memeorandum: Photos: Celebrating the Fourth of July 20 photos (CNN)

12:40 PM ET, March 25, 2015

Top Items:

Nick Gass / Politico:

Megyn Kelly presses Ted Cruz: Can you win? — Ted Cruz is no Barack Obama, he wants Americans to know. — The Texas senator told Fox News' Megyn Kelly on Tuesday night that no one would mistake him for a Senate backbencher, like the current president. — Story Continued Below

Discussion: Daily Kos

David Knowles / Bloomberg Business:
Ted Cruz Knocks Goldman Sachs, Wife's Firm, Over ‘Special Favors From Government’

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Jennifer Jacobs / Des Moines Register:
Ted Cruz to sign up for government health care

John Podhoretz / New York Post:
Ted Cruz's challenge: The other guys have done things

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Daily Kos, Yahoo Politics and Washington Post

CNN:
Ted Cruz going on Obamacare

Discussion: ThinkProgress, NPR, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, IVN.us, The PJ Tatler, ABC News, Liberaland, EgbertoWillies.com, PoliticusUSA, Mediaite, Bloomberg Business, New York Magazine and Chicago

Sarah Ferris / The Hill:
Cruz signing up for ObamaCare

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, USA Today, Prairie Weather, New York Times and Politico

Wall Street Journal:
The Cruz Candidacy — Ideology aside, the Republican is similar in many ways to Obama.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Mediaite, Salon, Politico, Weekly Standard, The Week and Washington Post

Jameson Parker / Addicting Info:
Ted Cruz To Sign Up For Obamacare After He's Booted From Wife's Plan

Discussion: Progress Pond, Washington Post, ACASignups.net, The Daily Caller and The Moderate Voice

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
Ted Cruz: Hillary Clinton's wrecking ball

Discussion: Hot Air, Fox News, Bloomberg Business, Daily Kos, National Journal, Washington Post and Townhall.com

Washington Post:

In 2016 campaign, the lament of the not quite rich enough — At this point in the 2012 presidential race, Terry Neese was in hot demand. — “Gosh, I was hearing from everyone and meeting with everyone,” said Neese, an Oklahoma City entrepreneur and former “Ranger” for President George W. Bush …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ABC News, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo and New York Magazine

Josh Kraushaar / National Journal:

Jeb Bush's Nightmare Scenario — Bush is expected to be a formidable contender for the GOP nomination. But there are signs that his biography will lead to struggles in the primary's early stages. — Talk to enough Republican insiders about the presidential primary field, and you'll get a common sentiment when it comes to Jeb Bush.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, SaintPetersBlog and Prairie Weather

Carl Campanile / New York Post:

Cornell dean says ISIS welcome on campus in undercover video — This guy is either the dumbest Ivy League bigwig ever or politically correct to a fault — for welcoming offers to bring ISIS and Hamas to Cornell University. — A video sting operation shows Cornell's assistant dean for students …

Discussion: Mediaite, BizPac Review, Patterico's Pontifications, The Other McCain and The Daily Caller

Politico:

Why the ‘hell no’ caucus is saying ‘yes’ to the budget — House conservatives found their way to a deal after getting in on the process. — Led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), conservatives had many conversations with Price, budget committee staffers and within their own caucus to bring their members to a “yes.”

Discussion: Daily Kos

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Israel's lobbying on Iran makes no difference, Democrats say

Discussion: BBC, The Daily Beast, Algemeiner.com, Power Line, PoliticusUSA, Washington Post and The Times of Israel

Ari Phillips / ThinkProgress:

Ted Cruz Compares Himself to Galileo, Calls Those Who Believe In Climate Change ‘Flat-Earthers’ — A few days after accusing “global warming alarmists” like California Governor Jerry Brown (D) of ridiculing and insulting “anyone who actually looks at the real data” around climate change …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business and Climate Denial Crock …

Ben Brody / Bloomberg Business:
On Global Warming, Ted Cruz Says He's Galileo, Not a Flat-Earther

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Guardian, Raw Story and Politico

Keith Staskiewicz / EW.com:

FIRST LOOK: JESSE EISENBERG AS LEX LUTHOR IN BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE — The mark of a good villain is how he knows to stop monologuing before he gives away too much of his plan. That's also the mark of a good superhero-franchise director. Details on Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman …

Discussion: The Verge and Polygon

New York Times:

Germanwings Crash Investigation Hits Snag in Retrieving Data — PARIS — Rescuers resumed the difficult task of searching for the 150 victims of a deadly plane crash in the French Alps, as the search for clues about what caused the crash was dealt a setback Wednesday afternoon.

Discussion: Mashable, The Week, Telegraph, New York Magazine and Fox News

ABC News:
Two Americans on Germanwings Plane, Official Says

Discussion: Guardian, abc7chicago.com, Mediaite, CNN, NBC News and New York Times

Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:

Pilots 2015: The Year Of Ethnic Castings - About Time Or Too Much Of Good Thing? — There was a noticeable shift toward minority castings last season, with more parts opening up to ethnic actors, a casting term used for non-Caucasian thesps. It was a concerted effort …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Salon, Raw Story, The Daily Banter and Shakesville

Drew Galloway / WHNT-TV:

Photo showing children climbing on Vietnam Women's Memorial goes viral — WASHINGTON DC - The nation's capital has many sites that honor the service and sacrifice made by those who served our country. The Vietnam Women's Memorial was dedicated to the women of the United States who served in the Vietnam War, most of whom were nurses.

Discussion: Fox News Insider and FOX31 Denver

KVUE-TV:

Man says W employee yelled gay slur, threw him to ground — AUSTIN — A man claims a W Hotel employee threw him to the ground, fracturing his arm, and yelled an anti-gay slur last week during South by Southwest. — Bobby Beltran, 31, said the bar bouncer also dislocated two bones in his hand …

Discussion: Raw Story and Towleroad News #gay

CNN:

Tunisian town near ‘Star Wars’ backdrop now features in battle against ISIS — How ISIS is taking advantage of Tunisia's democracy 01:29 — Story highlights — (CNN)The desert and dun-colored cliffs around the town of Tataouine were once the backdrop for the movie “Star Wars,” …

Discussion: BizPac Review, The Daily Caller and Mashable

Alex Wong / National Review:

On Israel and Iran, President Obama Mistakes Friend and Foe — Instead of projecting leadership and defending American values, he has withdrawn from the stage or chosen to trust our enemies. — A month ago, in a speech to the Chicago Global Forum, I argued that the Obama administration's foreign policy …

Discussion: Townhall.com, OnPolitics, Washington Post and Politico

CNN:

Photos: Celebrating the Fourth of July 20 photos — Celebrating the Fourth of July - Members of the Old Guard attend the reopening ceremony of the Statue of Liberty, marking the first day it opened to the public after being shuttered by Superstorm Sandy in October. — Hide Caption — 20 of 20

Discussion: Mediaite, Business Insider and New York Magazine

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

In U.S., Concern About Environmental Threats Eases — Story Highlights — PRINCETON, N.J. — Americans' concern about several major environmental threats has eased after increasing last year. As in the past, Americans express the greatest worry about pollution of drinking water …

Discussion: BarbWire.com and Washington Post

Josh Rogin / Bloomberg View:

Obama Snubs NATO Chief as Crisis Rages — President Barack Obama has yet to meet with the new head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and won't see Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg this week, even though he is in Washington for three days. Stoltenberg's office requested a meeting …