Top Items:
Jenna Levy / Gallup:
In U.S., Uninsured Rate Lowest Since 2008 — Uninsured rate declines most among blacks and lower-income Americans — WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the U.S., the uninsured rate dipped to 15.6% in the first quarter of 2014, a 1.5-percentage-point decline from the fourth quarter of 2013.
Discussion:
The New Republic, CNN, Associated Press, Hot Air, The Plum Line, Washington Monthly, Bloomberg View, Liberal Values, The Moderate Voice, Fox News, Balloon Juice, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Hinterland Gazette, ACASignups.net, The Week, Post Politics and Liberaland
Wbastone / The Smoking Gun:
Al Sharpton's Secret Work As FBI Informant — Untold story of how activist once aided probes of NYC wiseguys — When friends and family members gathered recently at the White House for a private celebration of Michelle Obama's 50th birthday, one of the invited partygoers was a former paid FBI Mafia informant.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Liberaland, The Daily Caller, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and Ed Driscoll
Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Team Boehner Frantically Reassures Drudge That GOP Really Is Repealing Obamacare — House Republicans don't want anyone — certainly not Matt Drudge — to get the wrong idea about the latest change to the Affordable Care Act. — Legislation to eliminate the cap on deductibles …
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Washington Examiner, Liberal Values, Associated Press, Speaker.gov, Mediaite and Balloon Juice
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Juan Williams / The Hill:
ACA data leave GOP exposed — “What a difference a day makes — 24 little hours.” Those lyrics about romance and spring flowers also fit the bill last week for congressional politics and the 2014 midterm elections. — Last Tuesday, the White House hit the 7 million-plus mark …
Discussion:
Prairie Weather
David Corn / Mother Jones:
WATCH: Rand Paul Says Dick Cheney Pushed for the Iraq War so Halliburton Would Profit — As the ex-veep blasts Paul for being an isolationist, old video shows the Kentucky senator charging that Cheney used 9/11 as an excuse to invade Iraq and benefit his former company. — Gage Skidmore/Flickr
Discussion:
Post Politics, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh, The Raw Story and The Dish
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Aaron Blake / Post Politics:
Rand Paul in '09: Cheney pushed Iraq war to benefit Halliburton
Rand Paul in '09: Cheney pushed Iraq war to benefit Halliburton
Discussion:
Liberaland, Hot Air and Mediaite
Vox:
Welcome to Vox: a work in progress — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW VOX! — Welcome to Vox.com! Again! — On March 9, we launched Vox.com, which included our first videos, and we started talking to readers on our Facebook page and on our Twitter feed.
Discussion:
Erik Wemple, Gigaom, The Dish and FishbowlDC, more at Mediagazer »
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Leslie Kaufman / New York Times:
Vox Takes Melding of Journalism and Technology to a New Level — WASHINGTON — Ask Ezra Klein what prompted him to leave a high-profile position at The Washington Post to start a new website, and the answer is a little wonkish, even for the founder of the newspaper's Wonkblog, a mix of politics …
Discussion:
Nieman Journalism Lab, PandoDaily, The Huffington Post, publicNotepad and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Ryan Lizza / New Yorker:
CROSSING CHRISTIE … - ARCHIVE - PHOTO BOOTH - DAILY SHOUTS - DAILY COMMENT - CURRENCY - AMY DAVIDSON - JOHN CASSIDY - ANDY BOROWITZ - SHOP
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Hugh Hewitt Show, OnPolitics, The Week and The Awl
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Scott Raab / Esquire:
EXCLUSIVE: CHRISTIE PROSECUTOR GETS ITS STAR WITNESS TO START TALKING
EXCLUSIVE: CHRISTIE PROSECUTOR GETS ITS STAR WITNESS TO START TALKING
Discussion:
Liberaland, Main Justice and Talking Points Memo
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Oligarchs and Money — Econonerds eagerly await each new edition of the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook. Never mind the forecasts, what we're waiting for are the analytical chapters, which are always interesting and even provocative. This latest report is no exception.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Prairie Weather and Eschaton
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Oligarchy and Monetary Policy
Oligarchy and Monetary Policy
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Marginal REVOLUTION and This Is Brad DeLong's …
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The Color of His Presidency — Optimists hoped Obama would usher in a new age of racial harmony. Pessimists feared a surge in racial strife. Neither was right. But what happened instead has been even more invidious. — A few weeks ago, the liberal comedian Bill Maher and conservative strategist …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and No More Mister Nice Blog
Joshua Tucker / The Monkey Cage:
The less Americans know about Ukraine's location, the more they want U.S. to intervene — Where's Ukraine? Each dot depicts the location where a U.S. survey respondent situated Ukraine; the dots are colored based on how far removed they are from the actual country, with the most accurate responses …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway
Politico:
Report: Pol, staffer caught kissing — Freshman GOP Rep. Vance McAllister (La.) - who ran as conservative Christian - has been caught on video in a romantic encounter with a woman believed to be on his congressional staff just before Christmas. — The Ouachita Citizen, a newspaper based in West Monroe …
Discussion:
Hinterland Gazette, The Raw Story, The Daily Caller and Daily Kos
Ezra Klein / Vox:
How politics makes us stupid — There's a simple theory underlying much of American politics. It sits hopefully at the base of almost every speech, every op-ed, every article, and every panel discussion. It courses through the Constitution and is a constant in President Obama's most stirring addresses.
