memeorandum: U.S. drone strike killed al-Qaeda hostages, including American (Washington Post)

9:10 PM ET, April 23, 2015

Top Items:

Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation as Russians Pressed for Control of Uranium Company — The headline in Pravda trumpeted President Vladimir V. Putin's latest coup, its nationalistic fervor recalling an era when the newspaper served as the official mouthpiece of the Kremlin: “Russian Nuclear Energy Conquers the World.”

Discussion: Commentary Magazine, New York Post, Mediaite, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Politico, Liberal Values, Washington Post, The Atlantic Online, The Stranger …, Power Line, The Lonely Conservative, neo-neocon, OnPolitics, Yahoo Politics, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hit & Run, Hot Air, Fox News, National Journal, Daily Kos, naked capitalism, Rush Limbaugh, The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Fox News Insider, Wall Street Journal, BarbWire.com, The Week, The Federalist, BizPac Review, Bloomberg Business, Balloon Juice, Washington Monthly, Latest from Crooks and Liars, American Spectator, The Daily Banter, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, RedState, TVNewser, ABC News, Washington Free Beacon, Moe Lane, Patterico's Pontifications, Outside the Beltway, Twitchy, Hullabaloo, “The Lid”, New York Magazine, The PJ Tatler, The Last Refuge and Althouse

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

The Disastrous Clinton Post-Presidency — The best-case scenario: They screwed everything up. — Shares — The qualities of an effective presidency do not seem to transfer onto a post-presidency. Jimmy Carter was an ineffective president who became an exemplary post-president.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Yahoo Politics, BizPac Review, peterschweizer.com, Bloomberg Business, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hot Air and Power Line

Joshua Green / Bloomberg Business:

Clinton Cash Author Is Targeting Jeb Bush Next — The past week can't have been very pleasant for Peter Schweizer. On Sunday, the New York Times revealed that his forthcoming book, Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Politico, Talking Points Memo, FOX News Radio, SaintPetersBlog, “The Lid”, Political Wire, Hot Air, Fox News and National Journal

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
5 things we learned about ‘Clinton Cash’ without reading it

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh

ABC News:
Bill Clinton Cashed In When Hillary Became Secretary of State

Discussion: Bloomberg Business

Lauren French / Politico:
Trey Gowdy asks Hillary Clinton to appear twice on emails, Benghazi

Discussion: Daily Kos and Liberaland

Brian Fallon / Medium: ‘Clinton Cash’ & NYT Fail to Prove Any Connection Between Hillary Clinton & Russian Purchase of Uranium Assets

Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:
An ‘Exclusive’ Arrangement on a Clinton Book, and Many Questions

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, peterschweizer.com, National Journal and TVNewser

Jonathan Allen / Reuters:
Exclusive: Clinton charities will refile tax returns, audit for other errors

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Hillary Clinton has a baggage problem

Discussion: The Hugh Hewitt Show, New York Times, Power Line and Outside the Beltway

The Huffington Post:
WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton's attorney told House Benghazi Committee Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy …

Discussion: Bloomberg View, FOX News Radio, susiemadrak.com and Bloomberg Business

Nick Gass / Politico:
Hillary Clinton struggles to contain media barrage on foreign cash

Discussion: ABC News

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
For Clintons, speech income shows how their wealth is intertwined with charity

Discussion: FOX News Radio, Maggie's Farm, NPR, Prairie Weather, Washington Examiner, Power Line and The Daily Caller

Alex Sherman / Bloomberg Business:

Comcast Plans to Drop Time Warner Cable Deal — Comcast Corp. is planning to walk away from its proposed takeover of Time Warner Cable Inc., people with knowledge of the matter said, after regulators decided that the deal wouldn't help consumers, making approval unlikely.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Wall Street Journal, US News, The Verge, The Huffington Post, Mashable, Common Dreams, BGR, Politico, TVNewser, The Week and Deadline, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

David Petraeus Is Sentenced to Probation in Leak Investigation — CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal judge on Thursday sentenced David H. Petraeus, the highest-profile general from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to two years' probation for disclosing classified information.

Discussion: Liberaland, Mashable, FOX News Radio, Outside the Beltway and The Verge

New York Times:
Comcast Is Said to End $45 Billion Bid for Time Warner Cable

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Mashable, The Huffington Post and Mediaite

USA Today:
Apologetic Petraeus gets probation for leaking secrets to his mistress

Discussion: Common Dreams and The Week

Erin Dooley / ABC News:

Obama: ‘I Take Full Responsibility’ For US Operation That Killed Innocent Hostages Held By Al Qaeda … President Obama said today that he takes “full responsibility” for a U.S. government counterterrorism operation that killed two innocent hostages held by al Qaeda.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Politico, Mediaite, Refinery29 and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Adam Entous / Wall Street Journal:
American, Italian Hostages Killed in CIA Drone Strike in January

