memeorandum: Source: Aaron Hernandez a lookout in prison fight (Susan Candiotti/CNN)

6:05 PM ET, May 20, 2015

Top Items:

Rand Paul to slam surveillance ‘until he can no longer speak’ — But it's not technically a filibuster. — Sen. Rand Paul took to the Senate floor to launch a “filibuster” of a bill to reauthorize a major government surveillance program. One problem: It's not actually a filibuster.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Monthly, Mediaite and Hit & Run

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Cotton blocks move to take up NSA reform bill — Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) blocked a move from Republican colleague Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Tuesday to bring up the House-passed USA Freedom Act, which would reform the National Security Agency's surveillance practices.

Discussion: ABC News, National Journal, American Spectator and Hot Air

Dustin Volz / National Journal:
Obama Admin: NSA Spying Will Begin Shutting Down This Week

Discussion: Sunlight Foundation Blog, RT, Hot Air, Bloomberg View and The Hill

Niels Lesniewski / The World's Greatest …:
Rand Paul Takes the Floor to Contest NSA Surveillance (Updated) (Video)

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Hullabaloo and The Daily Caller

David Weigel / Bloomberg Business:
Rand Paul Launches His ‘Filibuster’ Against Patriot Act Renewal

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, US News, The Hill and The Week

Julian Hattem / The Hill:
NSA will begin winding down spying program this weekend

Discussion: Common Dreams and Daily Kos

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Rand Paul: ‘Whatever it takes to stop’ Patriot Act reauthorization

Discussion: Business Insider, The Daily Signal, Mashable, Infowars, Mediaite and Christian Science Monitor

New Jersey Online:

Gov. Christie loses his marbles on national TV | Editorial — Star-Ledger Editorial Board By Star-Ledger Editorial Board — It's no wonder that New Jersey is screaming a warning to the rest of the country. — For months, we have wondered how Gov. Chris Christie thinks he can win …

Discussion: Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Hinterland Gazette, The Reaction, The Moderate Voice and Washington Post

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Chris Christie and the Distorting Lens of New York Media Dominance

Discussion: Washington Monthly and No More Mister Nice Blog

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:

U.S. Releases Contents Of Bin Laden's English-Language “Bookshelf” — From Chomsky to Woodward. BuzzFeed News got a first look at the rare public accounting of some of the documents seized from Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad compound. — WASHINGTON — The U.S. government this week …

Discussion: Politico, ODNI Newsroom Feed, The Atlantic, JustOneMinute, CNN, New York Times, Gawker, Mashable, Hit & Run, The Week, Washington Free Beacon, The Huffington Post and Al Jazeera English

Gawker:

Apply to Work for al Qaeda Today! — Newly declassified documents from Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad retirement compound show that al Qaeda's rigorous HR department wasn't just trolling LinkedIn for resumes—the terror organization had a formal application process. “Who should we contact in case you became a martyr?”

Discussion: Mediaite, The Huffington Post and The Week

Will Dunham / Reuters: U.S. releases documents recovered in raid that killed bin Laden

Brian Fung / Washington Post:

If you search Google Maps for the N-word, it gives you the White House — Someone on Google Maps just labeled President Obama a very bad word. — A reader points out that if you enter a search for “N***** king” — which contains a particularly offensive racial epithet for African Americans …

Discussion: Guardian, Business Insider, PandoDaily, The Moderate Voice, The Hill, Hinterland Gazette, Little Green Footballs and The Verge

The Huffington Post:
If You Type ‘N— House’ Into Google Maps, It Will Take You To The White House

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, WTVR-TV, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Nick Gass / Politico:

Study on gay marriage views retracted after allegations of fake data — One of the authors of a recent study which claimed that short conversations with gay people could change minds on same-sex marriage has retracted it. — The retraction this week of the popular article published …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Slate, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, NPR and Mediaite

Virginia Hughes / BuzzFeed:
Data Faked In Study About Gay People Changing Voters' Minds

Discussion: Washington Post, The Huffington Post, protein wisdom, US News and Poynter.

