Top Items:
Tod Lindberg / The New Republic:
The 2014 Midterms Don't Mean Anything — Pundits and pols say the stakes couldn't be higher. Quite the opposite. — The political media's handicapping of the November 4 midterm election has contributed to the impression, fostered by many partisans and commentators, that the stakes have never been higher.
Discussion:
VodkaPundit
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Kyle Kondik / Sabato's Crystal Ball:
The Hidden Barrier to a Republican Senate Majority — The GOP has had little recent success defeating Democratic incumbents — If Republicans are to win the Senate, they probably are going to have to do something they haven't done since 1980: beat more than two Democratic Senate incumbents in November.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Democratic Strategist and Washington Post
Politico:
Cruz's next fight: Immigration — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz plans to take a hard-line stand that could rile up conservatives just as lawmakers — including two from his home state — are struggling to address the growing humanitarian crisis along the southern border.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Hill, ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, Fox News, Hot Air, Mediaite, Washington Post and New York Times
Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:
More Democrats oppose weakening legal protections of kids crossing the border
More Democrats oppose weakening legal protections of kids crossing the border
Discussion:
Hot Air, Real Clear Politics, Associated Press, New York Times and BuzzFeed
Christopher Gunness / UNRWA:
UNRWA STRONGLY CONDEMNS PLACEMENT OF ROCKETS IN SCHOOL — Yesterday, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, UNRWA discovered approximately 20 rockets hidden in a vacant school in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA strongly condemns the group or groups responsible for placing the weapons in one of its installations.
Discussion:
BBC, Jihad Watch, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Algemeiner.com and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Maura Dolan / Los Angeles Times:
Federal judge rules California death penalty is unconstitutional — A federal judge in Orange County ruled Wednesday that California's death penalty violates the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. — U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney, ruled on a petition …
Discussion:
nepr.net, Booman Tribune, Business Insider, The Verge and The Democratic Daily
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New York Times:
California Death Penalty Is Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Says
California Death Penalty Is Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Says
Discussion:
The Week, Patterico's Pontifications and Hullabaloo
Mollie Reilly / The Huffington Post:
Federal Judge Strikes Down California's Death Penalty
Federal Judge Strikes Down California's Death Penalty
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller and The BRAD BLOG
Lanny J. Davis / The Hill:
Lessons from LeBron — How the GOP can use crisis management — LeBron James's surprise announcement last Friday that he planned to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Miami Heat offers important lessons for effective crisis management. Indeed, the most important lesson might …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Mediaite
Sally Kohn / The Daily Beast:
Chick-fil-A Is Like Gay Sex: Don't Knock It Till You Try It — Hats off, Chick-fil-A! You've overtaken KFC, and you're aiming to sell healthier fare. But pssst! Don't you know 'skinny'='gay'? — Chick-fil-A is like gay sex: Don't knock it till you try it.
Discussion:
NewsBusters and Mediaite
San Francisco Chronicle:
Fake screener probes passengers at SFO — (07-16) 17:46 PDT SAN FRANCISCO — A man suspected of being drunk posed as a security screener at San Francisco International Airport long enough to direct a couple of women into a private booth for pat downs before real security staffers caught on to him, authorities said Wednesday.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Jezebel, The Raw Story and Boing Boing
Jim Avila / ABC News:
Exclusive: Feds Struggling to Cope With Medical ‘Breakdown’ at the Border — The federal government is so overwhelmed by the current tide of migrants crossing the border it can't provide basic medical screening to all of the children before transporting them - often by air …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, The PJ Tatler and The Right Scoop
Ned Resnikoff / msnbc.com:
Hobby Lobby: A new tool for crushing workplace unionization? — A little-known religious exemption to United States labor law may have just become extremely important, thanks to the Supreme Court's ruling in Hobby Lobby. — By declaring that “closely held” corporations may hold religious beliefs …
Discussion:
Shakesville, Guardian, Talking Points Memo and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Lindsay Mark Lewis / The Atlantic Online:
The Easiest Fix for Dark Money: Disclose Less Often — “Politics has got so expensive that it takes lots of money to even get beat with nowadays.” —Will Rogers — Super PACs are unquestionably a scandal: The lightly regulated committees mean wealthy donors can funnel unlimited amounts of money into elections anonymously.
