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5:30 PM ET, April 24, 2014

Top Items:

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

A Defiant Rancher Savors the Audience That Rallied to His Side — BUNKERVILLE, Nev. — Cliven Bundy stood by the Virgin River up the road from the armed checkpoint at the driveway of his ranch, signing autographs and posing for pictures. For 55 minutes, Mr. Bundy held forth to a clutch …

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:

Bundy Explains ‘Negro’ Remarks: 'I'm Wondering' If They're ‘Better Off Being Slaves’ — Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher currently under fire for remarks he made about “the Negro,” explained himself on The Peter Schiff Show today, saying that he's just “wondering” whether black people …

Discussion: Politico, The Other McCain, Talking Points Memo, AMERICAblog News, The Raw Story and Outside the Beltway

Danaradio / The Dana Show:

On Cliven Bundy's Remark *UPDATED: Video Link — I was alerted to this story this evening in the NYT on rancher Cliven Bundy which featured a quote I was told was racist, and therefor I should apologize for ever criticizing the Bureau of Land Management's handling of this and other situations:

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Politico, Wake up America and Joe. My. God.

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:

Bundy Has A Surprisingly Nice Take On Undocumented Immigrants — More video has emerged of Cliven Bundy's slavery remarks, and they now include a bit about “the Spanish people” — by whom Bundy appears to mean undocumented Hispanic immigrants. But there's a twist: The Nevada rancher actually seems quite fond of them.

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:

Hannity Disgusted With Bundy: Race Comments ‘Beyond Repugnant’ — Conservative media titan Sean Hannity, formerly one of Nevada rancher Clive Bundy's strongest advocates, expressed his vehement disgust Thursday with the latter's remarks on slavery — Bundy's comments “are beyond repugnant to me.

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Daily Banter

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:

National Review Writer On Bundy: Heroes Of The Alamo Probably Had ‘Repugnant’ Views, Too — National Review correspondent Kevin Williamson, who recently compared Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy to Mahatma Gandhi, told TPM in an email on Thursday that he thought Bundy's racially charged comments were …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Esquire and BobCesca.com

Dylan Byers / Politico:

How will Hannity respond to Bundy? — By now you've probably seen Jon Stewart's masterful/brutal/devastating takedown of Sean Hannity, the latest in the two media personalities' ongoing feud over Hannity's sympathetic coverage of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy.

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, FishbowlDC, The Raw Story and The Daily Banter

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:

Bundy Tries To Clarify His Slavery Remarks: 'I'm Not Racist' — Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy made the rounds on conservative radio shows Thursday, trying to explain his musings about whether blacks had been “better off as slaves.” — In an interview with conspiracy extraordinaire Alex Jones …

Discussion: Mediaite and BobCesca.com

Arturo Garcia / The Raw Story:
Conservatives begin backing away after Cliven Bundy's remarks disparaging ‘the Negro’

Discussion: Business Insider, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, National Review, The Daily Banter, PoliticusUSA, Fox News Insider, Chicago Boyz, Sky Dancing, Daily Kos, NewsBusters, alicublog, Hullabaloo, New York Times, The Mahablog and Balloon Juice

Jonathan Topaz / Politico:
Rand Paul slams Cliven Bundy's racist rant

Discussion: Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Right Scoop, Hullabaloo and The Federalist

CNN:
Politicians denounce Bundy's racist remarks

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Gretawire, Mediaite, New York Times and Washington Post

Jamelle Bouie / Slate:
What Cliven Bundy Knows About “The Negro”

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Booman Tribune and Hot Air

Los Angeles Times:
The U.S. can't let Cliven Bundy win his range war

Discussion: Right Wing Watch

Brian Resnick / NationalJournal.com:
Cliven Bundy Just Ruined His Cause

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, BizPac Review, CNN, Mediaite, Right Wing Watch and The Daily Banter

