memeorandum: Remarks by the President at the National Defense University (The White House)

12:40 PM ET, May 24, 2013

Top Items:

Michael Isikoff / Open Channel:

Holder OK'd search warrant for Fox News reporter's private emails, official says — Attorney General Eric Holder signed off on a controversial search warrant that identified Fox News reporter James Rosen as a “possible co-conspirator” in violations of the Espionage Act and authorized seizure …

Fox News:

Roger Ailes' letter to Fox employees — The recent news about the FBI's seizure of the phone and email records of Fox News employees, including James Rosen, calls into question whether the federal government is meeting its constitutional obligation to preserve and protect a free press in the United States.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Business Insider and Conservatives4Palin

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

Roger Ailes: Obama administration efforts to intimidate Fox will fail — Fox News CEO Roger Ailes condemned the Department of Justice's actions against his company as intimidation in a Thursday memo to his employees. — Ailes said the efforts would not succeed, and compared the Obama administration's actions to the McCarthy era.

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
There's a fly in my soup

Discussion: Althouse and NetRight Daily

Erik Wemple:
Fox News's Roger Ailes responds to Justice Dept. investigation

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Taylor Marsh, Power Line and The BRAD BLOG

The Huffington Post:
Eric Holder Personally Approved Controversial Fox News Warrant

Discussion: Right Turn, Mediaite, The Week, NewsBusters blogs, emptywheel, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Reaction, more at Mediagazer »

Kevin Robillard / Politico:

Gabriel Gomez calls Ed Markey ‘pond scum’ — Massachusetts GOP Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez called his opponent, longtime Rep. Ed Markey, “pond scum” during an interview with an NPR reporter on Thursday. — “I don't think there's anything more offensive,” Gomez said …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Andrew Restuccia / Politico: Billionaire's super PAC on offense in Bay State

DAngelo Gore / FactCheck.org:
A False Claim of Blame in Mass. Senate Race

Discussion: Ballot Box, BuzzFeed, Daily Kos, Post Politics and The Reaction

KOMO News:

Cars, people sent tumbling into Skagit River as I-5 bridge collapses — By KOMO Staff & news services Published: May 23, 2013 at 7:39 PM PDT Last Updated: May 23, 2013 at 11:20 PM PDT — MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — The Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River collapsed Thursday evening …

Discussion: Q13 FOX News, CNN, Daily Kos, Campaign for America's Future, AL.com and The Moderate Voice

Associated Press:
Interstate Bridge Collapses in Washington State

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Smart News, AEIdeas, The Week and CNN

Nigel Atkins / Mirror.co.uk:

Woolwich attack: Watch shocking video of terrorists charging at police car in attempt to kill WPC — The footage obtained by the Daily Mirror reveals how, after beheading the soldier, they hatched a plot to ambush and murder the first police officers to come to his aid

Discussion: Hit & Run, BBC, The Jawa Report, Press Association, National Updates, Riehl World News and Guardian

Tom Whitehead / Telegraph:
Woolwich attack: Suspect Michael ‘Mujahid’ Adebolajo led away in handcuffs at fanatic's trial

Discussion: The Jawa Report and American Spectator

New York Times:

Huma Abedin Is an Unexpected Driving Force in Weiner's Comeback — When Chelsea Clinton wanted to make a low-key visit to the hurricane-stricken Rockaways last fall, she arranged to take a trip with her close friend Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Discussion: Althouse, Capital New York, PostPartisan, CNN, Post Politics and Outside the Beltway

Wesley Pruden / Washington Times:
Bubba, the weenie and a New York minute

Discussion: Texas on the Potomac and Power Line

Thomas Kaplan / New York Times:
Cuomo's Attack on Weiner? It's Now Called a Joke

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Post Politics, Capital New York, Hot Air and Conservatives4Palin

Ryan J. Reilly / The Huffington Post:

Medea Benjamin Surprised Obama Drones Speech Protest Worked — WASHINGTON — Even Medea Benjamin was surprised she managed to get into President Barack Obama's major national security address at National Defense University on Thursday. The long-time Code Pink protestor (and HuffPost blogger) …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Post Politics, Guardian, Yahoo! News, Politico, The Raw Story and Washington Monthly

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

Obama debates Obama — A heckler briefly interrupted President Barack Obama while he was arguing with himself on Thursday. — Days after Obama told reporters he makes “no apologies” about surveillance of Associated Press reporters, the president summoned his inner Constitutional law professor …

Discussion: CNN

Jonathan Cohn / New Republic:

