Telegraph:
Mum talked down Woolwich terrorists who told her: ‘We want to start a war in London tonight’ — Exclusive: A cub scout leader confronted terrorists just seconds after they had beheaded a soldier asking them to hand over their weapons and warning them: “It is only you versus many people, you are going to lose.”
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Noah Rothman / Mediaite:
Bloodied London Attacker Speaks To Camera After Beheading: ‘You People Will Never Be Safe’
Bloodied London Attacker Speaks To Camera After Beheading: ‘You People Will Never Be Safe’
Discussion:
American Spectator
Laura Smith-Spark / CNN:
Brutal cleaver assault on man in London street is suspected terror attack
Brutal cleaver assault on man in London street is suspected terror attack
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, protein wisdom, Sky News, Mediaite and The Jawa Report
New York Times:
Another Chilling Leak Investigation — With the decision to label a Fox News television reporter a possible “co-conspirator” in a criminal investigation of a news leak, the Obama administration has moved beyond protecting government secrets to threatening fundamental freedoms of the press to gather news.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Washington Post, The Lead with Jake Tapper, rcfp.org, PERRspectives, Mediaite, Lawfare, Hot Air, The Week, Business Insider, americanthinker.com, Weasel Zippers, TVNewser, Right Turn, Firedoglake, Jammie Wearing Fools, NewsBusters blogs, The PJ Tatler, NationalJournal.com, The Huffington Post, alicublog, msnbc.com and JustOneMinute
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Bob Christie / Associated Press:
Arizona House non-prayer sparks Christian re-do — PHOENIX (AP) — An atheist lawmaker's decision to give the daily prayer at the Arizona House of Representatives triggered a do-over from a Christian lawmaker who said the previous day's prayer didn't pass muster.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and Valley Fever
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Matthew Hendley / Valley Fever:
Atheist State Lawmaker Quotes Carl Sagan Instead of Doing Prayer Before House Session
Atheist State Lawmaker Quotes Carl Sagan Instead of Doing Prayer Before House Session
Discussion:
The Raw Story, Mediaite and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
GOP Nominee In Virginia Called Three-Fifths Clause An ‘Anti-Slavery Amendment’ — The Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in Virginia has called the Constitution's original clause to count blacks as three-fifths of a person an “anti-slavery amendment.”
Discussion:
Mother Jones, ThinkProgress, The Hinterland Gazette, Booman Tribune and Daily Kos
Thom Shanker / New York Times:
Sergeant Accused of Secretly Filming Female Cadets — WASHINGTON — A sergeant first class on the staff of the United States Military Academy at West Point faces charges for allegedly videotaping female cadets without their consent, sometimes when they were in the shower, according to Army officials.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, U.S. News, Outside the Beltway, Shakesville and The Raw Story
Sarah Palin / BREITBART.COM:
EXCLUSIVE — PALIN: GOING ROGUE IN THE WRONG DIRECTION — As more information about the IRS scandal trickles out daily, the White House's involvement is becoming clearer. Those of us who've been warning about the demise of freedom with Barack Obama's efforts to “fundamentally transform” …
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA, Politico, Conservatives4Palin and The Hill
Ben Swann / WXIX-TV:
Reality Check Exclusive: Cincinnati agent giving orders in IRS scandal? — The claim that the ongoing IRS scandal is limited to low level employees is falling apart. — The six Cincinnati workers we have identified, who sent scrutinizing letters to conservative groups with words including …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, Weekly Standard, The PJ Tatler and JustOneMinute
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Biden Praises Jews, Goes Too Far, Accidentally Thrills Anti-Semites — What? What'd I say? — Joe Biden spoke last night in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month. Biden has long, deep ties to the Jewish community — Obama actually picked him in 2008 in part to reassure skittish Jewish Democrats.
Discussion:
Politico, Weasel Zippers, Post Politics and The Times of Israel
Keith Koffler / White House Dossier:
Michelle Said to be Considering an Extended Vacation — With scandal swirling about the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama may be considering an extended exit from Washington this summer, fleeing for weeks to the Obamas' traditional summer haven, Martha's Vineyard.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report and Weasel Zippers
Emily Smith / New York Post:
Mike unleashes a ‘hail’ storm — Mayor Bloomberg went on a spitting-mad rant against a city cab-fleet boss who won a court victory over Hizzoner's planned “Taxi of Tomorrow” — vowing to “destroy your f—king industry” when he leaves office, The Post has learned.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The PJ Tatler, Jammie Wearing Fools, Reaganite and Business Insider
Shane Goldmacher / NationalJournal.com:
Meet the Man Who Set Off the IRS Firestorm — J. Russell George once stalked the halls of the Capitol for senators' autographs. Now he's there to testify in a scandal gripping Washington. — J. Russell George paused for just a moment before he took his seat at the witness table.
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, The Daily Caller, FishbowlDC and Weekly Standard
Charles Willey, M.D. / Investor's Business Daily:
Under ObamaCare, IRS Is Creating Chaos For Doctors, Patients — IRS Illegally Usurps Congress with New Law in Obamacare — As an internist, I have dedicated my 30-year career to advancing the long-term health of all of my patients, one patient at a time.
Discussion:
The Democratic Daily
Bill Keller:
Bring Back Ken Starr — Republicans are howling for President Obama to name a special prosecutor to investigate the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of Tea Party groups. The president should call their bluff. — The president should announce that he has told the Justice Department …
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Yahoo! News, Lawfare, The Monkey Cage and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Alana Goodman / Washington Free Beacon:
Vultures — A “secret” Facebook group of foreign correspondents and human rights activists quickly devolved into an anti-Israel hate-fest on Tuesday following the release of a new Israeli government report that cleared the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of wrongdoing in the 2000 death of a Palestinian boy.
Discussion:
Israel Matzav, Mediaite and The Volokh Conspiracy