memeorandum: Al Sharpton: Rand Paul's outreach to blacks could hurt Democrats in 2016 (Katie Glueck/Politico)

5:10 PM ET, November 24, 2014

Top Items:

Helene Cooper / New York Times:

Hagel Said to Be Stepping Down as Defense Chief Under Pressure — WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is stepping down under pressure, the first cabinet-level casualty of the collapse of President Obama's Democratic majority in the Senate and a beleaguered national security team …

Jim Miklaszewski / NBC News:

Forced Out: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to Step Down — According to one senior official, “He wasn't up to the job.”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Time, American Spectator, The Daily Caller, BillMoyers.com, National Review, Mediaite and Betsy's Page

David Weigel / Bloomberg Politics:

John McCain: Chuck Hagel ‘Was Up to the Job’ — John McCain wasn't going to let the administration get away with its spin. Early Monday morning, before daylight in Arizona, Helene Cooper reported that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel would be stepping down, and that he was pushed.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Post, Mediaite, Time, Mashable, The PJ Tatler, The Agonist and Washington Free Beacon

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
How Do You Spell Scapegoat? H-A-G-E-L

Discussion: NBC News, BuzzFeed and US News

CNN:
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to step down

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

ABC News:
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to Step Down

Discussion: Politico, Yahoo! News, Associated Press and abc7news.com

CNN: Chuck Hagel Fast Facts

Washington Post:

Grand jury reaches decision in case of Ferguson officer — A grand jury has reached a decision on whether to indict Darren Wilson, the white Ferguson, Mo. police officer whose fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager sparked days of turbulent protests, sources close to the process said.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, AMERICAblog News, Daily Kos, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, American Spectator, The Daily Banter and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

CNN:

Ferguson grand jury announcement expected Monday — Ferguson, Missouri (CNN) — Law enforcement authorities in Ferguson are prepared for a wide range of public reaction expected to follow the announcement of the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown shooting, Missouri Public Safety Director Daniel Isom said Monday on CNN.

Discussion: Hot Air, New York Times, Liberaland, The PJ Tatler, Little Green Footballs, Q13 FOX News and naked capitalism

USA Today:

Reports: Ferguson grand jury has made decision — Evidence presented to the grand jury in Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson's case may or may not be released after their decision is released. It's up to the judge to make the evidence available. VPC — A St. Louis County grand jury …

Discussion: National Review

Lee Enterprises / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Darren Wilson has married his girlfriend

Discussion: Gawker and New York's PIX11

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney.com:
Exclusive: Why TV anchors met secretly with Ferguson officer who shot Michael Brown

Discussion: theGrio, New York Magazine and Politico

Kevin Cirilli / The Hill:
Giuliani: Ferguson debate misdirected

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

Washington Post:
In Ferguson, media's long vigil is welcomed by some, wearing on others

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Balloon Juice, NOLA River and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Al Sharpton: Rand Paul's outreach to blacks could hurt Democrats in 2016 — The Rev. Al Sharpton says Rand Paul's efforts to engage black voters could present a strategic challenge for Democrats: If the Republican senator runs for president, fewer African Americans may be motivated to show up and vote against him.

Discussion: Mediaite

Olivia Nuzzi / The Daily Beast:
Rand Paul Declares War on ISIS—and Allows Boots on the Ground

Discussion: Hit & Run, Political Wire and FOX News Radio

John McCormick / Bloomberg Politics:
Rand Paul Shows Early Strength in New Hampshire Poll

Discussion: NOLA River, Yahoo! News, Washington Post, US News, OnPolitics and Political Wire

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Rand Paul Calls for a Formal Declaration of War Against ISIS

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Dish, CNN, Hot Air, Time and National Review

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:
N.H. poll: Romney leads GOP field

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Police: Woman Saying She's ‘Ready For Ferguson’ Shoots, Kills Self By Accident — St. Louis police were investigating an incident in which a woman waving a gun inside a vehicle and saying she was “ready for Ferguson” apparently shot herself in the head by accident, CNN reported Sunday.

Discussion: Mediaite and Booman Tribune

Shimon Prokupecz / CNN:

Police: Woman allegedly kills herself with gun bought to prepare for Ferguson unrest — St. Louis (CNN) — A woman appears to have accidentally fatally shot herself in the head with a gun bought to prepare for possible Ferguson-related unrest, according to sources briefed on the police investigation.

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Gawker, Time, Liberaland and Raw Story

Erin Alberty / Salt Lake Tribune:

Killings by Utah police outpacing gang, drug, child-abuse homicides — 1. Officer Bron Cruz' body camera shows him beginning to raise his gun toward Dillon Taylor as Taylor walks away. 2. Taylor continues to face away from Cruz. Cruz can be heard ordering Taylor, “Get your hands out, now.”

Discussion: Gawker, Raw Story, Balloon Juice, Talking Points Memo and Colorlines

Adrian Carrasquillo / BuzzFeed:

Poll: Latino Voters Overwhelmingly Support Obama's Immigration Actions — The first poll of Latino voters since Obama's executive actions, first given to BuzzFeed News, shows that nearly 90% support his move, while 80% think it would be a mistake for the GOP to oppose them. — AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Discussion: Daily Kos, PoliticusUSA, Outside the Beltway and Political Wire

David Sims / The Atlantic Online:

The Gospel of Rudy Giuliani — On Sunday, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani went on Meet the Press to discuss the killing of Michael Brown. Giuliani offered the kind of candor and tough talk that almost made him president: … Yes. It's almost as if killers tend to murder people who live near them.

Discussion: Mediaite and New York Magazine

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:

20 Ways Media Completely Misread Congress' Weak-Sauce Benghazi Report — On September 11, 2012, Islamist militants attacked U.S. complexes in Benghazi, Libya. Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed, the first U.S. Ambassador killed in the line of duty since 1979. Three other men were killed and 10 were injured.

Discussion: New York Magazine, BREITBART.COM, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Mediaite and PoliticusUSA

Matt Friedman / New Jersey Online:

Rape by fraud? N.J. lawmaker introduces bill to make it a crime — Assemblyman Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) has introduced a bill to create the crime of ‘rape by fraud’ (Assembly Democrats' website) — TRENTON — Imagine this: A man woos a woman to bed with tales of his riches, fast cars and a vacation home in Monaco.

Discussion: Hot Air and Raw Story