memeorandum: NSA leaker's girlfriend says she's ‘lost at sea’ (CNN)

6:05 PM ET, June 12, 2013

Top Items:

GOP congressman: Rate of pregnancies from rape is ‘very low’ — Another Republican congressman ventured into the realm of rape and pregnancy Wednesday, saying at a committee hearing that incidences of pregnancy from rape are “very low.” — Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Fix, Taking Note, Yahoo! News, Mediaite, Daily Kos, DownWithTyranny!, The Maddow Blog, The Raw Story and NationalJournal.com

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

No, Trent Franks Is Not Todd Akin — Ever since Todd Akin exposed his boundless stupidity, and handed Democrats political gold, by insisting that raped women can't get pregnant, liberals have been looking for more Akins. They think they've found the latest one in Trent Franks, who …

Discussion: The New Civil Rights Movement, Outside the Beltway and Daily Kos

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
House GOP Set To Vote Next Week On 20-Week Abortion Ban

Discussion: Mediaite and Business Insider

Aviva Shen / ThinkProgress:
GOP Congressman Channels Todd Akin: ‘The Incidence Of Rape Resulting In Pregnancy Are Very Low’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Week and Post Politics

Kathryn Smith / Politico:
Trent Franks: ‘Incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low’

Discussion: Yahoo! News and The Hill

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Democratic Sen. Tester: Snowden Didn't Compromise National Security (VIDEO) — Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) on Wednesday rejected the notion that Edward Snowden compromised the country's security when he leaked details of top secret National Security Agency surveillance programs.

Discussion: Gallup, Hot Air, Hit & Run, CBS News and VodkaPundit

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Peter King Calls For Legal Action To Be Brought Against Greenwald (VIDEO) — Rep. Peter King (R-NY) on Wednesday elaborated on his call for journalists to be punished if they report on classified information, singling out The Guardian reporter at the center of the firestorm …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Hit & Run and The Moderate Voice

New York Times:
Earlier Denials Put Intelligence Chief in Awkward Position

Discussion: NationalJournal.com, The Huffington Post, Wired, JONATHAN TURLEY, p m carpenter's commentary, Talking Points Memo, Shakesville, The Reaction, Salon and The Hill

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed: Rep. Peter King Calls For Glenn Greenwald's Arrest

Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:
Congressman Wants Just One Reporter Prosecuted For NSA Leaks: 'I'm Talking About Greenwald'

Discussion: The Political Carnival and The Huffington Post

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
NSA revelations only ‘the tip of the iceberg,’ says Dem lawmaker

Discussion: Hot Air and Weasel Zippers

Justin Sink / The Hill:
NSA chief: ‘Dozens’ of terrorist plots foiled by NSA programs

Discussion: Politico

Jia Lynn Yang / Washington Post:

NSA leaker Edward Snowden: U.S. targets China with hackers — HONG KONG — Edward Snowden, the self-confessed leaker of secret surveillance documents, claimed Wednesday that the United States has mounted massive hacking operations against hundreds of Chinese targets since 2009.

Discussion: CNNMoney.com, Yahoo! News, Little Green Footballs, msnbc.com, The PJ Tatler, The Daily Caller, Examiner and The Huffington Post

Lydia Warren / Daily Mail:

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden says U.S. government has been hacking Chinese universities, businesses and politicians for FOUR YEARS as he finally breaks cover — Edward Snowden, the former CIA analyst behind the NSA leaks, has claimed that the U.S. government has been hacking Hong Kong and Chinese networks for at least four years.

Discussion: Business Insider, The Hill, Politico and Althouse

CNN:
NSA leaker's girlfriend says she's ‘lost at sea’

Discussion: Riehl World News and Mediaite

Alexander Burns / Politico:
Establishment renders harsh verdict on Edward Snowden

Discussion: New York Times, The Week, Wonkblog, Daniel W. Drezner, Washington Monthly and Reuters

Thomas Drake / Guardian:
Snowden saw what I saw: surveillance criminally subverting the constitution | Thomas Drake

Discussion: Yahoo! News, The Daily Beast and CNN

Associated Press:
NSA leaker Snowden says he's not avoiding justice

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Gateway Pundit, Yahoo! News and CNN

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:

Schumer: Cornyn Border Security Amendment A ‘Non-Starter’ And We Are Not Negotiating With Him — Democrats want it to be crystal clear. They don't think Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is crucial to passing immigration reform. So they aren't negotiating with him over his non-starter amendment …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Washington Monthly, NationalJournal.com, BREITBART.COM, Politico, Immigration Reform, Hot Air, First Read and The Hill

