memeorandum: Opinion analysis: Prayers get a new blessing (Lyle Denniston/SCOTUSblog)

1:05 PM ET, May 6, 2014

Top Items:

Exclusive: Monica Lewinsky Writes About Her Affair with President Clinton — Monica Lewinsky writes in Vanity Fair for the first time about her affair with President Clinton: “It's time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress.” She also says: “I, myself, deeply regret what happened between me and President Clinton.

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Republican senators turning against their own in 2016 — Fearful of a third successive Democratic triumph, concerned Senate Republicans are turning against 2016 presidential bids by upstart hopefuls within their own ranks. — In forceful comments to The Hill, GOP senators made it plain …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Prairie Weather

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:

Jeb Bush edges up, Hillary Clinton slightly slides, in CNN 2016 poll — Washington (CNN) - She's still the overwhelming front runner in the race for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, but according to a new national poll Hillary Clinton's support has slightly deteriorated since the beginning of the year.

Discussion: Washington Post, Shakesville and Politico

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:

Rand Paul Wants Hillary Clinton Subpoenaed By Benghazi Committee (VIDEO) — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a presumptive 2016 presidential contender, wants the current 2016 presumptive frontrunner Hillary Clinton to be dragged in front of the House's new committee on Benghazi to testify about the attacks.

Discussion: Liberaland and susiemadrak.com

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Hillary Clinton pushes gun control, Obamacare — NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Hillary Clinton on Tuesday offered her most detailed comments on domestic policy in months, calling for tighter gun restrictions while also going to bat for Obamacare and warning that rising economic inequality is contributing to “social collapse.”

Discussion: CNN and Washington Free Beacon

Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:

Mortality Drop Seen to Follow '06 Health Law — BOSTON — The death rate in Massachusetts dropped significantly after it adopted mandatory health care coverage in 2006, a study released Monday found, offering evidence that the country's first experiment with universal coverage …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Dish, healthinsurance.org, Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire, WJLA-TV, The Mahablog and Prairie Weather

ACP Journal Club:

Changes in Mortality After Massachusetts Health Care Reform: A Quasi-experimental Study — Benjamin D. Sommers, MD, PhD; Sharon K. Long, PhD; and Katherine Baicker, PhD — Ann Intern Med. 2014;160(9):585-593. doi:10.7326/M13-2275 — Background: The Massachusetts 2006 health care reform …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Talking Points Memo, Hit & Run, ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller, Business Insider and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Elise Viebeck / The Hill: Mass. discarding broken ObamaCare site

The Boston Globe:
Mass. scrapping flawed health insurance website

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Firedoglake, Conservative Intelligence … and National Review

Adrianna McIntyre / The Incidental Economist:
Health insurance saves lives. That means it improves health, too.

Discussion: The New Republic, Bloomberg View and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Melissapamerktla / KTLA 5:

Rialto Assignment Asking Students to Question Holocaust to Be Revised — The Rialto school district planned to revise an eighth-grade assignment that raised red flags by asking students to consider arguments about whether the Holocaust — the systematic killing by the Nazis of some 6 million Jews …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Hot Air, RedState, Patterico's Pontifications, The Daily Caller, The Raw Story, The Week, Joanne Jacobs, Instapundit, The PJ Tatler and Los Angeles Times

Beau Yarbrough / sbsun.com:
EXCLUSIVE: Rialto Unified defends writing assignment on confirming or denying Holocaust

Discussion: Hit & Run, TheBlaze.com, National Review, The Week and Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs

Justin Gillis / New York Times:

Wide Impact of Climate Change Already Seen in U.S., Study Says — The effects of human-induced climate change are being felt in every corner of the United States, scientists reported Tuesday, with water growing scarcer in dry regions, torrential rains increasing in wet regions …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire, Re/code, Mediaite and Althouse

CNN:
White House says effects of climate change are here

Discussion: BuzzFeed, ThinkProgress, White House.gov Blog, The Verge, EcoWatchEcoWatch, Guardian, The Huffington Post and The Agonist

Reuters:
White House climate change report unveils dire warning, calls for action

Discussion: The Federalist, Mediaite, Shakesville, National Review and Mashable

New York Times:

A Defeat for Religious Neutrality — The American values of pluralism and inclusion are central to the First Amendment, which forbids government from favoring or aligning itself with any particular religion or believers over nonbelievers. — In a lamentable ruling on Monday …

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Reaction, Taylor Marsh and susiemadrak.com

Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
The Supreme Court gives its blessing for prayer at town meetings. Get ready for a lot more Jesus in your life.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, American Prospect, msnbc.com, law.cornell.edu, Bloomberg View and Talking Points Memo

Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Opinion analysis: Prayers get a new blessing

Discussion: Right Wing Watch, Religion Dispatches, Constitutional Law Prof Blog, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, ACS Blog, Outside the Beltway and USA Today

Jake Sherman / Politico:

Nancy Pelosi calls for split Benghazi panel — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the select committee probing the attack in Benghazi should be split equally between Democrats and Republicans. — “If this review is to be fair, it must be truly bipartisan,” Pelosi said in a Tuesday morning statement.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Power Line and Hot Air

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Pelosi Calls For Equal Ratio Of Dem, GOP Members On Benghazi Panel

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Daily Kos

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Lawmaker Who Compared Obamacare To Holocaust: You're Missing My Point — The Tennessee lawmaker who compared Obamacare's individual mandate to Nazis deporting Jews to concentration camps thinks his critics missed the point. — State Sen. Stacey Campfield (R) caused a stir Monday morning …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, Liberal Values and Camp4u

The Sen / Camp4u:
Here you go. — I regret that some people miss the point of my post.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

How the White House helped Republicans on Benghazi — If Republicans succeed in turning the Benghazi “scandal” from a nothingburger into a Double Big Mac, the Obama White House can blame its own secrecy and obsessive control over information. — On Monday afternoon, a White House press briefing …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, ThinkProgress and Fox News

Megan McArdle / Bloomberg View:
Dueling Numbers on Obamacare

Discussion: VodkaPundit

Cornelius Swart / KGW-TV:

Gov. Kitzhaber performs CPR, helps save woman's life — PORTLAND — Oregon's governor performed CPR on an unconscious woman in downtown Portland Monday, providing her medical assistance and helping to keep her alive until paramedics could arrive. — Gov. John Kitzhaber was traveling …

Discussion: Oregonian, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Mediaite, Fox News Insider and OnPolitics

Juan Williams / The Hill:

House GOP walking into a trap — What happens to the House Republican caucus if Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) forces a vote on immigration reform? — Here are three predictions: — 1. The bill passes. An overwhelming majority of Republicans vote for it.

Globe and Mail:

Ford turns back from United States — After announcing he was taking time off to go to rehab, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford boarded a plane to Chicago last Thursday, landed, but then turned around before officially entering the United States. — “He voluntarily withdrew his application to enter the USA …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Guardian, Daily Mail and The Week

Colin Campbell / The New York Observer:

Michael Grimm: ‘I Really Am One of the Luckiest Members of Congress’ — Congressman Michael Grimm, who is facing a 20-count federal indictment on wire fraud, tax evasion and a slew of other charges, says he's actually a lucky guy. — Speaking on Geraldo Rivera's WABC talk show this morning …

Discussion: Politico