memeorandum: ARIZONA INMATE DIES 2 HOURS AFTER EXECUTION BEGAN (Associated Press)

10:30 AM ET, July 24, 2014

Top Items:

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

John Walsh, Democrat, Confronts Questions of Plagiarism — WASHINGTON — Democrats were thrilled when John Walsh of Montana was appointed to the United States Senate in February. A decorated veteran of the Iraq war and former adjutant general of his state's National Guard …

ABC News:

Senator Says He Had PTSD When He Wrote Thesis — Sen. John Walsh of Montana said Wednesday his failure to attribute conclusions and verbatim passages lifted from other scholars' work in his thesis to earn a master's degree from the U.S. Army War College was an unintentional mistake caused in part by post-traumatic stress disorder.

Discussion: Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

New York Times:
How Senator John Walsh Plagiarized a Final Paper

Discussion: The Other McCain, Booman Tribune, Washington Post, Sister Toldjah, Politico, The Reality-Based Community and “The Lid”

Kendall Breitman / Politico:

Ted Cruz hits back at State Department — Sen. Ted Cruz is slamming the State Department after a spokeswoman called his claim that the Federal Aviation Administration made a politically motivated decision to halt U.S. airlines' flights to Israel “ridiculous and offensive.”

Discussion: The Hill and NewsBusters

Ted Cruz:

Did President Obama Just Launch an Economic Boycott of Israel? — SEN. CRUZ RELEASES STATEMENT REGARDING FAA'S FLIGHT SUSPENSIONS TO ISRAEL — WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today questioned the Obama Administration's decision to ban flights to Israel while, at the same time …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, BuzzFeed, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Little Green Footballs, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, National Review and Weekly Standard

Bart Jansen / USA Today:
FAA extends flight ban to Israel for another 24 hours

Discussion: Daily Signal, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, CBS News and Booman Tribune

Associated Press:

ARIZONA INMATE DIES 2 HOURS AFTER EXECUTION BEGAN — FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) — A condemned Arizona inmate gasped and snorted for more than an hour and a half during his execution Wednesday before he died in an episode sure to add to the scrutiny surrounding the death penalty in the U.S.

Discussion: The Other McCain, TalkLeft, The Verge, Talking Points Memo and The Agonist

Mark Berman / Washington Post:
Arizona execution lasts nearly two hours, witness says Joseph Wood was ‘gasping and struggling to breathe’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Yahoo! News

Ed Pilkington / Guardian:
Joseph Wood: Arizona murderer dies almost two hours after execution begins

Discussion: Arizona Republic, The Week, BuzzFeed, BBC, NationalJournal.com, Arizona News and ThinkProgress

Michael Kiefer / Arizona Republic:
Arizona court allows execution to proceed today

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and RT

Wall Street Journal:

The Solution to Border Disorder — The best antidote to illegal immigration is a functioning system of legal immigration.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, OnPolitics, Hot Air and The Daily Caller

Guy Benson / Townhall.com:

CNN Poll: Twice As Many Americans Were Hurt By Obamacare Than Helped — 1.6K — SHARES — Not an unusual data point at all, based on the polling trend — but a timely reality check for the delusional “people love Obamacare!” propagandists. CNN's latest national survey includes a number …

Discussion: NBC News

Oliver Darcy / TheBlaze.com:

Video: Woman in Labor ‘Not Allowed’ to Cross Street to Hospital Over Obama's Impending Motorcade — Witnesses say a pregnant woman in labor was prevented by authorities from crossing a Los Angeles street to a hospital Wednesday because the road had been closed for President Barack Obama's impending motorcade.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Right Wing News and Jammie Wearing Fools

Investor's Business Daily:

IRS Lawlessness: 20 Hard Drives, Six Unanswered Questions — Scandal: An internationally accredited information-technology asset-management firm says the IRS has some explaining to do as our patience is taxed with tales of even more convenient computer crashes.

Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:

Senator Manchin: What My Daughter Did Should Be Illegal — West Virginia senator vows to support legislation that would stop CEOs like his daughter from renouncing firms' U.S. citizenship. — You're a United States senator from a state struggling to compete in the world economy.

Discussion: Fox News, Campaign for America's Future and The Daily Caller

Elizabeth Green / New York Times:

Why Do Americans Stink at Math? — Photo illustratIon by Andrew B. Myers. Prop stylIst: Randi Brookman HarrIs. Calculator icons by Tim Boelaars. — When Akihiko Takahashi was a junior in college in 1978, he was like most of the other students at his university in suburban Tokyo.

Discussion: Eduwonk

Paul Ryan / USA Today:

An opportunity to cut poverty — Let's re-conceive the federal government's role in providing a safety net for the poor. — This week, our economy received some bad news: The International Monetary Fund revised its projection for U.S. economic growth this year to just 1.7%. Working families will pay the price.

Discussion: CNN

Des Moines Register:

Editor who used ‘gaystapo’ claims religious discrimination — An Iowa newspaper editor fired after publishing his views on homosexuals is claiming he was the victim of religious discrimination by his former employer. — Bob Eschliman, former editor of the Newton Daily News …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, JIMROMENESKO.COM, Guardian, The Raw Story and The Huffington Post

Richard L. Hasen / Slate:

The judges who ruled against Obamacare are following Scalia down a terrible path of interpretation. — Unless you are a lawyer or a glutton for punishment, you probably want to avoid reading the new D.C. Circuit and 4th Circuit opinions reaching conflicting results on the legality of key provisions …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Althouse, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, The Dish and Balkinization

Janet Van Huysse / The Twitter Blog:

Building a Twitter we can be proud of — At Twitter, we have a goal to reach every person on the planet. We believe that goal is more attainable with a team that understands and represents different cultures and backgrounds. — It makes good business sense that Twitter employees …

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, The Verge and Business Insider

wgnsradio.com:

Woman allegedly pulls out gun in the Walmart parking lot after being asked to “Slow Down” — A 37-year old woman by the name of Angela Scruggs has been arrested after she allegedly pulled out a gun during what has been described as an “Aggravated Assault.” The incident unfolded in the Rutherford Blvd. Walmart parking lot on Tuesday.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Raw Story

The Intercept:

The Secret Government Rulebook For Labeling You a Terrorist — The Obama administration has quietly approved a substantial expansion of the terrorist watchlist system, authorizing a secret process that requires neither “concrete facts” nor “irrefutable evidence” to designate an American …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Techdirt, Prairie Weather, Hullabaloo, The Hill, The Verge and RT

Thomas E. Ricks / Politico:

Why Am I Moving Left? — I used to be right down the middle. But America's changed, and so have I. — In my late 50s, at a time of life when most people are supposed to be drifting into a cautious conservatism, I am surprised to find myself moving steadily leftward. — This is unexpected.

Discussion: Althouse

Simone Wilson / Jewish Journal:

IDF lone soldier Max Steinberg's funeral, shiva in Jerusalem draw 30,000 — including John Kerry — Story has been updated to include additional information. — The mother, father, sister and brother of 24-year-old Woodland Hills native and fallen IDF soldier Max Steinberg …

Discussion: Power Line, Weasel Zippers, Washington Free Beacon, Mondoweiss and Slate