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

1:50 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.

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: Mediaite

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 Talking Points Memo

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

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

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 Monthly, Washington Post and Outside the Beltway

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.

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Indiana Pizzeria Vows To Never Deliver A Pizza To A Gay Wedding — A family that owns an Indiana pizzeria reportedly said Tuesday that the state's new “religious freedom” law protects their right to deny some service to gay couples. — Crystal O'Connor, whose family owns Memories Pizza in Walkerton …

Discussion: Raw Story

Krishnadev Calamur / NPR:

Arkansas Governor Asks Lawmakers For Changes To ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill — Updated at 11:59 a.m. ET. — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he has asked the state's lawmakers for changes to the “religious freedom” bill passed Tuesday. — Critics of the measure say it allows businesses to refuse services to gays and lesbians.

Discussion: Business Insider, Daily Kos, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Human Rights Campaign Blog, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, San Diego Gay and Lesbian and National Review

Eric Bradner / CNN:
Arkansas governor sends religious freedom bill back to legislators

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNNMoney, Washington Blade, Common Dreams, New York Times, Vox and New York Magazine

Politico:
Indiana law backs GOP hopefuls into a corner

Discussion: ABC News, Bloomberg Business, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Betsy's Page, Balloon Juice, The Huffington Post, Bloomberg View and National Review

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

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

Dana Liebelson / The Huffington Post:
Arkansas Legislature Copies Indiana, Passes Controversial Religious Freedom Bill

Discussion: New York Times, Reuters, Common Dreams, RedState, Outside the Beltway, Slate, Washington Post, Religion Clause, Business Insider, Daily Kos, Arkansas Online, UPI, BuzzFeed and Hit & Run

New York Times:
Bills on ‘Religious Freedom’ Upset Capitols in Arkansas and Indiana

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, USA Today, Hit & Run, Washington Post, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Balloon Juice, Arkansas Online, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Wall Street Journal, National Review, Advocate, Liberaland, San Diego Gay and Lesbian, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Moderate Voice

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

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

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

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 Hill, The Daily Caller, The Verge, White House.gov Blog and Mashable

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, The Hill and Pew Research Center

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Could Another Democrat Beat Hillary Clinton? Strategists Offer a Blueprint — She has been called inevitable. The can't-be-stopped candidate. Hillary Rodham Clinton is such an overwhelming favorite in presidential primary polls that most prominent Democrats are taking a pass on challenging her.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The PJ Tatler

Eun Kyung Kim / Today:
Elizabeth Warren on 2016: 'I'm not going to run' — and Hillary Clinton deserves ‘a chance to decide’

Discussion: Business Insider, The Hill, Gawker, Taylor Marsh, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, The Atlantic Online and The Reaction

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, FOX40 and New York Magazine

Eli Lake / Bloomberg View:

Iran's Charmer in Chief Wins Again — Now is the time to praise Javad Zarif. Whatever you might think of Iran's foreign minister, he knows how to bargain. — With a final announcement due any moment from negotiations over Iran's nuclear program in Lausanne, Switzerland, Iran appears to be doing quite well for itself.

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Israel Matzav