memeorandum: Romney and Jeb Bush to Meet in Utah (Jonathan Martin/New York Times)

2:50 PM ET, January 22, 2015

Top Items:

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:

Why Everyone Should Be Terrified By The GOP's Abortion Bill Debacle — Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court legalizing abortion on demand throughout pregnancy. The pro-life movement commemorates this day with marches, worship services and lobbying for bills to protect unborn children.

Discussion: Bloomberg Politics, Washington Post, Bloomberg, The Other McCain, Daily Kos, National Organization …, National Review, Mediaite, Booman Tribune, LifeNews.com, The Daily Caller and Jezebel

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:

Abortion bill dropped amid concerns of female GOP lawmakers — This item has been updated. — House Republican leaders abruptly dropped plans late Wednesday to vote on an anti-abortion bill amid a revolt by female GOP lawmakers concerned that the legislation's restrictive language …

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

Return of “Legitimate Rape” — Conservative antichoicers really, really just cannot help themselves. Many seem haunted by the idea that women are going to claim they were raped in order to get around the prospective abortion bans they dream of enacting. Others oppose any rape exception …

Discussion: Raw Story, Democratic Strategist and Right Wing Watch

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:

Men dominate GOP floor speeches on abortion bill — Sixteen House Republicans delivered impassion floor speeches Wednesday evening promoting a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy - a number that included only one woman. — GOP leadership originally scheduled the vote to coincide …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Jezebel and Daily Kos

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:

Republicans Include Tax Hike In Latest Abortion Bill — WASHINGTON — After a botched effort to pass legislation imposing a 20-week ban on abortions, House Republicans are moving forward Thursday with what's being dubbed a less controversial bill that codifies a ban on federal funding for abortions.

Discussion: PoliticusUSA and Daily Kos

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Renee Ellmers Says She Won't Flip-Flop on Bill Protecting Viable Infants from Late-Term Abortion

Discussion: Bloomberg Politics, RedState, The Daily Caller, Patterico's Pontifications, Daily Signal, Talking Points Memo and LifeNews.com

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Republicans pulled a classic bait-and-switch with abortion bill

Discussion: The Federalist

Daniel Doherty / Townhall.com:
Surprise: White House Unlikely to Sign Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act Into Law

Discussion: Washington Post and Shot in the Dark

National Journal:
GOP Leaders Pull Abortion Bill After Revolt by Women, Moderates

Discussion: Washington Post, Right Wing Watch, Addicting Info, PoliticusUSA, Daily Kos, Political Insider blog, New York Magazine and Fox News

Josh Rogin / Bloomberg View:

Israeli Mossad Goes Rogue, Warns U.S. on Iran Sanctions — The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has broken ranks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling U.S. officials and lawmakers that a new Iran sanctions bill in the U.S. Congress would tank the Iran nuclear negotiations.

Julie Pace / Associated Press:

OBAMA WILL NOT MEET WITH NETANYAHU DURING TRIP TO WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he travels to Washington in March, the White House said Thursday, one day after being caught off-guard by Republicans' invitation …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Hot Air, American Spectator, FOX News Radio, Bloomberg View and BuzzFeed

Barak Ravid / Haaretz:
Mossad chief denies opposing new sanctions on Iran

Discussion: Washington Post

Carl / Israel Matzav:
Breaking: Full statement from Mossad head on Iran

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Weekly Standard

Susan Davis / USA Today:
Boehner snubs WH, invites Netanyahu to address Congress

Discussion: Washington Post, FOX News Radio, US News, National Review, Speaker.gov, Associated Press and Patterico's Pontifications

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Romney and Jeb Bush to Meet in Utah — WASHINGTON — Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney are scheduled to meet privately this week in Utah, raising the possibility that the two former governors will find a way to avoid competing presidential campaigns that would split the Republican establishment next year …

Gary Langer / ABC News:

History's a Positive for Clinton; Not So for Bush or Romney — Hillary Clinton's potential place in history and her husband's tenure in the White House boost her presidential prospects, while Jeb Bush's political legacy and Mitt Romney's 2012 run for the office are negatives, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds.