California Will Be Spared the Obamacare Apocalypse — No sticker shock here—just affordable insurance premiums — Predictions of an Obamacare apocalypse seem a little less credible today, thanks to California. — On Thursday, officials in that state offered the first detailed glimpse …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Yahoo! News, Paul Krugman, CBS Los Angeles and Washington Post

The White House:

Remarks by the President at the National Defense University — Washington, D.C. — THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. Please be seated. — It is a great honor to return to the National Defense University. Here, at Fort McNair, Americans have served in uniform since 1791 …

Discussion: Guardian, The Heritage Foundation, Paper Chase and White House.gov Blog

New York Times:
The End of the Perpetual War

Charlie Cook / NationalJournal.com:

No Wonder Republican Criticism of Obama Isn't Working — They're attacking the president where he's least vulnerable at a time when they have minimal credibility. — Henny Youngman, the late borscht belt comedian, told hundreds of politically incorrect jokes. One of them was his response when asked, “How's your wife?”

Discussion: Washington Wire

Justin Sink / The Hill:

IRS, three other federal agencies closed Friday due to sequestration — The Internal Revenue Service will be closed Friday because of sequestration, the agency said in a press release. — The agency, which has been the center of a political firestorm surrounding its targeting …

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools

Lisa Rein / Washington Post:
Three big federal agencies to close Friday

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Maddow Blog

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

Strassel: Conservatives Became Targets in 2008 — The Obama campaign played a big role in a liberal onslaught that far pre-dated Citizens United. — The White House insists President Obama is “outraged” by the “inappropriate” targeting and harassment of conservative groups.

Discussion: protein wisdom, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:

Budget Cuts Get Personal; Those Who Are Hurt, Holler — The federal budget sequester may be dampening a rise in economic optimism: Nearly four in 10 Americans now say sequestration has hurt them personally, up substantially since it began in March - and they're far less sanguine than others about the economy's prospects overall.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Politico, Business Insider and AEIdeas

Jeremy Herb / The Hill:

Obama warns sexual assaults threaten to weaken military — President Obama used his commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy on Friday to argue sexual assaults in the ranks are threatening the military's strength. — Obama said assaults “threaten the trust and discipline that makes our military strong.”

Discussion: Politico

Chris Trenkmann / WFTS:

Paula Broadwell says she's sorry — Former mistress of David Petraeus speaks out — CHARLOTTE, NC - The woman at the center of a scandal that helped bring down the director of the CIA said she is sorry about what happened. Paula Broadwell told TV station WSOC in Charlotte that she regrets …

Discussion: Politico and The Hill

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Governor Finally Remembers He Has One Latino On His Staff — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) remembered the one Latino in his administration on Thursday, one day after ThinkProgress highlighted an exchange in which he said “we do not have any staff members” who are Latino.

Discussion: PennLive.com, blogs.phillymag.com and Mediaite

Dan Lothian / CNN:

President Obama forgets to salute — Washington (CNN) - President Obama, seemingly preoccupied, forgot one piece of protocol as he boarded Marine One on his way to Annapolis Friday. — Obama walked past the Marine at the bottom of the helicopter's stairs and didn't give the traditional salute.

Discussion: Politico and Weasel Zippers

Andrew Dugan / Gallup:

Fewer Americans Identify as Economic Conservatives in 2013 — Thirty percent say they are liberal on social issues, a new high — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Forty-one percent of Americans now characterize their economic views as “conservative,” or “very conservative,” the lowest since President …

Discussion: Business Insider

BBC:

High court: Sally Bercow's Lord McAlpine tweet was libel — The High Court has ruled that a tweet by Sally Bercow about Lord McAlpine was libellous. — A subsequent hearing will determine the damages she now owes him. — Mrs Bercow, the wife of Commons Speaker John Bercow …

Discussion: Samizdata, more at Mediagazer »

Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:

Paul Tudor Jones: In macro trading, babies are a ‘killer’ to a woman's focus — Paul Tudor Jones, the hedge fund billionaire, told an audience of University of Virginia students, alumni and others that it is difficult for mothers to be successful traders because connecting with a child is a focus “killer.”

Discussion: National Review, DealBook, msnbc.com, WJLA-TV and The Big Picture

Asianews.it:

Afghan university students protest against women's rights — During yesterday's protest in Kabul, protesters called for the repeal of a decree that defines domestic violence as a crime, bans child and forced marriages and says that rape victims cannot be prosecuted for adultery.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Jawa Report and Weasel Zippers

Quin Hillyer / American Spectator:

Laying Down My Pen — When an opportunity comes to do something good, one must grab it. — At 2 p.m. central time Thursday afternoon in Mobile, word spread that U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, a six-term Republican from a dark red district, would announce that he is resigning mid-term (Aug. 15) …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and National Review