memeorandum: In a Reversal, Argentine President Says Prosecutor's Death Was Not a Suicide (New York Times)

9:10 AM ET, January 23, 2015

Top Items:

King Abdullah, a Shrewd Force Who Reshaped Saudi Arabia, Dies at 90 — King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who came to the throne in old age and earned a reputation as a cautious reformer even as the Arab Spring revolts toppled heads of state and Islamic State militants threatened the Muslim establishment …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Guardian, The Intercept, NPR, Politico, The White House, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine and Business Insider

Associated Press:

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah dead at 90 — Saudi King Abdullah speaks before a meeting in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia on June 27, 2014. — RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi state TV says King Abdullah, the powerful U.S. ally who joined Washington's fight against al-Qaida and sought to modernize the ultraconservative Muslim kingdom has died.

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and FOX News Radio

Wall Street Journal:

Saudi King's Death Clouds Already Tense Relationship With U.S. — Decision-Making in Riyadh Could Become More Cautious, Collective — U.S. officials worry that the death of Saudi King Abdullah ushers in a period of new uncertainty in a key relationship that already was tense.

Discussion: New York Times, The Hugh Hewitt Show, “The Lid”, Fox News and NPR

Washington Post:
Saudi King Abdullah's death sets up complex succession process

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Business Insider, Gawker, The Daily Caller and The Huffington Post

Angus McDowall / Reuters:
Saudi King Abdullah dies, new ruler is Salman

Discussion: Business Insider and The PJ Tatler

Jonathan Karl / ABC News:

EXCLUSIVE: Marco Rubio Moves Toward 2016 Presidential Bid … Sen. Marco Rubio has begun taking concrete steps toward launching a presidential bid, asking his top advisors to prepare for a campaign, signing on a leading Republican fundraiser, and planning extensive travel to early-voting states in the coming weeks, ABC News has learned.

Discussion: Associated Press and Hot Air

Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
Three GOP Presidential Hopefuls to Appear on Panel Moderated by ABC's Jonathan Karl

Discussion: Washington Times, Hot Air and ABC News

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:

A Republic of Disrespect — America's partisan divisions spread to international relations. — It's odd in Washington now. There's a lot of claiming of authority and no taking of responsibility. — The president gave his State of the Union address, and of course the TV ratings were bad …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Julie Pace / ABC News:
Obama to Pass on Meeting Netanyahu During Washington Visit

Discussion: The Hill

Susan Heavey / Reuters:
U.S.'s Kerry, like Obama, will not meet with Israel's Netanyahu during visit

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:

Inside The GOP Meltdown On Abortion And Rape — Tens of thousands of Americans descended on Washington for the annual March For Life on Thursday only to see House Republicans melt down over their signature issue: abortion. — A symbolic messaging bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks …

Discussion: The Other McCain, neo-neocon, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, BuzzFeed and Washington Examiner

David Weigel / Bloomberg Politics:
Anti-Abortion Activists Rise Up Against House Republicans' ‘Pain-Capable’ Fumble

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Post, LifeNews.com, NPR, National Review, Bloomberg, Washington Times, RedState, Daily Kos, Religion News Service, Fusion, The Other McCain, Jezebel and Outside the Beltway

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

Discussion: The Federalist, Hot Air and Hullabaloo

Ron Fournier / National Journal:

Here's How Hillary Clinton Will Distance Herself From Barack Obama — She may have tipped her hand in a post-State of the Union tweet. — Anybody wondering how Hillary Clinton would distance herself from President Obama in 2016 needs only to parse her post-State of the Union tweet:

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Hot Air, US News, The Daily Caller and Washington Post

Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Clinton plans to astound, intimidate with fundraising 'like nothing you've seen'

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Politico, Fox News and Weekly Standard

New York Times:

After Arrest, New York Speaker Sheldon Silver Should Step Down — As astonishing as it was to see Sheldon Silver, the speaker of the New York Assembly, surrender to the F.B.I. on corruption charges this morning, it is even more incredible that he can choose to go on serving in his job …

Discussion: Gothamist

New York Times: After Sheldon Silver's Arrest, Predicting ‘Chaos’ in Albany Power Balance

Tom Steyer / The Huffington Post:

Tom Steyer … Like all Americans, I care passionately about the American Dream — both the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and also the opportunity for our country to fulfill its promise: to do what's right (whatever it takes) and lead the world.

Discussion: OnPolitics, Sacramento Bee, Washington Free Beacon, Politico, Wall Street Journal, Roll Call, Talking Points Memo, Lawyers, Guns & Money, American Power and New York Times

Russell Berman / The Atlantic Online:

Will Democrats Spoil Obama's Trade Initiatives? — There's at least one big piece of President Obama's agenda where Republicans aren't his problem—Democrats are. — For years, GOP leaders have practically begged the president to make an aggressive push for new trade deals …

Discussion: msnbc.com

Mario Draghi / ECB:

Introductory statement to the press conference (with Q&A) — Jump to the transcript of the questions and answers — Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice-President and I are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference. Let me wish you all a Happy New Year.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Business Insider, Bloomberg View, Washington Post, Calculated Risk and NPR

David Edwards / Raw Story:

GOP rep.: Keep minimum wage low ‘for minorities’ who aren't worth more than $7 an hour — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — California Republican Rep. Tom McClintock said on Thursday that the minimum wage should not be raised because low pay was necessary for minorities …

Discussion: Daily Kos, New York Times and Balloon Juice

Nicky Woolf / Guardian:

Barrett Brown sentenced to 63 months for ‘merely linking to hacked material’ — The journalist and former Anonymous member is also ordered to pay nearly $900,000 in what he calls a ‘dangerous precedent’ for indicting hacktivists — In a rebuke to a legion of online supporters …

Discussion: Ghosts of Tom Joad, The Other McCain, Boing Boing, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Gawker, Hit & Run and The Agonist, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

A Scorsese Documentary on Bill Clinton Is Stalled — Martin Scorsese has tackled the mob, the Dalai Lama and the real-life Wolf of Wall Street. — But Mr. Scorsese appears to have met his match in Bill Clinton. — The filmmaker's partly finished documentary about Mr. Clinton …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Washington Free Beacon

New York Times:

In a Reversal, Argentine President Says Prosecutor's Death Was Not a Suicide — BUENOS AIRES — Confronted with a deepening scandal, the president of Argentina abruptly reversed herself on Thursday, saying that the death of the lead prosecutor investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center …

Discussion: Power Line, The Dish, Business Insider, American Spectator, BuzzFeed and National Review

Nick Bryant / Gawker:

Flight Logs Put Clinton, Dershowitz on Pedophile Billionaire's Sex Jet — Bill Clinton took repeated trips on the “Lolita Express”—the private passenger jet owned by billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein—with an actress in softcore porn movies whose name appears in Epstein's address book under an entry for …

Discussion: iotwreport.com, Raw Story and CBS Philly

Politico:

Watchdog group: Gohmert improperly used campaign funds — A liberal watchdog group has filed an ethics complaint against Texas GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert alleging that he improperly used campaign funds to cover his expenses from a recent trip to London. — In a filing with the Office …

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
Ethics watchdog files complaint on Gohmert

Discussion: Mediaite and Truth Revolt

Laura Bassett / The Huffington Post:

House Passes Anti-Abortion Bill On Anniversary Of Roe v. Wade — On the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark abortion rights decision in Roe v. Wade, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 242-179 to pass a bill that would codify a ban on federal funding for abortions.

Discussion: Truth Revolt, Daily Kos and PoliticusUSA