memeorandum: Bloomberg flies to Israel to protest FAA ban (Michael Bloomberg/CNN)

10:50 PM ET, July 22, 2014

Top Items:

Why Obamacare probably isn't doomed — The Affordable Care Act took a potentially serious hit today when the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a rule that extended the law's health-care subsidies to residents of the three-dozen states where the federal government runs a health insurance exchange.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Times, National Review and Althouse

Robert Pear / New York Times:

New Questions on Health Law as Rulings on Subsidies Differ — WASHINGTON — Two federal appeals court panels issued conflicting rulings Tuesday on whether the government could subsidize health insurance premiums for millions of Americans, raising yet more questions about the future …

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Daily Kos, SCOTUSblog, Outside the Beltway, PoliticusUSA, Talking Points Memo, JustOneMinute, AEIdeas, Wall Street Journal, The PJ Tatler, Althouse, Prairie Weather, The Lonely Conservative, Forbes and The Moderate Voice

Brian Beutler / The New Republic:

This Shamefully Dishonest Obamacare Ruling Could Blow Up in the GOP's Face — The case of Halbig v. Burwell (formerly Halbig v. Sebelius), in which plaintiffs are attempting to void Affordable Care Act subsidies in states that didn't set up their own healthcare exchanges …

Discussion: Ted Cruz, Hot Air, National Review, Hit & Run, Forbes, New York Times, PoliticusUSA and Daily Kos

Adrianna McIntyre / Vox:

Why a federal court just ruled Obamacare subsidies are illegal in 36 states — Halbig v. Burwell is arguably the Affordable Care Act's greatest existential threat since the Supreme Court case decided in 2012. — On July 22, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a ruling …

Discussion: Balkinization, Mediaite, Washington Post, Alas, a Blog, Taylor Marsh, Eclectablog and ACS Blog

Fox News:

Federal courts issue conflicting rulings on legality of ObamaCare subsidies — WASHINGTON - Two federal appeals court rulings put the issue of ObamaCare subsidies in limbo Tuesday, with one court invalidating some of them and the other upholding all of them.

Discussion: NewsBusters and Fox News Insider

Emily Bazelon / Slate:
Obamacare Is Safe — Don't worry, the ruling against heath …

Discussion: Power Line, Bloomberg View and Election Law Blog

Washington Post:
Federal appeals courts issue contradictory rulings on health-law subsidies

Discussion: American Prospect, PoliticusUSA, Slate, RH Reality Check, Hullabaloo, Watchdog.org, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Politico

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Appeals Court Deals Major Blow To Obamacare

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Mahablog and Balloon Juice

ThinkProgress:
BREAKING: Two Republican Judges Order Obamacare Defunded

Discussion: Daily Kos, Guardian and Washington Post

Nicholas Bagley / The Incidental Economist:
A stinging defeat for the government

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

Michael F. Cannon / Forbes:
Halbig v. Burwell Would Free More Than 57 Million Americans From The ACA's Individual & Employer Mandates

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, National Review, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, LifeNews.com, ThinkProgress, Weasel Zippers, Washington Free Beacon, AMERICAN DIGEST, neo-neocon and The PJ Tatler

Peter Suderman / Hit & Run:
Court Rules That Subsidies in Obamacare's Federal Exchange are Illegal, Dealing Huge Legal Blow to Health Law

Discussion: Hot Air, Bloomberg View, Associated Press, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Questions and Observations, neo-neocon, Sister Toldjah, Washington Post, The Strata-Sphere, Viking Pundit and alicublog

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:
Appeals courts split on whether ObamaCare subsidies are legal

Discussion: The Federalist, Weasel Zippers, PoliticusUSA, Business Insider, National Review and Hot Air

William Deresiewicz / The New Republic:

Don't Send Your Kid to the Ivy League — The nation's top colleges are turning our kids into zombies — In the spring of 2008, I did a daylong stint on the Yale admissions committee. We that is, three admissions staff, a member of the college dean's office, and me, the faculty representative …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Hit & Run, Blazing Cat Fur and Booman Tribune

Michael Bloomberg / CNN:

Bloomberg flies to Israel to protest FAA ban — (CNN) - Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg flew to Israel Tuesday night to protest a ban by the Federal Aviation Administration that is preventing U.S. airlines from flying into or out of Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport.

