memeorandum: Democrats May Find it Easier to Defend Reid's Open Seat (David Weigel/Bloomberg Business)

2:20 PM ET, March 27, 2015

Top Items:

Harry Reid Says He Won't Seek Re-Election — WASHINGTON — Senator Harry Reid, the tough tactician who has led Senate Democrats since 2005, will not seek re-election next year, bringing an end to a three-decade congressional career that culminated with his push of President Obama's ambitious agenda against fierce Republican resistance.

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Harry Reid endorses Chuck Schumer to succeed him as Senate Minority Leader — Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) has endorsed Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) to succeed him after he retires at the end of 2016. — “I think Schumer should be able to succeed me,” …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Business Insider, NPR, American Spectator and The Week

Manu Raju / Politico:

REID RETIRING — After a brutal eye injury, the 75-year-old Senate Democratic leader decides to forego another grueling campaign for reelection. — Harry Reid, a soft-spoken, uninspiring public speaker but savvy backroom political operator, plotted his way up the rungs of the Democratic leadership throughout his career.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Talking Points Memo, Roll Call, USA Today, FOX31 Denver, Politic365, Daily Kos, Associated Press and The Gateway Pundit

David Weigel / Bloomberg Business:

Democrats May Find it Easier to Defend Reid's Open Seat — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada announced Friday morning that he won't seek re-election when his term expires in 2016. In a YouTube video, Reid explained his decision. — https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=MqPWTECMIQo

Discussion: Politico

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:
Dem Rep. Titus considering bid for Reid's seat

Discussion: Politico and OnPolitics

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

GERMAN NEWS REPORT: Co-Pilot of Germanwings Airbus Was MUSLIM CONVERT ...'Hero of Islamic State'? — GERMAN REPORT —HE WAS RADICALIZED! … Police have reportedly found an “item of significance” at the apartment of the co-pilot who crashed the Germanwing passenger plane into the Alps this week.

Discussion: Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs, EveryJoe, Fox News Insider, Vox Popoli, BizPac Review, Israel Matzav, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Associated Press

Simon Calder / The Independent:

Andreas Lubitz: Knee-jerk reaction to 9/11 enabled mass murder — The ill-thought reinforced cockpit door has had catastrophic consequences — A leading aviation security expert has condemned the rules on cockpit access as a “knee-jerk reaction to the events of 9/11” - which, he says …

Discussion: Liberaland and FOX News Radio

New York Times:

Co-Pilot in Germanwings Crash Hid Medical Condition From Employer, Prosecutors Say — DÜSSELDORF, Germany — Documents show that Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot who is believed to have deliberately crashed a Germanwings jet into the French Alps on Tuesday, had a medical condition that he hid …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Week, ABC News and Poynter

Kirsti Knolle / Reuters:
German pilot said to have suffered from depression, anxiety

Discussion: Guardian, The Week and Twitchy

New York Times:
Reducing Risks After the Germanwings Crash

Discussion: Forbes, Belmont Club, Techdirt, Guardian and The Week

Yelp Official Blog:

An Open Letter to States Considering Imposing Discrimination Laws — A little over one year ago I wrote an open letter to then-Arizona Governor Jan Brewer requesting that she veto SB 1062, a bill that would have allowed businesses in the state to discriminate against consumers.

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Addicting Info and Washington Post

Zack Ford / ThinkProgress:

How To Kill A Discriminatory ‘Religious Liberty’ Bill: Call The Bluff — Georgia State Sen. Josh McKoon (R) defends his “religious freedom” bill to a House committee. — CREDIT: AP Photo/David Goldman — Georgia lawmakers have been quickly advancing their own version of a …

Discussion: PQA, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Indianapolis Star

Matt Hennie / PQA:
Anti-gay bill suffers near fatal blow in state House

Discussion: Political Insider blog, Towleroad News #gay and ThinkProgress

Manu Raju / Politico:

2016 brawl breaks out on Senate floor — Paul lashes Cruz, Rubio for ‘dangerous’ and ‘reckless’ positions on government spending. — The 2016 Republican nomination contest spilled onto the Senate floor Thursday, turning a marathon budget debate into a battle over which candidate is prepared to lead the country at a time of war.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, New York Times, The Week and FOX News Radio

David Lawder / Reuters:

Senate passes Republican budget with deep safety net cuts — (Reuters) - The Senate passed a Republican-authored budget plan early on Friday that seeks $5.1 trillion in domestic spending cuts over 10 years while boosting military funding. — The 52-46 vote on the non-binding budget resolution put Congress …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Shakesville, Hot Air and Daily Kos

James Hohmann / Politico:
Insiders pump the brakes on Cruz

Discussion: Hot Air, BostonGlobe.com and ABC News

Brent Budowsky / The Hill:

The four faces of Cruz — At the risk of giving solace to the list of possible Republican candidates for the presidency, which seems larger than the starting offense for the Texas Longhorns, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) might have begun the implosion of his presidential candidacy the day after he announced it.

Discussion: Climate Denial Crock …, Daily Kos and US News

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Ted Cruz's Senate record by the numbers

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Senate Approves Budget of G.O.P. Wishes in All-Night Session

Discussion: Common Dreams and The Week

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Mornings in Blue America — Two impossible things happened to the U.S. economy over the course of the past year — or at least they were supposed to be impossible, according to the ideology that dominates half our political spectrum. First, remember how Obamacare was supposed to be a gigantic job killer?

Discussion: Daily Kos, Addicting Info and Hullabaloo

Jana Winter / The Intercept:

Exclusive: TSA's Secret Behavior Checklist to Spot Terrorists — Fidgeting, whistling, sweaty palms. Add one point each. Arrogance, a cold penetrating stare, and rigid posture, two points. — These are just a few of the suspicious signs that the Transportation Security Administration directs …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Raw Story, Mashable, The Daily Caller, The Verge and Watchdog.org

Avi Issacharoff / The Times of Israel:

Israeli official brands emerging Iran deal as ‘incomprehensibly’ bad — As Tehran hails ‘massive progress’ in talks, Jerusalem protests that regime ‘is working against American-Arab-Israeli interests without paying a price’ — As Iran hailed “massive progress” toward a deal on its nuclear program …

Discussion: Reuters, The Right Scoop and Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs

Michael Crowley / Politico:
Obama's Mideast ‘free fall’

Discussion: Hot Air, Pat Dollard, The Right Scoop, The Gateway Pundit and Booman Tribune

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Review of Rolling Stone's UVA rape story is long and damning — The highly anticipated review of Rolling Stone's disputed story about a University of Virginia gang rape was submitted to the magazine this week, the On Media blog has learned, and its contents are apparently quite damning.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Steve Peoples / Associated Press:

Gov. Scott Walker's Immigration Stance at Center of Dispute — A dispute over Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's position on immigration erupted on Thursday, highlighting the Republican's struggle to appeal to conservatives on the explosive issue as he prepares to launch a Republican presidential bid.

Discussion: Hot Air, ImmigrationProf Blog and Wall Street Journal

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Bush and Walker start to sharpen their messages

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Free Beacon, Bloomberg View, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Senators endorse Iran sanctions in budget vote — Senators unanimously approved an amendment Thursday that backs bolstering sanctions against Iran if President Obama can't verify that the country is following a nuclear deal. — The wave of support came after the amendment, offered by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), was amended.

Discussion: Mark Kirk, Roll Call, ThinkProgress and Politico