Discussion: TalkLeft, No More Mister Nice Blog and FOX News Radio

McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:

Here's The “Willie Horton” Ad Romney Almost Ran Against Mike Huckabee — “This is my daughter... she was murdered by a serial rapist released early from prison in Arkansas. Will we see a version of this unaired ad — obtained by BuzzFeed News — in 2016? — View Video ›

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Raw Story

Steve Holland / Reuters:
Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush to meet privately in Utah on Thursday

Discussion: Washington Monthly and FOX News Radio

New York Times:

Sheldon Silver, New York Assembly Speaker, Took Millions in Graft, U.S. Says — The speaker of the New York State Assembly, Sheldon Silver, was arrested on federal corruption charges on Thursday and accused of using the power of his office for more than a decade to secure millions of dollars …

Discussion: Politico, New York Post, Gothamist, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, The PJ Tatler, New York Magazine, Washington Free Beacon and Althouse

New York Times:

Sheldon Silver, New York Assembly Speaker, Faces Arrest on Corruption Charges — Federal authorities are expected to arrest Sheldon Silver, the powerful speaker of the New York State Assembly, on corruption charges on Thursday, people with knowledge of the matter said, in a case that is likely to throw Albany into disarray.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, New York Magazine, New York Post, Hot Air, The Dish, Gawker, The Daily Caller, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Fox News, Moe Lane, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Political Wire

John Marzulli / NY Daily News:
NY Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver accused of $6 million bribery and kickback scheme, taken into custody

Discussion: Moe Lane

New York Times:

Measles Cases Linked to Disneyland Rise, and Debate Over Vaccinations Intensifies — LOS ANGELES — A measles outbreak that began at Disneyland is spreading across California and beyond, prompting health officials to move aggressively to contain it — including by barring unvaccinated students from going to school in Orange County.

Discussion: Washington Post, NPR, The Verge and Eschaton

Josh Kraushaar / National Journal:
Democrats Always Talk About Latino Voters, So Why Are They Snubbing Their Most Prominent Latino Leader?

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Power Line

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

Clinton plans to astound, intimidate with fundraising 'like nothing you've seen' — Major donors are ready to announce huge financial commitments to Hillary Clinton as soon as she announces a second run for the White House, according to Clinton allies and Democratic fundraisers.

Discussion: Politico, Weekly Standard and Washington Examiner

Karoli / Latest from Crooks and Liars:

Joni Ernst's Family Got Hundreds Of Thousands In Farm Subsidies — I put Joni's SOTU response up there so you can listen to her little anecdote at the beginning again, but this time with a little more transparency and truth around her “bread bag” story. — Please be still, my beating heart …

Discussion: Addicting Info, Raw Story, Liberaland and FreakOutNation

Peter Bernard / WFLA-TV:

2-year-old child dead in Pinellas after accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound — Kaleb Ahles' grandparents sobbed as Pinellas detectives investigated the 2-and-a-half-year-old's death. — Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the boy's father, Kevin Ahles, put his son in the family car.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, FreakOutNation and Raw Story

Elana Schor / Politico:

US Senate votes that climate change is real but Republicans stop short of attributing that to human activity — Republicans outfox Democrats on climate votes — The GOP accepts the notion of climate change - but not the way Democrats wanted them to. — Senate Republicans head-faked Democrats …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Vox, Political Insider blog, Betsy's Page, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, FOX31 Denver and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Laura Barron-Lopez / The Hill:
Senate votes that climate change is real

Discussion: Politico

Jon Ward / Yahoo! News:

Orrin Hatch is the happiest senator in Washington — Yahoo News 2 hrs ago — WASHINGTON — It's good being the president pro tempore of the Senate. — Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has been in the Senate for 37 years, and he's seen it all. But for the first time in his career, he has a security detail.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

The CIA's Most Important Overseer Is Abetting Its Torture Coverup — Senator Richard Burr now leads the Senate committee charged with keeping tabs on the spy agency. But he's behaving more like a CIA asset. — Senator Richard Burr is acting like a man who doesn't understand the role or duties that he now has.

Discussion: VICE News, Prairie Weather, Politico, Daily Kos and Raw Story