memeorandum: Vintage Chemistry Sets Show We Used to Be Way More Chill About Chemicals (Greg Miller/Wired)

6:20 PM ET, June 7, 2014

Top Items:

Mario Trujillo / The Hill:

Feinstein: CIA to finish declassifying Senate report by July 4 — The CIA is close to finishing its review of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the use of “enhanced interrogation” techniques and hopes to have it ready by July 4, Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Washington Post:

The Bergdahl boomerang: GOP lawmakers who long urged a rescue now sour on the idea — Rep. Richard B. Nugent (R-Fla.), a lawmaker whose three sons have served in the military, made the case of captive soldier Bowe Bergdahl a personal cause. Nugent delivered speeches about Bergdahl on the House floor.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Prairie Weather and Conservatives4Palin

Lachlan Markay / Washington Free Beacon:

Official: Bergdahl Details Don't Add Up — Reported details of the high-profile prisoner swap that freed Bowe Bergdahl over the weekend are not telling the full story, according to a high-level intelligence official involved in efforts to find and rescue the Army sergeant.

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Hot Air

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Rand Paul: Let's trade Dems, not Taliban

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Joe. My. God. and The New Civil Rights Movement

Kathleen Hunter / Bloomberg:
No Evidence of ‘Credible Threat’ to Bergdahl: Feinstein

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
John Podesta: U.S. can monitor detainees released in Bergdahl deal

Discussion: The Hill

CNN:

Actor Tracy Morgan in critical condition after six-vehicle accident in New Jersey — (CNN) — Actor Tracy Morgan is in critical condition after a six-vehicle accident in New Jersey early Saturday, authorities said. — The former “Saturday Night Live” cast member and “30 Rock” …

Discussion: ABC News, Mediaite, Hinterland Gazette, Gawker, Scared Monkeys and WAMC

Vince Lattanzio / Philadelphia News …:

Tracy Morgan Critically Hurt in NJ Turnpike Crash — Actor and comedian had a stand up gig at Delaware casino on Friday night — Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan is in intensive care following a limo bus crash along the New Jersey Turnpike, state police say.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and The Daily Caller

Ken Thomas / Associated Press:

6 Cities Competing for 2016 Democratic Convention — New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton's political base, and two cities in presidential battleground Ohio are among the six cities under consideration for the 2016 Democratic National Committee, officials announced Saturday.

Discussion: CNN

Natalie Kitroeff / New York Times:

Student Loans Make it Hard to Rent or Buy a Home — For young people, moving to New York City hasn't made much mathematical sense for decades. The jobs don't pay enough, the internships don't pay at all, and the rents are prohibitive by any sane standard.

Discussion: Vox Popoli and Eschaton

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Brooklyn Will Vie to Host 2016 Democratic National Convention, de Blasio Says

Discussion: Politico, Des Moines Register, Hit & Run, OnPolitics, CNN, Washington Post and The Week

ThinkProgress:

Billionaire Heir Sentenced To Four Months In Jail For Sexually Assaulting His Stepdaughter — A Wisconsin billionaire pled guilty to sexual assault of his stepdaughter, but was only sentenced to four months in jail on Friday. Samuel Curtis Johnson III, heir to the SC Johnson cleaning supplies empire …

Discussion: TwinCities.com, The Raw Story and JSOnline

Greg Miller / Wired:

Vintage Chemistry Sets Show We Used to Be Way More Chill About Chemicals — In their mid-20th century heyday, chemistry sets inspired kids to grow up to be scientists. Intel founder Gordon Moore, for example, credits a chemistry set with sparking his lifelong interest in science …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Joanne Jacobs

Stephanpastis / Pearls Before Swine:

Ever Wished That Calvin and Hobbes Creator Bill Watterson Would Return to the Comics Page? Well, He Just Did. — Bill Watterson is the Bigfoot of cartooning. — He is legendary. He is reclusive. And like Bigfoot, there is really only one photo of him in existence.

Discussion: ABC News, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite and Poynter

Associated Press:

British D-Day vet ditches nursing home for secret trip to Normandy — LONDON (AP) — An 89-year old World War II veteran who was reported missing from a nursing home in England has been found in Normandy after traveling to attend D-Day commemorations, police said Friday.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Balloon Juice

BBC:
D-Day: Hove veteran disappears for Normandy trip

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Patterico's Pontifications, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Hot Air, The Raw Story, Guardian, The PJ Tatler, WAMC and Hullabaloo

American Prospect:

Progressives Win Big In Democratic Congressional Primaries — On Tuesday, in competitive primaries from New Jersey to Iowa to California, voters chose bold progressive Democrats over more conservative and corporate Democrats, handing big victories to the “Elizabeth Warren wing” of the Democratic Party.

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Was There A Struggle For the Soul of the Democratic Party on June 3?

Discussion: The Mahablog and Democratic Strategist

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:

Koch brothers donate $25 million to United Negro College Fund — The billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, known best for shepherding big money to conservative causes and candidates, have given a $25 million grant to the United Negro College Fund, the organization announced Friday.

Discussion: Liberal Values, No More Mister Nice Blog, Patterico's Pontifications and National Review

Travis / Uber Blog:

4 Years In — We have some exciting news to share this morning. We have just closed a financing round with some of the leading investors in the world, raising $1.2B of primary capital at a $17B pre-money valuation. The total raise will be about $1.4B with a second close of strategic investors soon.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, The Verge, Gigaom, Mashable, NPR, Re/code and Wall Street Journal

ABC News:

Hillary Clinton Won't Second Guess President Obama's ‘Very Hard Choice’ On Bergdahl … In an exclusive interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, Hillary Clinton defended President Obama's decision to swap five Taliban prisoners for U.S. solider Bowe Bergdahl, saying she won't second guess him.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, CNN, The Huffington Post, The Raw Story, Washington Post and National Review

Chris Good / ABC News:
Hillary Clinton: ‘No Lingering Effects’ From ‘Serious’ Concussion

Discussion: Business Insider

Jason Stein / JSOnline:

Federal judge overturns Wisconsin's gay marriage ban — Judi Trampf (left) and her partner Katy Heyning speak during a news conference in February by the American Civil Liberties Union about a lawsuit challenging the state's seven-year-old ban on gay marriage. A federal judge in Madison on Friday overturned the ban.

Discussion: Althouse, ACS Blog, Outside the Beltway, SCOTUSblog, Towleroad News #gay and Daily Kos