memeorandum: With latest Obamacare repeal vote, GOP sets ‘record’ for futility (Dana Milbank/Washington Post)

2:50 PM ET, February 4, 2015

Top Items:

Tom Wheeler / Wired:

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler: This Is How We Will Ensure Net Neutrality — Federal Communication Commission(FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler waits for a hearing at the FCC December 11, 2014 in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images — After more than a decade of debate …

Nicky Woolf / Guardian:

Fox News website embeds unedited Isis video showing brutal murder of Jordanian pilot — Fox News is only US media company to display extremely graphic 22-minute video showing Muadh al-Kasasbeh being set on fire and burning to death in a cage — Fox News has chosen to embed on its website …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Caller, CNN, The Huffington Post and TVNewser, more at Mediagazer »

Fox News:

Jordan hangs 2 Al Qaeda prisoners after ISIS video shows Jordanian pilot burned alive — Jordan executed two Al Qaeda prisoners early Wednesday in response to a graphic video released by the ISIS terror group that showed a captured Jordanian pilot being burned alive in a cage.

Discussion: American Spectator, Hot Air, Shark Tank, National Review and Fox News Insider

Helene Cooper / New York Times:
United Arab Emirates, Key U.S. Ally in ISIS Effort, Disengaged in December

Discussion: Firedoglake, Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Business Insider, The Moderate Voice and Moe Lane

Martin Chulov / Guardian:
Isis video shows Jordanian hostage being burned to death

Discussion: The Intercept, Raw Story and The Huffington Post

Suleiman Al-Khalidi / Reuters:
Islamic State shows burning of hostage, Jordan vows ‘earth-shaking’ response

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and The Last Refuge

Politico:

A Bibi boycott? — Joe Biden is among those not committed to attending the Israeli prime minister's address to Congress. — Getty — Vice President Joe Biden won't commit to attending Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint meeting of Congress next month. — He's not the only one.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, RedState, PoliticusUSA, Weekly Standard, Political Wire, FOX News Radio, Right Wing Watch and Consortiumnews.com

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

A Bad Mistake — The decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and House Speaker John Boehner to cook up an address to Congress by Netanyahu on why the U.S. should get tougher on Iran is churlish, reckless and, for the future of Israeli-American relations, quite dangerous.

Discussion: Hot Air

Politico:

Israeli ambassador meets with Jewish Democrats on Hill — The ‘spirited’ meeting came as Ron Dermer sought to do damage control over the Netanyahu speech. — Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer shuttled to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with seven Jewish Democrats, trying to do damage control …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Washington Post

Annie Karni / NY Daily News:

Obama shocked, ‘slightly irritated’ by Mitt Romney's 2012 concession call: David Axelrod — The president claimed his GOP opponent insinuated that Obama won only by getting out the black vote, according to a new book by the presidential campaign strategist.

Discussion: Business Insider, Politico, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, New York Magazine and Bloomberg Business

Andrew Sullivan / The Dish:

A Note To My Readers, Ctd — It's been a highly emotional and tough week for the Dish team, especially given the outpouring of love from the in-tray. We're so grateful and not a little moved by your insistence that the Dish somehow go on, post-Sully. — But the truth is …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

After ISIS execution, angry King Abdullah quotes Clint Eastwood to U.S. lawmakers — Members of the House Armed Services Committee met with Jordan's King Abdullah Tuesday not long after news broke that ISIS had burned to death a Jordanian pilot captured in the fight against the terrorist group.

Discussion: Townhall.com, New York Times and Daily Mail

Mike Lillis / The Hill:

GOP on immigration: ‘There is no plan B’ — House conservatives are doubling down in their efforts to undo President Obama's lenient new deportation policies as part of a bill funding the Homeland Security Department. — The Republicans, including Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) …

Discussion: Politico, Prairie Weather and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Timothy Cama / The Hill:
House vote on Keystone approval set next week

Discussion: BarbWire.com

The Hill:
House votes to repeal ObamaCare

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Real Clear Politics and National Review

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

Utah Lawmaker Questions Whether Sex With An Unconscious Person Should Always Be Considered Rape — A bill in the Utah legislature would clarify the state's rape statute by making clear that a person who is unconscious cannot give their consent. According to local prosecutors and advocates …

Discussion: Good4Utah

fox13now.com:
Utah lawmakers question if sex with an unconscious person is rape

Discussion: New York Times, Right Wing Watch, Standard-Examiner, Raw Story, Salt Lake Tribune, RH Reality Check and Althouse

Fox News:

At least 23 dead after plane crashes into Taiwan river — At least 23 people were killed Wednesday after a Taiwanese flight with 58 people on board turned onto its side shortly after takeoff, clipped a bridge and crashed into a river in the island's capital of Taipei.

Discussion: New York Times, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Fox News Insider

BBC:
Taiwan TransAsia plane crashes into river

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / New York Times:

Dan Pfeiffer, Longtime Obama Aide, Plans to Step Down — WASHINGTON — Dan Pfeiffer, President Obama's senior adviser and one of his longest-serving aides, has told Mr. Obama he intends to leave the White House as soon as the end of this month, according to people familiar with his plans.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

GOP Congressman: Obama “Getting Close” To Impeachment — “People say, ‘should the president be impeached?’ I say, we're getting close to that.” — youtube.com — Republican Rep. Tom Marino of Pennsylvania says President Obama is “getting close” to impeachment. — “People say, ‘should the president be impeached?’

Kayla Ruble / VICE News:

Joe Biden Visits VICE Media's Brooklyn Headquarters — Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Brooklyn on Wednesday morning to visit the global headquarters of VICE Media, where he met with hundreds of the company's staff members and sat down for an interview with CEO and co-founder Shane Smith.

Discussion: Politico, Gawker and FishbowlDC

Jordan Chariton / The Wrap:

Inside MSNBC's Impending Shakeup: Cancellations, Reboots and Chief Phil Griffin — Amid the cable news network's declining ratings, insiders tell TheWrap changes are coming soon and “everything is on the table” — When President Obama was reelected in 2012, MSNBC was “leaning forward” …

Discussion: “The Lid” and The Daily Caller

NY Daily News:

Islamic extremist terrorism: The scourge that Obama dare not name — There's nothing more childish than living in a fantasyland — There's a famous painting of a pipe, by Belgian artist Rene Magritte. Under the pipe it says in French, “Ceci n'est pas une pipe” — “This is not a pipe.”

Scott Shane / New York Times:

Moussaoui Calls Saudi Princes Patrons of Al Qaeda — WASHINGTON — In highly unusual testimony inside the federal supermax prison, a former operative for Al Qaeda has described prominent members of Saudi Arabia's royal family as major donors to the terrorist network in the late 1990s and claimed …

Discussion: CNN, Yahoo! News, New York Magazine and The Stranger …

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:

IRS offers extra tax refunds to illegal immigrants granted amnesty by Obama … IRS Commissioner John Koskinen confirmed Tuesday that illegal immigrants granted amnesty from deportation under President Obama's new policies would be able to get extra refunds from the IRS for money they earned …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and BizPac Review

Politico:

Walker targets Romney donors, Jeb turf — But several big donors aren't ready to commit just yet. — Scott Walker is moving to seize on Mitt Romney's withdrawal from the presidential race and show he can compete with Jeb Bush as a top-tier candidate. Sources tell POLITICO …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Richard Leiby / Washington Post:

Ferguson, Mo., police begin testing new ‘less-lethal’ attachment for guns — About a month after a white officer fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., the city's assistant police chief, Al Eickhoff, took to Google and searched under the words “less lethal.”

Discussion: BarbWire.com and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:

GOP stalls in effort to oust Reid — Senate Republicans are unlikely to land their most formidable recruit to take down Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). — With Gov. Brian Sandoval delaying any decision until summer, his indecision is costing Republicans precious time in their quest …

Ruth Gledhill / Christian News on Christian Today:

Influential Church of England evangelical comes out as gay — One of the Church of England's most influential evangelicals has come out as gay. — Jayne Ozanne, 46, was a founder member of the Archbishops' Council, the Cabinet-style body at the heart of the established church's governance.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Religion News Service

Michael Allen / OpposingViews.com:

Cop Accused Of Beating Wife While She Was Driving, Causing Crash — Jonathan Osborne, a police officer in Louisville, Kentucky, was recently arrested in Clark County, Indiana, for allegedly punching his wife while she was driving their car on Sunday night. — “It was an incident that occurred …

Discussion: FOX News Radio