memeorandum: Indictment Expected for Grimm, Staten Island Congressman (William K. Rashbaum/New York Times)

10:30 AM ET, April 26, 2014

Top Items:

RNC Spokesman Is Furious The GOP Has Been Lumped With Bundy (VIDEO) — A top spokesman for the Republican National Committee got heated during an interview Friday on CNN, saying Republicans have been unfairly linked to Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his racist remarks.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Raw Story and BobCesca.com

Paul Waldman / American Prospect:

Daily Meme: Embrace the Discomfort — Try to relax; today's meme is all about discomfort. And there's no one feeling more of it than Republicans, who were hit yesterday with the rhetorical stylings of their erstwhile hero Cliven Bundy—Nevada rancher, defier of laws, and racial philosopher.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Crystal Wright / CNN:
Why we conservatives are still getting it wrong with Bundy

Discussion: Hot Air, TruthRevolt.org, The Daily Caller, The Dish and American Spectator

Paul Begala / CNN:
Conservative hero is racist rancher? Didn't see that one coming

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, addictinginfo.org and New Day

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Bundy's Black Bodyguard: ‘I Would Take A Bullet For That Man’ (VIDEO)

Discussion: Mediaite

Politico:

Michael Grimm expected to be indicted — Rep. Michael Grimm is expected to be indicted by the U.S. attorney in New York, according to the New York Republican's lawyer. — Grimm has been under investigation by federal authorities for alleged campaign finance violations.

Discussion: Staten Island Advance, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Roll Call, Daily Kos, Capital New York and BuzzFeed

William K. Rashbaum / New York Times:

Indictment Expected for Grimm, Staten Island Congressman — Representative Michael G. Grimm, a former F.B.I. agent and Marine who capitalized on his straight-arrow image to win a seat in Congress, is expected to be indicted on federal fraud charges as early as next week after a lengthy …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NPR, PoliticusUSA and Business Insider

CNN:
Feds close to filing charges against Rep. Michael Grimm, officials say

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:

Exclusive: Putin Halts All Talks With White House — As new U.S. sanctions against Russia loom, the Kremlin has shut down—at least for now—intensive high level communications between top U.S. and Russian officials. — Since the invasion of Crimea, President Vladimir Putin …

Discussion: New York Times, Outside the Beltway, Just Security, Fox News, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, RT and CANNONFIRE

RT:
‘Propaganda bullhorn’: John Kerry attacks RT during Ukraine address

Discussion: Politico and Mediaite

Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:

Exclusive: Gov. Tom Ridge Resigns From Bloomberg's New Gun Control Group — Former Republican Gov. Tom Ridge is stepping down from his position with Michael Bloomberg's new anti-gun organization, The Daily Caller has learned. — “When I signed on as an advisor to Everytown …

Discussion: Hot Air, New York Times, ABC News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, National Review, The PJ Tatler and BuzzFeed

CNN:
NRA cites eroding freedoms, warns of Hillary candidacy

Discussion: Bloomberg View

Luke Harding / Guardian:

Ukraine: pro-Russian separatists hold European military observers captive — Monitors held in Slavyansk by Vyacheslav Ponomarev's militants, who captured Vice journalist Simon Ostrovsky — Julian Borger and Luke Harding in Donetsk — Pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine were holding …

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community, The Dish and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch:

Google+ Is Walking Dead — Today, Google's Vic Gundotra announced that he would be leaving the company after eight years. The first obvious question is where this leaves Google+, Gundotra's baby and primary project for the past several of those years. — What we're hearing from multiple sources …

Discussion: Mediaite, Re/code, Business Insider and Gigaom

Jason Millman / Washington Post:

Cover Oregon officially admits enrollment site is broken beyond repair — The Oregon board overseeing the state's deeply flawed health insurance exchange unanimously approved the Obama administration's plan Friday to take over the marketplace, making Oregon the first state to drop its enrollment Web site for HealthCare.gov.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Jeff Spross / ThinkProgress:

Drought Now Covers Every Last Inch Of California — For the first time in at least 15 years, all of California is officially in drought. — According to the April 22 release of the U.S. Drought Monitor, every last inch of California is in a state of “moderate” to “exceptional” drought …

Discussion: The Agonist, Associated Press, Farm Futures, ncdc.noaa.gov, Scientific American Content and Shakesville

Ashley Killough / CNN:

Rand Paul on being ‘libertarian-ish’ — (CNN) - Sen. Rand Paul hopes to infuse the Republican Party with some of his libertarian views, but the Kentucky Republican said Friday he'd still support the GOP presidential nominee in 2016 even if he didn't entirely agree with that person.

Discussion: Mediaite and Little Green Footballs

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Piketty Phenomenon — Many people join the political left driven by a concern for the poor. But, over the past several years, the Democratic Party has talked much more about the middle class than the poor. Meanwhile, progressive political movements like Occupy Wall Street directed their fervor at the top 1 percent.

Discussion: The Mahablog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice and JustOneMinute