memeorandum: Pelosi: Health law is a ‘winner’ for Democrats (Paige Winfield Cunningham/Politico)

2:20 PM ET, March 20, 2014

Top Items:

Fred Kaplan / Slate:

How to Stop Putin in His Tracks — He knows he's weak. The West must show we know it, too. — Is the crisis in Ukraine almost over or just beginning? The answer depends on what Vladimir Putin really wants and what the West does next. — Fred Kaplan — FRED KAPLAN

Discussion: War on the Rocks, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh, The Monkey Cage, CANNONFIRE, Outside the Beltway, The Week, The Colorado Independent and CNN

U.S. Department of the Treasury:

Resource Center — Home » Resource Center » Financial Sanctions » OFAC Recent Actions » Ukraine-related Designations — Ukraine-related Designations — OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL — Specially Designated Nationals List Update The following individuals have been added to OFAC's SDN List:

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, WorldViews, Post Politics, Washington Post, CNN, Daily Kos, Hot Air and New Atlanticist

Marco Rubio / Washington Post:
Making Putin pay

Discussion: Firedoglake, National Review, PostPartisan, New York Times and The Fact Checker, more at Mediagazer »

Miriam Elder / BuzzFeed:
The New U.S. Sanctions Against Russia Are For Real

Discussion: AMERICAblog News

Daniel Henninger / Wall Street Journal:
Henninger: American Fatigue Syndrome

Discussion: Fox News and Betsy's Page

Washington Post:
Obama doesn't grasp Putin's Eurasian ambitions

Discussion: International Business Times and Power Line

Jeremy Herb / The Hill:
Obama's promise: No military action in Ukraine from US

Discussion: Politico, Hit & Run, Hot Air and WJLA-TV

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Children Confirm Fred Phelps Dead At 84 — Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps died before midnight Wednesday at age 84, his children Tim Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper confirmed to Kansas news outlets. — Phelps's estranged son Nate had announced last weekend that the church founder …

Discussion: Kansas First News, KSHB-TV and No More Mister Nice Blog

Steve Fry / Topeka Capital-Journal:

Shirley Phelps-Roper: WBC founder Fred Phelps dead — Pastor Fred Waldron Phelps Sr., founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, died late Wednesday, a daughter of Phelps confirmed Thursday morning. — Reached by phone in Topeka, Shirley Phelps-Roper confirmed her father had died at Midland Care Hospice.

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, JIMROMENESKO.COM and Red Alert Politics

Daniel Burke / CNN:

Westboro church founder Fred Phelps dies — (CNN) — Fred Phelps — the founding pastor of a Kansas church known for its virulently anti-gay protests at public events, including military funerals — has died, the church said Thursday. — The 84-year-old died of natural causes at 11:15 p.m. Wednesday …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Associated Press:
Anti-gay pastor Fred Phelps Sr. dies at 84

Discussion: Liberaland

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:

CNN's Don Lemon: ‘Is It Preposterous’ to Think a Black Hole Caused Flight 370 to Go Missing? — CNN's Don Lemon has been entertaining all sorts of theories about the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, including the chance something “supernatural” happened, but on Wednesday night …

Discussion: Watts Up With That?, BuzzFeed, Moonbattery, Shakesville, National Review, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo and AMERICAN DIGEST, more at Mediagazer »

Nick R. Martin / Talking Points Memo:
WTF CNN, Part II

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
CNN's Don Lemon Asks Whether A ‘Black Hole’ Swallowed Malaysian Plane (VIDEO)

Discussion: The Verge and The Huffington Post

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Scott Brown Awkwardly Finds Out That Obamacare Is Also Helping Republicans — Obamacare Saves Money Scott Brown Obamacare Obamacare New Hampshire Scott Brown Herb Richardson Chris Brown Obamacare Savings Fergus Cullen Affordable Care Act Barack Obama Scott Brown Obamacare Scott Brown Republicans …

Discussion: ABC News and Daily Kos

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo: Scott Brown Confounded By Republican Who Benefitted From Obamacare

BBC:

Australia plane searchers investigate debris — Amsa's John Young said the objects spotted were a “reasonable size” — Australia is investigating two objects seen on satellite images that could potentially be linked to the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, officials say.

Discussion: KING-TV

Washington Post:
Malaysia Airlines didn't buy computer upgrade that could have given data on missing flight

Discussion: The Daily Caller, HBR.org, CBS DC and The Gateway Pundit

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:

Everything You Need To Know About The Supreme Court Taking On Birth Control — On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear two landmark cases about the validity of a rule under Obamacare that employer health plans must cover emergency contraceptives for female employees without co-pays.

Discussion: NBC News, The Plum Line and Liberaland

David G. Savage / Los Angeles Times:
Supreme Court faces wave of free-speech cases from conservatives

Discussion: Hit & Run

New York Post:

Teen sneaks past guard to reach WTC spire — A New Jersey teen captivated by 1 World Trade Center sneaked out of his home in the dead of night, got past the wall of security — and a sleeping guard — making it all the way up to the spire, The Post has learned.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Mediaite, Gawker, The Week, Fox News Insider and The Raw Story

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Reporter: WH Press Secretary Gets Questions from Reporters Before Press Briefing — A CBS reporter from Arizona reveals that President Obama's press secretary, Jay Carney, receives questions from the press in advance of his daily press briefing. In fact, she says, the reporters often receive …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Post Politics and The Gateway Pundit

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Reporters Held to 4 Minutes With President By Countdown Clock, Looming Aide, and Standing Up

Discussion: Althouse

ThinkProgress:

WATCH: Black Constituent Confronts Paul Ryan Over ‘Inner City’ Remarks — RACINE, Wisconsin — If you could pinpoint the moment when Paul Ryan lost control of his message on Wednesday, it was when he began explaining to an African American constituent why his recent comments about lazy …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, The Raw Story and Americans Against the …

Rich Lowry / Politico:
Paul Ryan's White Hood

Discussion: CNN

Dylan Byers / Politico:

‘Meet The Press’ finishes distant third — NBC's “Meet The Press” finished a distant third-place in both total viewers and the 25-54 demo this week, according to newly released Nielsen ratings. The poor showing marked the program's fourth consecutive week out of first-place on both fronts.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Huffington Post

Michael S. Teitelbaum / The Atlantic Online:

The Myth of the Science and Engineering Shortage — Everyone knows that the United States has long suffered from widespread shortages in its science and engineering workforce, and that if continued these shortages will cause it to fall behind its major economic competitors.

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Glittering Eye

Tal Kopan / Politico:

Cory Booker: My dinner with Ted Cruz — Sen. Cory Booker said Thursday that when he met last week with Republican firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz for dinner, they had a “great intellectual discussion” and “no filibusters.” — The New Jersey Democrat said he's trying to work with Republicans …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Booman Tribune

Josh Kraushaar / NationalJournal.com:

The Tea Party's Over — Outside conservative groups are experiencing the limits of their influence. — FreedomWorks issued an unusual round of endorsements this week. The conservative group, which won publicity for backing intraparty challenges to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Discussion: New York Times and Political Insider blog