memeorandum: Fast-track trade bill faces key test in U.S. Congress (Reuters)

1:25 PM ET, May 12, 2015

Top Items:

Numbers / Pew Research Center's Religion …:

America's Changing Religious Landscape — Christians Decline Sharply as Share of Population; Unaffiliated and Other Faiths Continue to Grow — The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing …

Emma Green / The Atlantic:
American Religion: Complicated, Not Dead

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Pew Research Center, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh and Pew Research Center's …

Ann Doss Helms / The Charlotte Observer:

Who should save sight of S.C. man who can't afford surgery? — Luis Lang, an uninsured resident of Fort Mill, S.C., needs an expensive operation to save his sight. Ann Doss Helms ahelms@charlotteobserver.com — ahelms@charlotteobserver.com — To start a lively discussion …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice, Raw Story and NPR

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Just Shake Your Head — I always try to remind myself not to criticize stories like the one I'm about to describe, or perhaps better to say, not to forget the core reason for providing a comprehensive national plan to provide health insurance for everyone who needs it.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and ACASignups.net

Brendan James / Talking Points Memo:

Ex-Bush Aide: Jeb Told Me He Misheard Question About Invading Iraq (VIDEO) — Ana Navarro, a former aide to ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), said on CNN Tuesday that the potential presidential candidate told her he'd misheard a question about the Iraq War. — Navarro, who was Bush's director …

Discussion: Hit & Run, New York Times, Daily Kos, FishbowlDC, msnbc.com, Addicting Info and Bloomberg Business

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Jeb Bush's disastrous defense of the Iraq War — Is it possible that in 2016, more than a decade after the invasion of Iraq, the Republican party's presidential nominee could become bogged down in debating whether the war was the right thing to do? The answer, a depressing one for many in the GOP …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, OnPolitics, Jay Bookman, Hot Air, Liberal Values, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, The Week and NPR

S.V. Dáte / National Journal: There's No Good Answer on Iraq for Jeb Bush

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

White House escalates Warren feud — The White House on Monday amplified its criticism of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), accusing her of spreading false information about President Obama's trade agenda. — “There is no need for this false criticism that members of Congress aren't aware …

Discussion: Seeing the Forest, CNN, Weekly Standard, Yahoo Politics and Talking Points Memo

Reuters:
Fast-track trade bill faces key test in U.S. Congress

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Wall Street Journal, Common Dreams, Politico and Washington Post

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Liberal senators imperil Obama trade bill

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Washington Post

Amy Chozick / New York Times:
Hillary Clinton Walks Tightrope as Pressure Grows to Take Stance on Trade Deal

Discussion: Salon, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg Business, JustOneMinute, Daily Kos, OnPolitics, US News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post and The New Republic

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

AOL Has Been in Talks to Spin Off HuffPost as Part of Verizon Acquisition Deal — According to numerous sources, while it has been negotiating its deal to sell to Verizon, AOL has also been in advanced discussions with a number of parties to spin off its flagship Huffington Post content unit.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Mediaite, Bloomberg View, The Week and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »

Wall Street Journal:
Verizon to Buy AOL for $4.4 Billion

Discussion: Re/code, Bloomberg Business, Business Insider, New York Times, Gothamist, The Week and NPR, more at Mediagazer »

Fred Imbert / CNBC:
Verizon to buy AOL for $4.4B; AOL shares soar

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
In Big Media Push, Verizon Buys AOL For $4.4B [Memo From AOL CEO Tim Armstrong]

Discussion: The Atlantic, Poynter., The Verge and TVNewser, more at Mediagazer »

Liz Kreutz / ABC News:

Hillary Clinton Hasn't Answered a Press Question in 21 Days (And Her Opponents Are Taking Notice) … Today is the one month anniversary of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. It also marks 21 days since she answered a question from the press. — During this “ramp up” …

Discussion: Washington Post, abc7news.com, Daily Kos, Shakesville, Yahoo Politics, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, American Spectator, The Hill and New York Times

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Hillary Clinton hasn't answered a question from the media in 20 days

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Mediaite, New York Times and The Week

Kevin Cirilli / The Hill:

Banks brace for Bernie Sanders — Wall Street is worried that Sen. Bernie Sanders's vigorous calls for banking industry reform will pull Hillary Clinton to the left, as the two presidential candidates battle for the 2016 Democratic nomination. — Sanders (I-Vt.) last week unveiled …

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Politico

Ben White / Politico:
Wall Street warns Hillary Clinton: Don't be like Ed Miliband

Discussion: susiemadrak.com and Hot Air

Amir Taheri / New York Post:

Obama's lonely ‘Arab Summit’ — Ever since he decided to chase the mirage of a “Grand Bargain” with Iran, President Obama has pretended that the only opposition comes from Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and “hardline” Republicans in the Congress. — He was to highlight that claim …

Discussion: Chicks on the Right and Betsy's Page

New York Times:
King's Absence at Meeting Signals a Saudi-U.S. Marriage Adrift

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Post and Israel Matzav

Erick Erickson / RedState:

Round One For the RedState Gathering — I hope you have gotten your tickets to the RedState Gathering, because with this post today I suspect we are going to see them start going quickly. Backers of the various candidates want to see their preferred pick and with Atlanta being an easy place to get to …

Discussion: Political Insider blog, Washington Times and Twitchy

Plain Dealer:
First Republican presidential debate on track for Aug. 6 at The Q in Cleveland, sources say

Discussion: Politico

Orlando Sentinel:

George Zimmerman suffers facial wounds after shooting — George Zimmerman, the former Neighborhood Watch volunteer who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, suffered minor injuries in a roadside shooting Monday near a busy intersection in Lake Mary. — Lake Mary Police Department Chief Steve Bracknell …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Progress Pond, theGrio and www.wftv.com

Allen West / Allen B. West:

More ominous signs of Christian persecution — My daughter Aubrey and I arrived in Dallas and our home in Woodbridge on Sunday morning. We had departed from Palm Beach Gardens Saturday evening after we watched Austen head off for her senior prom — a doggone big deal, dads!

Discussion: Addicting Info, Talking Points Memo, Liberaland, Business Insider and Mediaite

Joe Pinsker / The Atlantic:

Why So Many Podcasts Are Brought to You by Squarespace — It's by now a trope of modern listening: The soothing tones of Ira Glass or Sarah Koenig subside and make way for a sponsor mentioning promotional codes for online stamps, boxes of all-natural snacks, or tools for building a website.

Discussion: FishbowlDC

Mati Weiderpass / The New York Observer:

Gay Extremists Must Not Silence Those Who Support Discussion and Dialogue — Senator Ted Cruz host says being gay is not a political affiliation — When Mati Weiderpass, Ted Cruz, Sam Domb, and Ian Reisner gathered in Weiderpass' apartment in April, the ‘fireside chat’ set off a firestorm of reactions within the gay community.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Manu Raju / Politico:

Vitter's Obamacare crusade draws GOP ire — The Louisiana senator's quest to deny his colleagues benefits wins him no friends on Capitol Hill. — Getty — One fellow senator calls David Vitter's years-long crusade to scrap health care subsidies for lawmakers and their staffers “disingenuous.”

Discussion: RedState

Matthew Cole / NBC News:

Pakistanis Knew Where Osama Bin Laden Was, U.S. Sources Say — Two intelligence sources tell NBC News that the year before the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, a “walk in” asset from Pakistani intelligence told the CIA where the most wanted man in the world was hiding …