memeorandum: Immigration mess grows as Obama plays blame game (Adriana Cohen/Associated Press)

2:15 PM ET, July 9, 2014

Top Items:

The tea party's embrace of martyrdom — Hiroo Onoda, the last imperial Japanese soldier to surrender after World War II, hid out in a jungle in the Philippines for 29 years, refusing to believe that the war was over. He finally turned himself in, wearing his sword, cap and patched uniform, in 1974.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, BuzzFeed, NBC News, The Clarion-Ledger, Roll Call and Politico

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:

Cochran gets lost on way to Senate lunch — Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) is back with his colleagues in Washington, D.C., after winning his hard-fought primary runoff — but he had a bit of trouble finding Senate Republicans' weekly luncheon on Tuesday. — Cochran, while talking with The Hill …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

New York Times:

Voting Totals Reveal Crucial Boost From Blacks in Cochran's Victory — The precinct level returns in Hinds County bolster the theory that a surge in black, Democratic turnout allowed Senator Thad Cochran to defeat Chris McDaniel, a Tea Party-backed state senator, in last month's Republican primary runoff in Mississippi.

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:
Untamed Cruz refuses to play nice with GOP campaign arm

Discussion: Instapundit and The PJ Tatler

Paul Begala / CNN:

What's behind Boehner's nutty lawsuit threat — John Boehner's political career … (CNN) — House Speaker John Boehner's threatened lawsuit against President Obama has elicited scorn from the right and blistering attacks from the left. So why is Boehner pursuing it?

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hullabaloo and Washington Post

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:
Boehner disagrees with Palin on impeaching Obama

Discussion: Washington Examiner, MarketWatch, Mediaite, AMERICAblog News, The Dish, Scared Monkeys, Business Insider, RedState, addictinginfo.org and The Right Scoop

Byron Tau / Politico:
Why the GOP is holding its convention early

Discussion: Washington Times, American Thinker, Balloon Juice and Washington Post

Stephen Ohlemacher / Associated Press:
Boehner Non-Committal on Obama Immigration Plan

Discussion: CNN and Politico

Bloomberg View:
Obama's Border Bailout

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Guardian, Slate, The Dish and Washington Post

USA Today:

Exclusive: Clooney responds to ‘Daily Mail’ report — I want to speak to the irresponsibility of Monday's Daily Mail report. I seldom respond to tabloids, unless it involves someone else and their safety or well being. The Daily Mail has printed a completely fabricated story …

Discussion: Guardian, WJLA-TV, Globe and Mail, Taylor Marsh, The Raw Story, Mediaite, Reliable Sources, The Huffington Post and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »

Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE - ‘She can do better’: Amal Alamuddin's mother 'is unimpressed with George Clooney …

Discussion: Guardian, USA Today, Poynter and The Huffington Post

The Intercept:

Meet the Muslim-American Leaders the FBI and NSA Have Been Spying On — The National Security Agency and FBI have covertly monitored the emails of prominent Muslim-Americans—including a political candidate and several civil rights activists, academics, and lawyers—under secretive procedures intended …

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:

Gay rights groups withdraw support of ENDA after Hobby Lobby decision — Several major gay rights groups withdrew support Tuesday for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would bolster gay and transgender rights in the workplace, saying they fear that broad religious exemptions included …

Discussion: Power Line, Washington Monthly, The Dish, Hot Air, Althouse and Talking Points Memo

New York Times:
Faith Groups Seek Exclusion From Bias Rule

Discussion: BillMoyers.com and Talking Points Memo

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Left frets on Ginsburg's next steps

Discussion: Red Alert Politics, Outside the Beltway and Hit & Run

Larry O'Connor / Washington Free Beacon:
Harry Reid Thinks Clarence Thomas Is White

Discussion: Hot Air, Mediaite, Washington Post and Red Alert Politics

Tom Jackman / Washington Post:

In ‘sexting’ case Manassas City police want to photograph teen in sexually explicit manner, lawyers say — A Manassas City teenager accused of “sexting” a video to his girlfriend is now facing a search warrant in which Manassas City police and Prince William County prosecutors want to take a photo …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, The Raw Story, Mediaite and Hit & Run

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Morning Plum: Obama to set off bomb in middle of midterms — Now that Republicans have made it clear that they will not participate on any level in basic problem solving when it comes to our immigration crisis, it is now on Obama to determine just how far he can go unilaterally in addressing the problem …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, FOX News Radio, Politico, The Hill, addictinginfo.org, Prairie Weather and New York Times

BuzzFeed:

5 Reasons Why New York Times Editorial Today Is An Embarrassment To Journalism — Ambassador Ron Dermer questions the integrity of today's New York Times ' editorial, Four Horrific Killings — The New York Times writes that “after days of near silence,” Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned …

Discussion: Truth Revolt, Palestinian Media Watch and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Adriana Cohen / Associated Press:

Immigration mess grows as Obama plays blame game — Photo by: — The massive crisis of tens of thousands of illegal children and hundreds of thousands of illegal adults flooding over our borders is, no surprise, not President Obama's fault. It may have been entirely preventable, and certainly was highly predictable.

Discussion: The Other McCain and Questions and Observations

Erica Werner / Associated Press:
Obama Officials Pledge to Stem Immigration Tide

Discussion: Politico

Campbell Robertson / New York Times:

Ray Nagin, Former New Orleans Mayor, Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison — NEW ORLEANS — C. Ray Nagin, the former mayor of New Orleans who was convicted in February on corruption charges, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Wednesday in federal court in New Orleans.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Liberaland, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, NOLA River and Colorlines

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

The Most Shocking Result in World Cup History — We had Brazil favored to win Tuesday's World Cup semifinal against Germany (even despite the absence of Neymar and Thiago Silva). — Time to eat some crow. That prediction stunk. — It's not that a German win was all that unlikely.

Discussion: New York Times, The Dish, ThinkProgress and Power Line

Sophie Jane Evans / Daily Mail:

Shocking moment ISIS militants take sledgehammers to Mosul tomb of Prophet Jonah as more than 50 blindfolded bodies are found massacred south of Baghdad — This is the shocking moment ISIS militants took sledgehammers to Iraqi tombstones - smashing them to pieces.

Discussion: The Jawa Report and Truth Revolt

Melanie Eversley / USA Today:

Obama shakes hands with supporter wearing horse head — One task that world leaders must perform and perform well is that of handling situations without blinking an eye or missing a beat. — President Obama's ability to do this might have been tested Tuesday night as he greeted people …

Discussion: Fox News and National Review

Jonathan Topaz / Politico:
The Bear meets a horse

Discussion: Hit & Run and Outside the Beltway

Barry Yeoman / American Prospect:

Courtroom Drama: Voting Rights Paid for in Blood Under Siege in North Carolina — Norma Corley (center, in blue) of Winston-Salem was among several hundred people who attended a “March to the Polls” rally on July 7, 2014, after the first day of the preliminary-injunction hearing challenging North Carolina's new voting law.

Erica Ritz / TheBlaze.com:

‘We Must Open Our Hearts’: Glenn Beck Announces Major Border Event in Texas — Glenn Beck on Tuesday announced that he will be bringing tractor-trailers full of food, water, teddy bears and soccer balls to McAllen, Texas on July 19 as a way to help care for some of the roughly 60,000 underage refugees …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Banter, Mediaite, Politico, Hot Air and The Huffington Post