Discussion: Guardian, USA Today, OnPolitics, Mashable, Mediaite, Lawfare, NO QUARTER USA NET, DCist, TVNewser, Infowars, NPR, American Spectator and The Week

Bring Warren Home:
Weinstein Family Statement on Disclosure of the Death in Captivity of Warren Weinstein

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, Mashable, Daily Kos, FOX News Radio and NPR

Washington Post:
U.S. drone strike killed al-Qaeda hostages, including American

Discussion: The Daily Signal, Raw Story and Patterico's Pontifications

Peter Baker / New York Times:
2 Qaeda Hostages Were Accidentally Killed in U.S. Strike, White House Says

Discussion: New York Post, “The Lid”, The Atlantic Online, Bloomberg View, White House.gov Blog, Hit & Run, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Lawfare and The Gateway Pundit

The White House:
Statement by the Press Secretary

Discussion: Bloomberg View, The Huffington Post, USA Today, NPR, The Long War Journal, Common Dreams, Politico, SUNY Oswego News and Lawfare

Vincent Schilling / Indian Country Today Media …:

Native Actors Walk off Set of Adam Sandler Movie After Insults to Women, Elders — Approximately a dozen Native actors and actresses, as well as the Native cultural advisor, left the set of Adam Sandler's newest film production, The Ridiculous Six, on Wednesday.

Discussion: New York Times, The PJ Tatler, Gawker, Raw Story, Mashable, Deadline, The Week and The Daily Caller

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

At New York Reception, Ted Cruz Is Said to Strike Different Tone Toward Gays — Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican presidential candidate, has positioned himself as a strong opponent to same-sex marriage, urging pastors nationwide to preach in support of marriage as an institution between a man and a woman …

Discussion: Out Magazine, The Reaction, Hot Air, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Hullabaloo and Joe. My. God.

Bobby Jindal / New York Times:

I'm Holding Firm Against Gay Marriage — BATON ROUGE, La. — THE debate over religious liberty in America presents conservatives and business leaders with a crucial choice. — In Indiana and Arkansas, large corporations recently joined left-wing activists to bully elected officials …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Joe. My. God., Salon, ABC News, Advocate, SaintPetersBlog, Mediaite, Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice and The Reaction

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Senate votes 56-43 to confirm Lynch as attorney general — The Senate confirmed Loretta Lynch's long-delayed nomination Thursday, giving the country its first female African American attorney general. — Senators voted 56-43 to confirm Lynch, more than 160 days after she was nominated by President Obama.

Discussion: ABC News

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Senate Confirms Loretta Lynch as Attorney General After Long Delay

Discussion: ThinkProgress, BizPac Review and Politico

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Senate Confirms Loretta Lynch To Be The First Black Female Attorney General

Discussion: RH Reality Check

Tom McCarthy / Guardian:
Loretta Lynch confirmed as US attorney general after delay ‘to spite Obama’

Discussion: Mediaite, Progress Pond and The Week

Steve Benen / msnbc.com:

Steve King unveils radical court scheme — Under the American system of government, elected legislators are responsible for writing laws. If those statutes are legally controversial, they're challenged in the courts and evaluated by judges. It's Civics 101.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Lydia Wheeler / The Hill:
GOP bill would block courts on gay marriage

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Advocate, Joe. My. God. and Daily Kos

Ashley Goudeau / KVUE-TV:

Video shows DWI suspect knocked unconscious during arrest — ROUND ROCK, Texas — Video captured by a man inside the Wing Stop on East Palm Valley in Round Rock Tuesday afternoon shows Officer Ben Johnson arresting Viviana Keith. — The video shows Johnson and Keith talking …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Infowars and Hit & Run

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:

‘F*ck this court — I AM Justice’: Woman uncorks berserk legal rant after civil rights suit tossed — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — A self-described “Floridian-American” sovereign citizen submitted a nine-page, profanity-laced tirade against a judge who dismissed a lawsuit she filed on behalf of her husband and son.

Discussion: Mediaite, Mashable, Americans Against the … and VICE

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:

Scott Lively: Only ‘Pitchforks And Torches’ Can Stop Gay Marriage — Anti-LGBT pundit Scott Lively argues in a column today that the only way to stop the legalization of gay marriage is to form an “angry mob” that will take to “the streets, pitchforks and torches held aloft …

Discussion: WND, BarbWire.com, Joe. My. God. and FOX News Radio

Mark Halperin / Bloomberg Business:

Boehner Opens Door to House Subpoena of Clinton's E-mail Server — In his ceremonial office in the Capitol building, the speaker flared with outrage at Clinton's conduct, asserting she broke the law by failing to use a government e-mail account as secretary of state. — t MarkHalperin

Discussion: OnPolitics and Political Wire