Bobby Blanchard / The Texas Tribune:

In Beaumont, Ted Cruz Spars a Bit … BEAUMONT — Presidential hopeful Ted Cruz hit some of his main stump points while meeting with local leaders here Tuesday afternoon — promising to defend the Constitution, step back from the Obama administration's foreign policy and promote economic growth.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Trail Blazers Blog, Weasel Zippers, The Reaction, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Salon, Joe. My. God. and Gallup

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Ted Cruz Asks Reporters If ‘The Left’ Is ‘Obsessed With Sex’

Discussion: Mediaite

Kevin D. Williamson / National Review:

A Gunfight, Not a Riot: What Happened in Waco — The shootout between members of rival outlaw motorcycle gangs in Waco has brought out a great deal of stupidity on the left — too much stupidity to catalogue, in fact. But let us look at a few lowlights. — Making the comparison with Baltimore …

Discussion: Shot in the Dark, Hit & Run and Balloon Juice

NBC News:

Hillary Clinton Taps DREAMer Lorella Praeli As Latino Outreach Director — Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has named prominent DREAMer and immigration activist Lorella Praeli as Latino Outreach Director, a Clinton ca...

Discussion: CNN, Weekly Standard, Daily Kos, New York Times and The Daily Caller

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Hillary hires illegal immigrant ‘Dreamer’

Discussion: Truth Revolt

Alice Walton / Los Angeles Times:

What you need to know about Los Angeles' $15 minimum wage — The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday morning agreed to increase the city's minimum wage. The city attorney's office will now draft an ordinance and bring it back to the council for a second vote. Here is what you need to know about the proposal:

Discussion: Reuters, The National Memo, RH Reality Check, Hit & Run, Bloomberg View, Washington Post and New York Times

Adrian Glick Kudler / Curbed LA:
Unaffordable Housing: Every Single Part of Los Angeles is Unaffordable on $15/Hour

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Margaret Talev / Bloomberg Business:

Iowa Democrats: Flawed Hillary Clinton Our Best Hope to Win — A Bloomberg Politics/Purple Strategies focus group finds Democrats resolved over their presidential frontrunner. — t margarettalev — Iowa Democrats are rallying around Hillary Clinton with pragmatic enthusiasm …

Discussion: Washington Post, Truth Revolt, Hit & Run, Fox News, The Reaction, Business Insider, Shakesville, neo-neocon, Washington Free Beacon, Weekly Standard, Twitchy and Mediaite

Bloomberg Business:

Six Banks Pay $5.8 Billion, Five Guilty of Market Rigging … Six of the world's biggest banks will pay $5.8 billion and five of them agreed to plead guilty to charges tied to a currency-rigging probe as they seek to wind down almost half a decade of enforcement actions.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, NPR and The Week

New York Times:
5 Banks to Pay Billions and Plead Guilty in Currency and Interest Rate Cases

Discussion: CNNMoney, Common Dreams and The Week

Susan Candiotti / CNN:

Source: Aaron Hernandez a lookout in prison fight — Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez 13 photos — Former NFL football player Aaron Hernandez attends his murder trial in Fall River, Massachusetts, on Thursday, January 29. The state accused Hernandez of orchestrating the shooting death …

Discussion: abc11.com, WPRI-TV, The Daily Caller, The Big Lead and TMZ.com

Robert Draper / New York Times:

'You'd Have to Be Insane Not to Conduct Some Soul-Searching' — During the months following the November 2014 midterm elections, several House Democrats convened a series of secret meetings to plot the future of their party's leadership. — The party had just endured a nationwide thrashing …

Discussion: Washington Post

J.K. Trotter / Gawker:

Court Transcripts: Bill O'Reilly's Daughter Saw Him “Choking Her Mom” — Gawker has obtained partial transcripts from the custody trial at the center of Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly's vicious dispute with his ex-wife, Maureen McPhilmy. The documents, which record testimony given last year …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Raw Story

Eric W. Dolan / Raw Story:

Congressman laughs at sheriff who thinks weed destroys black communities like crack and heroin — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — A Wisconsin sheriff stunned a congressman on Tuesday by refusing to say that marijuana was less destructive to society than methamphetamine or cocaine.

Discussion: FishbowlDC and Mediaite

Robin Sidel / Wall Street Journal:

Theft of Debit-Card Data From ATMs Soars — Thieves are stealing information to make counterfeit plastic — Criminals are stealing card data from U.S. automated teller machines at the highest rate in two decades, preying on ATMs while merchants crack down on fraud at the checkout counter.

Discussion: Fox News Insider and The Week

Billy House / Bloomberg Business:

U.S. Highway Funding Extension Through July Passed by House — The U.S. House voted to keep federal money flowing for highways and mass-transit programs for two more months, through the end of July. — Lawmakers voted 387-35 on Tuesday for the short-term measure to give themselves time to negotiate toward a longer extension.

Discussion: Daily Kos