memeorandum: Wasilla enacts strict new marijuana rules as legalization dawns (Anchorage Daily News)

4:30 PM ET, February 24, 2015

Top Items:

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

GOP gets bad news on ObamaCare repeal plan — The Senate's chief referee has dealt a significant setback to conservatives who want to send an ObamaCare repeal bill to the president's desk this year. — GOP sources say Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has raised red flags …

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg View, Daily Kos and Politico

Gallup:

Story Highlights — Medicaid expansion, state exchanges linked to greater reductions — No state reported a statistically significant increase in uninsured — Nationwide, full-year uninsured rate drops 3.5 points from 2013 to 2014 — This story is part of Gallup's annual …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Washington Post and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Laura Barron-Lopez / The Hill:

Obama will quickly veto Keystone bill — President Obama is poised to reject GOP-backed legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline with a swift veto designed to minimize any distraction from a looming shutdown within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Discussion: ABC News, Forbes, Daily Kos and PoliticusUSA

Steven Dennis / The World's Greatest Deliberative Body:
McConnell Throws in Towel on DHS Fight, but Reid Is Waiting for Boehner to Cave (Updated)

Discussion: RedState, Political Wire and Roll Call

Sarah Kliff / Vox:
If SCOTUS kills Obamacare subsidies, Republicans don't have an exit strategy

Discussion: US News and Washington Monthly

Associated Press:
Boehner, McConnell: Pipeline veto purely political

Discussion: US News, Common Dreams, The Hill, PoliticusUSA, The Atlantic Online, Politico, Washington Post and Fox News

ABC News:

Trayvon Martin: DOJ Set to Announce No Charges Against George Zimmerman … While the public waits for a Justice Department announcement over two separate investigations spurred by the summer shooting of an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, the department is going to first announce its findings in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

Discussion: abc30.com, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Hinterland Gazette, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Colorlines

U.S. Department of Justice:

Federal Officials Close Investigation Into Death of Trayvon Martin — The Justice Department announced today that the independent federal investigation found insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman for the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida.

Discussion: New York Times, Common Dreams, TalkLeft and Mashable

Spencer Ackerman / Guardian:

The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden ‘black site’ — The Chicago police department operates an off-the-books interrogation compound, rendering Americans unable to be found by family or attorneys while locked inside what lawyers say is the domestic equivalent of a CIA black site.

Discussion: Business Insider, The Intercept, Common Dreams, msnbc.com, Mediaite, The Verge, Booman Tribune, Shakesville and Hit & Run

New York Times:

Bill O'Reilly and Fox News Redouble Defense of His Falklands Reporting — The Fox News host Bill O'Reilly on Monday stepped up his defense against reports that he embellished stories about his war reporting earlier in his career, while some former colleagues continued to say he had exaggerated his experiences.

Mother Jones:
CBS Has Released The Falklands Protest Footage Bill O'Reilly Asked For. It Doesn't Support His Claims.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, FishbowlDC, PoliticusUSA, CNNMoney, Washington Post, Hullabaloo, The Huffington Post, Hot Air, Commentary Magazine, Daily Kos, NPR, Guardian, TVNewser and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Bill O'Reilly threatens N.Y. Times reporter

Discussion: Poynter, PoliticusUSA, Mediaite and New York Magazine

New York Post:

Eric Garner's daughter on Al Sharpton: 'He's all about the money' — Al Sharpton (left) and Erica Snipes. — Al Sharpton is all about the Benjamins, a daughter of police chokehold victim Eric Garner claims in a bombshell videotape. — Erica Snipes tees off on the reverend as interested primarily …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, CBS New York, TVNewser, BizPac Review, Mediaite, Pat Dollard, Hinterland Gazette, The Gateway Pundit, Twitchy and Truth Revolt

BuzzFeed:

Ron Paul: Black Caucus Only Against War Because They Want That Money For Food Stamps — “They are really against war because they want all of that money to go to food stamps for people here.” — w.soundcloud.com — Former Republican Rep. Ron Paul, the father of potential presidential candidate Rand Paul …

Discussion: Raw Story and FreakOutNation

Nick Gass / Politico:

