Top Items:
Austin American-Statesman:
Screaming protest disrupts vote on abortion bill — Sen. Wendy Davis, speaking to a large and adoring crowd gathered outside the Senate door, thanked her supporters. — “Today was democracy in action,” she told the crowd. “You all are the voices we were speaking for from the floor.”
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, The Huffington Post, Wonkblog, Slate, Trail Blazers Blog, Greg's Opinion, Associated Press, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Taylor Marsh, Off the Kuff, The Raw Story, The Texas Tribune, Business Insider, RH Reality Check, Outside the Beltway, Taegan Goddard's …, Boing Boing, First Read and The Agonist
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New York Times:
Texas Vote Passing Abortion Bill Is Rendered Moot — AUSTIN, Tex. — Hours after claiming that they successfully passed some of the toughest abortion restrictions in the country, Republican lawmakers reversed course on Wednesday and said a disputed late-night vote on the bill …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Associated Press, Hot Air and Prairie Weather
Becca Aaronson / The Texas Tribune:
Led by Davis, Democrats Defeat Abortion Legislation … The nation watched on Tuesday — and into Wednesday — as Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis and hundreds of impassioned reproductive rights advocates stalled proceedings and ultimately defeated controversial abortion legislation in a storm …
U.S. News:
Texas abortion bill fails to pass after epic filibuster — A bill that opponents claimed would virtually ban abortion in Texas failed to pass late Tuesday after lawmakers missed a deadline by just minutes. — There were chaotic scenes after a filibuster attempt fell just short and protesters cheered …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, CNN, The Maddow Blog, News Desk, Hit & Run, BizPac Review, National Review, The Fix, Guardian, The Gateway Pundit and Balloon Juice
Ed Payne / CNN:
Texas abortion bill dies as confusion marks end of session — (CNN) — The Texas legislature's special session ended in chaos and confusion early Wednesday, when a marathon filibuster failed — but so did a Republican effort to pass a bill that would have greatly restricted abortions in the state.
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Reaction, Althouse, SQUATLO RANT, Hullabaloo, New York Times and Washington Post
The Texas Tribune:
Liveblog: Senators Trying to Determine if Abortion Bill Passed
Liveblog: Senators Trying to Determine if Abortion Bill Passed
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Guardian, Gawker, Business Insider, Firedoglake and skippy the bush kangaroo
Eyder Peralta / NPR:
Court Overturns DOMA, Sidesteps Broad Gay Marriage Ruling … The Supreme Court issued rulings on two highly-anticipated cases on gay marriage today. By 5-4, it ruled the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman, is unconstitutional.
Discussion:
Applesauce, Poynter, Taylor Marsh, RYOT News, Crooks and Liars and The Hinterland Gazette
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Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Supreme Court Bolsters Gay Marriage With Two Major Rulings — WASHINGTON — In a pair of major victories for the gay rights movement, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that married same-sex couples were entitled to federal benefits and, by declining to decide a case from California, effectively allowed same-sex marriages there.
Lawrence Hurley / Reuters:
Supreme Court delivers wins for gay marriage movement — (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Wednesday handed a significant victory to gay rights advocates by recognizing that married gay men and women are eligible for federal benefits and paving the way for same-sex marriage in California.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and Outside the Beltway
Carly Schwartz / The Huffington Post:
Supreme Court DOMA Decision Rules Federal Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional — WASHINGTON — The Defense of Marriage Act, the law barring the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages legalized by the states, is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday by a 5-4 vote.
