Top Items:

American Politics: Why the Thrill Is Gone — Earlier this month, the Upshot—the Times's “politics and policy vertical,” as it's known in the business—ran a lengthy analysis of the Presidential campaign on the Republican side. The piece came up with three categories of candidates …
Discussion:
Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality and Washington Monthly
RELATED:
Dylan Byers / Politico:
Will 2016 be another slog?
Will 2016 be another slog?
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Bloomberg Business

Rand Paul yanks Ray-Bans after complaint — Ray-Ban has asked Sen. Rand Paul's presidential campaign to quit selling the brand's Wayfarer sunglasses, which Paul had imprinted with the “Rand” logo. — The Rand-Ban sunglasses were for sale for $150 on Paul's website as recently as Tuesday.
Discussion:
Addicting Info, Mediaite, Washington Post, OnPolitics, Talking Points Memo, FreakOutNation, The Week and New York Times
Michael E. Miller / Washington Post:
‘Killing Jews is Worship’ posters will soon appear on NYC subways and buses — New Yorkers are used to aggressive advertising. Banners for breast implants. Billboards for condoms. But a federal judge's ruling has opened the door for far more controversial posters on buses and subways across the city.
Discussion:
Hit & Run, The PJ Tatler and Shot in the Dark
RELATED:
Emma G. Fitzsimmons / New York Times:
M.T.A. Must Run Bus Ad From Pro-Israel Group, Judge Says
M.T.A. Must Run Bus Ad From Pro-Israel Group, Judge Says
Discussion:
Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs, Gothamist, New York Post and Mediaite

Carly Fiorina to Launch Presidential Campaign on May 4 — Former Hewlett-Packard CEO will declare GOP campaign online — Carly Fiorina plans to launch her presidential campaign on May 4, in an online announcement that dispenses with the pageantry that has become de rigueur in 2016 White House runs.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, OnPolitics, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, The Verge, Political Wire, The Week and Re/code

Say hi to Fi: A new way to say hello — In today's mobile world, fast and reliable connectivity is almost second nature. But even in places like the U.S., where mobile connections are nearly ubiquitous, there are still times when you turn to your phone for that split-second answer and don't have fast enough speed.
Discussion:
The Hill, Mashable, The Verge, Forbes, Tech Trader Daily, Refinery29, New York Times, NPR, MacRumors and The Week

18 spectacularly wrong apocalyptic predictions made around the time of the first Earth Day in 1970, expect more this year — In the May 2000 issue of Reason Magazine, award-winning science correspondent Ronald Bailey wrote an excellent article titled “Earth Day, Then and Now” …
Discussion:
Power Line and BarbWire.com

I am a cook in the US Senate but I still need food stamps to feed my children — I work 70 hours a week doing two jobs but cannot make ends meet. Presidential hopefuls must make profitable federal contractors pay living wages — very day, I serve food to some of the most powerful people on earth …
Discussion:
Addicting Info and PoliticusUSA

MSNBC's Touré Has the Taxman on His Case — The Taxman Cometh for Touré (Michael Loccisano/Getty)
Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:
Secret Koch memo outlines plans for 2016 — Documents detail plans to beef up the network's state-of-the-art data system and pay hundreds of staff embedded in local communities across the country. — The Koch brothers' political machine is expanding into new states and recruiting new donors …

Presidential hopeful Rubio reaches out to gay Republicans — (Reuters) - Marco Rubio, the youthful Republican presidential hopeful who touts himself as the candidate of his party's future, has been making moves to court a socially liberal faction of his party that represents gay conservatives.
RELATED:
Josh Kraushaar / National Journal:
Marco Rubio's Biggest Problem Isn't Jeb Bush
Marco Rubio's Biggest Problem Isn't Jeb Bush
Discussion:
Washington Monthly

Obama Administration Admits Granting Known Gang Member Amnesty — The Obama administration is admitting it granted executive amnesty protections to a known gang member — one charged with four counts of murder — and is now reviewing prior approvals to double check that other gang members …
Discussion:
Conservative Hideout 2.0 and John Hawkins' Right Wing News
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Ted Cruz Showed Eloquence, and Limits, as Debater at Princeton — PRINCETON, N.J. — By the time he was a senior at Princeton University in 1992, Ted Cruz had developed an arsenal of rhetorical skills and theatrical gestures that made him one of the most polished performers on the college debate circuit.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Trail Blazers Blog, Addicting Info, The Week, Politico and Bloomberg Business

