Top Items:
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Harry Reid escalates nuclear threat in a big way — An important moment on the Senate floor just now: Harry Reid said he would be filing cloture today on a whole bunch of executive nominations, and challenged Republicans to act on them — a major escalation of the threat to change the Senate rules …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, msnbc.com, Talking Points Memo, Booman Tribune, People For the American Way and Lawyers, Guns & Money
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Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
Mitch McConnell's problem: How can he threaten to obstruct the Senate even more? — There's a reason the Senate majority rarely goes through with filibuster reform: The minority can make the aftermath hellish. — Will Harry Reid actually change the rules? (Michael Reynolds/EPA)
Discussion:
The World's Greatest …
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Democrats Poised to Limit Filibusters, Angering G.O.P. — WASHINGTON — A confrontation in the Senate between Republicans and Democrats over the confirmation of President Obama's cabinet nominees edged closer on Thursday toward a showdown over changing the rules on filibusters.
Discussion:
Senator Harry Reid, The Huffington Post, The Hill, PostPartisan, ACS Blog, Washington Monthly, The Impolitic and Salon
Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Reid: McConnell Broke His Word On Filibuster, So The Nuclear Option Is On The Table — Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) launched a barn-burner of a speech Thursday on the Senate floor, excoriating Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for continued obstruction when it comes to presidential nominees.
Discussion:
Yahoo! News and Crooks and Liars
Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
One Senate staffer's theory: Mitch McConnell actually wants to get nuked
One Senate staffer's theory: Mitch McConnell actually wants to get nuked
Discussion:
Daily Kos and A plain blog about politics
Ramsey Cox / The Hill:
McConnell: Reid will be ‘worst’ Senate leader in history if he goes nuclear
McConnell: Reid will be ‘worst’ Senate leader in history if he goes nuclear
Discussion:
CNN
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
House approves farm bill in big win for Boehner, GOP leaders — The House approved a stripped-down farm bill Thursday in a tight 216-208 vote, giving a huge boost to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other Republican leaders after the embarrassing failure of an earlier bill last month.
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Yahoo! News
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Brad Plumer / Wonkblog:
House Republicans finally pass a farm bill — with no money for food stamps
House Republicans finally pass a farm bill — with no money for food stamps
Discussion:
In These Times, Post Politics and The Fix
Ed O'Keefe / Post Politics:
Farm Bill passes in House, without food stamp funding
Farm Bill passes in House, without food stamp funding
Discussion:
The Raw Story, aflcio.org, Daily Kos, Mock, Paper, Scissors, The Hill and Wonkblog
Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:
Pelosi Draws Her Bright Lines On Immigration Reform
Pelosi Draws Her Bright Lines On Immigration Reform
Discussion:
National Review, Balloon Juice and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Charles Abbott / Reuters:
White House threatens veto of farm bill that drops food stamps
White House threatens veto of farm bill that drops food stamps
Discussion:
USA Today, The Heritage Foundation, msnbc.com, Hot Air, Shakesville, The Hill and Politico
New York Times:
House Republicans Push Through Farm Bill, Without Food Stamps
House Republicans Push Through Farm Bill, Without Food Stamps
Discussion:
addictinginfo.org, CNN and A plain blog about politics
Mary Clare Jalonick / Associated Press:
House Passes Farm Bill, Now Without Food Stamp Cuts
House Passes Farm Bill, Now Without Food Stamp Cuts
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Associated Press
New York Times:
Republicans in House Resist Overhaul for Immigration
Republicans in House Resist Overhaul for Immigration
Discussion:
BREITBART.COM, Washington Examiner, The Plum Line, Outside the Beltway, addictinginfo.org, Yahoo! News, Taking Note, Politico, National Review, First Read, Washington Monthly, Goppers, neo-neocon, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, msnbc.com, Daily Kos and The Hill
Guardian:
Revealed: how Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages — • Secret files show scale of Silicon Valley co-operation on Prism — • Outlook.com encryption unlocked even before official launch — • Skype worked to enable Prism collection of video calls
NME:
Jay-Z: ‘I get texts from President Obama, of course’ — Rapper opens up his relationships with Rihanna, Jack White and daughter Blue Ivy — Jay-Z has opened up about his life in a new radio interview, revealing that he texts President Obama as well as discussing his relationships with Rihanna, Jack White and daughter Blue Ivy.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The Hill, The Reliable Source, Politico and The Daily Caller
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CNN:
Jay-Z says he texts with Obama — (CNN) - It's no secret that Jay-Z is close with President Barack Obama. The hip hop artist held big fundraisers for the president, and his megastar wife, Beyoncé, performed at Obama's second inauguration. — But Jay-Z said this week their friendship …
Discussion:
Politico
Russell Berman / The Hill:
Boehner: House to vote next week on delaying ObamaCare mandates
Boehner: House to vote next week on delaying ObamaCare mandates
Discussion:
Politico, Yahoo! News and Washington Post
Howard Fineman / The Huffington Post:
Rand Paul Stands By His ‘Southern Avenger’ — WASHINGTON — In an interview with The Huffington Post, Sen. Rand Paul stoutly defended an aide who, as a radio shock jock in South Carolina, praised John Wilkes Booth, heaped scorn on Abraham Lincoln and wore a ski mask emblazoned with the stars and bars of the Confederate Battle Flag.