Hugh Hewitt to moderate first GOP presidential debate — Radio talk-show host Hugh Hewitt will moderate the first Republican presidential debate as part of a partnership between Salem Media Group and CNN. The debate will take place Sept. 16 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Examiner and Washington Post

Evan D. Masyr / PR Newswire:
Salem Media Group & CNN Team Up for Republican Presidential Primary Debates

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air, Pat Dollard, Mediaite and National Review

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

Democratic FCC commissioner balks at net neutrality rules — A Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission wants to narrow the scope of new net neutrality rules that are set for a vote on Thursday, The Hill has learned. — Mignon Clyburn, one of three Democrats on the FCC …

Discussion: The Verge, The Daily Caller and RedState

David Wood / The Huffington Post:

VA Secretary Robert McDonald Falsely Claimed He Served In ‘Special Forces’ — WASHINGTON — Robert McDonald, the secretary of veterans affairs, wrongly claimed in a videotaped comment earlier this year that he served in the Army's elite special forces, when his military service of five years …

MilitaryTimes:
VA secretary sorry for false special forces claim

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Fox News Insider

Anchorage Daily News:

Wasilla enacts strict new marijuana rules as legalization dawns — WASILLA — On in the eve of marijuana legalization in Alaska, Wasilla's city council on Monday banned making pot brownies at home. — Fewer than three hours before recreational marijuana use became legal across the state …

Discussion: UPI, Washington Post, TalkLeft, PoliticusUSA, The Atlantic Online, Vox, Bloomberg Business, Hit & Run and New York Magazine

Steve Quinn / Reuters:
Alaska allows recreational marijuana as campaign spreads

Discussion: NPR, Associated Press and The Daily Caller

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:

Black conservatives seek to draft Condoleezza Rice for Senate race — The Black Conservatives Fund wants to draft former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for a Senate bid in 2016, as they argue she represents the GOP's best chance to win a Senate seat in deep-blue California.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Washington Post, FOX News Radio and Politico

Ryan Lucas / Associated Press:

IS militants abduct dozens of Christians in Syria — 2 photos — BEIRUT (AP) — Islamic State militants have abducted at least 70 Christians, including women and children, after overrunning a string of villages in northeastern Syria, activists and relatives said Tuesday.

Discussion: Assyrian International …, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and Defense One

Suleiman Al-Khalidi / Reuters:
Islamic State in Syria abducts at least 90 from Christian villages: monitor

Discussion: Telegraph, Fox News Insider, Fox News, Guardian, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, USA Today, Hot Air and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

David Weigel / Bloomberg Business:

Durbin: Selma Anniversary Should Give GOP Pause About Opposing Loretta Lynch — Race and a top nomination for the Obama cabinet. — The nomination of Loretta Lynch for attorney general has not moved through the Senate quite as quickly as Democrats had hoped.

Discussion: Political Wire and The Daily Caller

Carol Felsenthal / Politico:

The humbling of Rahm — All signs point to a second term for the Chicago mayor. But at what cost? — It ought to be a coronation, Rahm Emanuel must figure. But as he nears what might or might not be the end of his exhausting race for a second term as Chicago's mayor …

Discussion: Betsy's Page and Moe Lane

Sophia Tareen / Associated Press:
Chicago Deciding Mayor Emanuel's Re-Election Fate

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Walker breaks out in national GOP race — PPP's newest national Republican poll finds a clear leader in the race for the first time: Scott Walker is at 25% to 18% for Ben Carson, 17% for Jeb Bush, and 10% for Mike Huckabee. Rounding out the field of contenders are Chris Christie and Ted Cruz at 5% …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Carimah Townes / ThinkProgress:

Video Shows Cop Making Unprovoked Attack On Homeless Man — Cell phone video captured at a bus terminal in Ft. Lauderdale shows a police officer throwing a homeless man to the ground and slapping him for trespassing. However, the incident is not an isolated one.

Discussion: miamiherald, FreakOutNation and FOX News Radio

Numbers / Pew Research Center for the People …:

Growing Support for Campaign Against ISIS - and Possible Use of U.S. Ground Troops — Shifting Views on How Best to Defeat Global Terrorism — The public has grown more supportive of the U.S. fight against ISIS, as about twice as many approve (63%) as disapprove (30%) …

Discussion: Politico and Washington Free Beacon