memeorandum: McConnell: Obama's executive action will lead to immigrant deaths (Stephen Dinan/Washington Times)

12:35 PM ET, November 20, 2014

Top Items:

Reagan and Bush Acted Unilaterally on Immigration, Too—for the Same Reason That Obama Will — On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that two previous Republican presidents—Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush—had taken unilateral action to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation …

Discussion: The Federalist, Hot Air, The Dish, Washington Post, Politico, The Atlantic Online, ThinkProgress, National Review, Bloomberg, Daily Signal and Bloomberg View

New York Times:

At Long Last, Immigration Action — President Obama says he will speak to the nation on Thursday night about making major changes to immigration policy, including shielding several million unauthorized immigrants from deportation. He intends to do this under executive authority, because he has given up waiting for Congress to act.

Discussion: The New Republic, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, The Week, Washington Post and Daily Signal

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Democrats face major challenges in selling executive action

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Bloomberg Politics, Townhall.com, Business Insider and Politico

Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Immigration action is daring test of Obama's power

Discussion: CNNMoney.com

Hadas Gold / Politico:

White House hits TV networks for skipping immigration address — The White House is exasperated with the major broadcast networks - ABC, CBS and NBC — for skipping out on President Barack Obama's Thursday primetime address on his executive actions on immigration.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Washington Monthly, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Betsy's Page, The PJ Tatler and White House.gov Blog

John Hudson / Foreign Policy:

White House Putting Up ‘Fierce’ Fight to Conceal Torture Report

Discussion: BillMoyers.com, Hullabaloo and The World's Greatest …

The Hill:
Networks won't air Obama speech

Discussion: Deadline and The Huffington Post

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:

The Solid South Will Rise Again — Democrats have abandoned Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, who is in a tough runoff election. (Tough is the mild way of putting it. Polls show her down by double digits to her Republican opponent.) — Not only has the Democratic Party pulled …

Discussion: Democratic Strategist and Vox Popoli

Politico:
GOP leaders warn ‘impeachment’ is a dirty word

Discussion: Daily Kos

Justin Sink / The Hill:
White House: Obama wears GOP criticism as ‘a badge of honor’

Discussion: Instapundit

Joseph Curl / Washington Times:

Obama sets off on scorched-earth rampage — ANALYSIS/OPINION: … President Obama, fresh off a shellacking in the 2014 midterm elections — in which he made himself a centerpiece, much to the chagrin of embattled Democrats — is about to embark on a scorched-earth rampage that will change the face of America forever.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and The PJ Tatler

Sen. Ted Cruz / Politico:
Obama Is Not a Monarch — The president cannot act alone …

ABC News:

Entertainment Icon Mike Nichols Has Died at Age 83 — Mike Nichols, the entertainment icon and husband of ABC News Anchor Diane Sawyer, died suddenly Wednesday at the age of 83. — Nichols' death was announced in a statement by ABC News President James Goldston.

Discussion: American Spectator, Gawker, International Business Times, NPR and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

ABC News:
Mike Nichols passed away suddenly on Wednesday evening. He was 83.

Discussion: Mashable and Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Maggie Haberman / Politico:

Jim Webb launches 2016 committee — Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb became the first well-known Democrat to launch an exploratory committee to run for president on Wednesday night, saying the nation is at a “serious crossroads.” — “I have decided to launch an Exploratory Committee …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Bloomberg Politics, Political Insider blog, Shakesville, CANNONFIRE and Outside the Beltway

Peter Wehner / Commentary Magazine:

Obama Is About to Commit an Act of Constitutional Infamy — The president will present his case on behalf of his forthcoming executive order on amnesty tomorrow at 8 p.m. I certainly hope President Obama addresses the arguments against his action that were repeatedly and passionately made by ... President Obama.

Discussion: Power Line and The Hugh Hewitt Show

Steve Cannon / ABC News:

3 Wounded, Suspected Gunman Dead After Shooting on Florida State University Campus — Three people were wounded in a shooting on Florida State University's campus in Tallahassee, police said, with the suspected gunman shot and killed by officers. — The shooting happened early this morning at the university's Stozier Library.

Discussion: Mashable and International Business Times

CNN:
3 shot at Florida State University before gunman killed by police

Discussion: Liberaland, Associated Press and New York Magazine

Reuters:

Iran nuclear talks stuck, deadline may be extended: officials — (Reuters) - A deadline for resolving a 12-year-old dispute over Iran's nuclear program may be extended from Monday until March, because of sharp disagreements between Tehran and Western powers, officials close to the talks said on Thursday.

Discussion: The Times of Israel, emptywheel and Washington Free Beacon

Robert Booth / Guardian:

Prince Charles will not be silenced when he is made king, say allies — Exclusive: Sources close to heir say he will break with Queen's habit of discretion by continuing to speak out on issues that matter to him — Prince Charles is ready to reshape the monarch's role when he becomes king and make …

Discussion: Althouse and Eschaton

James Hohmann / Politico:

Scott Walker plots 2016 rollout — The Wisconsin governor is putting together the pieces of a campaign. — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, pivoting from his bigger-than-expected reelection win this month, is taking active steps toward a presidential campaign that would launch next summer …

Discussion: JSOnline and National Review

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:

McConnell: Obama's executive action will lead to immigrant deaths — Sen. Mitch McConnell warned Thursday that some would-be illegal immigrants could die trying to reach the U.S. thanks to President Obama's plans to offer a temporary amnesty, saying it will amount to an invitation for a new wave …

Discussion: FOX News Radio

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

N.S.A. Phone Data Collection Could Go On, Even if a Law Expires — WASHINGTON — A little-known provision of the Patriot Act, overlooked by lawmakers and administration officials alike, appears to give President Obama a possible way to keep the National Security Agency's bulk phone records program …

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, US News and Prairie Weather

David Nather / Politico:
Rand doesn't stand — The Kentucky senator helped block NSA reform.

Discussion: Associated Press, Balloon Juice, Liberaland, Daily Kos and Liberal Values

Mark Leibovich / New York Times:

Chris Christie Is Back — Credit: Tobias Hutzler for The New York Times — “If I fix this, you have to start the story with it,” Chris Christie told me, yanking the string of the venetian blind in the diner window. We were eating a late lunch at a place called Howley's …

Discussion: Washington Post

Phillip M. Bailey / Salon:

EXCLUSIVE: Rand Paul sounds off to Salon on race, 2016, Hillary and Republicans — GOP senator tells Salon about his potential White House bid, the GOP establishment and race in America — With an eye on a potential 2016 bid for the White House, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul continues to test whether …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and National Review

George F. Will / Washington Post:

The Justice Department becomes a schoolyard bully in Wisconsin — It is as remarkable as it is repulsive, the ingenuity with which the Obama administration uses the regulatory state's intricacies to advance progressivism's project of breaking nongovernmental institutions to government's saddle.

Daisuke Wakabayashi / Wall Street Journal:

Inside Apple's Broken Sapphire Factory — How $1 Billion Bet on iPhone Screens Failed; the ‘Boule Graveyard’ — These are defective sapphire boules produced by GT Advanced Technologies at an Arizona factory built with Apple. The photos were sent by Apple to GT's creditors. — By

Discussion: Business Insider and The Verge

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Drone Strikes Never Kill ‘Humans’ — The Obama administration's lethal drone strikes are at their most morally objectionable when the CIA doesn't even know the identities of the people it is killing—a fact it obscures by dubbing all military-age males who are killed “militants.”

Discussion: Prairie Weather