memeorandum: Two challengers, one incumbent, finish first in L.A. Board of Education races (Los Angeles Times)

3:10 PM ET, May 20, 2015

Top Items:

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

Gawker:
Apply to Work for al Qaeda Today!

Discussion: Mediaite, The Huffington Post and The Week

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

Discussion: TalkLeft

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: Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Hinterland Gazette, The Reaction, The Moderate Voice and Washington Post

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: The Hill, The Moderate Voice, Guardian, Little Green Footballs, Hinterland Gazette and The Verge

The Huffington Post:

If You Type ‘N— House’ Into Google Maps, It Will Take You To The White House — President Barack Obama is no stranger to Internet racism, but this is just ridiculous: typing “nigga house” into Google Maps can land you at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. — A screenshot of the glitch …

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

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, Hot Air, National Journal and American Spectator

Alex Byers / Politico:

Sen. Rand Paul's ‘filibuster’ that isn't — 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. — With key parts of the PATRIOT Act set to expire at the end of the month …

Discussion: Hit & Run

Julian Hattem / The Hill:
FBI chief: Letting Patriot Act expire would be a ‘big problem’

Discussion: Bloomberg Business and Daily Kos

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: Trail Blazers Blog, Weasel Zippers, The Reaction, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Joe. My. God., Salon and Gallup

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

Discussion: Mediaite

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

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: Mediaite and Washington Post

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

Discussion: Washington Post, US News, Mediaite and Poynter.

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed:

Clinton Super PAC Executive Director Exits Amid Shake-Up — Buffy Wicks, the head of Priorities USA, is in talks with the Clinton campaign about a senior role. She leaves the super PAC as Guy Cecil comes in. — Scott Olson / Getty Images — Buffy Wicks, a leading Democratic operative …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon and Washington Post

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
‘Super PAC’ Backing Hillary Clinton Sees Staff Overhaul

Discussion: Mediaite and Prairie Weather

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

Campbell Robertson / New York Times:

Gay-Marriage Opponents Get Legal Protection From Louisiana Governor — NEW ORLEANS — Hours after a committee in the Louisiana Legislature effectively voted down a bill that would explicitly protect people and businesses that do not want to participate in same-sex marriage …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, The Week and AMERICAblog News

Bobby Jindal / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Bobby Jindal plans to issue an executive order enforcing intent of religious freedom bill

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Right Wing Watch, PoliticusUSA, Politico, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Advocate and BuzzFeed

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: Bloomberg View, Hit & Run 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

Miranda Blue / Right Wing Watch:

Gohmert: Bush Wouldn't Have Invaded Iraq Had He Known Obama Would Succeed Him And Fight For ‘The Wrong Side’ — Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, said yesterday that President Bush would have thought twice about invading Iraq if he had known that his successor would be “such a total incompetent leader” …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Liberaland and Raw Story

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, The Daily Caller, WPRI-TV and TMZ.com

Marc Caputo / Politico:

Alan Grayson called cops on wife for allegedly using his credit card — Florida Rep. Alan Grayson recently called his estranged wife a “gold digger,” but a review of the potential Senate candidate's soap-opera divorce case shows he unsuccessfully tried to have her criminally charged for far less …

Discussion: The Hill, National Journal, Washington Free Beacon and Business Insider

Nahal Toosi / Politico:

Rubio slams Obama plans to ease travel restrictions on Cuba — GOP presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio took another shot Wednesday at the Obama administration's effort to restore ties with Cuba, slamming the island's communist leaders for human rights abuses and insisting …

Discussion: The Week

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

The Commonwealth Fund:

The Problem of Underinsurance and How Rising Deductibles Will Make It Worse — Findings from the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey, 2014 — 31 million people in the United States were underinsured in 2014 — 11% of privately insured adults had a deductible of $3K or more in 2014, up from 1% in 2003

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Balloon Juice and New York Times

Dan Freedman / Connecticut Post:

Obama official once said train-safety cost outweighed benefit — WASHINGTON — When a Republican lawmaker in 2011 asked an Obama administration Office of Management and Budget official to name regulations where costs were not justified by benefits, the official had a ready answer.

Discussion: American Spectator, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Weasel Zippers

New York Post:

Narcotics cops ordered to stop arresting suspects over 40 — The city's narcotics cops are being told to stop arresting suspects over the age of 40 — a major strategy shift designed to target younger dealers, who are more likely to carry guns and use them, The Post has learned.

Discussion: Mediaite, Gothamist and BizPac Review