memeorandum: Left as a warning to others, suspected ‘U.S. spy’ … (Sara Malm/Daily Mail)

4:20 AM ET, March 7, 2014

Top Items:

Henry A. Kissinger / Washington Post:

How the Ukraine crisis ends — Henry A. Kissinger was secretary of state from 1973 to 1977. — Public discussion on Ukraine is all about confrontation. But do we know where we are going? In my life, I have seen four wars begun with great enthusiasm and public support …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, USA Today, english.rfi.fr, International Business Times, TIME, CNN, Mediaite, Fox News, Booman Tribune, The Belgravia Dispatch and US Department of State

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

President Obama, Vladimir Putin speak on Ukraine crisis — President Barack Obama held an hour-long telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday afternoon in an effort to resolve the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, according to the White House.

Discussion: Red Alert Politics

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:

Ukraine Throws Wrench Into Obama Vacation Plan — It was supposed be a weekend getaway to Florida for President Barack Obama and his wife and daughters, an escape from the frigid weather and lingering piles of snow around Washington. But Russia's intervention in Ukraine has put Obama's plans in doubt …

Discussion: Politico

Mark Mardell / BBC:
Ukraine crisis: Crimea parliament asks to join Russia

Discussion: The Monkey Cage, Paper Chase, Firedoglake, RIA Novosti and Guardian

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
Obama's vacation plans in jeopardy

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, Hot Air and BizPac Review

New York Times:
U.S. Announces New Sanctions in Ukraine Crisis

Discussion: Business Insider, JustOneMinute and Gawker

CNN:
Ukrainian leader rejects referendum on splitting Crimea

Discussion: RT and Taylor Marsh

John Nichols / thenation.com/blogs/117:

Bernie Sanders: ‘I Am Prepared to Run for President of the United States’ — Bernie Sanders says he is “prepared to run for president of the United States.” That's not a formal announcement. A lot can change between now and 2016, and the populist senator from Vermont bristles at the whole notion of a permanent campaign.

Discussion: Politico, The Raw Story, The Daily Caller, OnPolitics, No More Mister Nice Blog, Post Politics, Liberaland, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, CNN and PoliticusUSA

Jay Newton-Small / TIME:
TIME Newsmaker Interview: Bernie Sanders Says He'd Make a Better President Than Hillary Clinton

Discussion: Mediaite, Weekly Standard and Red Alert Politics

Wesley Lowery / The Fix:

Black caucus wants Issa stripped of committee chairmanship — In a strongly worded letter to House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), the Congressional Black Caucus called for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to be stripped of his House committee chairmanship after he abruptly ended …

Discussion: USA Today, Twitchy, Rush Limbaugh, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress and The Gateway Pundit

Mary Grace Lucas / CNN:
Issa tries to ‘clear the air’ with Rep. Cummings

Discussion: Politico

John Bresnahan / Politico:
Dems slam Darrell Issa in resolution

Discussion: The Hill, Daily Kos and The Mahablog

Amy Goldstein / Washington Post:

New health insurance marketplaces signing up few uninsured Americans, two surveys find — The new health insurance marketplaces appear to be making little headway in signing up Americans who lack insurance, the Affordable Care Act's central goal, according to a pair of new surveys.

Discussion: Power Line, Hit & Run and Hot Air

Galen Institute:
37 Changes to ObamaCare...So Far

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation, Hit & Run, Forbes, Washington Post and The Hill

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

McCain Least Popular Senator in Country —PPP's newest Arizona poll finds that John McCain is unpopular with Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike and has now become the least popular Senator in the country. Only 30% of Arizonans approve of the job McCain is doing to 54% who disapprove.

Discussion: The Dish, PoliticusUSA, Washington Monthly and Hullabaloo

Tal Kopan / Politico:
Poll: John McCain's low job approval

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Donald Trump Thinks Jimmy Carter Is Dead — Real estate mogul Donald Trump seems to think former President Jimmy Carter is dead. — Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, Trump referred to the former president as the “late, great Jimmy Carter:”

Discussion: The New Civil Rights Movement

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Donald Trump Thinks Jimmy Carter Is Dead

Discussion: Mediaite, Red Alert Politics, OnPolitics and ABC News

Andrew Klavan / City Journal:

A New Thing on Netflix — House of Cards is not a conservative show—except when it is. — House of Cards, the Netflix series about a lethally unscrupulous Washington politician, is a wonderful show, but it does sometimes stretch the limits of credulity.

Stars & Stripes:

Army's top sex assault prosecutor suspended after assault allegation … WASHINGTON — The top Army prosecutor for sexual assault cases has been suspended after a lawyer who worked for him recently reported he'd groped her and tried to kiss her at a sexual-assault legal conference more than two years ago.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The New Republic, Gawker, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, Business Insider, The Raw Story, Guardian and Talking Points Memo

WFMY-TV:

First Look: Game Passed Around Alamance Sheriff's Office — Within hundreds of pages of evidence form the the US Justice Department's suit are pictures of a video game. — CONNECT — BURLINGTON, N.C. - Within hundreds of pages of evidence from the the U-S Justice Department's suit …

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette and The Raw Story

Justin McCarthy / Gallup:

Number of Americans Saying ACA Has Hurt Them Inches Up — Stark contrast along party lines on whether the law has helped or hurt — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Although several parts of the Affordable Care Act have yet to be implemented, 23% of Americans say the healthcare law has hurt them or their families …

Discussion: Hot Air, Bloomberg View and Hit & Run

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:

Marco Rubio Fires Up CPAC with Speech Defining America's Post-Obama Foreign Policy — On Thursday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) addressed the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference attendees with a fiery speech focused on redefining America's approach to foreign affairs.

Discussion: The New Republic and Hot Air

CNN:

Feds try to contact former top Christie aide, family — (CNN) - A federal investigator tried contacting a former top deputy to Gov. Chris Christie as well as members of her family as part of its investigation into a political scandal roiling his administration, court papers showed on Thursday.

Discussion: Politico

Politico:

Kirsten Gillibrand's sexual assault bill derailed — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand came up short Thursday in her yearlong campaign to overhaul military sexual-assault policies, falling five votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster. — The New York Democrat's bill …

Discussion: ABC News, Daily Kos, New York Times and ABC News

Politico:

Michigan Senate election 2014: Gary Peters gets new campaign chief — With Michigan looming as a now key Senate race, Democratic Rep. Gary Peters, who is locked in a tight battle with Republican Terri Lynn Land, has replaced his campaign manager. — Paul Tencher, who ran …

Discussion: RedState

Sara Malm / Daily Mail:

Left as a warning to others, suspected ‘U.S. spy’ killed by al-Qaeda militants is chained to football goalposts after being shot dead — Al Qaeda militants have executed a Yemeni man accused of being an infiltrator and tied him to a football goal as a ‘warning’ to others, security officials say.

Discussion: Jihad Watch and The Gateway Pundit

Maggie Haberman / Politico:

CPAC 2014: Chris Christie jabs Barack Obama, media — NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Gov. Chris Christie lashed out at the media and blasted President Barack Obama's leadership during Thursday's gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference, his first major speech to a crowd …

Discussion: Eschaton and CNN