memeorandum: E. W. Jackson marks Juneteenth at Newport News event (Todd Allen Wilson/Hampton Roads Daily …)

9:15 AM ET, June 20, 2013

Top Items:

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.

Discussion: New York Post, The Week, Ed Driscoll, Taylor Marsh, Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, The Hinterland Gazette, ViralRead, New Republic and Marginal Revolution

Deadline.com:

R.I.P. James Gandolfini — BREAKING... Refresh for latest: Actor James Gandolfini died suddenly after a suspected heart attack while on holiday in Rome to attend the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily. He was 51. Gandolfini will be forever known for his portrayal of mob boss Tony Soprano …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post, Mediaite, Guardian, The Week and Althouse

CNN:
Actor James Gandolfini dead at age 51

Discussion: Hit & Run, New Jersey Online and Joe. My. God.

Pat Saperstein / Variety:
James Gandolfini Dead at 51

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, The Week, Gawker and Blazing Cat Fur

NY Daily News:
James Gandolfini dead at 51: ‘Sopranos’ star suffers massive heart attack in Italy

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Associated Press, TMZ.com, Boing Boing, Guardian, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Scared Monkeys and Crooks and Liars

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.) …

Discussion: The Hugh Hewitt Show and The Reaction

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: Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Daily Caller

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: The Hill and msnbc.com

Yahoo! News:
Senate on Verge of Border-Security Deal

Discussion: The Daily Caller

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: Towleroad News #gay, Outside the Beltway, Taegan Goddard's …, Joe. My. God., Advocate, LGBTQ Nation and TBogg

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, AMERICAblog, U.S. News, AL.com and The Raw Story

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
Group That Had Aimed To “Change” Gays To Shut Down, Leader Also Offered Apology

Discussion: The Week, Exodus International and Dependable Renegade

Todd Allen Wilson / Hampton Roads Daily Press:

E. W. Jackson marks Juneteenth at Newport News event — E.W. Jackson, republican candidate for lieutenant governor, speaks during Wednesday's Juneteenth Celebration at King Lincoln Park in Newport News. — NEWPORT NEWS - E.W. Jackson, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Raw Story and Taegan Goddard's …

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.

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:

CNN Poll: Judging the Supreme Court — Washington (CNN) - As the Supreme Court gets ready to issue opinions on some high profile and contentious cases, a new national poll indicates Americans are split on whether the high court is doing a good job. — According to a CNN/ORC International …

Discussion: Washington Wire

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times: Strategist Out of Closet and Into Fray, This Time for Gay Marriage

Matthew Cooper / NationalJournal.com:
The GOP Dilemma Over the Voting Rights Act

Discussion: Yahoo! News, No More Mister Nice Blog, AL.com, New Republic and Roll Call

Don Mattrick / Xbox Wire:

Your Feedback Matters - Update on Xbox One — Last week at E3, the excitement, creativity and future of our industry was on display for a global audience. — For us, the future comes in the form of Xbox One, a system designed to be the best place to play games this year and for many years to come.

Discussion: Deadline.com, New Yorker, AllThingsD, TechCrunch, BBC, The Verge, Engadget, Boing Boing, Techdirt, TechNet Blogs and KTLA 5

John M. Broder / New York Times:

Obama Readying Emissions Limits on Power Plants — WASHINGTON — President Obama is preparing regulations limiting carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, senior officials said Wednesday. The move would be the most consequential climate policy step he could take and one likely …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, The Caucus, Campaign for America's Future, The Plum Line and White House Dossier

Lee Enterprises / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Illinois GOP official pens allegedly racist attack on black GOP candidate — • By Kevin McDermott kmcdermott@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8268 — A county Republican Party chairman in central Illinois called a black female congressional candidate the “love child” of the Democratic party …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Republican News Watch, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, ABCNEWS, Taegan Goddard's … and The Hinterland Gazette

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.

Discussion: Politico

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Report: Watchdog to testify federal security clearance vetting lacks proper oversight — According to CNN, Patrick McFarland, the inspector general for the Office of Personnel Management, will tell lawmakers that the Office of Personnel Management does not have enough funding to make sure …

Discussion: Reuters and CNN

Tim Buckland / unionleader.com:

Apology issued for naming of Boston bomber as a victim of gun violence at Concord rally — CONCORD - The organizers of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns campaign on Wednesday apologized for including Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev among a list of shooting victims' names …

Discussion: Slate, Mediaite, Guns Save Lives, TheBlaze.com, Weasel Zippers, Washington Free Beacon, National Review, Red Alert Politics, Hot Air and Michelle Malkin

Tom Newton Dunn / The Sun:

Barack Obama keeps calling Chancellor George Osborne ‘Jeffrey’ at G8 summit - after confusing him with favourite soul star — Obama mixes up Osborne with R&B star — Out of tune ... laughing Barack Obama and David Cameron with a po-faced George Osborne — MUSIC fan Barack Obama kept …

Discussion: National Review, BBC and Guardian

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:

For immediate release — Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in May suggests that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace. Labor market conditions have shown further improvement in recent months, on balance, but the unemployment rate remains elevated.

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Gavyn Davies, The Daily Caller, Slate, Yahoo! News, Hit & Run, BBC, Tim Duy's Fed Watch, Washington Monthly and Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire

Joe Garofoli / blog.sfgate.com:

Tom Steyer ups climate change pressure on Obama — On Thursday, San Francisco billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer is launching a new online campaign Thursday in Washington, D.C. to turn up the heat on his friend President Obama to do more to take on climate change …

Discussion: E2-Wire

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: Power Line, National Review and Overlawyered

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: Jammie Wearing Fools and Washington Free Beacon

Emily Goodin / The Hill:

Democrats start transition from President Obama to Hillary Clinton — 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.

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: NationalJournal.com, The White House and White House.gov Blog

Lacey Rose / Hollywood Reporter:

'Newsroom's' Season 2 Consultants: MSNBC's Chris Matthews, CNN's Ashleigh Banfield, New Republic Editor — The show assembled the editors responsible for the Tailwind controversy for its modern-day retelling, part of a crew of A-list insiders — from cable news anchors to magazine editors to political strategists.

Discussion: NewsBusters and The Huffington Post

Kate Nocera / BuzzFeed:

Anti-Immigration Reform Crusader Steve King Feels The Tea Party Love — The Iowa Republican and immigration hardliner holds a six hour “press conference” to protest the Senate's immigration bill. “I didn't know when we started out this morning if I might be standing here alone till five o'clock tonight,” he said.

Discussion: AMERICAblog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Twitchy