Discussion:
Maggie's Farm, Washington Monthly, Patterico's Pontifications, Prairie Weather and Balloon Juice
Ashley Killough / CNN:
Biden on sleeping with a college professor — (CNN) - There he goes again. — Vice President Joe Biden delivered another whimsical moment Monday-the kind that borders a fine line between cheeky yet charming. — Follow @politicalticker Follow @KilloughCNN
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Washington Free Beacon
Patrick Howley / The Daily Caller:
IRS agents testified before Congress that the agency's political targeting did not apply to progressive groups as Democrats and the media have claimed, according to a bombshell new staff report prepared by the House Oversight Committee chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Weasel Zippers and The PJ Tatler
Allison Nielsen / Sunshine State News:
Rick Scott Pulls Ahead as Charlie Crist Continues to Fall — The tide continues to turn in the Florida governor's race, as a new poll confirms former Gov. Charlie Crist is losing favor with Florida voters. — Gov. Rick Scott has now surpassed Crist, as the former governor continues his downward slide …
Discussion:
Conservative Intelligence …
Adam Edelman / NY Daily News:
White House considering ban on selfies with the President — A senior White House adviser said the selfie Red Sox slugger David Ortiz took last week with Obama — later revealed to be a marketing stunt by Samsung — might be the last ever presidential selfie.
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Benjamin Goad / The Hill:
Obama moving again on equal pay
Obama moving again on equal pay
Discussion:
CNN, Taylor Marsh, Right Wing News, Weasel Zippers, Liberaland and Politico
Emily Swanson / The Huffington Post:
Gingrich: Remove All Donation Limits To ‘Equalize The Middle Class And The Rich’ — Newt Gingrich Mccutcheon v Fec Newt Gingrich Donation Limits Rich Newt Gingrich Newt Gingrich Mccutcheon Newt Gingrich Donation Limits Newt Gingrich Donation Limits Middle Class Politics News
Discussion:
New York Times
Taffy Brodesser-Akner / New York Times:
Rob Lowe on the Problems With Being Pretty — Your second memoir, “Love Life,” is out this month. Did you lose any friends over your first book? No, and honestly I didn't expect to. If you're telling a story, and somebody is going to come out badly, it better be you.
Discussion:
Hit & Run, The Week, The Daily Caller and The Heritage Foundation
Carl Campanile / New York Post:
NYC's tanning salons inspected more regularly than abortion clinics — The state Health Department is failing to inspect many of New York's abortion clinics — with some facilities escaping scrutiny for more than a decade, bombshell documents obtained by The Post reveal.
Discussion:
The Heritage Foundation, LifeNews.com, RedState, Washington Free Beacon, Hot Air and National Review
ucsusa.org:
Science or Spin?: Assessing the Accuracy of Cable News Coverage of Climate Science — Accuracy varies significantly across major cable news outlets. All of them can take steps to improve their coverage of climate science. — CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC are the most widely watched cable news networks …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress and The Huffington Post