Discussion:
addictinginfo.org, The Daily Banter and NewsHounds blog
Richard L. Hasen / New York Times:
The Chief Justice's Long Game — IN an opinion brimming with a self-confidence that he hides behind a cloak of judicial minimalism, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for a conservative Supreme Court majority in Shelby County v. Holder, cripples Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
Discussion:
The Hill, Balkinization, Prairie Weather, ACS Blog and Taegan Goddard's …
Jess Bravin / Wall Street Journal:
Supreme Court Set to Rule on Gay Marriage
Supreme Court Set to Rule on Gay Marriage
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Weekly Standard and Law Blog
Stephen L. Carter / Bloomberg:
The Supreme Court Matters Less Than You Think
Bill Barrow / Associated Press:
Republicans Across The South Promise Quick Action After SCOTUS Ruling — ATLANTA (AP) — Across the South, Republicans are working to take advantage of a new political landscape after a divided U.S. Supreme Court freed all or part of 15 states, many of them in the old Confederacy …
Discussion:
Associated Press and The Maddow Blog
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New York Times:
An Assault on the Voting Rights Act
An Assault on the Voting Rights Act
Discussion:
PostPartisan, FiveThirtyEight, First Read, Commentary Magazine, msnbc.com and Right Wing News
Joshua Green / Businessweek:
The Supreme Court's Voting Rights Decision Is a Poison Chalice for the GOP
The Supreme Court's Voting Rights Decision Is a Poison Chalice for the GOP
Ilya Shapiro / Bloomberg:
Jim Crow Is Dead. Long Live the Constitution.
Richard A. Posner / Slate:
Supreme Court 2013: The Year in Review
Supreme Court 2013: The Year in Review
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, American Prospect and The Plum Line
Jonathan Allen / Politico:
President Obama confronts George W. Bush court on voting, gay rights cases
President Obama confronts George W. Bush court on voting, gay rights cases
Discussion:
CNN, Associated Press, Philly.com and The Hill
Talking Points Memo:
Eric Cantor Reacts To Voting Rights Act Ruling
Eric Cantor Reacts To Voting Rights Act Ruling
Discussion:
Business Insider, Washington Monthly, News Desk, Firedoglake, Connecting.the.Dots and ThinkProgress
CNN:
‘Crossfire’ coming back to CNN — Washington (CNN) - An institution is coming back to CNN. — “Crossfire,” the long-running political debate show that aired on CNN from 1982-2005, is getting a reboot, the news network announced Wednesday. Four new hosts - two on the left, and two on the right - will debut the program this fall.
Discussion:
Politico, Libertarian Republican and Business Insider
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CNN:
Crossfire Returns — Newt Gingrich, S.E. Cupp, Stephanie Cutter, Van Jones to Host Debate Program — CNN today announced that Crossfire, previously the longest running political debate program on television, will return to the network this fall. Hosting from the right will be Newt Gingrich …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
ESPN:
Aaron Hernandez arrested — NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. — Aaron Hernandez was arrested Wednesday morning, more than a week after an acquaintance of the New England Patriots tight end was found dead in an industrial park near his house. — The Bristol County District Attorney's office released …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Scared Monkeys and Outside the Beltway
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CNN:
Player taken into custody — North Attleborough, Massachusetts (CNN) — New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested and booked at a police station in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, on Wednesday morning. — He will be taken to Attleboro District Court, where he will be arraigned.
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Passion fades for President Obama among Democrats — A majority of Americans regard President Obama favorably, but his numbers have softened considerably among his fellow Democrats, according to new polling conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News. — Obama's favorability stands at 53 percent …
Discussion:
ABC News, Taegan Goddard's …, The Week, Hot Air and Associated Press
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Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Obama ratings suffer as scandals continue
Fox News Poll: Obama ratings suffer as scandals continue
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers and Washington Free Beacon
Alison Rourke / Guardian:
Julia Gillard ousted as Australia prime minister — Julia Gillard confirms she will not contest next parliamentary elections after losing Labor party leadership ballot to Kevin Rudd — Australia's first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, has been sacked by her party just months …
Discussion:
Libertarian Republican, Samizdata and Outside the Beltway
Aaron Bycoffe / The Huffington Post:
Live Results: Massachusetts Senate Special Election — Massachusetts is holding a special election to fill the seat previously held by John Kerry, who left to become secretary of state. U.S. Rep. , a Democrat, is running against Republican , a private equity executive and former Navy SEAL.
Discussion:
Boston Globe, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Yahoo! News, Daily Kos, Mediaite and The Spectacle Blog
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Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box:
Markey tops Gomez for Senate seat
Markey tops Gomez for Senate seat
Discussion:
Politico, CNN, ViralRead and Outside the Beltway
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis:
National Income and Product Accounts Gross Domestic Product, 1st quarter 2013 (third estimate); Corporate Profits, 1st quarter 2013 (revised estimate) — Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, The Maddow Blog, Calculated Risk and Rare