memeorandum: Largest Presbyterian Denomination Gives Final Approval for Same-Sex Marriage (Laurie Goodstein/New York Times)

3:00 AM ET, March 18, 2015

Top Items:

Jodi Rudoren / New York Times:

Netanyahu Soundly Defeats Chief Rival in Israeli Elections — TEL AVIV — After a bruising campaign focused on his failings, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel won a clear victory in Tuesday's elections and seemed all but certain to form a new government and serve a fourth term …

Discussion: Liberaland, Reuters, Outside the Beltway, The Week, The Times of Israel and Politico

Jerusalem Post:

In victory speech, Netanyahu says he will seek ‘strong, stable government’ — Netanyahu closes gap: Likud leads Zionist Union in 1 ... Netanyahu declares victory in Knesset race; Herzog sa... “Hail, hail, Bibi,” Likud adherents chanted as Netanyahu took to the podium on Wednesday.

Discussion: Washington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Power Line

Michael Crowley / Politico:

Bibi wins big — As Netanyahu seems set to return to power, his relations with the Obama White House appear to reach a new low. — Hours before complete results were tallied, Netanyahu was claiming a comeback victory. Getty — Barack Obama might have hoped for a leadership change …

Discussion: New York Times and The PJ Tatler

Isabel Kershner / New York Times:

Deep Wounds and Lingering Questions After Israel's Bitter Race — JERUSALEM — Benjamin Netanyahu was poised to return to power. But there was a cloud over his apparent turnaround, the result of an increasingly shrill campaign that raised questions about his ability to heal Israel's internal wounds …

Discussion: Guardian, National Review, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Mashable, Politico, Raw Story, Lawfare, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Slate, New Atlanticist, The Times of Israel, ThinkProgress, Mediaite and The Reaction

Haaretz:

LIVE BLOG: Netanyahu: The right-wing is in danger - Arabs are voting in droves — Live Updates: 36/7% of eligible Israelis cast their ballots by 2 P.M.; 5.8 million Israelis are expected to head to the polls Tuesday. — Israelis are voting on Tuesday in an election called last December by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews, The Daily Caller, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Firedoglake, The Atlantic Online, Common Dreams, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Hit & Run, NPR, Politico, Booman Tribune, Washington Times and New Yorker

Gil Hoffman / Jerusalem Post:
Netanyahu declares victory in Knesset race; Herzog says Likud celebration is premature

Discussion: Commentary Magazine, Reuters and Washington Free Beacon

Jerusalem Post:
Race to the Knesset: Follow the latest Election Day updates

Discussion: “The Lid”, The Daily Caller, US News, The Tower, Hot Air, New York Times, Lawfare, The Gateway Pundit, Mondoweiss, Moe Lane, Fox News and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Josef Federman / Associated Press:
Israel's Netanyahu declares victory in tight race

Discussion: China.org.cn, Associated Press, See it First, The Gateway Pundit and FOX News Radio

Jonathan Beck / The Times of Israel:
Netanyahu pounded for expressing worry over high Arab turnout

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, The PJ Tatler, Power Line, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and The Atlantic Online

Politico:

Rep. Aaron Schock resigns — Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock is resigning his seat in Congress. — The 33-year-old Republican has been dogged by questions about his spending of taxpayer and campaign dollars. On Monday afternoon, POLITICO posed a lengthy set of questions about charging …

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Rep. Aaron Schock Resigns After Questions Raised About Finances

Discussion: Chicago, The Huffington Post, BillMoyers.com, Business Insider, BuzzFeed, No More Mister Nice Blog and Politico

The Hill:
Rep. Aaron Schock will resign

Discussion: Politico, Yahoo! News, Chicago Tribune, ABC News, Guardian, US News and New York Magazine

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Kaus quits Daily Caller after Carlson pulls critical Fox News column — The blogger Mickey Kaus has quit his job at The Daily Caller after the conservative site's editor-in-chief, Tucker Carlson, pulled a critical column about Fox News from the site, Kaus told the On Media blog on Tuesday.

Discussion: Mediaite, Roger Ailes, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Little Green Footballs, more at Mediagazer »

Kay Steiger / ThinkProgress:

According To Dick Cheney, This Is Why President Obama Is The Worst President In His Lifetime — Former Vice President Dick Cheney said that President Barack Obama was “playing the race card” to excuse criticism of his record as president. — “I think they're playing the race card, in my view.

