Top Items:
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Breakthrough in Senate immigration talks; announcement set for Thursday — Senators seeking a solution to a deadlock over border security have reached a tentative agreement they believe could win the votes of a significant number of Republican lawmakers for the Gang of Eight comprehensive immigration reform bill.
Discussion:
Politico, Hot Air, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, americanthinker.com, The Lonely Conservative and The Plum Line
RELATED:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Right rips Rubio as Republican immigration votes slip away — Republican colleagues who were previously viewed as possible “yes” votes are keeping their distance from the 1,075-page measure. — On Wednesday, conservative activists ripped Rubio and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) …
Kasie Hunt / First Read:
Senators reach border deal, smoothing path to immigration overhaul — A U.S. Border Patrol agent monitors the border structures separating Tijuana, Mexico, from San Diego. Illegal immigration into the United States would decrease by only 25 percent under a far-reaching Senate immigration bill …
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, BuzzFeed, msnbc.com and Booman Tribune
Ashley Parker / New York Times:
Two G.O.P. Senators Are Close to a Deal on Border Security
Two G.O.P. Senators Are Close to a Deal on Border Security
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Washington Monthly, Wonkblog, Daily Kos and msnbc.com
Exodus International:
Exodus International to Shut Down — Thirty-seven-year-old ministry for those with same-sex attraction marks its last national conference — Irvine, Calif. (June 19, 2013) — Exodus International, the oldest and largest Christian ministry dealing with faith and homosexuality announced tonight …
Discussion:
LGBTQ Nation, Truth Wins Out, Taegan Goddard's …, Towleroad News #gay, Advocate, Outside the Beltway and TBogg
RELATED:
Alan Chambers / Exodus International:
I Am Sorry — Three years ago, Leslie and I began a very public conversation with Our America's Lisa Ling, from the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) regarding some of our deeply held beliefs about Christianity and the LGBT community. Today, we have decided to carry this public conversation even further.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Truth Wins Out, Guardian, CNN, AMERICAblog, U.S. News, AL.com, Joe. My. God. and The Raw Story
Evan Hurst / Truth Wins Out:
BREAKING: Alan Chambers Announces Exodus International Is Shutting Down
BREAKING: Alan Chambers Announces Exodus International Is Shutting Down
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Firedoglake and Joe. My. God.
Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
Group That Had Aimed To “Change” Gays To Shut Down, Leader Also Offered Apology
Group That Had Aimed To “Change” Gays To Shut Down, Leader Also Offered Apology
Discussion:
The Week, New Republic, Exodus International and Dependable Renegade
Telegraph:
Barack Obama bombs in Berlin: a weak, underwhelming address from a floundering president — When John F. Kennedy delivered his “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate on June 26, 1963, 450,000 people flocked to hear him. Fifty years later a far more subdued invitation …
Discussion:
The White House, Scared Monkeys, White House.gov Blog and The Heritage Foundation
RELATED:
Michael Hirsh / NationalJournal.com:
Obama's Turbulent European Vacation — With vague pledges and backtalk from Merkel and Putin, the president shows how far America's standing with Europe has fallen. — President Obama's honeymoon with the world is over. — What was it, exactly, about Obama's controversy-marred trip …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Yahoo! News, Weekly Standard, New York Times and CNN
Tom Newton Dunn / The Sun:
Barack Obama keeps calling Chancellor George Osborne ‘Jeffrey’ at G8 summit …
Barack Obama keeps calling Chancellor George Osborne ‘Jeffrey’ at G8 summit …
Discussion:
Power Line, BBC, National Review and Guardian
Tom Goldstein / SCOTUSblog:
Power — You should decide now what kind of Supreme Court you want. Don't wait until after the Justices hand down the Term's major decisions. That will be too late. Make a real choice now about how much power you think the Court should have - before your judgment is skewed by either elation or outrage at the results.
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy
RELATED:
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Strategist Out of Closet and Into Fray, This Time for Gay Marriage
Strategist Out of Closet and Into Fray, This Time for Gay Marriage
Discussion:
Politico
Matthew Cooper / NationalJournal.com:
The GOP Dilemma Over the Voting Rights Act
The GOP Dilemma Over the Voting Rights Act
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Yahoo! News, AL.com, Roll Call and New Republic
Republican News Watch:
Rodney Davis team member issues racist rant attacking Erika Harold — To understand why the Illinois Republican Party keeps losing elections - look no further than the racist rant (copied below) from a GOP party official. — The email was sent to Republican News Watch's Editor …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, News-Gazette, PoliticusUSA, Associated Press, The Raw Story and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
RELATED:
Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Illinois GOP Pol Calls Black Female Candidate A ‘Street Walker’ — A GOP county chairman in Illinois called a black female congressional candidate a “street walker” and the “love child” of the Democratic party — and he was referring to a fellow Republican, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and Mediaite
Lee Enterprises / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Illinois GOP official pens allegedly racist attack on black GOP candidate
Illinois GOP official pens allegedly racist attack on black GOP candidate
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, ABCNEWS, Taegan Goddard's … and The Hinterland Gazette
Dave Itzkoff / New York Times:
James Gandolfini Is Dead at 51; a Complex Mob Boss in ‘Sopranos’ — James Gandolfini, the Emmy Award-winning actor who shot to fame on the HBO drama “The Sopranos” as Tony Soprano, a tough-talking, hard-living crime boss with a stolid exterior but a rich interior life, died on Wednesday. He was 51.
RELATED:
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Manchin hits back at NRA in new TV ad — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Thursday hit back at the National Rifle Association, accusing its leaders of shifting their stance on background checks for political gain, and unveiling a new television ad defending his bipartisan gun-control measure.
RELATED:
Jane C. Timm / msnbc.com:
Manchin unveils fiery new ad against the NRA
Manchin unveils fiery new ad against the NRA
Discussion:
The Week and Post Politics
Hunter Walker / Talking Points Memo:
Virginia Lt. Gov. Candidate Says Social Programs Hurt ‘Black Family’ More Than Slavery (Video) — The Virginia GOP's nominee for lieutenant governor, E.W. Jackson, gave a speech Wednesday in which he claimed government social programs have done more harm to the “black family” than slavery.
RELATED:
Todd Allen Wilson / Hampton Roads Daily Press:
E. W. Jackson marks Juneteenth at Newport News event
E. W. Jackson marks Juneteenth at Newport News event
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Raw Story and Taegan Goddard's …
Molly Ball / The Atlantic Online:
The Do-Nothing Congress Has Done a Lot — Perhaps, like approximately 80 percent of Americans, you disapprove of Congress. Beholding the nation's capital, you are apt to see a sleazy, gridlocked mess, a Boschian hellscape of partisan acrimony and special-interest greed.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …
Tim Duy / Tim Duy's Fed Watch:
The Chart to Watch? — Dylan Matthews at Wonkblog has a common chart illustrating the Fed's recent forecast errors: — The story is that the Fed has tended to overestimate the strength of the economy, and has consequently had to maintain easy policy longer than policymakers had anticipated.
Discussion:
Real Time Economics and naked capitalism
RELATED:
Dylan Matthews / Wonkblog:
This graph shows how bad the Fed is at predicting the future
This graph shows how bad the Fed is at predicting the future
Discussion:
The Week
Emily Goodin / The Hill:
Dems start Obama to Clinton transition — Democrats in Washington are starting to shift from the Obamas to the Clintons. — Hillary Clinton has already racked up a couple of endorsements for the 2016 presidential race — and she hasn't even announced she's running yet.
Discussion:
Politico
Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Chuck Hagel Jokes That Indian Man Asking Him A Question Is A Member Of The Taliban — He was a college professor. Hagel was speaking at the University of Nebraska where he went to school. He had previously answered a question on Afghanistan and negotiating with the Taliban before the exchange.
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, Power Line, The Gateway Pundit, Red Alert Politics and Jammie Wearing Fools
James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:
Sex, Lies and the War on Men — The rights of the accused are under vicious attack. — A massive twit-storm washed over your humble columnist yesterday, set off by our Wall Street Journal op-ed defending an Obama nominee and the rights of criminal defendants.
Discussion:
alicublog and The Huffington Post
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Tea party scalds Marco Rubio — The tea party returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, but this time the don't-tread-on-me crowd trod upon one of its own. — Much of the scene was familiar: the yellow flags, the banners protesting tyranny and socialism, the demands to impeach President Obama and to repeal Obamacare.
Discussion:
msnbc.com
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House votes to let states run drug tests on food stamp applicants — The House late Wednesday voted to give states the authority to conduct drug testing on people applying for food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). — By voice vote, members approved the idea …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune and AL.com
Betsy McCaughey / Investor's Business Daily:
Using ObamaCare To Create A Permanent Democratic Majority — If you have to keep it a secret, you probably shouldn't be doing it. — But the California legislature and the new Covered California health insurance exchange are conspiring to keep secret how they will dole out more than half …
Discussion:
Betsy's Page, Power Line, National Review and Overlawyered