Pregnant restaurant worker fired after armed robbery — CHANNELVIEW, Texas - A fast food restaurant is robbed and the shift manager says she got fired for refusing to pay the money back. — “I told them I'm not paying nothing,” said Marissa Holcomb. “I just had a gun to me. I'm not paying the money.”
Discussion:
Raw Story and Addicting Info
Dustin Volz / National Journal:
McConnell Introduces Bill to Reauthorize Patriot Act Until 2020 — The move may thwart any attempt to reform the NSA's mass-surveillance authorities. — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced a bill Tuesday night that would reauthorize a controversial surveillance authority …
Discussion:
Common Dreams and Hit & Run
RELATED:
Rory Carroll / Guardian:
NSA surveillance needed to prevent Isis attack, claims former intelligence chair
NSA surveillance needed to prevent Isis attack, claims former intelligence chair
Discussion:
The Hill and Common Dreams

What is it like to be the neighbor of a “free-range kid”? — The Meitiv family of Maryland—scientists Danielle and Alexander, their 10-year-old son, and their 6-year-old daughter—became the national faces of the “free-range parenting” movement in December.
Discussion:
Bloomberg View, Unfogged and The Federalist

Conservative Republicans Alone on Global Warming's Timing — Story Highlights — WASHINGTON, D.C. — While notable majorities of all other political party/ideology groups say the effects of global warming will happen within their lifetime, fewer than four in 10 conservative Republicans …
Discussion:
The Mahablog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politico, Taylor Marsh and Balloon Juice

Ex-Clinton backer switches to O'Malley — A former Miami mayor and Hillary Clinton supporter has switched his allegiances and will host an event for her potential challenger, former Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Md.). — The Miami Herald reports that O'Malley's O' Say Can You See PAC is holding …
Discussion:
Hot Air and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Reminder: Earth Day Co-Founder Killed and Composted His Girlfriend — It's Earth Day and millions of people across the world are celebrating with events about global warming. President Obama will travel to Florida via fossil fuel powered Air Force One to give a speech in the Everglades …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Stranger …, The Gateway Pundit, The Federalist and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

On the hunt for the presidency, Jeb Bush adopts a ‘caveman’ diet — (Reuters) - Jeb Bush is eating like a caveman, and he has literally shrunk in size. — The former Florida governor, expected to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, is on the popular Paleo diet …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller

Hillary Clinton's Politically Motivated Flip Flop on TPP is Wrong — It Should Move Forward — Back in 2012, while she was serving as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton called an emerging economic partnership with 11 Pacific Nations the “Gold Standard in trade agreements.”
Discussion:
OnPolitics, Washington Post, Politico, Addicting Info and Salon
RELATED:
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
U-Va. Associate Dean Nicole Eramo blasts Rolling Stone in open letter — This month, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism issued a widely read report citing a number of lapses in Rolling Stone's execution of “A Rape on Campus,” the deeply flawed and ultimately retracted story …
Discussion:
CNNMoney, Mediaite and New York Magazine

Fifty-seven DNR staff receive layoff notices amid talk of budget cuts — Fifty-seven employees of the state Department of Natural Resources began receiving formal notices this week that they might face layoff as part of Gov. Scott Walker's budget for the next two fiscal years.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, US News, FreakOutNation, Raw Story, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Moe Lane
Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Lindsey Graham, John McCain bite back at Paul over ‘lapdog’ diss — The Senate's Two Amigos are firing back at Rand Paul's “lapdog” diss. — Paul, the 2016 GOP presidential contender who's tussled with Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain over foreign policy, took aim at the hawkish duo …
Discussion:
OnPolitics, Mediaite, Political Wire and Washington Monthly
David Koon / Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times:
Eureka Springs pastor in Repeal 2223 video is a convicted serial rapist — The Arkansas Times has confirmed that a Baptist preacher in Eureka Springs who features prominently in a new video urging repeal of the city's Ordinance 2223, which protects LGBT people from discrimination …
Discussion:
Joe. My. God., FreakOutNation and Human Rights Campaign Blog

Rand Paul Says It's ‘Sexist’ To Think He Was Being Sexist With Female Reporters — In an interview with Iowa talk radio host Simon Conway yesterday, Sen. Rand Paul pushed back against claims that he has a pattern of interrupting and acting rudely towards female reporters …
Discussion:
WHO Radio, Hullabaloo and Progress Pond

Hillary Clinton Flies First Class Back to Washington — With her first campaign trip drawing to a close, Hillary Clinton traded the Scooby road-trip van for a first-class airplane seat to make the trip back to Washington. — The Democratic presidential candidate flew from Boston's Logan Airport …
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Patterico's Pontifications

MUPPETS SCOOP: ABC REVIVAL TO EXPLORE THEIR PERSONAL LIVES IN ‘MORE ADULT’ SHOW — Intriguing exclusive details about ABC's revival of The Muppets: EW has learned the project is a mockumentary-style series that goes deeper into the Muppets' personal lives, and promises a “more adult” show than previous incarnations of the franchise.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Spinoff Online, The Verge and Comicbook.com