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
First look: The amendment that could upend the immigration debate

Discussion: Politico, Immigration Reform and The Daily Caller

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
How conservatives are trying to kill immigration reform

Discussion: Immigration Reform

Washington Post:

CIA's deputy director to be replaced with White House lawyer — The CIA's deputy director plans to resign and will be replaced by White House lawyer and agency outsider Avril D. Haines, Director John O. Brennan said Wednesday. — Haines, who will succeed career officer Michael Morell on Aug. 9 …

Discussion: Reuters, Yahoo! News, Hot Air, Business Insider and The Raw Story

Reid J. Epstein / Politico: Deputy CIA director Michael Morell retires

Walter Shapiro / American Prospect:

Dear 2016 Democratic Upstart — To: 2016 White House Candidates (Democrats Only) — Since you have time to read an unsolicited memo with such a provocative subject line, it is safe to assume that your name is not Hillary or Joe. — That's good because I am not writing for the establishment types …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Borys Kit / Hollywood Reporter:
Carey Mulligan Passes on Hillary Clinton Biopic

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, Guardian and Politico

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
A Little Birdie Told Me

Discussion: Achenblog and msnbc.com

Bernie Becker / The Hill:

Ways and Means Chairman: IRS targeting of Tea Party groups didn't start in Ohio — The IRS's singling out of conservative groups did not originate in Cincinnati, the House Republican in charge of tax policy said Wednesday. — House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) …

Discussion: Politico, The Plum Line, ThinkProgress and Washington Free Beacon

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Darrell Issa On IRS Investigation: Releasing Full Transcripts Now Would Be ‘Reckless’

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Maddow Blog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Hinterland Gazette and Washington Post

Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:

Judge Rules for Interns Who Sued Fox Searchlight — A Federal District Court judge in Manhattan ruled on Tuesday that Fox Searchlight Pictures had violated federal and New York minimum wage laws by not paying production interns, a case that could upend the long-held practice of the film industry …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, ProPublica, Red Alert Politics and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
Interns Win Huge Victory in Labor Lawsuit Against Fox

Discussion: The Week and Guardian

New York Times:

Bloomberg Urges No Gifts to Democrats Who Blocked Gun Bill — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in a sharp escalation in the battle over gun control, is seeking to punish Democratic senators by taking away the one thing they most need from New Yorkers: money. — On Wednesday, Mr. Bloomberg …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Politico, Reuters, Weasel Zippers, The Hill, Daily Kos, Political MoneyLine Blog, Capital New York, New Republic, CNN, msnbc.com, ABCNEWS and The Plum Line

TwinCities.com:

Walker says he will sign abortion ultrasound bill — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Tuesday he will sign a measure that's quickly working its way through the Republican-controlled Legislature that would require women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, Shakesville, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Post Politics

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:
Scott Walker Endorses Mandating Transvaginal Ultrasounds And Shutting Down Abortion Clinics

Discussion: The Political Carnival and Daily Kos

John Stanton / BuzzFeed:

Arizona Senator's Son Used Homophobic, Anti-Semitic Language On Twitter — “He has apologized and I apologize as well,” says Senator Jeff Flake. — WASHINGTON — Sen. Jeff Flake's high school-aged son Tanner used twitter to threaten the “faggot” who stole his bike that he “will find you …

Discussion: Gawker and The Raw Story

Harriet Baldwin- / Examiner:

Secret Service “Visits” Outspoken Critic of Obama - Because of Twitter? — I know, RIGHT? — After you read this- you will wonder what country we are in. — Tom Francois is an outspoken critic of Barack Hussein Obama- and has a robust Twitter presence. He also likes to dabble with his “paint” program to create funny cartoons.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Riehl World News

The Atlantic Online:

The Obama Surveillance Revelations Are Pushing Liberals Over the Edge — Progressives aren't going to give the president a pass on civil liberties anymore. — The email went out shortly after midnight Thursday, a few hours after the news broke about the Obama administration's large-scale monitoring …

Discussion: Red Alert Politics, The Great Debate and Examiner

Eduardo Porter / New York Times:

Health Care's Overlooked Cost Factor — When the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corporation merged its two hospitals with the neighboring Highland Park Hospital just north of Chicago 13 years ago, the deal was presented as an opportunity to increase efficiency and improve the quality of patient care.

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation, AEIdeas and National Review

Politico:

Challenging Obama-knows-best — “Trust-me” is President Barack Obama's preferred mode of action in times of crisis — and his go-to comment to nervous staffers has always been some version of “Relax, I got this.” — But that message is an increasingly hard sell for Obama in his second term …