memeorandum: Despite debt limit vote, Kentucky conservatives sticking with McConnell (Wesley Lowery/Washington Post)

9:55 PM ET, February 15, 2014

Top Items:

Tom Watkins / CNN:

Florida jury in loud music trial reaches verdict on 4 counts, undecided on 5th — (CNN) — The jurors weighing the fate of Michael Dunn — the white man who shot into a SUV with black teens after he had asked them to turn down their music — have reached a verdict on four counts …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Moderate Voice, TalkLeft, WJXX-TV and Scared Monkeys

Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:

Volkswagen Vote is Defeat for Labor in South — CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — In a defeat for organized labor in the South, employees at the Volkswagen plant here voted 712 to 626 against joining the United Automobile Workers. — The loss is an especially stinging blow for U.A.W. because Volkswagen …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Wonkblog, Slate, Times Free Press, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Outside the Beltway, Taylor Marsh and Althouse

Reuters:

Obama weighs in on contentious union vote at Volkswagen plant — (Reuters) - P resident Barack Obama on Friday waded into a high-stakes union vote at Volkswagen AG's plant in Tennessee, accusing Republican politicians who oppose unionization of being more concerned about German shareholders than U.S. workers.

Discussion: NewsBusters, WFPL, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

Auto workers reject union in Tennessee — Employees at a Volkswagon plant in Tennessee have rejected joining the United Automobile Workers union in a major defeat for organized labor in the South. — The workers at the VW plant in Chattanooga voted 712-626 to stay out of the union …

Discussion: NewsBusters and Liberaland

Neal E. Boudette / Wall Street Journal:
Union Suffers Big Loss at Tennessee VW Plant

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Lonely Conservative

Associated Press:
Workers at Tennessee Volkswagen factory reject United Auto Workers union

Discussion: Independent Journal Review, The PJ Tatler and Times Free Press

Bernie Woodall / Reuters:
Tennessee Volkswagen plant votes against union in UAW defeat

Discussion: CNN, Scared Monkeys, Power Line and Detroit Free Press

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

High cost of an ego trip — Very few Americans know how close the country came to catastrophe this week. — The final tally shows that the Senate voted by a wide margin Wednesday, 67 to 31, to break Sen. Ted Cruz's filibuster of an increase in the debt limit, thus avoiding a default on the United States' full faith and credit.

Discussion: Mediaite, Booman Tribune and The Federalist

Wesley Lowery / Washington Post:
Despite debt limit vote, Kentucky conservatives sticking with McConnell

Discussion: Power Line and Outside the Beltway

Susan Levine / Politico:

GOP: Obamacare hitting seniors hard — Republican Rep. Tom Rooney of Florida took aim today at Obamacare's impact on older Americans, saying that seniors across the country are paying “more money for fewer choices, less access and far less peace of mind.” — In the GOP's weekly address …

Discussion: Liberal Values and CNN

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Cuba shuts down US travel visas — The government of Cuba announced late Friday that it will no longer process visas for U.S. travel to Cuba. — Cuba said travel will end until a new U.S. bank can be found to process visa fees that are collected and routed to Cuba.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Agence France Presse:

1 in 4 Americans unaware that Earth circles Sun — Chicago (AFP) - Americans are enthusiastic about the promise of science but lack basic knowledge of it, with one in four unaware that the Earth revolves around the Sun, said a poll out Friday. — The survey included more than 2,200 people …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Scared Monkeys and Liberal Values

New York Times:

Spying by N.S.A. Ally Entangled U.S. Law Firm — The list of those caught up in the global surveillance net cast by the National Security Agency and its overseas partners, from social media users to foreign heads of state, now includes another entry: American lawyers.

Discussion: Guardian and emptywheel

Investor's Business Daily:

California's Drought Isn't Due To Global Warming, But Politics — Water Wars: President Obama visited California's drought-hit Central Valley Friday, offering handouts and blaming global warming. But the state's water shortage is due to the left's refusal to deal with the state's water needs.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and americanthinker.com

Lateef Mungin / CNN:

Actress Ellen Page: “I am gay” — (CNN) — Hollywood actress Ellen Page, known for her role in the movie “Juno,” announced she is gay, in a very public way. — Page broke the news during an emotional speech Friday in a crowded conference hall in Las Vegas, her publicist confirmed to CNN.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Outside the Beltway, The Week, NY Daily News and Gawker

Arizona Republic:

FONT: — The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team — A Pinal County inmate looking to spend some time with his valentine was taken into custody more than three hours after he escaped from jail earlier Friday. — Officials said Joseph Andrew Dekenipp, 40, was arrested without incident …

Discussion: Associated Press, Gawker, Guardian and Mediaite