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5:25 PM ET, February 5, 2015

Top Items:

The Brian Williams scandal is an NBC News-wide scandal — The Brian Williams scandal has burst onto the public square through a feat of Internet accountability. After NBC Nightly News last week posted to Facebook a clip of the anchor reminiscing about having embedded with the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 …

Discussion: BizPac Review, Hot Air, National Review, Newsmax, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, New York Times, Patterico's Pontifications and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Dan Rather backs Brian Williams — Brian Williams is “an honest, decent man, an excellent reporter and anchor—and a brave one,” veteran newsman Dan Rather told POLITICO on Thursday. — Rather's note of support comes after the revelation that Williams falsely claimed to have been aboard …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, TVNewser, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, American Power, The Daily Beast, Washington Free Beacon, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Townhall.com, Raw Story and Business Insider

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Controversy grows over Brian Williams' Iraq apology — If NBC and Brian Williams believed a Facebook post and an on-air apology were enough, they were wrong. — In the hours after Williams recanted a long-told story Wednesday about an RPG attack in Iraq, rank and file employees …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, TVNewser, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, FOX31 Denver, Poynter and Hot Air

David Zurawik / Baltimore Sun:

Can NBC News now have any credibility with Brian Williams as its face? — If credibility means anything to NBC News, Brian Williams will no longer be managing editor and anchor of the evening newscast by the end of the day Friday. — The admission from Williams Wednesday that he lied …

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Brian Williams admits that his story of coming under fire while in Iraq was false

Discussion: MichelleMalkin.com, The Huffington Post, The Powers That Be, NBC News and Hollywood Reporter

Travis J. Tritten / Stars & Stripes:
Brian Williams' apology leaves out key details of Iraq incident

Discussion: Fox News and Washington Free Beacon

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Brian Williams Told Alec Baldwin He Thought He Was Going To Die During Helicopter Attack That Never Happened [AUDIO]

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Slate, USA Today, Mediaite, Fox News, American Spectator, Hot Air, Daily Mail, Bloomberg Business, TheBlaze.com, Scared Monkeys and National Review

CNNMoney:
How Brian Williams' Iraq story changed

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mr. Media Training, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Caller, Breaking News Updates, TPNN, Poynter, BREITBART.COM, The Gateway Pundit, Balloon Juice and Deadline, more at Mediagazer »

Linda Greenhouse / New York Times:

Overturning Obamacare Would Change the Nature of the Supreme Court — In the first Affordable Care Act case three years ago, the Supreme Court had to decide whether Congress had the power, under the Commerce Clause or some other source of authority, to require individuals to buy health insurance.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Monthly, The Hill, The Moderate Voice, Patterico's Pontifications, Daily Kos, Prairie Weather, Slate and ThinkProgress

Robert Pear / New York Times:

G.O.P. Lawmakers Propose Alternative to Obamacare — WASHINGTON — Three influential Republican members of Congress unveiled a comprehensive proposal on Wednesday to replace President Obama's health care overhaul with an alternative that would halt the expansion of Medicaid and scale …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Associated Press, ThinkProgress, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, BillMoyers.com and Shakesville

USA Today:
More C.A.R.E., less Obama: Column

Discussion: Washington Post, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality, Washington Center … and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Leader Of Group Funding Supreme Court Case Against Obamacare Compares Health Reform To The Holocaust

Discussion: Feministing

Kevin C. Walsh / Mirror of Justice:
Jurisdiction stuffing as a means of combatting judicial supremacy

Discussion: National Review

Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:

In Facebook Posts, Congressman Aaron Schock's Press Secretary Compared African Americans To Zoo Animals — In a series of Facebook posts obtained by ThinkProgress, the senior adviser for policy and communications to Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) posted racial comments and endorsed gentrification of his neighborhood.

