memeorandum: At Least One Person Killed in East Harlem Building Collapse (Marc Santora/New York Times)

2:10 PM ET, March 12, 2014

Top Items:

Why a Republican Wave in 2014 is Looking More Likely Now — David Jolly wasn't expected to win Tuesday's special election. But he capitalized on an increasingly favorable political environment for the GOP. — Tuesday night's special election in Florida should be a serious scare for Democrats …

Discussion: American Prospect, Outside the Beltway, Talking Points Memo, The Plum Line, Power Line, Hot Air, Mediaite and NBC News

Adam C. Smith / Tampa Bay Times:

David Jolly's victory spells trouble for Democrats nationwide — If I'm a Democratic House member in any competitive district in America or a Democratic incumbent senator up for re-election this year in a moderate-to-conservative state like North Carolina, Arkansas, Colorado, Alaska or Louisiana …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Plum Line

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Florida race shows Democrats' Obamacare dilemma — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL OBAMACARE 2014 ELECTIONS — The widely respected Florida political analyst Adam Smith sees big problems for Democrats in the loss of Alex Sink to Republican David Jolly in the special election to fill the House seat from Florida's 13th Congressional District.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Fox News, Betsy's Page, Power Line and Real Clear Politics

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
David Jolly defeats Alex Sink in Florida 13th

David Weigel / Slate:
Florida-13: Three Things Everyone's Getting Wrong About the Republican Win

Discussion: Hit & Run, The Week and The Daily Caller

Sean Sullivan / Post Politics:
Republican Jolly wins Florida special election

Discussion: The Fix, National Review, Althouse and Washington Post

Patrick O'Connor / Wall Street Journal:

WSJ/NBC News Poll: Obama's approval rating hits new low. — President Obama notched the lowest approval ratings of his presidency in the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, amd wide pessimism about the economy and deep frustration with Washington.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Scared Monkeys, Taylor Marsh, The PJ Tatler, Corrente, Politico, The Lonely Conservative, The Huffington Post and Washington Free Beacon

NBC News:
GOP May Reap Rewards of Obama's Unpopularity in Midterms, Poll Finds - NBC News

Discussion: CNN, America Rising, The Plum Line, Mediaite, Hot Air and Taegan Goddard's …

Beth Reinhard / Wall Street Journal:
WSJ Poll: Candy Is Dandy But Pot Is Less Harmful

Discussion: The Week

Beth Reinhard / Wall Street Journal:
WSJ Poll: Voters Stay Negative on Christie

Discussion: PoliticusUSA and The Week

Bloomberg:
Americans Split on Obama as 69% Back Minimum Wage Hike

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Marc Santora / New York Times:

At Least One Person Killed in East Harlem Building Collapse — At least one person was killed when two buildings collapsed in East Harlem on Wednesday morning, according to authorities, and a senior city official suggested that there would most likely be more fatalities.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Gawker, Runnin' Scared and Daily Kos

Tal Kopan / Politico:

Charlie Rangel: 'Our community's 9/11' — Rep. Charles Rangel called an apparent building explosion and collapse in his home district in Harlem, New York the most “horrific” thing that has hit his home district in his time in Washington and his community's Sept. 11.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, Washington Times, Hot Air and Gawker

NY Daily News: BREAKING: Two buildings collapse, killing 2 women and injuring 17 after gas explosion in Harlem

Wall Street Journal:

ObamaCare's Secret Mandate Exemption — HHS quietly repeals the individual purchase rule for two more years. — ObamaCare's implementers continue to roam the battlefield and shoot their own wounded, and the latest casualty is the core of the Affordable Care Act—the individual mandate.