Discussion: Politico, Gothamist and DCist

Jad Mouawad / New York Times:

Airlines Suspend Flights to Israel After Hamas Rocket Falls Near Key Airport — Airlines in the United States and Europe suspended flights to and from Israel on Tuesday after a rocket fell about a mile from Ben-Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv.

Discussion: Associated Press, Capital New York, The Times of Israel, The Verge, Politico, Outside the Beltway and Mediaite

Bart Jansen / Associated Press:
FAA bans U.S. airlines from Israel over rocket threat

Discussion: American Spectator, BuzzFeed and Algemeiner.com

Ted Cruz / Facebook:

Of all the places I never thought to be mentioned, HBO's True Blood vampire show would have to be near the top of the list. Sunday night, they aired a misogynist and profanity-ridden episode where Texas Republicans are murdered attending a “Ted Cruz fundraiser.”

Discussion: Pop Culture Blog, Politico, The PJ Tatler, Mediaite, OnPolitics, Business Insider, Trail Blazers Blog and The Raw Story

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

News Outlets Fall For Parody That Took Credit For Brooklyn Bridge White Flags — Two prominent news outlets were fooled Tuesday by a Twitter parody account that claimed responsibility for replacing two American flags atop the Brooklyn Bridge with white flags.

Discussion: CBS New York and DNAinfo.com New York

John Del Signore / Gothamist:
Surrender, Brooklyn: Mysterious White Flags Top Brooklyn Bridge

Discussion: ABC News and Business Insider

Thomas Tracy / NY Daily News:
White flags planted on Brooklyn Bridge, American flags missing as mystery deepens

Discussion: New York Times, Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post and Politico

Raphael Ahren / The Times of Israel:

For second time, rockets found at UN school in Gaza — ‘How many more schools will have to be abused by Hamas missile squads before the international community will intervene?’ Foreign Ministry fumes — For the second time in less than a week, rockets have been found in a school …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs, Israellycool and The Lonely Conservative

BBC:
Gaza conflict: France criticises ‘anti-Semitic’ riot

Discussion: National Review and Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs

TMZ.com:

Sarah Palin — Ticketed for Speeding ... 'I Wasn't Speeding, I Was Qualifying' — Ticketed for Speeding — 'I WASN'T SPEEDING I WAS QUALIFYING' — EXCLUSIVE … President Obama — MYSTERIOUSLY CANCELS — Hollywood Leg of L.A. Visit

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Conservatives4Palin, OnPolitics and CNN

Fred Schruers / Billboard:

Tom Petty Isn't ‘Playing Dumb’ About Church Sex Abuse Scandal on New Song

Discussion: Mediaite, BizPac Review and The Raw Story

Chad Merda / Chicago Sun Times:

Snoop Dogg talks about that time he got high at the White House — Security at the White House is apparently a bit looser than everyone thinks. — Snoop Dogg, while on his internet talk show “Double G News Network” with Jimmy Kimmel, told about the time he got high at the White House.

Discussion: Washington Post and National Review

Tracy Van Slyke / Guardian:

Thomas the Tank Engine had to shut the hell up to save children everywhere — Classism, sexism, anti-environmentalism bordering on racism: any parent who discovered these hidden lessons will appreciate that the show's star just quit — There are many terrible children's programs through …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and National Review

Colin Brazier / Guardian:

MH17: my error of judgment, by Sky News reporter — Colin Brazier on how he came to pick up crash victims' luggage live on air - and immediately realised he had crossed a line — Journalists spend most of their working days in familiar environments. For me, that mainly means the Sky News studio …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Mediaite and The Huffington Post

ThinkProgress:

McDonald's Fires Mom Who Was Arrested For Letting 9-Year-Old Play In Park Alone — Debra Harrell, the mother who let her nine-year-old daughter play in a park while she worked her shifts at McDonald's and was arrested after adults at the park called the police, has been terminated from that job, her lawyer confirmed for ThinkProgress.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Grist and Shakesville