RELATED:
Sabato's Crystal Ball:
Is Doubling Down on White Voters a Viable Strategy for the Republican Party? — Alan I. Abramowitz and Ruy Teixeira, Guest Columnists July 11th, 2013 — Perhaps the key question in American presidential politics is how the growing and overwhelmingly Democratic nonwhite vote will affect future elections.
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics, Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress and Booman Tribune
CBS News:
Could “North Colorado” be America's 51st state? — PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO — There's a growing effort to create a 51st state out of parts of northeast Colorado and southwestern Nebraska. — Ten counties started talking about seceding last month. Now some people in Lincoln and Cheyenne counties …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and Taking Note
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Dr. Milton R. Wolf / Washington Times:
Obamacare's panicked Democrats — Why the employer mandate delay will backfire — Poor Democrats. An election looms and their Obamacare train wreck is deservedly being called the worst law in American history. Voters hate it, and why shouldn't they? The Democrats' promises …
Discussion:
Megan McArdle and Power Line
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Elizabeth Harrington / CNSNews:
Pelosi: The Employer Mandate ‘Was Not Delayed’
Pelosi: The Employer Mandate ‘Was Not Delayed’
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Examiner, Weasel Zippers, Power Line, Michelle Malkin, Hit & Run and The PJ Tatler
Emily Swanson / The Huffington Post:
Abortion Poll Finds Support For 20-Week Ban — Most Americans would favor sweeping new national restrictions on abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll. But the poll also shows many Americans remain conflicted in their views on abortion.
Discussion:
The Hill, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, LifeNews.com and Washington Free Beacon
New York Times:
Sudden Improvements in Egypt Suggest a Campaign to Undermine Morsi — CAIRO — The streets seethe with protests and government ministers are on the run or in jail, but since the military ousted President Mohamed Morsi, life has somehow gotten better for many people across Egypt …
Discussion:
Via Meadia, Hot Air, The Week, Mondoweiss, World News, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, Gawker and msnbc.com
RELATED:
Ben Hubbard / New York Times:
Christians Targeted for Retribution in Egypt
Christians Targeted for Retribution in Egypt
Discussion:
Hot Air and Outside the Beltway
Sheelah Kolhatkar / Businessweek:
Hedge Funds Are for Suckers — At the height of the financial crisis in 2008, a group of famous hedge fund managers was made to stand before Congress like thieves in a stockade and defend their existence to an angry public. The gilded five included George Soros, co-founder of the Quantum Fund …
Discussion:
USA Today, Firedoglake, Mashable, Althouse, The Week and The Big Picture
Samantha Maziarz Christmann / Buffalo News:
Wegmans cuts health benefits for part-time workers — Et tu, Wegmans? — The Rochester-based grocer that has been continually lauded for providing health insurance to its part-time workers will no longer offer that benefit. — Until recently, the company voluntarily offered health insurance …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Red Alert Politics, Hot Air, Scared Monkeys, The Daily Caller, The Other McCain and The PJ Tatler
Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:
Robertson: ‘We Are Not Anti-Gay’ Since Gays Are Just Confused Straight People — Pat Robertson is disturbed that people, for whatever reason, might believe that he is somehow anti-gay. After all, how could blaming gays for 9/11, warning that gay rights will destroy America, using anti-gay slurs …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, AMERICAblog, Mediaite, The Raw Story, Taylor Marsh and On Top Magazine Headlines
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life:
Public Esteem for Military Still High — Clergy in the Middle, Lawyers at the Bottom — Navigate this page: — Americans continue to hold the military in high regard, with more than three-quarters of U.S. adults (78%) saying that members of the armed services contribute “a lot” to society's well-being.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Yahoo! News and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »
New York Post:
Spitzer a no-show in 2012 election vote after writing column about voting for Obama — Eliot Spitzer failed to vote in last year's presidential election — just four days after penning a column proclaiming “Why I Am Voting for Barack Obama,” The Post has learned.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Yahoo! News, Politicker, Post Politics, Politico, The Daily Caller, National Review, The PJ Tatler and Wall Street Journal