memeorandum: RFRA: First Michiana business to publicly deny same-sex service (Alyssa Marino/ABC57 News)

2:45 PM ET, April 1, 2015

Top Items:

Alyssa Marino / ABC57 News:

RFRA: First Michiana business to publicly deny same-sex service — A small-town pizza shop is saying they agree with Governor Pence and the signing of the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act. — The O'Connor family, who owns Memories Pizza, says they have a right to believe in their religion and protect those ideals.

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

Want Some Cheese With That Whine, Conservatives? — If you want a good example of what cultural conservatives are telling themselves about the backlash over Indiana's (and probably Arkansas' before the week is out) “religious liberty” law, there's none better than the pity party Timothy Carney held …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Washington Post and Slate

Tracy Walsh / Talking Points Memo:

David Letterman: ‘This Is Not The Indiana I Remember As A Kid’ (VIDEO) — Comedian and native Hoosier David Letterman during his show Tuesday night tore into Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) for signing the state's divisive Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Mediaite

Michael Falcone / ABC News:

The Note: Obama's Latest Numbers … NOTABLES — A FLATTENED APPROVAL RATING IS SOFTENED BY SOME UNDERLYING GAINS for Barack Obama in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll — with no sign of tailwinds for the Republicans in Congress. After a 9-point jump in overall approval in January …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, San Diego Gay and Lesbian and Associated Press

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:

Indiana governor backs down, calls for fix to religious law — Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) on Tuesday backed away from his support for a religious freedom law and asked his state Legislature to immediately change it to ensure it would not discriminate against gays and lesbians.

Timothy P. Carney / Washington Examiner:

The Left wages total war; and then plays victim — On one side is the CEO of the world's largest company, the president of the United States and a growing chunk of the Fortune 500. On the other side is a solo wedding photographer in New Mexico, a 70-year-old grandma florist in Washington and a few bakers.

Discussion: The Federalist, The Anchoress, The Other McCain, alicublog, Hot Air and New York Times

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Indiana Pizzeria Vows To Never Deliver A Pizza To A Gay Wedding

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Raw Story and National Review

Politico:
Indiana law backs GOP hopefuls into a corner

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, Bloomberg Business, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Wall Street Journal, Betsy's Page, Balloon Juice and The Huffington Post

Washington Post:
Indiana law draws Republican White House hopefuls into the culture wars

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Atlantic Online, Vox, Common Dreams, The American Conservative, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway and The Huffington Post

Mark Berman / Washington Post:
Arkansas lawmakers approve religious liberty bill despite firestorm over Indiana law

Discussion: Firedoglake, Hot Air, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Slate, Alliance Defending …, The Daily Caller, Daily Mail, Religion Clause, National Review, Shakesville, Cruz for President and Arkansas Online

New York Times:

Arkansas Governor Asks Lawmakers to Recall Religious Freedom Bill — LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Facing a backlash from businesses and gay rights advocates, Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas on Wednesday called on state lawmakers to either recall or amend legislation billed as a religious freedom measure …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, New York Magazine, Political Wire, Outside the Beltway and San Diego Gay and Lesbian

Eric Bradner / CNN:

Arkansas governor sends religious freedom bill back to legislators — Washington (CNN)Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he does not plan to sign the religious freedom bill that sits on his desk right now, instead asking state lawmakers to make changes so the bill mirrors federal law.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, OnPolitics, CNNMoney, New York Times, CBS DC, Hit & Run, Washington Blade, Common Dreams, The Right Scoop, Unicorn Booty, The Daily Banter, Reuters, Vox, New York Magazine, Daily Signal, The Gateway Pundit and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
Tech Leaders Call For States To Pass LGBT Protections, Ban Denial Of Services

Discussion: Human Rights Campaign Blog

Krishnadev Calamur / NPR:
Arkansas Governor Asks Lawmakers For Changes To ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill

Discussion: USA Today, Washington Post, Business Insider, Daily Kos, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Human Rights Campaign Blog and National Review

