memeorandum: U.S. Joins Europe in Efforts to End Fighting in Ukraine (Michael R. Gordon/New York Times)

3:05 PM ET, February 5, 2015

Top Items:

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: Mediaite and Washington Free Beacon

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 …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, USA Today, CBS DC, National Review, Mediaite, TheBlaze.com, BREITBART.COM, The Daily Caller, The Huffington Post, FishbowlDC, Mashable, TVNewser, Hit & Run, Hot Air, NPR and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

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, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and FOX31 Denver

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Brian Williams admits that his story of coming under fire while in Iraq was false — Brian Williams, the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, has apologized for telling a story about coming under fire during a reporting assignment in Iraq in 2003.

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

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: Hot Air, Mediaite, CNNMoney and Talking Points Memo

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
The Brian Williams scandal is an NBC News-wide scandal

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Newsmax and Hot Air

CNNMoney:
How Brian Williams' Iraq story changed

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Mr. Media Training, TPNN, Deadline, Breaking News Updates, The Daily Caller, Poynter and Balloon Juice

NY Daily News: Brian Williams delivers blow to journalists by lying

Travis J. Tritten / Stars & Stripes:
NBC's Brian Williams recants Iraq story after soldiers protest

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
Do Brian Williams's Lies Matter? [Updated]

Discussion: Althouse

Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:
Brian Williams Lies to Cast Himself As an Iraq War Badass

Discussion: Betsy's Page, National Review, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

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: Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, Patterico's Pontifications, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Slate, ThinkProgress and Chicago Tribune

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

USA Today:

More C.A.R.E., less Obama: Column — GOP proposal scraps taxes, opens choice, retains continuous coverage. — It has been five years since the Affordable Care Act became law, crystallizing partisan division in our national health care debate. The law made fundamental changes to how health care …

Discussion: Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality and Lawyers, Guns & Money

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

Discussion: Feministing

A.B. Stoddard / The Hill:
Hard to kill the ACA

Discussion: Hot Air, Prairie Weather and Washington Post

Jason Millman / Washington Post:
Here's how the GOP would repeal and replace Obamacare

Discussion: Washington Center …

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: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Raw Story, FreakOutNation and Roll Call

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Aaron Schock Adviser Made More Racially-Charged Comments On Facebook, Wanted White House Mosque For Obama

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

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 Daily Caller, JustOneMinute, The PJ Tatler and Political Wire

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

Discussion: American Spectator and Althouse

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, Horizons, New Haven Register, Fox News and Washington Post

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: Bloomberg Business and FishbowlDC

Washington Post:

For Rand Paul, a rude awakening to the rigors of a national campaign — Rand Paul's plan to get himself elected president relies on two long-shot bets coming true. — So far, neither one seems to be going well. — Paul's first wager is that his “libertarian-ish” ideas will manage …

Discussion: Political Wire, Mediaite, USA Today, Mr. Media Training and Raw Story

Katie Glueck / Politico:
How Rand Paul trolls his rivals

Discussion: Washington Post and New York Times

Michael Grunwald / Politico:

The College Loan Bombshell Hidden in the Budget — Obama's new repayment program comes with a record $22 billion shortfall. — In obscure data tables buried deep in its 2016 budget proposal, the Obama administration revealed this week that its student loan program had a $21.8 billion shortfall last year …

Discussion: Hit & Run and Hot Air

Speaker.gov:

Pope Francis to Address a Joint Meeting of Congress — WASHINGTON, DC - House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) today made the following announcement: … NOTE: Details regarding media credentialing and logistics for the joint meeting will be released at a later date.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Guardian, US News, Religion News Service, Mashable, NPR and National Review

Oregonian:

John Kitzhaber must resign: Editorial — The Oregonian Editorial Board By The Oregonian Editorial Board — “I'm not going to consider resigning,” said Gov. John Kitzhaber at a disastrous press conference held Friday following revelations about the apparently borderless world of public policy …

Discussion: KGW-TV, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Fox News, OnPolitics, Breaking News Updates, The Daily Caller, Power Line, National Review and Weekly Standard

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 and Raw Story