memeorandum: Living With Uncertainty: Expected Health Spending Declines (Again) (Margot Sanger-Katz/New York Times)

5:35 PM ET, July 16, 2014

Top Items:

Numbers / Pew Research Center's Religion …:

How Americans Feel About Religious Groups — Jews, Catholics & Evangelicals Rated Warmly, Atheists and Muslims More Coldly — Jews, Catholics and evangelical Christians are viewed warmly by the American public. When asked to rate each group on a “feeling thermometer” ranging from 0 to 100 …

Discussion: Washington Post, Alas, a Blog, Religion News Service, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Algemeiner.com

Peter Beaumont / Guardian:

Witness to a shelling: first-hand account of deadly strike on Gaza port — There is a deafening explosion, then a second. Four children are dead. Four survivors reach the safety of our hotel — The retaining wall of Gaza's harbour sticks out into the Mediterranean about 100 metres …

Discussion: BuzzFeed

William Booth / Reuters:

Dispatch: Israeli strike kills four children on a Gaza beach — GAZA CITY — It is not unusual for militants to launch rockets from sites near my hotel. Israeli missiles have also landed pretty close to al-Deira, an old red stucco inn with a large terrace overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Discussion: New York Times, Israel Matzav, Mondoweiss, The Huffington Post, Mediaite and Poynter

Rania Khalek / The Electronic Intifada:
Israel firing experimental weapons at Gaza's civilians, say doctors

Discussion: Christian Science Monitor, Israel Matzav and Firedoglake

Ramsey Cox / The Hill:

Dem birth control bill stalls — Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a bill that would require companies to offer birth control coverage in staff health plans. — Democrats had moved the legislation as a response to last month's Supreme Court ruling rejecting the healthcare law's mandate …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Politico

Associated Press:

Democrats fail in attempt to reverse Hobby Lobby contraceptive ruling — WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Republicans have blocked a bill aimed at restoring free contraception for women who get their health insurance from companies that object on religious grounds.

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Hot Air and Daily Kos

The Hill:
CAMPAIGN OVERNIGHT: Senate Dems flex fundraising muscle

Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News and Roll Call

Paul Waldman / American Prospect:

The Continuing Agonies of the Super-Rich — As we well know by now, being rich in America is tough. Imagine driving your Porsche out the Goldman Sachs garage, intent on a relaxing weekend at your Hamptons retreat, only to find some wretched Occupy sympathizer giving you a dirty look through …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
Is a fear of 'getting Koch'ed' hurting Republican super PACs?

Discussion: Washington Post, Rush Limbaugh, Politico and New York Times

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

FEDS TO OPEN $50 MILLION RESORT FOR ILLEGAL CHILDREN - Complete With Tennis Courts, Sauna & Pools — Welcome to America! — The Obama administration has awarded a $50 million contract to a charitable group to buy a Texas resort hotel and transform it in to a 600 bed facility for juvenile illegal aliens.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Independent Journal Review and KRGV-TV

KRGV-TV:
Hotel to Undergo Transformation into Immigrant Center

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and The Gateway Pundit

Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:

The Coming Democratic Schism — There is a striking generational split in the Democratic electorate. — This deepening division is apparent in a June Pew Research Center survey of more than 10,000 people, “Beyond Red vs. Blue.” The Pew survey points up the emergence of a cohort …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Mahablog

Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:

O'Malley , Obama administration spar over immigration policies — Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) appears to be facing the consequences of sharply challenging the Obama administration's efforts to deal with an influx of immigrant children who have crossed the border into this country unaccompanied.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, CNN, Shakesville, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and Twitchy

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed:

Martin O'Malley Gets Aggressive — The odds aren't great against Hillary Clinton, but the Democratic governor from Maryland is doing the actual things people do before running for president: donors, new policies, campaign travel, distance from Obama. “I think people are going to be surprised at the amount of time he does this.”

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Hinterland Gazette, The Moderate Voice, RedState, National Review, The PJ Tatler, VodkaPundit, Althouse and CANNONFIRE

New York Times:

Border Crisis Casts Shadow Over Obama's Immigration Plan — WASHINGTON — The crisis on the border with Mexico has overtaken President Obama's plans to use executive action to reshape the nation's immigration system, forcing him to confront a new set of legal, administrative and political complications.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Hot Air, YouGov US Opinion Center News and BREITBART.COM

Maureen Dowd / New York Times: Where's the Oval Avatar?

Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:
Mr. ‘I, Me, My’: Obama Oughta Know He's Not the Hero

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg View, Roger Ailes, Hot Air and Betsy's Page

Brittney Cooper / Salon:

Iggy Azalea's post-racial mess: America's oldest race tale, remixed — As a white female rapper mistakes appropriation for artistry, here's how black women remain pushed to the sidelines — Recently, my nine year-old nephew came running into the room, eager to find a seat to watch a performance by Iggy Azalea on an awards show.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Hinterland Gazette and Colorlines

Washington Examiner:

Elizabeth Warren: The government shutdown was over birth control — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ELIZABETH WARREN WAR ON WOMEN CONTRACEPTION — Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., on Tuesday blamed last October's government shutdown on Republicans wanting to deny women access to birth control.

Discussion: Hot Air, The PJ Tatler and National Review

Politico:
Behind the GOP focus on Obamacare

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Daily Kos and Hot Air

New York Times:

$80 Billion Offer From Rupert Murdoch Is Rejected, but Time Warner May Be in Play — The media giant 21st Century Fox, the empire run by Rupert Murdoch, made an $80 billion takeover bid in recent weeks for Time Warner Inc. but was rebuffed. — The bold approach could put Time Warner in play …

Discussion: Business Wire, Mashable, Hot Air, Mediaite, his vorpal sword, Deadline.com, The Huffington Post, The Verge, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Guardian, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, Re/code and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Rmchatelain / CBS New York:

Police: Al Qaeda Magazine Suggesting Attack On US Open — NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The US Open Tennis Championship appears on a wish list of terror targets in an al Qaeda magazine, an NYPD official said Wednesday. — In a briefing for New York City's private security community, Rebecca Weiner …

Discussion: Hit & Run and Jihad Watch

Carrie Dann / NBC News:

Poll: Dead Heat in Hotly-Contested Iowa Senate Race — The Senate race in New Hampshire isn't as fluid, with only 6 percent of registered voters saying that they're undecided between incumbent Shaheen and Brown. It also isn't as close: Shaheen is beating her GOP rival 50 percent to 42 percent.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Power Line and Washington Post

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

University at Buffalo paid $275,000 for Hillary Clinton speech — When Hillary Rodham Clinton agreed to address the University at Buffalo, the largest campus of the State University of New York system, she negotiated a few requirements in addition to her pay of $275,000.

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Caller, Slate, Independent Journal Review and Mediaite

Washington Post:

Decriminalization arrives, and D.C. police prepare for sea change in marijuana laws — On Wednesday, a D.C. cop who catches someone carrying a small amount of marijuana is required to launch his suspect on an onerous journey through the criminal justice system — one likely to involve handcuffs, fingerprinting and forensic analysis.

Discussion: FishbowlDC, US News and Poynter

Justin Sink / The Hill:

WH director won't testify before Issa panel — White House political director David Simas will not appear before the House Oversight Committee to testify Wednesday, despite a subpoena from Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the White House said Tuesday. — In a letter to Issa on Tuesday …

Discussion: CNN, Politico and Hot Air

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:

Family That Owns Hobby Lobby Plans Bible Museum in Washington — WASHINGTON — The evangelical Christian family that owns Hobby Lobby, the chain of craft stores, made history two weeks ago when the Supreme Court overturned the Obama administration's mandate that family-owned companies must …

Discussion: Mediaite

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:

Nancy Pelosi's goal is to win 25 seats. Here's how she thinks it can happen. — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told The Washington Post Tuesday that her goal is to win 25 seats this November — a bold statement given that historical trends suggest that the party …

Discussion: National Republican … and OnPolitics

Numbers / Pew Research Center for the People …:

Surge of Central American Children Roils U.S. Immigration Debate — Obama Job Rating Steady, No Change in Economic Views — As the president and Congress struggle over how to deal with the influx of thousands of unaccompanied minors from Central America across the U.S.-Mexican border …

Discussion: Politico and Washington Post