memeorandum: France Takes Toughest Line at Iran Nuclear Talks (Wall Street Journal)

2:50 PM ET, March 21, 2015

Top Items:

Democrats are the new party of no — DEMOCRATS WHO have been filibustering the Senate's consideration of legislation to combat human trafficking cited concerns with language they claimed would greatly expand the reach of Hyde Amendment restrictions on abortion.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

Republicans Learn to Play Hardball — Mitch McConnell draws the line when Senate Democrats filibuster a human-trafficking law. — Politics can be aspirational, though mostly it's just transactional—a straight-up game of giving and getting. The left's tantrum this week over the stalled nomination …

Discussion: Power Line and The PJ Tatler

Amanda Terkel / The Huffington Post:
Obama On Loretta Lynch: 'You Don't Hold Attorney General Nominees Hostage'

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Guns.com, Mediaite, The Week, Wall Street Journal and Raw Story

Trymaine Lee / msnbc.com:
Eric Holder breaks silence on GOP obstruction of Lynch vote

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Mediaite, Politico and The Huffington Post

Mitchell Prothero / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Operation to retake Tikrit from Islamic State stalled by heavy casualties, discord — ISTANBUL — The much ballyhooed Iraqi government operation to capture the central city of Tikrit from the Islamic State has stalled three weeks after it began, amid widespread reports that Shiite Muslim militias …

Discussion: Progress Pond

Katie Pavlich / Townhall.com:

By The Way, ICE Just Released 30,558 More Violent Criminal Illegal Aliens Onto American Streets — Back in 2013, Immigration and Customs Enforcement got ripped by Congress for releasing 36,000 violent criminal illegal aliens onto American streets. Those criminals had convictions of homicide …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Patrick Healy / New York Times:

For 2016 Run, Scott Walker Washes ‘Wiscahnsin’ Out of His Mouth — COLUMBIA, S.C. — Out on the presidential campaign trail, Gov. Scott Walker has left “Wiscahnsin” back home in Wisconsin. He now wants to strengthen the economy, not the “ecahnahmy.” And while he once had the “ahnor” …

Discussion: Althouse and Prairie Weather

PolitiFact:

The federal health care law: What came true and what didn't — Predictions about the health care law were a dime a dozen back in 2010. Supporters contended that virtually everyone around the country would soon have access to affordable insurance. Opponents said the law would cost a fortune …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Louise Radnofsky / Wall Street Journal:
Paul Ryan Urges State Lawmakers Not to Set Up Health-Insurance Exchanges

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo and Talking Points Memo

Karoli / Latest from Crooks and Liars:

John Boehner To Take Victory Lap In Israel — March 31, 2015 is the deadline day for Iran and the countries negotiating a nuclear arms agreement to agree on a framework for the agreement. It's also the day Speaker of the House John Boehner is scheduled to travel to Israel and meet …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Newsmax and Washington Monthly

Ali Akbar Dareini / Associated Press:

Iranian president Rouhani: Final nuclear deal possible — TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday painted an optimistic picture of ongoing negotiations with world powers over his country's nuclear program, saying there has been progress in the talks and that a final accord is possible.

Discussion: FOX News Radio

New York Post:

Seven children dead after hot plate ignites NYC blaze — Firefighters work to rescue people from the Brooklyn home that went up in flames. — A malfunctioning hot plate ignited a Brooklyn inferno overnight that left seven children dead, and their mother and another teen in critical condition, officials said.

Discussion: NBC News and NPR

Stephanie Simon / Politico:

Common Core's cyber spies — Bent over their computers in Salt Lake City, a dozen cyber sleuths scan the vast reaches of the Internet for contraband. — Only, they're not hunting traffickers of drugs or sex. — Story Continued Below — It's standardized testing season across the U.S. …

Discussion: Diane Ravitch's blog

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

As tech giant calls for more foreign workers, Senate hears of displaced Americans — Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, believes passionately that the United States needs more skilled foreign workers. He has long advocated increasing the number of so-called H-1B visas, which allow those workers …

Discussion: National Review

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:

FL Gov't Worker: I Was Punished After Writing the Words Climate Change — An employee for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection told MSNBC's Chris Hayes tonight that he was punished because he expressed his personal view on climate change and wrote the words “climate change” …

Discussion: FOX News Radio, Climate Denial Crock …, Liberaland, Tallahassee Democrat and Washington Post