Discussion: Business Insider and Hinterland Gazette

Colin Campbell / Business Insider:

Dick Cheney accused Obama of ‘playing the race card’ in a Playboy interview — Former US Vice President Dick Cheney doesn't mince words when it comes to President Barack Obama. — In a new interview for the April issue of Playboy, Cheney repeatedly tore into Obama on a wide array of issues …

Discussion: The Week, FOX News Radio, Mediaite, Bloomberg Business, The Daily Caller, The Reaction, Balloon Juice and The Huffington Post

Jana Winter / The Intercept:

Cyanide Sent to White House — An envelope sent to the White House Mail Facility on Monday tested positive for cyanide, according to an internal law enforcement document obtained by The Intercept. — The envelope listed a return address for a man who the alert says has a record …

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Times, Politico, New York Magazine, Fox News, Mediaite and Washington Post

Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:

Largest Presbyterian Denomination Gives Final Approval for Same-Sex Marriage — After three decades of debate over its stance on homosexuality, members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted on Tuesday to change the definition of marriage in the church's constitution to include same-sex marriage.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Political Wire, Advocate, Raw Story, The Week and Joe. My. God.

Wall Street Journal:

Apple Plans Web TV Service in Fall — In talks with programmers to offer a slimmed-down bundle of about 25 channels — Shalini Ramachandran and Daisuke Wakabayashi — Apple Inc.'s lofty plans to build an online television service are coming into sharper focus.

Discussion: New York Times, Engadget, USA Today, Tech Times, The Verge, The Mary Sue, CBS San Francisco, Joe. My. God. and The Week

Claire Atkinson / New York Post:
Apple offers to share TV data to entice programming partners

Discussion: The Verge and Engadget, more at Mediagazer »

Victor Fiorillo / Philadelphia Magazine:

Penn State Abington Professor Speaks Out About Her Miami Arrest — At left is the staff photo of Penn State Abington sociology professor Dr. Karen Halnon. But the photo on the right is what she looked like over the weekend when she was arrested at Miami International Airport after a bizarre incident on a plane.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Miami New Times and Raw Story

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Ben Carson Operative Deletes Tweets Telling Obama To “Bend Over Bitch,” Among Others — “I'm looking forward to McConnell shoving his fist up Obama's ass. Although, he will, no doubt, like it. #tcot” — The team building out Dr. Ben Carson's likely presidential campaign includes …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Hinterland Gazette and Mediaite

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

State: No record Hillary Clinton signed exit form — The State Department has no record that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a standard form declaring that she surrendered all official records before leaving her post in 2013, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Scared Monkeys, Speaker.gov, Liberal Values, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Fox News and TheBlaze.com

Craig Whitlock / Washington Post:

Pentagon loses track of $500 million in weapons, equipment given to Yemen — The Pentagon is unable to account for more than $500 million in U.S. military aid given to Yemen, amid fears that the weaponry, aircraft and equipment is at risk of being seized by Iranian-backed rebels or al-Qaeda, according to U.S. officials.

Discussion: The Week and Fox News

David Rogers / Politico:

Republicans try end run around spending caps — A similar strategy led to a government shutdown two years ago. — The great Achilles' heel in the House Republican budget Tuesday can be found in a blue-and-white chart, tucked away on Page 40 and mapping out a 10-year path …

Discussion: Hit & Run, ABC News, The Atlantic Online, The Hill and Daily Kos

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
House Republicans Propose Budget With Deep Cuts

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, USA Today, Common Dreams, Campaign for America's Future and The Week

David Nather / Politico:
Barack Obama blasts GOP's budget proposal

Discussion: Daily Kos

Carl Campanile / New York Post:

Activist allegedly tried to bait protesters with ‘kill cops’ script — A controversial conservative activist is being accused of trying to incite anti-police protesters by saying, “I wish I could kill some of these cops,” to provoke them into making outrageous statements.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and Raw Story

Trip Gabriel / New York Times:

Iowa G.O.P. to Walker: Drop Adviser Who Trashed State — Iowa's Republican leadership blasted Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin on Tuesday for hiring a senior adviser who has mocked the state's caucus and its voters, and called on Mr. Walker to fire her. — Jeff Kaufmann, the state Republican chairman …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Talking Points Memo and CNN

Jennifer Jacobs / Des Moines Register:
Scott Walker's digital consultant has taken swipes at Iowa

Discussion: Associated Press, Mediaite, BREITBART.COM, Hot Air, Bloomberg Business, Hullabaloo, The Daily Caller, Washington Monthly and Fox News

William Baude / New York Times:

Could Obama Bypass the Supreme Court? — CHICAGO — IT is time to talk about President Obama's contingency plan for health care. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments earlier this month in King v. Burwell, a case challenging the provision of tax credits on federal insurance exchanges.

Discussion: Josh Blackman's Blog, Bloomberg View and Moe Lane

Megan R. Wilson / The Hill:

White House formally exempts office from FOIA regs — The White House on Tuesday will announce new rules exempting an administrative office from subjection to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which allows citizens to obtain government documents from federal agencies.

Discussion: Tech Times, Common Dreams and USA Today