memeorandum: Jury Reaches Partial Verdict in Florida Killing Over Loud Music (Lizette Alvarez/New York Times)

2:43 AM ET, February 16, 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: Hinterland Gazette, WJXX-TV, Booman Tribune, The Moderate Voice, TalkLeft, Scared Monkeys and Balloon Juice

ThinkProgress:

How To Make Sense Of The Michael Dunn Verdict — A Florida jury could not reach a verdict on the most serious charge facing Michael Dunn, a first degree murder charge for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Jordan Davis after a dispute over loud music at a Jacksonville convenience store.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

The Atlantic Online:

On The Killing Of Jordan Davis By Michael Dunn — I wish I had something more to say about the fact that Michael Dunn was not convicted for killing a black boy. Except I said it after George Zimmerman was not convicted of killing a black boy. Except the parents of black boys already know this.

Discussion: Florida Times Union

Lizette Alvarez / New York Times:

Jury Reaches Partial Verdict in Florida Killing Over Loud Music — JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After four days of deliberation, the jury in the trial of Michael Dunn, a Florida man who shot a teenager to death in a parking lot during a dispute over loud music, said it could not agree on whether …

Discussion: Gawker

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, Fox News, emptywheel and Balloon Juice

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

Reuters:
Obama weighs in on contentious union vote at Volkswagen plant

Discussion: NewsBusters, WFPL, Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, Times Free Press and The Daily Caller

Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Auto workers reject union in Tennessee

Discussion: NewsBusters and Liberaland

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

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

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

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, The Other McCain, Outside the Beltway, The Week, NY Daily News and Gawker

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: Scared Monkeys, Liberal Values and The Gateway Pundit

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