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

12:50 PM ET, July 9, 2014

Top Items:

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, Taylor Marsh, WJLA-TV, Globe and Mail, 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 …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Muslim Advocates, The Hill, Guardian, Hit & Run, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, Truth Revolt, New York Times, Lawfare, Business Insider, Colorlines, Mashable, The Verge, PandoDaily, RT and emptywheel

Washington Post:

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:

Untamed Cruz refuses to play nice with GOP campaign arm — GOP hopes of corralling Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) during the 2014 primary season are officially dead. — The defiant Republican's brutal criticism of Sen. Thad Cochran's (R-Miss.) reelection campaign on Tuesday …

Discussion: Instapundit and The PJ Tatler

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 …

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, Althouse, Hot Air and Talking Points Memo

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

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

New York Times:
Faith Groups Seek Exclusion From Bias Rule

Discussion: BillMoyers.com and Talking Points Memo

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

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air and Red Alert Politics

Erica Werner / Associated Press:

Obama Officials Pledge to Stem Immigration Tide — Obama administration officials defended their response to the immigration crisis on the Southwest border Wednesday and pledged to get control of the flood of unaccompanied children arriving from Central America.

Discussion: Politico

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: Questions and Observations

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

Discussion: Politico

Alec MacGillis / The New Republic:
The Border Crisis Is Not “Obama's Katrina.” Not Even Close.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Guardian, The PJ Tatler, Bloomberg View, The Dish, Defense One and American Prospect

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, Washington Post and The Dish

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

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

Billy House / NationalJournal.com:
The Boehner Lawsuit Against Obama Is Beginning to Take Shape

Discussion: Washington Examiner, No More Mister Nice Blog and Booman Tribune

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: Talking Points Memo and Hit & Run

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

Darlena Cunha / Washington Post:

This is what happened when I drove my Mercedes to pick up food stamps — Sara Bareilles played softly through the surround-sound speakers of my husband's 2003 Mercedes Kompressor as I sat idling at a light. I'd never been to this church before, but I could see it from where I was …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Unfogged and Poynter

Amy Chozick / New York Times:

Chelsea Clinton Follows Parents' Lead as a Paid Speaker — There is a new Clinton paid to deliver speeches — Chelsea, the former first daughter — and she is commanding as much as $75,000 per appearance. — Aides stressed that while Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton often address trade groups …

Discussion: OnPolitics

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, Mediaite, Politico, Hot Air and The Huffington Post

Raphael Ahren / The Times of Israel:

Top Obama official blasts Israel for denying Palestinians sovereignty, security, dignity — 'How can Israel have peace if it's unwilling to delineate a border, end the occupation?' asks Obama's Mideast chief, Phillip Gordon, in blistering Tel Aviv speech — Israel's ongoing occupation …

Discussion: Power Line, Truth Revolt, The Right Scoop and Washington Free Beacon

New York Times:

Spying Case Left Obama in Dark, U.S. Officials Say — WASHINGTON — When President Obama placed a call to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany last Thursday, he had a busy agenda: to consult with a close ally and to mobilize wavering Europeans to put more pressure on Russia to end its covert incursions in Ukraine.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, AEIdeas and Prairie Weather

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

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, The Hill, Politico, 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

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

The New Yorker Alters Its Online Strategy — The New Yorker is overhauling its website and making all the articles it has published since 2007 available free for three months before introducing a paywall for online subscribers. — Beginning July 21, the magazine's new and archived articles …

Discussion: Guardian, more at Mediagazer »