memeorandum: Rail Crossing Accidents Decline Nationwide, but Less So in New York Region (New York Times)

3:50 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: The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Washington Free Beacon

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: Stars & Stripes, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, FOX31 Denver and Hot Air

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

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: Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Newsmax, Mediaite and Patterico's Pontifications

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 …

Travis J. Tritten / Stars & Stripes:

NBC's Brian Williams recants Iraq story after soldiers protest — 'I spent much of the weekend thinking I'd gone crazy. I feel terrible about making this mistake' — Stars and Stripes — WASHINGTON — NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams admitted Wednesday he was not aboard …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Atlantic Online, USA Today, Talking Points Memo, BREITBART.COM, Slate, Salon, Hot Air, American Spectator, Hit & Run, TheBlaze.com, The Daily Beast, TVNewser, Mediaite, U-T San Diego stories, Bloomberg Business, Fox News Insider, Yahoo! News, Deadline, National Review, Daily Mail, The Huffington Post, Fox News, JustOneMinute, Poynter, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Banter, The Federalist, BillMoyers.com, NPR, TPNN, Taylor Marsh, Mashable, Scared Monkeys, Washington Monthly, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Twitchy, Breaking News Updates, Gawker, Mr. Media Training, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Townhall.com, Ed Driscoll, New York Magazine, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, RedState, Hinterland Gazette, Raw Story, Business Insider, The Big Lead, Weekly Standard and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

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

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: Mediaite, Hot Air, National Review, CNNMoney, Talking Points Memo and Business Insider

CNNMoney:
How Brian Williams' Iraq story changed

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

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

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, The Hill, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, Patterico's Pontifications, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, 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: Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, Hit & Run, 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

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

Discussion: Washington Center …

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

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Aaron Schock Adviser Made More 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: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Little Green Footballs and Mediaite

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: Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

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, The PJ Tatler, JustOneMinute and Political Wire

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

Discussion: American Spectator and Althouse

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

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, Horizons, 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

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, National Review and NPR

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

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Massachusetts, Maryland Most Democratic States — Story Highlights — This story is part of Gallup's annual “State of the States” series, which reveals state-by-state differences on political, economic, religion and well-being measures. — PRINCETON, N.J. — Massachusetts and Maryland rank …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Washington Post

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: Mediaite, PoliticusUSA, Shark Tank and Patterico's Pontifications

CNN:

Source: ISIS video may show woman linked to kosher grocery attack — Hostage situation at Paris grocery 18 photos — A police officer closes the bullet ridden door next to a body lying in a kosher grocery store in the Paris neighborhood of Porte de Vincennes on Friday, January 9.

Discussion: Mashable and Daily Mail

Wall Street Journal:

Net Neutrality: How White House Thwarted FCC Chief — After Secret Meetings, Obama Pushed for Tougher Stance on ‘Net Neutrality’ — WASHINGTON—In November, the White House's top economic adviser dropped by the Federal Communications Commission with a heads-up for the agency's chairman, Tom Wheeler.