memeorandum: Court to review religious law once hailed by Democrats but now used to battle Obamacare (Robert Barnes/Washington Post)

3:25 PM ET, February 3, 2014

Top Items:

Nelson D. Schwartz / New York Times:

The Middle Class Is Steadily Eroding. Just Ask the Business World. — In Manhattan, the upscale clothing retailer Barneys will replace the bankrupt discounter Loehmann's, whose Chelsea store closes in a few weeks. Across the country, Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants are struggling …

Discussion: AEIdeas, Business Insider and ParaPundit

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:

A STARTLING DISCOVERY … American “business,” a concept that runs from your local pharmacist to Goldman Sachs, which then steals it all and runs away, pronounces itself startled that, having worked diligently at its highest levels to burn the entire house down, it is now difficult to see the TV clearly through all the smoke.

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and Eschaton

Mark Lagerkvist / New Jersey Watchdog:

GOV. CHRISTIE'S NJ STATE POLICE BODYGUARD BUSTED FOR THEFT Report by Mark Lagerkvist — A state police bodyguard to Chris Christie is facing criminal charges in Pennsylvania — despite his attempt to use his ties with the New Jersey governor to avoid arrest.

Discussion: NorthJersey.com, Talking Points Memo, NBCNews and Mediaite

Yahoo! News:

A year after snub, Chris Christie will speak at CPAC 2014 — After being denied a speaking slot last year at the largest annual gathering of conservatives, New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie has accepted an invitation to speak at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference next month, Yahoo News has learned.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Post Politics, OnPolitics, CNN, Mediaite, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, NBCNews, NewsHounds blog, Capital New York, Politico and Power Line

Elizabeth Titus / Politico:
Subpoenaed Christie staffer Christina Renna resigns

Discussion: CNN, Hinterland Gazette, The Raw Story and Firedoglake

Joseph Curl / Washington Times:
What has happened to the New York Times?

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Fox News:

TRANSCRIPT: Bill O'Reilly interviews President Obama — BILL O'REILLY, HOST: Mr. President, thank you for doing this. — BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Great to be with you. — O'REILLY: Really appreciate it. — I want to get some things on the record.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Politico, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Taylor Marsh, americanthinker.com, The Other McCain, Althouse, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, The Heritage Foundation, Business Insider, Scared Monkeys, Daily Kos, NPR and The Gateway Pundit

Bloomberg:

Kerry Tells Senators That Obama Syria Policy Is Collapsing — Two prominent Republican senators say that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told them — along with 13 other members of a bipartisan congressional delegation — that President Barack Obama's administration is in need of a new …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Weekly Standard, Questions and Observations and Mediaite

Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:
Senators: Kerry Admits Obama's Syria Policy Is Failing

Discussion: Hot Air

Fred Hiatt / Washington Post: Senators say John Kerry admitted U.S. failure in Syria

Allen West / Allen B. West:

Coca Cola ad on Super Bowl — American's brand? Hm. — I'm watching the Super Bowl, looks like good defense (Seattle) is trouncing good offense (Denver) when a Coca Cola commercial came on and it started rather patriotically with the words of “America the Beautiful.”

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, Little Green Footballs, Talking Points Memo, The Raw Story, Hinterland Gazette and Right Wing News

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Coca-Cola's Multicultural Super Bowl Ad Really Angered Conservatives

Discussion: Hit & Run, Daily Kos, Allen B. West, The Raw Story, Mediaite and Right Wing Watch

Sandhya Somashekhar / Washington Post:

Study: Abortion rate at lowest point since 1973 — The abortion rate in the United States dropped to its lowest point since the Supreme Court legalized the procedure in all 50 states, according to a study suggesting that new, long-acting contraceptive methods are having a significant impact in reducing unwanted pregnancies.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hot Air, The Week, ThinkProgress, Gawker, The Dish, New York Times, The PJ Tatler and The Atlantic Online

Rebecca Wind / New from the Guttmacher Institute:
U.S. Abortion Rate Hits Lowest Level Since 1973

Discussion: Daily Kos, CNN and Talking Points Memo

Benjamin Wallace / New York Magazine:

Here, Let Ezra Explain — What is D.C.'s most famous young policy wonk doing leaving the Washington Post? Trying to start a news organization he thinks could one day eclipse it. — On January 24, at five in the morning after his final day at the Washington Post …

Discussion: The Dish, Marginal Revolution and Capital New York, more at Mediagazer »

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Not waiting for Clinton, Md. Gov. O'Malley prepares for possible presidential bid — Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is moving ahead with preparations for a possible presidential bid and said in an interview that if he's going to lay the groundwork for a national campaign …

Discussion: CNN, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, Booman Tribune, Taegan Goddard's … and Guardian

Juan Williams / The Hill: Benghazi a 2016 proxy battle

Lane Brown / Vulture:

In Conversation: Lorne Michaels … TWEET THIS QUOTE

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, CNN, Power Line, Mediaite, Weekly Standard, NewsBusters and The Gateway Pundit

Amy Goldstein / Washington Post:

HealthCare.gov can't handle appeals of enrollment errors — Tens of thousands of people who discovered that HealthCare.gov made mistakes as they were signing up for a health plan are confronting a new roadblock: The government cannot yet fix the errors. — Roughly 22,000 Americans …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The PJ Tatler, Hit & Run, Hot Air, americanthinker.com, Weekly Standard and Washington Free Beacon

CNN:

Officials: Michigan killer on loose — (CNN) — Locked in a gas station bathroom, the woman whispers into her cell phone, an escaped Michigan murderer banging on the door. — “He didn't say where, exactly, he just said somewhere far,” she says in a 911 call, telling the dispatcher …

Fox News:
Authorities find abandoned Jeep in search for escaped Michigan murderer

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and Riehl World News

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Delusions of Failure — The Republican response to the State of the Union was delivered by Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Republican representative from Washington — and it was remarkable for its lack of content. A bit of uplifting personal biography, a check list of good things her party wants …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Prairie Weather and Washington Monthly

New York Times:
What G.O.P.-Style Reform Looks Like

Discussion: American Spectator

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Senate Democrats break from Obama — President Barack Obama is counting on Senate Democrats to help approve his legislative agenda during his final years in office. And though they are his staunchest allies on most economic issues, many Democratic senators are breaking with him on key issues in very public ways.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hot Air and ABC News

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post: 2014 Senate races may be a referendum on Obama; if so, Democrats should worry

New York Times:

Building a Better Battery — SAN FRANCISCO — The next breakthrough smartphone, or maybe the one after that, might not have a traditional battery as its sole source of power. Instead, it could pull energy from the air or power itself through television, cellular or Wi-Fi signals.