Top Items:
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Watchdog Report Says N.S.A. Program Is Illegal and Should End — WASHINGTON — An independent federal privacy watchdog has concluded that the National Security Agency's program to collect bulk phone call records has provided only “minimal” benefits in counterterrorism efforts, is illegal and should be shut down.
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Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
Independent review board says NSA phone data program is illegal and should end — An independent executive branch board has concluded that the National Security Agency's long-running program to collect billions of Americans' phone records is illegal and should end.
Discussion:
Guardian, americanthinker.com, The Verge, Mashable and emptywheel
Aaron Blake / Post Politics:
Huckabee: Dems think women can't control their libido — Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (R) said Thursday that Republicans need to take a more combative attitude toward winning the votes of women, by emphasizing that women aren't weaklings in need of help from the government.
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, ThinkProgress and Right Wing Watch
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David Weigel / Slate:
Mike Huckabee: Democrats Want Women to Think “They Can't Control Their Libido”
Mike Huckabee: Democrats Want Women to Think “They Can't Control Their Libido”
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and AMERICAblog News
Tal Kopan / Politico:
Mark Herring explains gay marriage shift — New Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says his decision to challenge his state's ban on gay marriage, rather than defend it on behalf of the state, is part of an evolution in his views on the subject. — Herring announced his decision to side …
Discussion:
neo-neocon, CNN, Towleroad News #gay, Mediaite and The Agonist
RELATED:
Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Virginia to fight same-sex marriage ban
Virginia to fight same-sex marriage ban
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, The Fix, Washington Blade, BillMoyers.com, Taegan Goddard's … and NBCNews
Eyder Peralta / NPR:
Virginia's New Attorney General Will Not Defend Gay-Marriage Ban
Virginia's New Attorney General Will Not Defend Gay-Marriage Ban
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Advocate, Associated Press, Daily Kos, The Dish, Talking Points Memo, Guardian and The Reaction
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Schumer seeks to poison Tea Party — Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the Senate Democrats' political guru, has a plan to poison the Tea Party by driving a wedge between its rich funders and its blue-collar rank and file. — Schumer, one of the Democrats' most influential strategists …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, No More Mister Nice Blog, neo-neocon, The Plum Line, Hot Air and Taegan Goddard's …
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Cameron Joseph / The Hill:
Cochran's Tea Party challenger raises $500K in 10 weeks
Cochran's Tea Party challenger raises $500K in 10 weeks
Discussion:
The Clarion-Ledger Blogs and Talking Points Memo
Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:
Biggest Liberal ‘Super PAC’ to Fund Possible Clinton Bid — The largest liberal “super PAC” in the country has begun raising money to elect Hillary Rodham Clinton president, formally aligning itself with Mrs. Clinton's undeclared presidential ambitions more than two years away from the election.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Tom Moran, PennLive.com, Liberaland and Balloon Juice
RELATED:
James A. Barnes / The Atlantic Online:
Can Anyone Stop Hillary? Absolutely
Can Anyone Stop Hillary? Absolutely
Discussion:
CNN, The Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh, Shakesville, Politico and Right Turn
MiamiHerald.com:
Justin Bieber arrested in Miami Beach over DUI, drag-racing — After allegedly smoking pot all day, drinking beer and popping anti-depressants, bad-boy pop star Justin Bieber went on a wild pre-dawn drag race in Miami Beach that landed him in jail Thursday morning, police said.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, TMZ.com, Radio.com News, The Daily Caller, Riptide 2.0, New Jersey Online, USA Today, Hinterland Gazette and Gawker
RELATED:
Alan Duke / CNN:
Bieber: What the f*** did I do? — (CNN) — Justin Bieber …
Bieber: What the f*** did I do? — (CNN) — Justin Bieber …
Discussion:
Taking Note, KFOR-TV, Taylor Marsh and Gawker
Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:
The Heritage Foundation Might Be Shedding Some Of Its Crazy Soon — 2013 wasn't exactly been a banner year for the Heritage Foundation, Washington's most well-known and influential conservative think tank. — In its first year under former senator and tea party godfather Jim DeMint …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and The Moderate Voice
New York Times:
Leaning Right in Hollywood, Under a Lens — LOS ANGELES — In a famously left-leaning Hollywood, where Democratic fund-raisers fill the social calendar, Friends of Abe stands out as a conservative group that bucks the prevailing political winds. — A collection of perhaps 1,500 right-leaning players …
Discussion:
The PJ Tatler
Nicole Winfield / Associated Press:
Pope: Internet Is a ‘Gift From God’ for Dialogue — The Internet is a “gift from God” that facilitates communication, Pope Francis said in a statement released Thursday, but he warns that the obsessive desire to stay connected can actually isolate people from their friends and family.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Verge, Mediaite, Gothamist and The PJ Tatler
RELATED:
Brian Resnick / NationalJournal.com:
Pope Francis, in Social-Media Message, Calls Internet a ‘Gift From God’
Pope Francis, in Social-Media Message, Calls Internet a ‘Gift From God’
Discussion:
Liberaland and Engadget
Christopher Flavelle / Bloomberg:
Guns Make Voting Even Harder — If you want to feel truly dispirited about the health of U.S. democracy, skip the stories about Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell and go straight to today's report on the American voting experience. — The report, by a presidentially appointed commission …
Discussion:
The PJ Tatler, National Review and Eduwonk
Matthew Garrahan / Financial Times:
CNN lays off more than 40 journalists — CNN has laid off more than 40 senior journalists in its newsgathering operation - including a pregnant producer who was two weeks away from giving birth to twins - as part of a reorganisation of the business under Jeff Zucker.
