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.
Discussion:
CBS Cleveland, Mediaite, Unicorn Booty, Washington Post, Politico, BarbWire.com, msnbc.com, The Daily Caller, The Moderate Voice, ThinkProgress, Bloomberg Business, Towleroad News #gay, Raw Story, The Atlantic Online, CBS New York, Liberaland, ABC News, National Review, abc7news.com, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, The Hinterland Gazette, Scripting News, PinkNews, New York Magazine and Balloon Juice
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Rich Juzwiak / Gawker:
Indiana Pizzeria Takes Brave Stand of Denying Gays Pizza for Weddings — Crystal O'Connor of Memories Pizza in Walkerton, Indiana, has her finger on the pulse of what gays want at their weddings: pizza. But thanks to her home state's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act …
Discussion:
Right Wing Watch, Hit & Run and The Daily Banter
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 …
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:
Washington Post, Hot Air, Booman Tribune and Alliance Defending …
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, CNNMoney, The Huffington Post, The Daily Banter, New York Times, OnPolitics, CBS DC, Hit & Run, Unicorn Booty, Washington Blade, Common Dreams, The Right Scoop, Reuters, Vox, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Signal and New York Magazine
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:
Bloomberg Business, 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
Indianapolis Star:
Exclusive: ‘Religious freedom’ proposal with limited LGBT protections taken to Pence
Exclusive: ‘Religious freedom’ proposal with limited LGBT protections taken to Pence
Discussion:
Politico, Towleroad News #gay, Weekly Standard and Fox 59
Michael Warren / Weekly Standard:
February Poll: Majority Support Religious Right to Refuse Gay-Wedding Services
February Poll: Majority Support Religious Right to Refuse Gay-Wedding Services
Discussion:
Bloomberg Business, Washington Post and National Review
Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Indiana Pizzeria Vows To Never Deliver A Pizza To A Gay Wedding
Indiana Pizzeria Vows To Never Deliver A Pizza To A Gay Wedding
Discussion:
Politico, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, The Mahablog, Raw Story, ABC News, National Review and New York Times
Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Indiana governor backs down, calls for fix to religious law
Indiana governor backs down, calls for fix to religious law
Discussion:
Firedoglake
Timothy P. Carney / Washington Examiner:
The Left wages total war; and then plays victim
The Left wages total war; and then plays victim
Discussion:
The Federalist, The Other McCain, alicublog, The Anchoress, Hot Air and New York Times
Krishnadev Calamur / NPR:
Arkansas Governor Asks Lawmakers For Changes To ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill
Arkansas Governor Asks Lawmakers For Changes To ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill
Discussion:
USA Today, Business Insider, Washington Post, Politico, Daily Kos, The Daily Banter and National Review
Politico:
DOJ: No contempt charges for former IRS official Lois Lerner — The Justice Department will not seek criminal contempt charges against former IRS official Lois Lerner, the central figure in a scandal that erupted over whether the tax agency improperly targeted conservative political groups.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Washington Post, The Right Scoop and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
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Darius Dixon / Politico:
House panel inquiring into former energy official's $1.7 million job
House panel inquiring into former energy official's $1.7 million job
Discussion:
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:
Pew Research Center, The Hill and NPR, more at Mediagazer »
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Dylan Byers / Politico:
The Mobile Election: How smartphones will change the 2016 presidential race
The Mobile Election: How smartphones will change the 2016 presidential race
Discussion:
Political Wire and Pew Research Center
H.A. Goodman / The Hill:
Why Americans should consider O'Malley for president — Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) is correct to point out that the presidency is not a crown to be passed “between two families,” as he stated in a recent “This Week” appearance on ABC. O'Malley is a rising star in the Democratic Party …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute and Washington Post
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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:
VentureBeat, The Hill, The Verge, White House.gov Blog, The Daily Caller and Mashable
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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, Fox News Insider, BarbWire.com, OnPolitics, Hot Air, Althouse and New York Magazine
Stephen Peters / Human Rights Campaign Blog:
Tech Industry Leaders Make Unprecedented & Historic Joint Statement to Legislators — Today, in response to a host of anti-LGBT bills pending or signed in to law in states around the country, tech industry leaders signed an unprecedented joint statement supporting the addition …
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Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
Tech Leaders Call For States To Pass LGBT Protections, Ban Denial Of Services
Tech Leaders Call For States To Pass LGBT Protections, Ban Denial Of Services
Discussion:
The Verge and New York Times
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:
Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog and Real Clear Politics
Los Angeles Times:
Brown orders California's first mandatory water restrictions: 'It's a different world' — Gov. Jerry Brown, standing on a patch of brown grass in the Sierra Nevada that is usually covered with several feet of snow at this time of year, on Wednesday announced the first mandatory water restrictions in California history.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Boing Boing, The Week and Mediaite
Erick Erickson / RedState:
Two Years Later, You'll Still Be Made to Care — In the last twenty-four hours, much of the mainstream media has shown itself perfectly willing to serve as agents of Satan (or should I use Moloch to make you feel better?). Most of the news anchors, reporters, and opinion writers of the press …
Discussion:
Political Insider blog, BizPac Review, The Right Scoop and The American Conservative
Associated Press:
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez indicted on corruption charges — 1 photo — WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bob Menendez was indicted on corruption charges Wednesday, accused of using his office to improperly benefit a Florida eye doctor and political donor. — The indictment charged …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Talking Points Memo and The Week
Reuters:
Iraq's interior minister says most of Tikrit is liberated, fight goes on — (Reuters) - Iraqi troops and Shi'ite paramilitary fighters were battling Islamic State on Wednesday in northern Tikrit, which officials described as the Sunni Muslim militant group's last stronghold in the city.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, NPR and New York Times