Discussion: Gawker, Washington Post, Political Wire, Mediaite, New York Magazine, FreakOutNation, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Roll Call

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Aaron Schock Adviser Resigns Over Racially-Charged Comments On Facebook, Wanted White House Mosque For Obama — “The fact remains that White people who live in my building are routinely harassed by Black miscreants who blockade the sidewalks and entryways in front of and behind my building …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, FreakOutNation, Little Green Footballs, Mediaite and Gawker

Journal Star:

Rep. Aaron Schock's spokesman Ben Cole resigns after racially charged Facebook posts — PEORIA — A top aide to U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock has resigned today, following reports that he made racially charged comments on his personal Facebook page. — Benjamin Cole has served …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine and Towleroad News #gay

Paul Waldman / American Prospect:

Why Rand Paul's Past Is Going to Catch Up With Him — We're now in a particularly creative period for the political press, when the 2016 presidential campaign is definitely getting going, but journalists aren't yet required to spend long stretches of their lives following candidates …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post, The Daily Banter and Talking Points Memo

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic Online:

Is America at War With Radical Islam? — If there's one thing top Republicans know, it's that America can't defeat terrorism unless we call it by its real name. “We are in a religious war with radical Islamists,” Lindsey Graham recently told Fox News. “When I hear the President …

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Say It! Say It! — Peter Beinart addresses an issue that's …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

David Sirota / International Business Times:

Chris Christie Administration Is Target Of New Federal Criminal Probe — Federal law enforcement officials have launched a criminal investigation of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and members of his administration, pursuing allegations the governor and his staff broke the law …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, US News, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice and New Jersey News …

TIME:

Howard Schultz Has a Radical Plan for Starbucks—And America — The outspoken Starbucks CEO tells TIME about his plans to transform his business — Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has big plans for the future of his coffee empire. In a new cover story, the 61-year-old executive gives TIME's Rana Foroohar …

Discussion: FishbowlDC and Bloomberg Business

Rana Foroohar / TIME:
Starbucks For America — Howard Schultz is transforming his company.

Discussion: OnPolitics and Political Wire

Foreign Policy:

The Best International Relations Schools in the World — U.S. scholars rank the top 25 IR programs for undergraduates, master's, and Ph.D.s. — The road to Washington is paved with elite educations. Indeed, for young people hoping to secure jobs in Foggy Bottom, on Pennsylvania Avenue …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, The Daily Caller, JustOneMinute and Political Wire

Al Kamen / Washington Post:
Scholars rank Kerry dead last in terms of effectiveness.

Discussion: American Spectator and Althouse

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

Israeli officials fail to quell Democratic revolt — Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein rushed to meetings on Capitol Hill on Wednesday trying to calm a furor created by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned speech to Congress next month and quell …

Discussion: Bloomberg Politics, Mediaite, PoliticusUSA, Yahoo! News, Shark Tank, US News and Patterico's Pontifications

The State:

Shooting reported at University of South Carolina's new school of public health — COLUMBIA, SC — Shots have been fired at the University of South Carolina's new school of public health, according to a tweet by Carolina Alert. — People are asked to seek a safe shelter and obey all officials, the tweet said.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Shakesville and Raw Story

Politico:

House and Senate Republicans clash on immigration — There's a basic disagreement on what is possible and what is not. — Getty — House and Senate Republicans have spent years training their ire on Sen. Harry Reid and President Barack Obama. — But now they're clashing with each other.

Discussion: Daily Kos and The PJ Tatler

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Republican floats compromise on immigration

Discussion: The Daily Beast, New Haven Register, Fox News, Horizons and Washington Post

Mike Allen / Politico:

Mitt handler: David Axelrod is lying — Romney's former personal aide hotly disputes account of 2012 concession call in Obama adviser's memoir. — Garrett Jackson, Mitt Romney's body man throughout the 2012 campaign, tells POLITICO that he believes David Axelrod “concocted” …

Discussion: The Daily Banter, Daily Kos, Salon, The PJ Tatler, FishbowlDC and Hot Air