Discussion:
Politico and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Gregory N. Hicks / Wall Street Journal:
Gregory Hicks: Benghazi and the Smearing of Chris Stevens — Shifting blame to our dead ambassador is wrong on the facts. I know—I was there. — Last week the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence issued its report on the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, Betsy's Page and Patterico's Pontifications
Daniel Bice / JSOnline:
Welder lauded by Scott Walker in speech is sex offender — By Daniel Bice of the Journal Sentinel — Emphasizing his role as a job creator, Gov. Scott Walker praised Christopher Barber's initiative during the governor's annual “state of the state” speech on Wednesday.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Post Politics
Dorsey Shaw / BuzzFeed:
17 Things That The New York Times Magazine “Planet Hillary” Cover Looks Like — The “newspaper of record's” magazine has entered a whole new universe. — Here is the latest New York Times Magazine cover featuring “Planet Hillary.” — Ted Cruz's Wrecking Ball — View Entire List ›
Discussion:
Gothamist and She The People
William K. Rashbaum / New York Times:
Hoboken Mayor Is Said to Have Told of Threat — Federal authorities in New Jersey have interviewed several witnesses who said the mayor of Hoboken told them in May about a state official's threat to withhold hurricane recovery funds if the mayor did not support a development project favored by the governor …
Discussion:
investigations.nbcnews.com, Business Insider, PoliticusUSA, Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos and Talking Points Memo
Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Poll Shows Most Republicans Think People Are Poor Because They Don't Work Hard Enough — Whether you're rich or poor, Republicans believe that's on you. — New findings released Thursday by Pew showed that most Republicans think rich people are largely responsible for their socioeconomic status.
Discussion:
susiemadrak.com and Liberaland
Matt Apuzzo / New York Times:
Security Check Firm Said to Have Defrauded U.S. — The company that conducted a background investigation on the contractor Edward J. Snowden fraudulently signed off on hundreds of thousands of incomplete security checks in recent years, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Balloon Juice, Prairie Weather and NPR
American Prospect:
The Fiscal Reality and its Politics — Ever since the election of 1992, fiscal conservatives in both parties—and in third parties—have tried to make the federal deficit a central political and economic issue. In a series of articles and books beginning in 1982, the billionaire investor …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Democratic Strategist and Mediaite
Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
GOP House Candidate Says God Created Autism, Dementia And Tornadoes To Punish Gays — An Illinois Republican running for Congress believes God unleashed debilitating disorders and destructive natural disorders because he is so upset with the growing support for same-sex rights marriage.
Discussion:
The Raw Story, Towleroad News #gay, Daily Herald and Taegan Goddard's …
Washington Free Beacon:
Zakaria: Iran Deal is a Train Wreck — In an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani forcefully asserted that Iran would not destroy its nuclear centrifuges “under any circumstances”. — Rouhani's comments come just days after the U.S. and Iran began to implement …
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
ThinkProgress:
A New Idea To Empower Workers That Employers Actually Support — In an effort to unionize a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United Auto Workers (UAW) is also seeking to create a European-style works council. The idea of unions, if disparaged, is at least familiar to Americans.
Discussion:
Liberaland
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
Upward Mobility Has Not Declined, Study Says — The odds of moving up — or down — the income ladder in the United States have not changed appreciably in the last 20 years, according to a large new academic study that contradicts politicians in both parties who have claimed that income mobility is falling.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Wonkblog, Hot Air, JustOneMinute, Hit & Run and The Heritage Foundation