memeorandum: John Catsimatidis is mystery man behind Daily News sale (Keith J. Kelly/New York Post)

7:05 PM ET, March 2, 2015

Top Items:

Stephanie Farr / Philly.com:

Painter says he included Monica Lewinsky's dress in Bill Clinton portrait — RENOWNED Bucks County portrait artist Nelson Shanks has painted everyone from Princess Diana to President Bill Clinton and from Pope John Paul II to Marisa Tomei. He and his wife, Leona, are the founders of Studio Incamminati …

Nick Gass / Politico:

Artist: Bill Clinton's portrait contains Monica Lewinsky reference — An artist who painted a portrait of former President Bill Clinton says there's more to the piece than one might see at first blush. — Pennsylvania artist Nelson Shanks told the Philadelphia Daily News that he included …

Discussion: ABC News, American Spectator, Ed Driscoll, The Daily Beast, BizPac Review and Althouse

Jeff Mason / Reuters:

Exclusive: Obama says Iran must halt nuclear work for at least a decade — (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that Iran should commit to a verifiable freeze of at least 10 years on its nuclear activity for a landmark atomic deal to be reached, but said the odds were still against sealing a final agreement.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico and Washington Post

Sean Gallup / National Review:

Netanyahu, Not Obama, Speaks for Us — While under fierce attack from President Obama, the Israeli prime minister defends Western values and speaks the truth about Iran. — The leader of the free world will be addressing Congress on Tuesday. The American president is doing everything possible to undermine him.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Gatestone Institute, Bloomberg View, The American Conservative, Power Line and Begin-Sadat Center …

Wall Street Journal:

Pro-Israel Group Publicly Breaks With White House Over Iran — President Obama Sending Two Top Foreign Policy Aides to Address the Conference on Monday — WASHINGTON—The leadership of the most powerful pro-Israel lobby in the U.S. publicly broke Sunday from the White House over the issue …

Discussion: VodkaPundit, Israel Matzav, ThinkProgress and The Atlantic Online

Andrew Dugan / Gallup:
Netanyahu's Favorable Rating Improves in U.S.

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, USA Today, New York Magazine, Politico, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon, Israel Matzav, Washington Times, National Review, The PJ Tatler and NBC News

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Netanyahu's Visit Bringing Uninvited Problems for Jewish Democrats

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Firedoglake, Washington Post, The Week, Bloomberg View, rubber hose, Ynetnews, Politico and Guardian

New York Times:
Obama Says Discord With Netanyahu Is Not ‘Permanently Destructive’

Discussion: National Review, Wall Street Journal, pmo.gov.il, Weekly Standard, The Week, Bloomberg Business, Power Line, Politico, Algemeiner.com, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, Reuters and Agence France-Presse

Evan Vucci / Associated Press:

SCOTUS Rejects CA Dispute Over Disclosing Donors To Anti-Gay Marriage Initiatives — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has turned away an appeal from same-sex marriage opponents in California who want to keep the identities of their campaign donors secret.

Discussion: Advocate, Balloon Juice and Good As You

Nicholas Bagley / New York Times:
In King v. Burwell, the Plaintiffs Misread Obamacare

Discussion: The Great Debate, RH Reality Check and Washington Post

Eric Holder / USA Today:
Taking the side of equality

Discussion: Horizons, Human Rights Campaign Blog and Good As You

Peter Sullivan / The Hill:
Is Supreme Court's chief justice ready to take down ObamaCare?

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post and Bloomberg Business

Margery Beck / Associated Press:
Federal judge blocks Nebraska's gay marriage ban

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Advocate

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Republicans say they have a plan if the Supreme Court rules against Obamacare. They don't.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Forbes, Hit & Run, National Review, Washington Post, Politico, Bloomberg View, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos, Wall Street Journal and Washington Monthly

Bryce Covert / ThinkProgress:

Warren Buffett Says Elizabeth Warren Is Too ‘Angry’ And ‘Violent’ With Rich People — In an interview Monday morning with CNBC, Berkshire Hathaway CEO and billionaire Warren Buffett was asked what he thinks of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and her views of Wall Street.

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, Mediaite and National Review

Kevin Cirilli / The Hill:

Centrist Dems ready strike against Warren wing — Centrist Democrats are gathering their forces to fight back against the “Elizabeth Warren wing” of their party, fearing a sharp turn to the left could prove disastrous in the 2016 elections. — For months, moderate Democrats have kept silent …

Discussion: Common Dreams, Hot Air and The Daily Caller

Colin Campbell / Business Insider:
Warren Buffett: Elizabeth Warren should be ‘less angry’

Discussion: American Spectator, Bloomberg Business and The Week

Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:

‘Sharknado 3’ Sets President and Vice President Roles (Exclusive) — Mark Cuban and Ann Coulter become the latest guest stars in the Syfy sensation. — Syfy's Sharknado 3 has elected a new president and vice president. — Mark Cuban and Ann Coulter have joined the growing list …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Salon, FOX News Radio, The PJ Tatler, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Jezebel, Liberaland, American Spectator and The Week

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

American democracy is doomed — America's constitutional democracy is going to collapse. — Some day — not tomorrow, not next year, but probably sometime before runaway climate change forces us to seek a new life in outer-space colonies — there is going to be a collapse of the legal …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and YouGov US Opinion Center News

Washington Post:

Sources: Sen. Mikulski to retire from Senate — Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who has served in Congress longer than any woman in history, will announce at a news conference Monday that she is retiring from the Senate after five terms in office, three sources familiar with her plans said.

Discussion: CNN, BuzzFeed, Daily Kos, Hot Air, prospect.org/blogs …, ThinkProgress, Political Wire, NPR, Outside the Beltway, FOX News Radio and Booman Tribune

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Mikulski's retirement starts Maryland scramble

Discussion: ABC News and Bloomberg Business

Christopher Ingraham / Washington Post:

DEA warns of stoned rabbits if Utah passes medical marijuana — The new face of marijuana addiction. (Flickr user Chung Ho Leung/CC) — Utah is considering a bill that would allow patients with certain debilitating conditions to be treated with edible forms of marijuana.

Discussion: American Spectator, Jezebel, Hit & Run, Mediaite, The Cannabist, Raw Story and protein wisdom

Daily Mail:

Isis ‘fed murdered kidnap victim to his own mother after she travelled to their headquarters and demanded to see him’ — A British fighter who travelled to Iraq to stop the Islamic State claims the terror group fed a murdered kidnap victim to his own mother after she went to their headquarters and demanded to see him.

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, Fox News, Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs, The Gateway Pundit and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Scott Walker is headed for trouble with the GOP establishment — PALM BEACH, Fla. — Scott Walker likes to tell a story about shopping at Kohl's. Under instructions from his wife Tonette, Walker has learned how to pile on the discounts and coupons whenever he goes to the popular Wisconsin-based department store.

Discussion: Washington Post, The American Conservative, Hot Air and National Review

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:

John Catsimatidis is mystery man behind Daily News sale — Maverick supermarket billionaire John Catsimatidis is said to be the mystery suitor negotiating to buy the embattled Daily News from Mort Zuckerman. — Zuckerman last week acknowledged that he had retained Lazard to test the market …

Discussion: Politico, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine and Page Six, more at Mediagazer »

Politico:

Boehner, conservatives plot next moves — House Republican leaders don't expect to have a plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security until mid-week, potentially setting up another frantic shutdown fight later this week. — With a Friday deadline looming, Republican leaders are set …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Alex Hern / Guardian:

Isis threatens Twitter employees over blocked accounts — Terror group supporters threaten social network, as well as co-founder Jack Dorsey specifically — Isis supporters have threatened Twitter employees, including co-founder Jack Dorsey specifically, with death over the social network's practice …

Discussion: USA Today, BuzzFeed, Global Guerrillas, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Gateway Pundit, Wall Street Journal, Spectator, Truth Revolt, Business Insider, Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs and The Verge

Tracy Walsh / Talking Points Memo:

Colbert Shares The One Question He Most Wants To Ask Pope Francis (VIDEO) — Comedian Stephen Colbert shared the one question he would most want to ask Pope Francis in a videotaped interview for the Catholic magazine America, posted on Monday to YouTube. — Colbert said he would ask …

Discussion: Mediaite

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:

Far-Right Pundit: Hang Officials Who Skip Netanyahu's Speech To Congress — WorldNetDaily commentator and fringe radio host Andrea Shea King wants to punish elected officials who plan to skip Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial address to the U.S. Congress tomorrow...by putting them to death.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Addicting Info and FreakOutNation

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:

Judge rules EPA lied about transparency, tells agency to halt discrimination against conservatives … A federal judge warned the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday not to discriminate against conservative groups in how it responds to open-records requests, issuing a legal spanking.

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, Washington Free Beacon and Truth Revolt