Jonathan Topaz / Politico:
Harry Reid condemns ‘hateful racist’ Cliven Bundy

Discussion: Mediaite, Business Insider and The Right Scoop

Rep. Pat Garofalo / The Atlantic Online:
Cliven Bundy Wants to Tell You All About ‘the Negro’

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, The Raw Story and Daily Kos

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Michelle Obama scraps graduation speech — First lady Michelle Obama is scrapping her plans to deliver a graduation speech for high school seniors in Topeka, Kan., after hundreds signed a petition in protest. — Instead of delivering a graduation speech, Obama will speak before the school district …

Discussion: BizPac Review, National Review and American Spectator

CNN:

A fatal wait: Veterans languish and die on a VA hospital's secret list — (CNN) — At least 40 U.S. veterans died waiting for appointments at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care system, many of whom were placed on a secret waiting list. — The secret list was part of an elaborate scheme designed …

Discussion: Fox News, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, RedState, The PJ Tatler, Washington Free Beacon, Hot Air and Fox News Insider

Dennis Wagner / Arizona Republic:
McCain, Flake call for Senate probe of Phoenix VA

Discussion: Fox News

Norm Clarke:

Wynn, Clooney exchange barbs over heated dinner conversation — George Clooney, right, shown last year at Wynn Las Vegas promoting his Casamigos tequila with Steve and Andrea Wynn, reportedly took issue with Steve Wynn's comments about President Barack Obama. (Courtesy) — George Clooney.

Discussion: TruthRevolt.org, “The Lid”, The Daily Caller, NewsBusters, Gawker, Fox News Insider, The Week and Mediaite

Charlie Spiering / BREITBART.COM:

UNITED STATES PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA BOWS TO JAPANESE ROBOT — During his visit to Tokyo, President Obama had a chance to meet ASIMO, a Japanese humanoid robot. — ASIMO, an acronym for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, exchanged bows with the president before demonstrating that it could kick a soccer ball.

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, The PJ Tatler, The Week and The Huffington Post

CNN:
Obama: Japanese robots ‘a little scary’

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, The Daily Caller and BizPac Review

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

Dorm storming at NYU targets Jewish students — “Dorm Storming” is a tactic used by anti-Israel activists at many campuses to slide mock eviction notices under student bedroom doors in the middle of the night, allegedly to let students know how Palestinians feel when served with eviction notices prior to demolition of their homes.

Discussion: The Jawa Report

Laura Adkins / Ops & Blogs:
NYU Jewish Students the Target of Latest SJP Propaganda Attacks

Discussion: National Review and Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs

Eyder Peralta / NPR:

Retired Justice John Paul Stevens: Marijuana Should Be Legal — Retired Justice John Paul Stevens made some news in an interview with NPR's Scott Simon on Thursday. — Scott asked him if the federal government should legalize marijuana. — “Yes,” Stevens replied.

Discussion: Firedoglake, ThinkProgress and The Week

Amy Goldstein / Washington Post:

Obama administration prepares to take over Oregon's broken health insurance exchange — The Obama administration is poised to take over Oregon's broken insurance exchange, according to officials familiar with the decision, who say that it reflects federal officials' conclusion …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Hit & Run, Hot Air, Mediaite and The Week

Kboi Web / KBOI 2:

Gay veteran: 'Ashes of a couple old lesbians isn't going to hurt' — BOISE, Idaho (KBOI) — Madelynn Taylor wants to spend eternity next to the love of her life. — The 74-year-old U.S. Navy veteran from Boise instantly fell in love with her partner back in 1995. They were inseparable and married soon after.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Raw Story, Towleroad News #gay and The Week

Chris Christie / TIME:

THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE — Scott Walker

Discussion: Watchdog.org, JSOnline and Althouse

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Southern Whites' Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats — President Obama's landslide victory in 2008 was supposed to herald the beginning of a new Democratic era. And yet, six years later, there is not even a clear Democratic majority in the country, let alone one poised for 30 years of dominance.