Discussion:
Sunlight Foundation Blog
Quinnipiac News + Events:
Release Detail — July 17, 2014 - Udall, Gardner Tied In See-Saw Colorado Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Democrat's Job Approval Hits All-Time Low — The closely-watched U.S. Senate race is tied with 44 percent for U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, the Republican challenger …
Discussion:
Firedoglake and The Spot
Edward Snowden / Guardian:
‘If I end up in chains in Guantánamo I can live with that’ - video interview — Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower, talks exclusively to Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of the Guardian, and reporter Ewen MacAskill in Moscow. The 31-year-old former intelligence analyst discusses whether …
Discussion:
The Hill and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Clinton Is Best Known, Best Liked Potential 2016 Candidate — Huckabee's image is slightly better than other GOP contenders — PRINCETON, NJ — Hillary Clinton is currently the best known and best liked of 16 potential 2016 presidential candidates tested in a July 7-10 Gallup poll …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Bloomberg and Politico
Manny Fernandez / New York Times:
Towns Fight to Avoid Taking In Migrant Minors — OYSTER CREEK, Tex. — A shelter for Central American children who crossed the border illegally opened behind Gregg Griffith's house here a few months ago. The children are quiet. No one has hopped over the fence that separates his backyard from the shelter, a once-vacant youth home.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Ernesto Londoño / Washington Post:
Pentagon told lawmakers that it plans to move six Guantanamo detainees to Uruguay — The Pentagon recently notified members of Congress that it intends to transfer six low-level detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Uruguay soon, including a Syrian man who is legally challenging the manner …
Discussion:
Hot Air, New York Times and Booman Tribune
Seth Lipsky / New York Post:
Time to annex? If Palestinians can't govern ... Israeli military vehicles patrol near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. — The collapse of a ceasefire plan for Israel and Hamas would be a moment to test the Jewish state's super-weapon — Caroline Glick.
Discussion:
VodkaPundit
Geoff Pender / The Clarion-Ledger:
McDaniel lawyer: Expect runoff challenge within 10 days — Lawyers for Chris McDaniel say they expect to file a challenge of McDaniel's June 24 GOP runoff loss to incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran within the next 10 days. — Attorney Mitch Tyner said that despite “roadblocks” …
Discussion:
Washington Post and Taegan Goddard's …
Katie Pavlich / Townhall.com:
EXCLUSIVE: Documents Detail Heinous Crimes Committed by Gang Members Being Housed in Nogales Processing Center — SHARES — Late last week I reported 16 MS-13 gang members exploiting the unaccompanied minor crisis were being housed at a Border Patrol processing center in Nogales, Arizona.
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hugh Hewitt Show and NewsBusters
Sheila Marikar / New York Times:
Websites Like Thought Catalog and Upworthy Aim to Uplift — On a bright afternoon, Alex Magnin, chief revenue officer of the website Thought Catalog, strolled through Dolores Park in San Francisco, sipping a cup of green tea. Mr. Magnin, 29 and clad in a rumpled plaid shirt …
Microsoft Corporation:
Stephen Elop's email to employees — Microsoft's strategy is focused on productivity and our desire to help people “do more.” As the Microsoft Devices Group, our role is to light up this strategy for people. We are the team creating the hardware that showcases the finest of Microsoft's digital work …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, PandoDaily and The Verge
Kevin Rawlinson / BBC:
Blogger fined for restaurant review — The restaurant argued the negative review's prominence in Google's search results was unfairly harming business — A French judge has ruled against a blogger because her scathing restaurant review was too prominent in Google search results.
Discussion:
BizPac Review and National Review, more at Mediagazer »