memeorandum: Cruz center of Senate meltdown (Alexander Bolton/The Hill)

7:15 PM ET, December 13, 2014

Top Items:

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Cruz center of Senate meltdown — Sen. Ted Cruz, the firebrand conservative freshman from Texas, has blown up the Senate leadership's plans to have a peaceful weekend by forcing round-the-clock votes on President Obama's nominees and the $1.1 trillion omnibus.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, msnbc.com, Vox, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Moderate Voice and PoliticusUSA

Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo:

Other Senators Fume Over Cruz's Push For Vote On Obama Immigration Action — Other members of the Senate fumed Saturday over objections by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT) that held up a $1.1 trillion omnibus bill meant to keep the government open.

Discussion: Politico and Daily Kos

Associated Press:

Senate Averts Shutdown Fears; Fights Over Nominees — Their power ebbing, Senate Democrats launched a last-minute drive Saturday to confirm roughly 20 of President Barack Obama's nominees, and several Republicans blamed tea party-backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for creating an opening for the outgoing majority party to exploit.

Discussion: Politico

Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call:

Reid Announces Weekend Votes After Blockade (Updated) — Conservatives late Friday stalled action on the Senate floor as leaders scrambled to wrap up the 113th Congress. — Senators will reconvene at noon Saturday for a series of up to 40 roll call votes after conservatives sought …

Discussion: The World's Greatest … and Booman Tribune

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Warren makes her mark

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Taylor Marsh, PoliticusUSA and Bloomberg

Tara Palmeri / New York Post:

Cops tell de Blasio: Stay away from our funerals — Not over their dead bodies. — Cops are warning Mayor de Blasio and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to stay away from their funerals should they be killed in the line of duty. — The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association distributed …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Liberty Unyielding, New York Magazine and CBS New York

Brendan O'Connor / Gawker:

NY Police Union Doesn't Want De Blasio At Cop Funerals — New York City's largest police union, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (PBA) is encouraging its members to sign a form letter asking Mayor Bill De Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito not to attend their funerals if they are killed while on active duty.

Discussion: FOX News Radio, Mediaite and Mike the Mad Biologist

New York Times:
Poll Finds Unease in New York After Garner Case; Challenge for de Blasio

Discussion: Capital New York, Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon

Danielle Avitable / WJTV:

Pastor Dresses Horse in Wedding Dress to Protest Same-Sex Marriage — It's not something you see every day, a horse in a wedding dress standing outside the federal courthouse. — “I thought it was laughable and I believe he was going for a ridiculous protest and he certainly got one,” says Eddie Outlaw, LGBT advocate.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Clarion-Ledger, Advocate, Hinterland Gazette, Liberaland and Raw Story

Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:

G.O.P. Angst Over 2016 Led to Provision on Funding — The secret negotiations that led to one of the most significant expansions of campaign contributions in recent years began with what Republican leaders regarded as an urgent problem: How would they pay for their presidential nominating convention in Cleveland in two years?

Joanne Lipman / Wall Street Journal:

Women at Work: A Guide for Men — Even the most well-intentioned male managers can be clueless when dealing with women in the workplace — We are flooded with career-advice books for women. There are women's networking groups and leadership conferences galore.

Discussion: Dr. Helen and Vox Popoli

New York Times:

Another Baseless Attack on Health Law — The opponents of the Affordable Care Act have filed another long-shot lawsuit that could undermine health care reform and force many consumers to pay more for health insurance if the suit succeeds. — The Supreme Court has already agreed to hear a separate case …

Discussion: Liberal Values and Prairie Weather

Scott Shane / New York Times:

Amid Details on Torture, Data on 26 Who Were Held in Error — One quiet consequence of this week's sensational release of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the C.I.A. detention program was a telephone call that a human rights lawyer, Meg Satterthwaite, placed to a client in Yemen, Mohamed Bashmilah.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:

Early federal sentencing recommendation for McDonnell: At least 10 years in prison … The federal agency that will play a pivotal role in guiding the sentence of former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell has recommended that the onetime Republican rising star spend at least 10 years and a month in prison …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA