memeorandum: Polls show Tillis poised to avoid N.C. GOP primary runoff (Alexandra Jaffe/The Hill)

2:55 AM ET, April 30, 2014

Top Items:

Warriors Had the Blueprint For a Dramatic Boycott Ready to Go — The plan was set, the product of a 30-minute players meeting. The Warriors were going to go through pre-game warm-ups and take part in the national anthem and starting line-up introductions.

Discussion: The Point Forward, Business Insider, Mashable, The Raw Story, The Big Lead, USA Today and CBSSports.com

Andrew Sullivan / The Dish:

Donald Sterling's Personal Foul, Ctd … Many readers are asking along these lines: … To respond to each question in turn: yes, of course, if an owner of a business makes baldly racist remarks urging public dissociation from an entire racial group, private sector sanctions - from the NBA or fans or sponsors - are “permissible.”

Discussion: American Spectator, The Federalist, Mediaite and alicublog

Jeffrey Toobin / News Desk:

Chief Justice Roberts, Meet Bundy and Sterling — It's challenging to keep up with the latest in racist tirades, so let's attempt a brief review. Last week, Cliven Bundy, a Nevada rancher who became a conservative folk hero for his refusal to pay his debts to the federal government …

Discussion: The Daily Banter, American Prospect, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress and The Week

Lynn Zinser / New York Times:
N.B.A. Bars Clippers Owner Donald Sterling for Life

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, News Desk, Outside the Beltway, Bluestem Prairie and Unfogged

Donald Sterling / TMZ.com:
Donald Sterling Suspended From NBA INDEFINITELY After Racist Comments

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Hot Air, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Hinterland Gazette, Ed Driscoll, CBS DC and The Week

Houston Mitchell / Los Angeles Times:
NBA bans Donald Sterling for life, fines Clippers owner $2.5 million

Discussion: ABC News, KTLA 5 and The PJ Tatler

Eric Lach / Talking Points Memo:
Conservative Pundit: ‘Race-Baiters’ Struck Gold With Sterling

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Tim MacMahon / ESPN:
Cuban not in favor of booting Sterling

Discussion: NAACP, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, Bloomberg View, ABC News, Booman Tribune, Business Insider and The Daily Caller

Fox News:
Clippers owner Donald Sterling banned for life from NBA, fined $2.5 million by NBA

Discussion: Power Line, Associated Press, The Right Scoop and Mediaite

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:

Congressman: Bundy Militia Has Set Up Road ‘Checkpoints’ In Nevada — A Democratic congressman from Nevada said in a letter this week that his constituents have reported the armed militia supporting rancher Cliven Bundy have set up checkpoints to verify the residency of anybody passing through.

Manu Raju / Politico:

Dean Heller: I never called Cliven Bundy ‘patriot’ — Nevada Sen. Dean Heller wants to be clear: Cliven Bundy is no patriot. — As criticism has mounted over the controversial Nevada rancher's comments and tactics, the GOP senator is distancing himself from Bundy and his supporters …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Congressman Steven Horsford:
Horsford Urges Sheriff Gillespie To Investigate Armed Militia Presence In Bunkerville

Discussion: The Mahablog

Laura Barron-Lopez / The Hill:

Court upholds cross-state air pollution rule — The Supreme Court in a 6-2 decision Tuesday upheld a rule that allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate air pollution from power plants that crosses state lines, handing a major victory to President Obama.

Discussion: Politico

Coral Davenport / New York Times:
Justices Back Rule Limiting Coal Pollution

Discussion: Guardian, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Daily Kos

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Justices Appear Willing to Give a Fired Public Worker Only Half a Victory

Discussion: SCOTUSblog, Outside the Beltway and Crooked Timber

Orin Kerr / Washington Post:
Initial impressions from the oral argument in the Supreme Court cell phone search cases

Discussion: Mashable and ABC News

Patrick Marley / JSOnline:

Federal judge strikes down Wisconsin's voter ID law — By Patrick Marley, Jason Stein and Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel — A federal judge on Tuesday struck down Wisconsin's voter ID law, saying it violated the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution.

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN and Alas, a Blog

New York Times:

Federal Judge Strikes Down Wisconsin Law Requiring Photo ID at Polls — A federal judge on Tuesday struck down Wisconsin's law requiring voters to produce state-approved photo identification cards at polling places, advancing a new legal basis — the Voting Rights Act — for similar challenges playing out around the nation.

