memeorandum: Introductory statement to the press conference (with Q&A) (Mario Draghi/ECB)

4:20 AM ET, September 5, 2014

Top Items:

Robert McDonnell guilty of 11 corruption counts — RICHMOND — A federal jury Thursday found former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, guilty of public corruption — sending a message that they believed the couple sold the office once occupied by Patrick Henry …

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette, Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, Mashable, National Review, Gawker, Washington Monthly, Twitchy and Booman Tribune

Trip Gabriel / New York Times:

Former Governor in Virginia Guilty in Bribery Case — RICHMOND, Va. — Former Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia and his wife, Maureen, were convicted of corruption in federal court on Thursday, after a trial that shattered the political career of the onetime Republican star and peeled back the couple's private life to the bone.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, TalkLeft and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Fox News:

Ex-Virginia governor, wife found guilty on corruption charges — Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen have been convicted on a range of corruption, fraud and bribery charges, after the couple accepted more than $165,000 of gifts and loans from a businessman.

Discussion: TPNN and Independent Journal Review

Alexander Burns / Politico: Bob McDonnell in limbo: ‘Remarkably at peace’

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

National G.O.P. Moves to Take Over Campaign of a Kansas Senator — WASHINGTON — National Republicans on Thursday moved to take control of the campaign of Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas by sending a longtime party strategist to the state to advise him, a day after his hopes for re-election …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Christian Science Monitor, Outside the Beltway, OnPolitics, Liberal Values, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, Associated Press, Prairie Weather and Wichita Eagle

Bryan Lowry / Wichita Eagle:

Kobach: Democrat Chad Taylor's name will remain on ballot for U.S. Senate — Chad Taylor doesn't want to be in the race for U.S. Senate, but he's going to remain on the ballot. — Taylor, the Democratic nominee for Senate and district attorney of Shawnee County, submitted a formal letter …

Discussion: Hot Air and National Review

Kansas City Star:
Kobach says Taylor stays on ballot for U.S. Senate in Kansas

Discussion: Fox News and Daily Kos

Bryan Lowryeagle Topeka / Wichita Eagle:
Despite tough primary, Sen. Pat Roberts' path to victory in November smoother than opponents'

Discussion: Rothenblog, Washington Post, OpenSecrets.org, Roll Call, Wall Street Journal, Talking Points Memo, The Rothenberg Political …, Daily Kos and Bloomberg View

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
The Senate Race In Kansas Just Got Crazy

Discussion: Bloomberg View, Politico, Hit & Run, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Washington Post, Business Insider, No More Mister Nice Blog, National Review, Wichita Eagle, New Yorker, Power Line, The Dish and Washington Monthly

Wall Street Journal:

Hacker Breached HealthCare.gov Insurance Site — A hacker broke into the HealthCare.gov insurance enrollment website in July and uploaded malicious software, but there was no evidence consumers' personal data was taken.

Discussion: MarketWatch, BREITBART.COM, TPNN, Little Green Footballs, Fox News, Hit & Run, The Verge, National Review, Business Insider, NewsBusters, Engadget, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and Hot Air

Brett Norman / Politico: GOP on attack over health site hack

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:

Survey of Consumer Finances — 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances — The 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is the most recent survey conducted. Below are links to the bulletin article, historical bulletin tables, full public dataset, extract dataset, replicate weight files, and documentation.

Discussion: naked capitalism, Wall Street Journal and ParaPundit

Matthew C Klein / FT Alphaville:
US income and wealth inequality facts of the day

Discussion: Marginal REVOLUTION and Wall Street Journal

Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:

Joan Rivers, a Comedic Stiletto, Dies at 81 — Joan Rivers, the raspy loudmouth who pounced on America's obsessions with flab, face-lifts, body hair and other blemishes of neurotic life, including her own, in five decades of caustic comedy that propelled her from nightclubs to television …

Discussion: The Wrap, CNN, Liberaland, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, Gothamist, Hinterland Gazette, PUNDITGUY and TMZ.com

Maria Elena Fernandez / NBC News:
Comedy and TV Legend Joan Rivers Dies at 81

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Taylor Marsh, Towleroad News #gay and TMZ.com

Economist:

Blood cotton — The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism. By Edward Baptist. Basic Books; 498 pages; $35. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.com — “FOR sale: a coloured girl, of very superior qualifications...a bright mulatto, fine figure, straight …

Discussion: Gawker and Talking Points Memo

Daisuke Wakabayashi / Wall Street Journal:

Apple CEO Denies a Lax Attitude Toward Security Allowed Hackers to Post Nude Photos of Celebrities — Apple Inc. said it plans additional steps to keep hackers out of user accounts but denied that a lax attitude toward security had allowed intruders to post nude photos of celebrities on the Internet.

Discussion: Guardian, Gigaom, Engadget, The Verge, Mashable and The Huffington Post

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:

DNC chief walks back Scott Walker ‘words’ — Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz says she used words she “shouldn't have” in her attack against Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, in which she said he “has given women the back of his hand.”

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, Towleroad News #gay, JSOnline, Althouse, The Daily Caller, Independent Journal Review, BuzzFeed and Washington Free Beacon

Rick Hasen / Election Law Blog:

Breaking News and Analysis: Federal Court Grants Injunction Restoring Early Voting in Ohio — I have now had a chance to give an initial read the 71-page federal district court opinion in Ohio State Conference of the NAACP v. Husted. This is a significant case, which could potentially make it to the Supreme Court.

Discussion: ACLU, The Nation, Washington Post and Talking Points Memo

Associated Press:
Judge orders expanded Ohio early voting schedule

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Democratic Strategist

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:

BREAKING: Appeals Court Scraps Gay Marriage Bans In Wisconsin, Indiana — The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday overturned same-sex marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana. — “The discrimination against same-sex couples is irrational, and therefore unconstitutional even if the discrimination …

Mario Draghi / ECB:

Introductory statement to the press conference (with Q&A) — Jump to the transcript of the questions and answers — Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice-President and I are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference. We will now report on the outcome of today's meeting of the Governing Council …

Discussion: Bruegel, naked capitalism, Washington Post, Bloomberg View and Guardian

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

BREAKING: Federal Appeals Court Withdraws Decision Defunding Obamacare — In July, two Republican judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit handed down a decision defunding much of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This effort to implement Sen. Ted Cruz's …

Discussion: Cato Institute, Guardian, Daily Signal, The Mahablog, Hot Air, Hit & Run, Power Line, his vorpal sword, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Monthly

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic Online:

Pursuing ISIS to the Gates of Hell — Over the past two weeks, the American foreign-policy debate has dramatically changed. The key to understanding why lies in a book. — The book is called Special Providence. Published 13 years ago by Walter Russell Mead, it remains, for my money …

Discussion: TIME, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, Hot Air and Politico

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Why Do Newspapers Keep Publishing Op-Eds by John McCain? — America's most prestigious op-ed pages are run by highly accomplished editors who know a tight argument when they see one. They reject so many pieces each day that even a minor factual error or logical inconsistency is enough to doom a submission …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Hullabaloo

Darren Goode / Politico:

Harry Reid: Kochs are ‘enemies of progress’ — LAS VEGAS — Industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch and “their cronies” are “enemies of progress” in developing green energy, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday at the start of his annual energy conference.

Discussion: The PJ Tatler