Top Items:
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
So What Did Hastert Do? — “The Coach”, former House Speaker turned high-priced lobbyist, is the target of a mysterious indictment. The Times has some details (and attaches the indictment) and the WaPo has some speculation that is informative for its omissions. — Background from the Times:
Discussion:
Washington Post and CANNONFIRE
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Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Creepy C-SPAN Caller To Hastert: Do You ‘Remember Me From Yorkville?’ (VIDEO) — Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) got a strange call from an Illinois resident last year in a C-SPAN segment that surfaced in light of allegations that he agreed to pay $3.5 million in hush money to an individual from the town of Yorkville.
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Daily Kos, Associated Press and TVNewser
Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: Welcome To The Martin O'Malley Moment
The Note: Welcome To The Martin O'Malley Moment
Discussion:
Bloomberg Business, BuzzFeed, Booman Tribune, Political Wire and Baltimore Sun
Monique Garcia / Chicago Tribune:
Hastert statue shelved at Illinois Capitol
Hastert statue shelved at Illinois Capitol
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Chicago and Politico
Monica Davey / New York Times:
U.S. Accuses Ex-House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Paying to Hide ‘Misconduct’
U.S. Accuses Ex-House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Paying to Hide ‘Misconduct’
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Washington Post and Booman Tribune
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Americans Choose “Pro-Choice” for First Time in Seven Years — Story Highlights — PRINCETON, N.J. — Half of Americans consider themselves “pro-choice” on abortion, surpassing the 44% who identify as “pro-life.” This is the first time since 2008 that the pro-choice position …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Mediaite, The Federalist, PoliticusUSA, LifeNews.com and The Huffington Post
RELATED:
Adam B. Lerner / Politico:
Pro-choice outpolls pro-life for first time in 7 years
Pro-choice outpolls pro-life for first time in 7 years
Discussion:
Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times
Dan Merica / CNN:
Bernie Sanders distances himself from ‘dumb’ 1972 essay on rape — Bernie Sanders wrote about rape fantasies in 1970s 06:17 — New York (CNN)Bernie Sanders' campaign tried on Thursday to distance the presidential candidate from a 1972 essay in which he wrote — among other things …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh
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Elliot Smilowitz / The Hill:
Sanders: 1972 rape essay was ‘dumb attempt’ at satire
Sanders: 1972 rape essay was ‘dumb attempt’ at satire
Discussion:
TheBlaze.com, Seven Days, Shakesville, BuzzFeed, CNN and BarbWire.com
Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
Let's Not Crucify Bernie Sanders for His Sexual-Fantasies Essay
Let's Not Crucify Bernie Sanders for His Sexual-Fantasies Essay
Discussion:
BREITBART.COM, NewsBusters, Vox, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air, Mediaite, American Spectator, alicublog, Twitchy, Althouse, Ed Driscoll and mrctv.org/videos
Deborah Sontag / New York Times:
An Award for Bill Clinton Came With $500,000 for His Foundation — To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Petra Nemcova, a Czech model who survived the disaster by clinging to a palm tree, decided to pull out all the stops for the annual fund-raiser of her school-building charity, the Happy Hearts Fund.
Discussion:
Fox News, Bloomberg Business, American Spectator, The Week, Hot Air, Althouse and Politico
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Rand Paul's money problem — Behind the Kentucky senator's NSA ‘filibuster’ lies a desperate quest for cash. — In a presidential campaign defined by billionaire sugar daddy donors, Rand Paul has a problem: He doesn't seem to have one. — While his rivals cultivate wealthy backers …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Bloomberg Business, Washington Monthly and Hot Air
Joe Conason / Politico:
The fake Clinton scandals are back — The right's newest crusade has an old fake villain. — Lead image by AP Photo. — Has Washington learned nothing from Whitewater? The Clintons have spent their entire political lives in the capital dogged by one fake scandal after another.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Slate, The Atlantic, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Liberal Values and Daily Mail
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Nelson D. Schwartz / New York Times:
U.S. Economy Contracted 0.7% in First Quarter — The economy got off to an even weaker start this year than first thought, the government reported Friday, as economic activity contracted amid a disappointing trade picture and continued caution on spending by businesses and consumers alike.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Washington Monthly, White House.gov Blog, Wall Street Journal, Truth Revolt, Scared Monkeys and The Week
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Julian Hattem / The Hill:
Thousands of websites block Congress in Patriot Act protest — Thousands of websites are blocking Congress's access to their sites in a show of force to protest the Patriot Act. — Led by the online activist group Fight for the Future, more than 10,000 sites have added code that redirects …
Discussion:
Guardian and Business Insider
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Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Christie to pull New Jersey from Common Core — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced Thursday he will pull his state out of Common Core, a move that could bolster his standing with grassroots Republican primary voters opposed to the education standards.
RELATED:
Matt Arco / New Jersey Online:
Christie: Dump Common Core education standards
Christie: Dump Common Core education standards
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The PJ Tatler and Politico
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
The Insecure American — America remains, despite the damage inflicted by the Great Recession and its aftermath, a very rich country. But many Americans are economically insecure, with little protection from life's risks. They frequently experience financial hardship …
Jeff Rathke / US Department of State:
Rescission of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism — Press Statement — Director, Office of Press Relations — Washington, DC — In December 2014, the President instructed the Secretary of State to immediately launch a review of Cuba's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism …
Discussion:
Telegraph, Daily Mail, Common Dreams, mrctv.org/videos and The Week
Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Trump stokes 2016 talk, schedules ‘major announcement’ — Donald Trump will make a “major announcement” on June 16 at New York City's Trump Tower before heading to New Hampshire the next day, according to WMUR-9 in New Hampshire. — The schedule adds to the speculation Trump will run …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Shakesville, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, Hot Air, Red Alert Politics and Bloomberg Business
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Joe Otterson / The Wrap:
Donald Trump Has ‘Foolproof’ Plan to Defeat ISIS - But He Won't Share It (Video)
Donald Trump Has ‘Foolproof’ Plan to Defeat ISIS - But He Won't Share It (Video)
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Huffington Post
Politico:
Lincoln Chafee to announce presidential run on June 3 — Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee will officially enter the presidential race on June 3, a source with knowledge of his plans told POLITICO. — He'll make the announcement in a speech he's scheduled to deliver next Wednesday …
Discussion:
OnPolitics
Matt Richtel / New York Times:
Windshield Devices Bring Distracted Driving Debate to Eye Level — In a widely watched YouTube video, a man is driving around Los Angeles when his phone rings. On a small screen mounted on the dashboard, an image of the caller, the man's mother, appears. — But there's an optical twist …
Discussion:
Boing Boing and Eschaton
Natasha Geiling / ThinkProgress:
Mysterious Globs Of Oil Close Beaches In Southern California — A cleanup crew collects balls of tar that washed ashore in Manhattan Beach, Calif. on Thursday, May 28, 2015. — CREDIT: AP — Nearly seven miles of popular Los Angeles coastline remain closed Friday after mysterious balls of oil …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Los Angeles Times, response.restoration.noaa.gov and FOX5 San Diego
Amanda Demme / New York Magazine:
No one is better at making children laugh than Boswick the Clown. He doesn't understand why adults are so scared of him. — Among the indignities the clown routinely endures, the theft of his Ralph Wiggum antenna topper barely registered. Until a few weeks earlier, a foam miniature …