Dinesh Ramde / Associated Press:
Federal Judge Strikes Down Wisconsin Voter ID Law

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications and The Week

Fox News:

Benghazi emails suggest White House aide involved in prepping Rice for ‘video’ explanation — Newly released emails on the Benghazi terror attack suggest a senior White House aide played a central role in preparing former U.N. ambassador Susan Rice for her controversial Sunday show appearances …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Judicial Watch:

Judicial Watch: Benghazi Documents Point to White House on Misleading Talking Points — (Washington, DC) - Judicial Watch announced today that on April 18, 2014, it obtained 41 new Benghazi-related State Department documents. They include a newly declassified email showing …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Hot Air, RedState, Patterico's Pontifications, The Jawa Report and Washington Free Beacon

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:
Benghazi Emails Show White House Effort to Protect Obama

Discussion: Mediaite, PJ Media, The Lead with Jake Tapper, Power Line, The Gateway Pundit, neo-neocon, Rush Limbaugh, Doug Ross, Fox News, The PJ Tatler, The Right Scoop, Viking Pundit and National Review

Star Wars:

STAR WARS: EPISODE VII CAST ANNOUNCED — The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. — Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford …

Discussion: Mashable, Deadline.com, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway, BGR, The Huffington Post, Boing Boing, The Week, Washington Post, NPR, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and National Review

Erik Eckholm / New York Times:

Oklahoma Stays Second Execution After First Is Botched — McALESTER, Okla. — Developing: What was supposed to be the first of two executions here tonight was halted when the prisoner, Clayton D. Lockett, began to twitch and gasp after he had already been declared unconscious and called out …

Discussion: USA Today, NPR, The Week, Mashable, TalkLeft and ABC News

Associated Press:
Oklahoma Inmate Dies After Botched Execution, Second Execution Delayed

Discussion: Liberaland and Talking Points Memo

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Democratic Congressman Makes Shocking Racial Comments About Republicans, Clarence Thomas, Mitch McConnell — He calls Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas an “Uncle Tom” and Mitch McConnell a “racist.” — youtube.com — A Mississippi Democratic Congressman says Clarence Thomas is an …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Hinterland Gazette and Hot Air

Tampa Bay Times:

Alan Grayson seeks annulment, saying his wife was wed to another man — Orlando Sentinel: — When U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson married his wife, she was already wed to another man, according to a new court filing by the congressman's lawyers, seeking an annulment on the basis of bigamy.

Deirdre Walsh / CNN:

Boehner admits immigration comments went too far — Washington (CNN) - After mocking his fellow GOP members last week for complaining immigration reform was “too hard,” House Speaker John Boehner reminded House Republicans at a closed-door meeting “you tease the ones you love” but admitted he shouldn't have made fun of them publicly.

Discussion: Washington Post

Russell Berman / The Hill:
Conservative lawmaker predicts Boehner won't run for Speaker again

Discussion: Politico

Russell Berman / The Hill:
Boehner: No ‘secret conspiracy’ to jam through immigration overhaul

Discussion: Politico, Daily Kos, Fox News and NY Daily News

John Bresnahan / Politico:

Eric Cantor to Vance McAllister: ‘Resign’ — House Majority Leader Eric Cantor told troubled GOP Rep. Vance McAllister (La.) that he should resign from office immediately. — McAllister, who only took office in November but has since become known as the “kissing congressman,” …

Discussion: OnPolitics, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Washington Examiner and The News Star

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

Louisiana About To Make It Illegal For Homeless People To Beg For Money — A homeless man in Louisiana huddles to stay warm during a cold spell. — CREDIT: AP Photo/Gerald Herbert — If you are poor, live in Louisiana, and have the audacity ask someone else for help, be prepared to spend up to six months in jail.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Hullabaloo

Adriana Cohen / Boston Herald:

John F. Kerry's Israeli gaffe a diplomatic nightmare — Photo by: — MAKING A MESS: Secretary of State John F. Kerry's latest verbal faux pas, telling international officials that Israel risks becoming ‘an apartheid state’ was blasted by former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton as being ‘outrageous and defamatory.’

Discussion: his vorpal sword, Israel Matzav, Questions and Observations, New York Times and The Gateway Pundit