memeorandum: Oscar Pistorius: How the Verdict Will be Delivered (Gerald Imray/TIME)

1:40 AM ET, September 11, 2014

Top Items:

AP NEWSBREAK: SOURCE SAYS RICE VIDEO SENT TO NFL — ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A law enforcement official says he sent a video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee to an NFL executive three months ago, while league officers have insisted they didn't see the violent images until this week.

ESPN:

Sources: Ray Rice spat at fiancee — ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Ray Rice spat in the face of Janay Palmer the night he punched her in a hotel elevator, one current and one former security staffer at the Revel hotel told “Outside the Lines.” — Three current or former security staffers …

Discussion: SportsGrid, Robert Littal Presents …, 7online.com, Truth Revolt, The BRAD BLOG, Balloon Juice and NOLA River

CBS News:

Goodell: No. — O'Donnell: No one in the NFL? — Goodell: No one in the NFL, to my knowledge, and I had been asked that same question and the answer to that is no. We were not granted that. We were told that was not something we would have access to. On multiple occasions, we asked for it.

Discussion: Deadspin, Hit & Run, The Big Lead, CBS DC, Taylor Marsh, SBNation.com, ABC News and ProFootballTalk

ABC News:

NFL, Ravens Missed Chances to See Ray Rice Punch Video: Sources … The Baltimore Ravens knew shortly after Ray Rice knocked out his wife in a hotel elevator that a surveillance video of the assault existed and that Rice's lawyer had a copy of the video, but never asked to see it, sources told ABC News today.

Discussion: CNN, Guardian, Robert Littal Presents …, SBNation.com, ThinkProgress, 7online.com and SportsGrid

Darin Gantt / ProFootballTalk:

Roger Goodell cancels appearance at banquet for Jerry Richardson — With the stuff that is brown hitting the fan this afternoon, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has decided to keep his friends from getting splattered with it. — Amid reports that law enforcement officials did provide …

Discussion: Robert Littal Presents …

Judy Kurtz / The Hill:

McCain: Goodell has ‘credibility issues’ — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says Roger Goodell has “some credibility issues” and recommends the NFL commissioner give former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — who has been floated as a possible replacement — a call.

Discussion: Associated Press, TMZ.com, Politico, ABC News, Truth Revolt, Broadcasting & Cable and ProFootballTalk

Jeff Zrebiec / Baltimore Sun:
Ravens executives address Ray Rice investigation in exclusive interview

Discussion: Deadspin, Robert Littal Presents … and ProFootballTalk

Barry Petchesky / Deadspin:
Report: NFL Received Ray Rice Video In April

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Firedoglake and Hullabaloo

Christine Brennan / USA Today:
Roger Goodell: We asked for Ray Rice video on multiple occasions

Discussion: Politico, ProFootballTalk, Hot Air, NOLA River and Baltimore Sun

Mark Landler / New York Times:

Obama Promises Sustained Effort to Rout Militants — WASHINGTON — President Obama said Wednesday night that he was ordering a significantly expanded military campaign against Sunni militants in the Middle East that includes American airstrikes in Syria and the deployment of 475 more military advisers to Iraq.

Discussion: Gawker, Weekly Standard, Daily Kos and Taylor Marsh

Washington Post:

Transcript: President Obama's speech outlining strategy to defeat Islamic State — President Obama outlined the U.S. military response to the Islamic State in a public address on Wednesday. Obama said that the U.S. will conduct a “systematic campaign of airstrikes” against the militant group, which could include airstrikes in Syria.

Discussion: National Review, CANNONFIRE, Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs, The Long War Journal, Associated Press, Fox News, New York Times, The Dish, Weekly Standard, Hot Air and Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Obama to Liken ISIS Fight to Campaigns in Yemen and Somalia — WASHINGTON — President Obama will tell the nation on Wednesday night that America is prepared to wage a sustained air campaign against Islamic militants “wherever they exist,” much the same way the administration …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The New Republic, Associated Press, Hot Air and ThinkProgress

Zeke J Miller / TIME:

Full Text of Obama's Address on ISIS — Full text of President Barack Obama's address to the nation on ISIS — President Barack Obama addressed the nation Wednesday on his strategy to confront the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). — Below are his remarks as delivered:

Discussion: Washington Post, Guardian, Daily Signal, Democracy in America and NOLA River

