memeorandum: Hillary Clinton says she would support a constitutional amendment on campaign finance reform (Philip Rucker/Washington Post)

8:15 AM ET, April 15, 2015

Top Items:

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:

Hillary Clinton Was Asked About Email 2 Years Ago — WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton was directly asked by congressional investigators in a December 2012 letter whether she had used a private email account while serving as secretary of state, according to letters obtained by The New York Times.

Discussion: The Last Tradition, Political Wire, Fox News, The PJ Tatler and The Daily Caller

James Hohmann / Politico:

GOP insiders applaud Clinton rollout — Most Republicans thought the former secretary of state's announcement was contrived or phony, but they still viewed it as a savvy campaign launch. — Hillary Clinton has found a new constituency: Republicans. — A significant — and surprising …

Discussion: Political Wire and Taylor Marsh

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Hillary Clinton says she would support a constitutional amendment on campaign finance reform — MONTICELLO, Iowa — Hillary Rodham Clinton is calling for changes to the nation's campaign finance system, saying here Tuesday that she would support a constitutional amendment if that's what it takes …

Discussion: Politico, Slate, AMERICAblog News, USA Today, The Nation, The Daily Banter, Sunlight Foundation Blog and New York Times

David Nather / Politico:

Hillary Clinton names top three wonks for campaign — Hillary Clinton has named three senior policy advisers to lead the development of an agenda for her presidential campaign, setting the stage for a series of policy rollouts that campaign officials hope to begin late next month after her early phase of road trips to meet voters.

Kevin Quealy / New York Times:
Less essential analysis: Hillary Clinton's Chipotle Order: Above Average

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, Raw Story, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weekly Standard, ABC News, Joe. My. God., Hullabaloo, Althouse and Yahoo Politics

Mike Lillis / The Hill:

House Dems jump to support new Iran bill — House Democratic leaders are quickly jumping aboard legislation empowering Congress to review an emerging nuclear deal with Iran. — House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) endorsed the Senate bill on Tuesday, shortly after it passed unanimously through …

New York Times:

Obama Yields, Allowing Congress Say on Iran Nuclear Deal — WASHINGTON — The White House relented on Tuesday and said President Obama would sign a compromise bill giving Congress a voice on the proposed nuclear accord with Iran as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in rare unanimous agreement …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Israel Matzav, Commentary Magazine, The Last Tradition, Power Line, Daily Kos, usccb.org, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic Online, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, The Week, The Daily Caller and Politico

Patricia Zengerle / Reuters:
Obama could accept revised bill on Iran nuclear vote: White House

Discussion: National Journal, Commentary Magazine, Power Line, Hot Air, Doug Ross and CNN

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Iran Deal Reached In Senate; Read The Details

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos and The Daily Banter

Jin Zhao / Raw Story:

Religious right pundit: Hillary Clinton too hideously ugly to become president — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — We expected to see some punches thrown at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as soon as she announced her run for president for a second time on Sunday.

Don Feder / GrasstopsUSA.com:
Top Ten Reasons Why Hitlery Will Never Be President

Discussion: Right Wing Watch and Joe. My. God.

Michael Howard Saul / Wall Street Journal:
Political Circles Buzz Over Bill de Blasio's Non-Endorsement of Hillary Clinton

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weekly Standard and New York Magazine

David Hochman / Playboy:

PLAYBOY INTERVIEW: BILL MAHER — Inside Bill Maher's office in Los Angeles, you don't need a poli-sci degree to know which way the political winds are blowing. There's a (fake) Zagat guide to marijuana dispensaries, a bumper sticker that reads HONK IF YOU HATE AMERICA …

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Murray, Durbin hit the phones — Sens. Patty Murray and Dick Durbin placed calls to Democratic senators over the April recess, intensifying speculation about a possible leadership contest between the senior Democrats. — Murray (Wash.) has not specifically mentioned running for Senate Democratic whip …

EU Press Room:

Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Google on comparison shopping service; opens separate formal investigation on Android — The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Google alleging the company has abused its dominant position in the markets …

Discussion: New York Times, TechCrunch, Bloomberg Business, Business Insider, Common Dreams, Mashable and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »

Ashley Fantz / CNN:

Prison time for some Atlanta school educators in cheating scandal — Story highlights — (CNN)There was nothing routine about a sentencing hearing Tuesday in Atlanta that wrote the final legal chapter of one of the most massive school cheating scandals in the country.

