Top Items:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama to Raise Minimum Wage Under Federal Contractors — WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to sign an executive order requiring that janitors, construction workers and others working for federal contractors be paid at least $10.10 an hour, using his own power to enact a more limited version …
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Carrie Budoff Brown / Politico:
State of the Union 2014: How far will Obama go? — It's been the main White House talking point all year: If Congress can't get its act together and pass legislation, President Barack Obama will do what he can on his own. — The State of the Union address Tuesday night will reveal whether Obama …
Dana Davidsen / CNN:
Giffords asks ‘What is Congress afraid of?’ in SOTU gun control ad — (CNN) - Gabby Giffords' gun control group will air an ad featuring the former congresswoman around Tuesday's State of the Union address, pushing Congress to take action on legislation expanding background checks on firearms sales.
Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:
Democrats hope Obama's State of Union speech will be start of populist agenda
Democrats hope Obama's State of Union speech will be start of populist agenda
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, The Fix, Hullabaloo and Hot Air
John Aloysius Farrell / Politico:
The State of the Union Curse
The State of the Union Curse
Discussion:
Washington Wire, The Daily Caller, Althouse and New York Times
Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:
A Pen, a Phone, and a Flailing President
A Pen, a Phone, and a Flailing President
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Washington Post, Hot Air, WFPL, Betsy's Page, The Week, The Hill, Lawyers, Guns & Money, neo-neocon, Booman Tribune, The Fix, The Plum Line, Power Line and VodkaPundit
Jon Pareles / New York Times:
Pete Seeger, Songwriter and Champion of Folk Music, Dies at 94 — Pete Seeger, the singer, folk-song collector and songwriter who spearheaded an American folk revival and spent a long career championing folk music as both a vital heritage and a catalyst for social change, died Monday.
Discussion:
Althouse, NPR, Guardian, alicublog, Liberaland, Ultimate Classic Rock, American Power, The Week, Sky Dancing, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Agonist and Maggie's Farm
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Bob Minzesheimer / USA Today:
Folk singer Pete Seeger dies at age 94
The Hill:
56 Dems endorse Hillary for 2016 — Fifty-six Democratic lawmakers say they would endorse Hillary Clinton for president if she launches a 2016 White House bid, according to a survey conducted by The Hill. [SEE COMPLETE LIST] — Twenty-two congressional Democrats had already publicly endorsed Clinton.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Caucus, Politico, Fox News Insider and CNN
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Amy Chozick / New York Times:
Clinton Calls Benghazi Her ‘Biggest Regret’ as Secretary
Clinton Calls Benghazi Her ‘Biggest Regret’ as Secretary
Discussion:
Algemeiner.com and Taegan Goddard's …
Lucy McCalmont / Politico:
Hillary Clinton: Benghazi ‘biggest’ regret
Hillary Clinton: Benghazi ‘biggest’ regret
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics, Hot Air, CNN, BuzzFeed, Taylor Marsh, Fox News Insider and RealClearPolitics Video Log
Domenico Montanaro / NBCNews:
Poll: Christie numbers tank as scandals continue — Chris Christie's political future looks to be in serious danger with more Americans believing the embattled New Jersey governor is lying about the bridge closure scandal than telling the truth, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
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Mark Murray / NBCNews:
NBC News poll: Pessimism defines the state of the union — As President Barack Obama enters his sixth year in the White House, 68 percent of Americans say the country is either stagnant or worse off since he took office, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
Discussion:
Shakesville and Washington Free Beacon
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Are House Republicans planning to pull a fast one on immigration?
Are House Republicans planning to pull a fast one on immigration?
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Business Insider, The Hugh Hewitt Show and Washington Wire
ThinkProgress:
The Five Worst Things About The New Republican Proposal To Replace Obamacare — On Monday, a trio Republican senators unveiled an alternative to Obamacare eerily similar to the one that former presidential candidate Mitt Romney proposed in 2012. The plan boils down to a rehash …
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James Ball / Guardian:
NSA and GCHQ target ‘leaky’ phone apps like Angry Birds to scoop user data — GCHQ documents use Angry Birds - reportedly downloaded more than 1.7bn times - as a case study for app data collection. — The National Security Agency and its UK counterpart GCHQ have been developing capabilities …
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New York Times:
Spy Agencies Tap Data Streaming From Phone Apps
Spy Agencies Tap Data Streaming From Phone Apps
Discussion:
Guardian, Mediaite, Boing Boing, News Desk, The Daily Caller, TechCrunch, Politico, Hit & Run, NPR, The Verge and emptywheel
Investigations / NBCNews:
Snowden docs reveal British spies snooped on YouTube and Facebook
Snowden docs reveal British spies snooped on YouTube and Facebook
Discussion:
Liberaland, emptywheel, Techdirt and The Verge
Greta Van Susteren / Gretawire:
What is wrong with this guy? He is such a jerk! He is a repeat offender! — This posting is not about Wendy Davis. It is not about her views. This is about a man who has pattern of being disrespectful to women: — We are a big nation with different viewpoints.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Raw Story, Taylor Marsh and The Other McCain
New York Times:
Backing in G.O.P. for Legal Status for Immigrants — WASHINGTON — The House Republican leadership's broad framework for overhauling the nation's immigration laws will call this week for a path to legal status — but not citizenship — for many of the 11 million adult immigrants …
Discussion:
The Plum Line, The Gateway Pundit and National Review
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James Hohmann / Politico:
Barack Obama's lows could hurt Democrats in 5 states — Senate Democrats must defend seats this year in five of the 10 states where President Barack Obama is most unpopular. — Daily tracking numbers published Monday by Gallup highlight the treacherous map facing Democrats in the midterm elections …
Discussion:
Power Line
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Hawaiians, D.C. Residents Most Approving of Obama in 2013
Hawaiians, D.C. Residents Most Approving of Obama in 2013
Discussion:
National Review, Hinterland Gazette and Washington Post
Yahoo! News:
Exclusive: Democratic senators to file amicus brief in Hobby Lobby birth control case — In a brief to be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, 19 Democratic senators are siding with the Obama administration against evangelical Christian businessmen who argue that paying …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Independent Journal Review and Twitchy
Tal Kopan / Politico:
Matthews goes after McCain critic — Sen. John McCain, under fire from the Arizona GOP for not being conservative enough, got an unlikely ally in his defense against the state party's censure of the senator, as MSNBC host Chris Matthews went after the author of the Arizona GOP's critique of McCain.
Discussion:
CNN
Claire Cain Miller / New York Times:
Google Glass to Be Covered by Vision Care Insurer VSP — SAN FRANCISCO — Google and VSP, the nation's biggest optical health insurance provider, have struck a deal to offer subsidized frames and prescription lenses for Google Glass, the Internet-connected eyewear.
Discussion:
Althouse, Towleroad News #gay and The Verge
Herb Jackson / NorthJersey.com:
Fort Lee Mayor Sokolich to attend State of the Union speech as Pascrell guest — Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, who helped spark the controversy now threatening Governor Christie's political future by speculating that lanes to the George Washington Bridge were closed to send him a message …
Discussion:
OnPolitics, TIME, Politico, Talking Points Memo, CNN and NBCNews
Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
Obama's Puzzle: Economy Rarely Better, Approval Rarely Worse — WASHINGTON — President Obama will pronounce on the state of the union for the fifth time on Tuesday, and never during his time in office has the state of the economy been better — yet rarely has he gotten such low marks from the public for his handling of it.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal