memeorandum: AP sues State Department, seeking access to Clinton records (Steve Peoples/Associated Press)

4:40 PM ET, March 11, 2015

Top Items:

AP sues State Department, seeking access to Clinton records — 1 photo — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the State Department to force the release of email correspondence and government documents from Hillary Rodham Clinton's tenure as secretary of state.

Scott Shane / New York Times:
No Classified Emails by Clinton? Some Experts Are Skeptical

Discussion: Business Insider, New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hit & Run, Betsy's Page and Outside the Beltway

Ron Fournier / National Journal:
5 Questions Hillary Clinton Ducked

Discussion: Washington Post, Scared Monkeys, The Daily Caller, prospect.org/blogs … and Guardian

Frank Bruni / New York Times:
Hillary Clinton, the Email Controversy and the 2016 Presidential Race

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Da Tech Guy Blog, National Journal, VodkaPundit, CANNONFIRE, Slate, Real Clear Politics, Washington Free Beacon, TVNewser and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:
The Clinton Campaign Gets Off To A Grim Start

Discussion: TalkLeft, Politico, Daily Kos, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, ABC News, The Daily Caller, Taylor Marsh, Poynter and ABC News, more at Mediagazer »

John Podhoretz / New York Post:
Hillary acts stupid when she plays dumb

Discussion: Washington Post, Real Clear Politics, Ed Driscoll and Hot Air

Evan McMurry / Mediaite:

Morning Joe, Bill Kristol Blame Racist SAE Video on Rap Music — The concerned parents on Morning Joe found something to be outraged about over the video of SAE frat members engaged in a racist chant: namely the rapper Waka Flocka Flame's decision not to perform for the fraternity …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, CNN, FreakOutNation, ABC News, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Beast, USA Today, Hullabaloo and Eschaton

Robert Wilonsky / The Scoop Blog:

Parker Rice, parents of Levi Pettit apologize for ‘horrible mistake’ made in OU SAE video — Update at 6:40 p.m.: Moments after Levi Pettit's family apologized for their son's behavior in the SAE video, Parker Rice — the recent Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas graduate — sent his own apology, via his father Bob.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Fox News, USA TODAY College, CNN, Oklahoma Daily, Talking Points Memo, Dallas Morning News, News One, NPR, BBC, Raw Story, Get Schooled, Hinterland Gazette, CBS News, KFOR-TV, BizPac Review, Mediaite, Shakesville, Mashable and Hit & Run

David A. Graham / The Atlantic Online:
Morning Joe Finds the Real Racists in Oklahoma: Rap Musicians

Discussion: Guardian

Jean-Luc Renaudie / Agence France-Presse:

As Israel vote looms, centre-left pulls ahead of PM Netanyahu's Likud — Jerusalem (AFP) - Less than a week before Israel's second general election in two years, Isaac Herzog's centre-left Zionist Union opened up a lead on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rightwing Likud, polls showed Wednesday.

Discussion: Guardian, Foreign Policy, Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune

Gallup:

Story Highlights — PRINCETON, N.J. — After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's much-publicized and controversial address to Congress, Americans' opinions of him have worsened. His favorable rating is down seven percentage points, to 38%, while his unfavorable rating has increased five points, to 29%.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Politico and The Week

Haaretz:
Week before election, new poll puts Zionist Union ahead of Netanyahu's Likud

Discussion: Salon, susiemadrak.com, New York Magazine, New York Times and Reuters

Fox News:

Embattled Ferguson police chief to resign, sources say — FILE 2014: Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson will announce his resignation on Wednesday, sources tell Fox News. Jackson's department has been criticized after a Justice Department probe. (Reuters)

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Yahoo! News, The Right Scoop, The Last Refuge, The Week, Booman Tribune, The Gateway Pundit and New York Post

John Eligon / New York Times:

Ferguson Police Chief, Thomas Jackson, Expected to Step Down Amid Criticism — FERGUSON, Mo. — The embattled police chief of Ferguson, the focus of bitter complaints of racial discrimination within his department that turned into national protests after one of his white officers fatally shot …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Talking Points Memo, The Week and US News

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:

McCain: GOP letter to Iran not ‘most effective’ response — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of the signers of the controversial letter to Iran's leadership, admitted Tuesday night that the letter might not have been the way to express frustration that President Obama isn't working with Congress on nuclear negotiations with Tehran.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Tom Cotton / USA Today:
Sen. Cotton: Why we wrote the letter to Iran

Discussion: Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Trail Blazers Blog, American Spectator, Washington Examiner, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Reuters, Fox News, The World's Greatest …, Lawfare, The Daily Caller, Weekly Standard, The Gateway Pundit and Business Insider

Andrew DeMillo / The Baxter Bulletin:
Bill would allow Sen. Cotton to run for president

Discussion: Bloomberg Business and OnPolitics

David Goldstein / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Precedent for GOP's Iran letter hard to find, historians say — WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Historian's Office has so far been unable to find another example in the chamber's history where one political party openly tried to deal with a foreign power against a presidential policy …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Political Wire, The Reaction and National Journal

Tim Mak / The Daily Beast:
Republicans Admit: That Iran Letter Was a Dumb Idea

Tom LoBianco / Indianapolis Star:

Indiana state rep apologizes for sexting with Sydney Leathers — Indiana Rep. Justin Moed is apologizing for sexting with Sydney Leathers, the Evansville woman at the center of the 2013 Anthony Weiner sexting scandal. — “I am truly sorry I have hurt the ones I love most with my poor judgment.

Discussion: Washington Post, American Spectator, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Mediaite

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo: No, Really: Lawmaker Busted For Sexting With Woman From Weiner Scandal

Jake Sherman / Politico:

Aaron Schock: I ‘certainly hope’ I didn't break the law — The embattled congressman gets testy in a face-to-face interview. — Getty — PEORIA, Ill. — The question to Rep. Aaron Schock was simple: Do you think you've broken any rules or federal laws? But the scandal-plagued congressman did not have a definitive answer.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Daily Kos, Chicago, Washington Post, National Review, Salon, Mediaite, Joe. My. God., The PJ Tatler, RedState and Hot Air

Patrick Svitek / The Texas Tribune:

“Former Fetus” Signs Cause Stir at Capitol … Signs calling some state lawmakers former fetuses are causing a stir at the Capitol, with one representative accusing another of intimidating his staff by removing them. — One of the signs appeared Wednesday morning on the wall outside Rep. Jonathan Stickland's office.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Jonathan Stickland, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Week, Bloomberg Business and Mediaite

ProPublica:

Emails Reveal Lobbyist Had Undisclosed Role In Cuomo Financial Crisis Investigation — The Albany Times Union co-published a version of this story. — Previously undisclosed emails by a mortgage industry lobbyist doubling as a consultant for then Attorney General Andrew Cuomo show …

Discussion: Hot Air

Michelle Ye Hee Lee / Washington Post:

Ted Cruz's claim that the IRS tax code has more words than the Bible — In a speech to the International Association of Fire Fighters, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) talked about how the U.S. could restore “growth and opportunity” for small businesses, saying the answer is through tax and regulatory reform.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Hot Air and Weekly Standard

Reuters:

Russia says has right to deploy nuclear weapons in Crimea: report — (Reuters) - Russia has the right to deploy nuclear arms in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine last year, a Foreign Ministry official said on Wednesday, adding he knew of no plans to do so.

Discussion: Hot Air and Politico

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

More evidence Republicans will probably do nothing if Supreme Court guts subsidies — Scott Walker has now supplied yet another piece of evidence that Republicans will likely find themselves unable or unwilling to act if the Supreme Court guts Obamacare subsidies for millions in three dozen states.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, National Journal, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Democratic Strategist

Politico:

Susan B. Glasser — Susan Glasser is the Editor of POLITICO. She was also the founding editor of POLITICO Magazine, the award-winning publication featuring both long-form reporting and opinion journalism. Launched in November 2013, the magazine publishes daily online and bimonthly in print …

Discussion: Washington Post and FishbowlDC

The Huffington Post:

Senate Bill Would Effectively End The Federal War On Medical Marijuana — A sweeping Senate bill introduced Tuesday seeks to significantly roll back the federal government's war on medical marijuana. — The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Nick Gass / Politico:

Former Rep. Cynthia McKinney boosts French comedian with anti-Semitic history — Former Rep. Cynthia McKinney shared her latest comedy recommendation with Facebook and Twitter followers last night. The Georgia Democrat, who was the Green Party's 2008 presidential nominee …

Igor Bobic / The Huffington Post:

Michele Bachmann Warns Of Impending Sharknado Outside White House — WASHINGTON — A star has been born. — Former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on Tuesday starred in a cameo for “Sharknado 3,” the cult-classic fantasy movie series featuring vicious, airborne sharks riding deadly tornadoes from the sea.