Top Items:
Bill McBride / Calculated Risk:
April Employment Report: 288,000 Jobs, 6.3% Unemployment Rate — From the BLS: … Click on graph for larger image. — The headline number was well above expectations of 215,000 payroll jobs added. — The first graph shows the job losses from the start of the employment recession …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, CBS DC, National Review, Campaign for America's Future, Daily Kos, NPR and Business Insider
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Michelle Jamrisko / Bloomberg:
Hiring in U.S. Kicks Into Higher Gear as Unemployment Plunges — The job-creation engine kicked into higher gear as U.S. employers boosted payrolls in April by the most in two years and the jobless rate plunged to the lowest since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Discussion:
White House.gov Blog, The Gateway Pundit and Political Capital
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Payrolls jump in April as thaw hits jobs market — April nonfarm payrolls up 288,000; unemployment 6.3% — Job creation accelerated in April as the U.S. economy added 288,000 new positions, while the unemployment rate plummeted to 6.3 percent amid a sharp drop in the workforce.
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, Outside the Beltway and The Right Scoop
Nate Cohn / New York Times:
Midterm Calculus: Bursting the Democrats' Midterm-Turnout Bubble
Midterm Calculus: Bursting the Democrats' Midterm-Turnout Bubble
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and National Review
Lucia Mutikani / Reuters:
U.S. payrolls surge in April, jobless rate hits 5-1/2 year low
U.S. payrolls surge in April, jobless rate hits 5-1/2 year low
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
John Dickerson / Slate:
Why the new Benghazi emails aren't a “smoking gun.” — Has the Benghazi “smoking gun” been found? Some White House critics believe that new documents wrestled from the White House by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, prove that the Obama administration concocted a cover-up …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, Fox News, The Dish, Townhall.com, The Daily Banter and The PJ Tatler
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Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:
Leadership Aide: Boehner ‘Seriously Considering’ Select Committee on Benghazi — House Speaker John Boehner is “seriously considering” appointing a select committee to investigate the attacks on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, according to a senior GOP leadership aide.
Discussion:
Hot Air and The Right Scoop
Washington Free Beacon:
NSC Spokesman: Dude, Benghazi Was Like Two Years Ago
NSC Spokesman: Dude, Benghazi Was Like Two Years Ago
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The PJ Tatler, Fox News, The Week, Hot Air, Twitchy, MichelleMalkin.com, Doug Ross and The Right Scoop
Andrew Kirell / Mediaite:
Lindsey Graham: White House Officials Are ‘Scumbags’ for Lying About Benghazi
Lindsey Graham: White House Officials Are ‘Scumbags’ for Lying About Benghazi
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and The Huffington Post
Jonathan Topaz / Politico:
Lindsey Graham: White House officials ‘scumbags’
Lindsey Graham: White House officials ‘scumbags’
Discussion:
Fox News, WJLA-TV, Power Line, Real Clear Politics and Mediaite
New York Post:
Disgraced Clippers owner Donald Sterling is battling cancer — This could wind up being a pretty short ban. — Disgraced racist Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling is battling cancer — surprising those around him by beating the final buzzer for as long as he has, sources told The Post on Thursday.
Discussion:
The Point Forward, SBNation.com, Deadspin, ABC News and Liberaland
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Angel Jennings / Los Angeles Times:
L.A. head of NAACP resigns in wake of Sterling scandal
L.A. head of NAACP resigns in wake of Sterling scandal
Discussion:
NAACP, KTLA 5, The Raw Story, Guardian, The Week, Mediaite, New York Times and National Review
Olga Khazan / The Atlantic Online:
This Town Needs a Better Class of Racist
This Town Needs a Better Class of Racist
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Examiner, Althouse, Bloomberg View and SBNation.com
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Why Economics Failed — On Wednesday, I wrapped up the class I've been teaching all semester: “The Great Recession: Causes and Consequences.” (Slides for the lectures are available via my blog.) And while teaching the course was fun, I found myself turning at the end to an agonizing question …
Discussion:
This Is Brad DeLong's …, Vox Popoli and Shakesville
Anna Nemtsova / Washington Post:
Ukraine army launches assault on rebel stronghold — SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — The Ukrainian army launched its first major assault on a rebel stronghold in the east of the country on Friday, provoking the heaviest fighting since a pro-Russian uprising began a month ago.
Discussion:
Business Insider and VodkaPundit
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Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Obama's foreign policy of denial
Obama's foreign policy of denial
Discussion:
Fox News and Armed Services Republicans
New York Times:
Donors Weigh Jilting Christie for Jeb Bush — Jeb Bush's increasingly serious and public examination of a run for president is roiling the ranks of establishment Republican donors and fund-raisers who had planned to back Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey in 2016, forcing many of them to rethink …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Hugh Hewitt Show and The Week
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Politico:
Jobs report beats expectations — The latest jobs report has a clear and comforting message for the White House and nervous Democrats: the economy is not tanking again. — The April report, showing a bigger than expected gain of 288,000 jobs, should quiet fears of another spring slowdown …
Discussion:
CNN
Shadee Ashtari / The Huffington Post:
Janice Hahn Walks Out Of Event After James Dobson Calls Obama The ‘Abortion President’ — Janice Hahn James Dobson Janice Hahn Video Robert Aderholt Prayer and Meditation Robert Aderholt National Day of Prayer Janice Hahn National Day of Prayer Obama Abortion Abortion James Dobson
Discussion:
Roll Call and The Raw Story
Tina Brown / The Daily Beast:
Don't Run for President, Hillary. Become a ‘Post-President’ Instead — The political world and her most fervent fans may be exercised about a presidential bid. But she should forget it. If she wins, it's too much stress for too little return. — I know as much as anyone …
Discussion:
Politico
Ashley Killough / CNN:
Rick Scott would sign bill in favor of medical marijuana — (CNN) - Republican Gov. Rick Scott of Florida said he would sign a bill that legalizes a limited strain of medical marijuana. — The state House passed the measure on Thursday, and the state Senate is expected to pass it on Friday, the last day of the legislative session.
Discussion:
MiamiHerald.com
Craig Timberg / Washington Post:
Apple, Facebook, others defy authorities, notify users of secret data demands — Major U.S. technology companies have largely ended the practice of quietly complying with investigators' demands for e-mail records and other online data, saying that users have a right to know in advance …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Wall Street Journal, Gigaom, Techdirt, RedState and Associated Press
Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
Apathy in the Executive — John Paul II and Obama: a study in leadership contrasts. — Rome — Friends and I kept seeing groups of Poles who'd taken planes or 20-hour bus rides to be here for the canonization of John Paul II. They did not look wealthy.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
Jeryl Bier / Weekly Standard:
Kerry Announces Enormous Pay Raises for Foreign National Embassy Staff — Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the staff of the U.S. embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Thursday as part of a seven-day trip through Africa. During his remarks, Kerry recognized the work of the foreign nationals employed …
Discussion:
US Department of State and VodkaPundit