Discussion: The Last Refuge, The Daily Caller and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Angelamartincbs / CBS Dallas:

Dallas Woman Posts On Facebook “A Female Shouldn't Be President” — DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - “A female shouldn't be President,” is a direct quote from a Dallas woman's Facebook page. — As you might imagine, the post has attracted quite a bit of attention from people across the country.

Discussion: Hot Air, Ed Driscoll and Raw Story

Kristina Wong / The Hill:

Pentagon: Russian intercept of US plane ‘sloppy airmanship’ — The Pentagon on Monday denounced a recent incident in which a Russian pilot intercepted a U.S. aircraft over the Baltic Sea as “sloppy airmanship.” — “Frankly, this is an example of sloppy airmanship on the part of a Russian pilot …

Discussion: Hot Air

Josh Rogin / Bloomberg View:

Boehner: Obama Made a Deal With the Devil — President Barack Obama made a “deal with the devil” in his nuclear framework with Iran and there's no reason to think it can verifiably prevent the Tehran regime from getting a nuclear weapon, House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday.

Discussion: FOX News Radio

Deepak Saini / WGNO:

Lawsuit: Transgender man fired because he refused to wear a dress — NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A New Orleans law firm is taking on the civil rights case of a Lake Charles man who says he was fired from his job, after he refused to wear a dress, and be treated as a woman.

Discussion: Joe. My. God. and Raw Story

Adam Walser / WFTS:

Veteran says he was repeatedly put on hold by veterans' suicide hotline — Hotline has problems with handling number of calls — He put himself in danger to protect our country, but when he needed help to save his own life all he got was a recorded message. — Ted Koran was thinking about committing suicide Saturday night.

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon and The Daily Caller

New York Times:

Obama Endorses Removing Cuba From Terrorism List — MEXICO CITY — The White House announced on Tuesday that President Obama intends to remove Cuba from the American government's list of nations that sponsor terrorism, eliminating a major obstacle to the restoration of diplomatic relations after decades of hostilities.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Common Dreams, Bloomberg Business, The Week and New York Magazine

Nicole Gaouette / Bloomberg Business:
Obama to Drop Cuba From List of State Sponsors of Terrorism

Discussion: Bloomberg View

Som Lisaius / Tucson News Now:

Marana police video shows cruiser ram crime spree suspect — TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Police released dash cam video showing how a police officer used his cruiser to put an end to a crime spree in February that stretched from Tucson to Marana. — In the video, an apparent gunshot …

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, Raw Story and The Huffington Post

Oliver Darcy / TheBlaze.com:

Fox News Producer Asks People on the Street to Name an Obama Accomplishment, Gets These Answers Back — Fox News producer Jesse Watters hit the streets of Baltimore recently, asking individuals to name a single accomplishment from President Barack Obama. — The answers were wide-ranging.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Pam Belluck / New York Times:

Sex, Dementia and a Husband on Trial at Age 78 — There is no question that Donna Lou Rayhons had severe Alzheimer's. — In the days before being placed in a nursing home in Garner, Iowa, last year, Mrs. Rayhons, 78, could not recall her daughters' names or how to eat a hamburger.

TALKERS.COM:

FCC's Wheeler Agrees to Pursue AM Rule Changes. Patting FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn on the back for work beginning the process of “AM revitalization” while acting chairman, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler writes in a blog post that he's “committed to taking action in this proceeding so that AM radio …