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Cruz enters top tier of GOP hopefuls — PPP's newest Republican national poll finds that Ted Cruz has the big momentum following the official announcement of his candidacy last week. His support has increased from 5% to 16% in just over a month, enough to make him one of three candidates …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Real Clear Politics

Andy Sullivan / Reuters:
Exclusive: Republican White House hopefuls attack Obamacare but take money

Discussion: Daily Kos

Jason Horowitz / New York Times:

Scott Walker, Allergic to Dogs, May Run Against Political History — Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and his wife, Tonette, had planned to spend a recent Friday night at the Nashua home of Jennifer Horn, the New Hampshire Republican chairwoman. — Then he heard about Al, the Horns' beloved Dalmatian-Catahoula Leopard mix.

Discussion: BarbWire.com, Fox News Insider, Hot Air, Greenville News, OnPolitics and New York Magazine

Frédéric Helbert / Le fil info Royal Blog de …:

EXCLUSIVE: THE FINAL MOMENTS BEFORE THE CRASH — A short video found on the site of the crash appears to confirm the data recovered from one of the two black boxes of the A320. — Paris Match and Bild obtained a video taken during the final seconds of the fated Germanwings flight 4U9525 …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Guardian, CNN, New York Times, Telegraph, RT, Mashable, NPR, Fox News Insider, Mediaite, The Week, CBS DC and New York Magazine

Michael Bastasch / The Daily Caller:

Scientists Say New Study Is A ‘Death Blow’ To Global Warming Hysteria — A new study out of Germany casts further doubt on the so-called global warming “consensus” by suggesting the atmosphere may be less sensitive to increases in carbon dioxide emissions than most scientists think.

Discussion: VodkaPundit, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, US News and BarbWire.com

Bernie Becker / The Hill:

IRS chief to GOP: You can't abolish us — The IRS commissioner on Tuesday brushed aside GOP proposals to abolish his agency, insisting the U.S. would have to have a tax collector one way or another. — “You can call them something other than the IRS if that made you feel better,” …

Discussion: BizPac Review and The PJ Tatler

Pew Internet:

U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015 — Key Themes of This Report — 10% of Americans own a smartphone but do not have broadband at home, and 15% own a smartphone but say that they have a limited number of options for going online other than their cell phone. Those with relatively low income …

Discussion: NPR, Pew Research Center and The Hill

Barack Obama / Medium:

A New Tool Against Cyber Threats — It's one of the great paradoxes of our Information Age—the very technologies that empower us to do great good can also be used by adversaries to inflict great harm. The same technologies that help keep our military strong are used by hackers in China …

Discussion: The White House, New York Times, NPR, The Hill, The Daily Caller, The Verge, White House.gov Blog and Mashable

USA Today:

‘Bicycle bandit’ ordered held without bond after fleeing … Virginia police are searching for a suspect who escaped private custody at INOVA Fairfax Hospital, barefoot in his hospital gown. Wossen Assaye is considered armed and dangerous. The hospital was locked down for several hours after his escape.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Who needs Rosie O'Donnell? Monica Lewinsky tapped by Barbara Walters to bring the mojo back to The View and make it the ‘runaway success’ it once was — The grand dame of broadcasters believes that Monica Lewinsky has the right stuff to bring The View back from the brink

Discussion: Deadline, American Spectator and Mediaite

Darius Dixon / Politico:

House panel inquiring into former energy official's $1.7 million job — The House Oversight Committee wants to know more about Dan Poneman's past discussions with Centrus Corp., which just hired him as CEO. — House investigators are asking questions about former Deputy Energy Secretary …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Los Angeles Times:

Andrew Getty's death does not appear to involve foul play, authorities say — Authorities investigating the death of Andrew Getty, an heir to the Getty oil fortune, said a preliminary investigation suggests foul play was not involved. — The death appeared to be natural or an accident …

Discussion: KTLA, The Week, BuzzFeed, TMZ.com, Scared Monkeys, New York Magazine and FOX40

Bloomberg Business:

Obama's Next Move May Be Lifting U.S. Protection of Israel at UN — (Bloomberg) — While the world remains fixated on the negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, the Obama administration is facing another foreign policy showdown in the United Nations Security Council.