Discussion: protein wisdom, The PJ Tatler, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative, Patterico's Pontifications and The Federalist

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Obama: Health insurance isn't expensive - just cancel cable and phones; Update: White House responds — This is a few days old, but it's amusing nonetheless. Barack Obama appeared in a town hall for Spanish-language media on March 6th to discuss ObamaCare and promote enrollments …

Discussion: The Federalist, NationalJournal.com and The PJ Tatler

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Paul Ryan Blames Poverty On Lazy ‘Inner City’ Men — House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) previewed his upcoming legislative proposals for reforming America's poverty programs during an appearance on Bill Bennett's Morning in America Wednesday, hinting that he would focus on creating work requirements …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, The Raw Story and Eschaton

Eli Lake / The Daily Beast:

Did the CIA Chief Just Dare Obama to Fire Him? — Under a sudden avalanche of criticism, CIA director John Brennan said President Obama can ‘ask me to go.’ Will he? — The normally cool and calm director of the CIA, John Brennan, may have flinched Tuesday.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Hot Air, Close Read, Taylor Marsh, TalkLeft, Washington Post and ThinkProgress

The Hill:
Feinstein drops CIA bombshell

Discussion: Firedoglake, NBC News and Politico

David Corn / Mother Jones:
The Senate-CIA Blowup Threatens a Constitutional Crisis

Discussion: Slate, Firedoglake, The Week, The Dish, The Intercept, emptywheel, New York Times, Balloon Juice, CANNONFIRE, Washington Post, The World's Greatest …, Wall Street Journal and Post Politics

New York Times:

Obama Will Seek Broad Expansion of Overtime Pay — WASHINGTON — President Obama this week will seek to force American businesses to pay more overtime to millions of workers, the latest move by his administration to confront corporations that have had soaring profits even as wages have stagnated.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Forbes, The PJ Tatler, Gawker, Shakesville, ThinkProgress, Associated Press, Right Wing News, Daily Kos, The Week, Economic Policy Institute, The Lonely Conservative, Balloon Juice and Eschaton

Andrew Cohen / The Atlantic Online:

Freedom After 30 Years on Death Row — UPDATE: Glenn Ford was indeed released from prison late Tuesday afternoon local time. The same judge who denied him relief in 2009 was the one who signed the order authorizing his release. — ORIGINAL STORY: Glenn Ford, a black man wrongfully convicted …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

CBS News:
Glenn Ford, La. death row inmate, released after 30 years

Discussion: ThinkProgress, KTLA 5 and Hinterland Gazette

Jennifer Kabbany / The College Fix:

Feminist Studies Professor Accused of Assaulting Teenage Prolife Demonstrator — SANTA BARBARA - A department of feminist studies professor has been accused of going berserk after coming across a campus prolife demonstration that used extremely graphic displays, leading a small mob of students to chant …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, LifeNews.com and National Review

Brendan James / Talking Points Memo:

‘The Daily Show’ Fact Checks Andrew Napolitano's Civil War Revisionism With A Game Show — Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” on Tuesday took his mockery of Fox News' Andrew Napolitano to the next level, hosting a mini-game show to debunk the commentator's revisionist views on the Civil War and American slavery.

Discussion: The Huffington Post

BREITBART.COM:

EXCLUSIVE - DR. BEN CARSON: OUR GOVERNMENT IS LIKE ‘NAZI GERMANY’ — On Monday, Breitbart News broadcast the New York Meeting live. Following the event, the principals shared their provocative thoughts and ideas regarding the state of the nation and the Republican Party with moderator Mallory Factor.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

The Intercept:

How the NSA Plans to Infect ‘Millions’ of Computers with Malware — Top-secret documents reveal that the National Security Agency is dramatically expanding its ability to covertly hack into computers on a mass scale by using automated systems that reduce the level of human oversight in the process.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, NationalJournal.com, Liberaland and The Verge

Becky Barlish / Longview News-Journal:

Shoot first, ask questions later method puts former Beckville resident in Alabama hospital — A Beckville graduate was shot in Alabama by an Opelika Police officer Thursday after the man stopped on the side of the interstate because of a minor traffic accident.

Discussion: The Raw Story, Hit & Run and Hinterland Gazette