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Extending a Legacy of War — WASHINGTON — In ordering a sustained military campaign against Islamic extremists in Syria and Iraq, President Obama on Wednesday night effectively set a new course for the remainder of his presidency and all but ensured that he would pass his successor a volatile …

Tim Hanrahan / Wall Street Journal:
Full Prepared Text of Obama's Speech Wednesday on ISIS Plans

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Free Beacon, No More Mister Nice Blog and Hit & Run

David Frum / The Atlantic Online:
Don't Go Back to Iraq, Mr. President

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Beast and Hit & Run

Hayes Brown / ThinkProgress:
The Most Discouraging Sentence in Obama's Entire ISIS Speech

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Outside the Beltway, The Dish, CNN, The Huffington Post and BBC

Tom Cohen / CNN:
Obama outlines ISIS strategy: Airstrikes in Syria, more U.S. troops

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, msnbc.com, Fox News and Mediaite

Peter Hamby / CNN:

Carney: Obama would give more speeches if networks would let him — Washington (CNN) — Former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney — a longtime journalist before he joined the Obama administration in its infancy — is back in the media game as a political analyst for CNN.

Discussion: Mediaite

Hadas Gold / Politico:
Jay Carney joins CNN

Discussion: Business Insider, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Guardian, The Huffington Post, Taylor Marsh, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite and Poynter

Sarah Ferris / The Hill:

IRS chief: ‘Whenever we can, we follow the law’ — During another grueling hearing on the ObamaCare rollout, the head of the Internal Revenue Service tried to offer lawmakers an assurance about the soon-to-open enrollment period. — “Whenever we can, we follow the law,” …

Discussion: Ed Driscoll and The Gateway Pundit

Tristyn Bloom / The Daily Caller:

Ted Cruz Booed Off Stage At Middle East Christian Conference [VIDEO] — Sen. Ted Cruz was booed offstage at a conference for Middle Eastern Christians Wednesday night after saying that “Christians have no greater ally than Israel.” — Cruz, the keynote speaker at the sold-out D.C. dinner gala …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs and RedState

Bryan Fischer / OneNewsNow.com:

No atheist should be permitted to serve in the U.S. military — Military service should rightly be reserved for those who believe in and are willing to die for what America stands for - and what America stands for is a belief in God as the source of our rights. — Tweet to @BryanJFischer

Discussion: Right Wing Watch, Good As You, CANNONFIRE, Agence France-Presse and The Raw Story

Rick Klein / ABC News:

ANALYSIS: Obama Plays Catch-Up With Public and Himself … President Obama on Wednesday night entered a new phase of his presidency — and he did it in a most Obama of ways. — First, to what's changed: He's announcing a war, not ending one. He's preparing to act without Congress …

Discussion: 7online.com

Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:

Prosecutors Are Pushing Prison Time for D'Souza — Saying that Dinesh D'Souza had not yet accepted responsibility for his crime, prosecutors asked a federal judge in Manhattan on Wednesday to sentence the best-selling conservative author and filmmaker to 10 to 16 months in prison for violating campaign finance laws.

Meghan Daum / New York Times:

Lena Dunham Is Not Done Confessing — Credit: Benjamin Lowy/Reportage, for The New York Times — On a recent afternoon in Brooklyn, Lena Dunham and her sister, Grace, met up at a local hangout. Grace was nursing a sprained ankle she sustained a few nights earlier, after, by her account …

Discussion: ABC News, Jezebel and Althouse

Jason Noble / Des Moines Register:

Exclusive: Michelle Obama to campaign with Bruce Braley in October — Michelle Obama will travel to Iowa next month for campaign events with U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Braley, the Des Moines Register has learned. — The First Lady's plans were confirmed by the White House and the Braley campaign …

Discussion: OnPolitics and Washington Post

Nick Cumming-Bruce / New York Times:

Chlorine Used As Weapon In Syria War, Group Says — GENEVA — A toxic chemical, probably chlorine, was used as a weapon to attack Syrian villages in April, an international watchdog agency confirmed on Wednesday. — The conclusion, based on months of investigation by a fact-finding team …

Discussion: Power Line, RedState and Washington Free Beacon

Kimberly Kagan / Weekly Standard:

Obama's ‘Strategy’ Has No Chance of Success — President Obama just announced that he is bringing a counter-terrorism strategy to an insurgency fight. He was at pains to repeat the phrase “counter-terror” four times in a short speech. Noting that ISIL is not a state …

Discussion: The Hugh Hewitt Show