memeorandum: Mitch McConnell plans to link cyber, defense bills (Burgess Everett/Politico)

5:35 PM ET, June 9, 2015

Top Items:

Struggles With Finances Track Marco Rubio's Career — WEST MIAMI, Fla. — For years, Senator Marco Rubio struggled under the weight of student debt, mortgages and an extra loan against the value of his home totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. But in 2012, financial salvation seemed to have arrived …

Politico:

Rubio's ‘luxury speedboat’ is a fishing boat — In an effort to showcase Sen. Marco Rubio's history of financial struggles, The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Florida Republican had spent “$80,000 for a luxury speedboat” even as he faced outstanding debts.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider, Bloomberg Business, Hot Air, The Week and American Spectator

NBC News:
FIRST READ: What the Drama Inside Jeb Bush's Campaign Tells Us

Discussion: Fox News, New York Times, The Reaction and Twitchy

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Reid rips McConnell over judges — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Monday slammed Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for suggesting the Senate wouldn't approve a new circuit court or Supreme Court justice for President Obama. — “It would be a very stunning …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Juan Williams / The Hill:

GOP needs a new script on immigration — The politics of immigration reform is kryptonite to the current Republican majority in Congress. Now the playing field is shifting to 2016 presidential politics. — With 18 months of Republican control of Congress remaining, Speaker John Boehner …

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

GOP fears it will win ObamaCare court battle — Republicans in Congress are worried the Supreme Court will hand them a major headache this month if it rules against the federal health insurance exchanges in more than 30 states, ending subsidies for millions of people.

Discussion: ABC News, U.S. News, Hit & Run, Shakesville and Washington Post

Burgess Everett / Politico: Mitch McConnell plans to link cyber, defense bills

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
McConnell: 'We'll let you know' ObamaCare plan after SCOTUS rules

Discussion: Jay Bookman, Slantpoint, Daily Kos and Bloomberg Business

Nick Gass / Politico:

Bachelor Lindsey Graham promises a ‘rotating first lady’ — Unmarried Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says that if he becomes president, he will have a “rotating first lady.” — “Well, I've got a sister. She could play that role if necessary,” the 59-year-old South Carolinian presidential …

Discussion: Joe. My. God. and Shakesville

Francesca Chambers For / Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: 'I've got lots of friends, we'll have a rotating First Lady': Bachelor Lindsey Graham reveals how he'd solve biggest unanswered question of his White House campaign — The Republican senator told Daily Mail Online at a recent campaign event, 'Well, I've got a sister, she could play that role if necessary'

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Little Green Footballs, The Huffington Post, CNN, Mediaite and Washington Post

Des Moines Register:

Santorum calls crowd of 4 in rural Iowa a success — HAMLIN, Ia. - When just one Iowan showed up to Rick Santorum's 2 p.m. campaign stop at a restaurant here Monday, the winner of the 2012 Iowa caucuses made a quick decision: Might as well order lunch. — “I haven't eaten, actually …

Discussion: Raw Story, WHOTV, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, The Week, Shakesville, PinkNews, Bloomberg Business and Mediaite

Marianne LeVine / Politico:
Court hands down surprise pension ruling for Christie

Discussion: The Daily Signal

Nick Gass / Politico:
One voter shows up at Santorum event in Iowa

Discussion: American Spectator and The Week

Seth Stoughton / Talking Points Memo:

A Former Cop On What Went Wrong In McKinney — An officer in McKinney, Texas, dashes down a sidewalk, losing his flashlight as he runs past a teenage videographer toward an emergency. Seconds later, the teen with the camera walks up to another officer, one who is standing with a group of kids.

Discussion: Washington Post and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Laura Bassett / The Huffington Post:

Jeb Bush In 1995: Unwed Mothers Should Be Publicly Shamed — Public shaming would be an effective way to regulate the “irresponsible behavior” of unwed mothers, misbehaving teenagers and welfare recipients, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) argued in his 1995 book Profiles in Character.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Raw Story, Daily Kos and Hullabaloo

Ahiza Garcia / Talking Points Memo:

Sarah Palin Shames Fox News' Megyn Kelly For Interviewing Duggar Daughters (VIDEO) — During an interview Monday night on Fox News, former Alaska Gov. and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin (R) criticized “the media” for interviewing two female reality TV stars who were allegedly abused by their brother.

Nick Gass / Politico:
Huckabee to Megyn Kelly: Media exploiting Duggar family

Discussion: Shakesville, Slantpoint, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Progress Pond and Mediaite

Margalit Fox / New York Times:

Vincent Musetto, 74, Author of ‘Headless’ Headline of Ageless Fame, Is Dead — Vincent Musetto, a retired editor at The New York Post who wrote the most anatomically evocative headline in the history of American journalism — HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR — died on Tuesday in the Bronx. He was 74.

Discussion: Capital New York, Outside the Beltway and Poynter.

Anne Gearan / Washington Post:

How cheap is Hillary Clinton's campaign? This cheap. — NEW YORK — John Podesta — counselor and enforcer to two presidents, longtime Democratic sage and now the chairman of Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign — stood in line on a Manhattan street corner the other day, waiting to board a bus.

Discussion: New Jersey Online, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, The Week, The Huffington Post and Washington Free Beacon

Associated Press:

Service Dog Throws Self In Front Of Bus To Save Blind Owner's Life — BREWSTER, N.Y. (AP) — A service dog threw himself in front of a mini school bus to try to protect his blind owner and stayed by her side as emergency responders tended to the injured pair, authorities said.

Discussion: lohud.com, WCNC-TV, CBS New York and The Week

Russell Berman / The Atlantic:

Republicans Try to Curtail the Census … Why does the government want to know how many toilets you have in your home? — It might seem like a silly question, but it is now central to a dispute between congressional Republicans and the Obama administration over the kinds of questions …

Discussion: Hot Air

Natalie Solis / Fox4News.com:

Teen who filmed McKinney pool party takedown video speaks out — The teen boy who recorded the now-infamous McKinney pool party takedown video spoke to FOX 4 on Monday. — The video, filmed by 15-year-old Brandon Brooks, shows a McKinney police officer throwing a teenage girl to the ground …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Fox News, Crime Blog, dallasmorningviewsblog …, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, WFAA-TV, NPR and The Gateway Pundit

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Activists Want Black Host Who Blamed Teens For McKinney Pool Fight FIRED

Discussion: Hot Air, The Last Refuge, BizPac Review, BREITBART.COM, The Gateway Pundit, New York Times, Little Green Footballs, The Huffington Post and Raw Story

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:

Franklin Graham Drops Bank Over LGBT Rights Stance, Joins Bank That's Sponsoring A Pride Event — Upset that Wells Fargo is running an ad which includes the story of a lesbian couple learning sign language before adopting a child who is deaf, Franklin Graham announced last week …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, FRC, Metro Weekly, The Daily Banter, Joe. My. God., Salon, Raw Story, Religion News Service, PinkNews, Faithfully LGBT and Towleroad News #gay

Stephen Collinson / CNN:

Washington (CNN)Hillary Clinton has another Libya problem. — She's already grappling with the political headaches from deleted emails and from the terror attack that left four Americans dead in Benghazi. — But she'll face a broader challenge in what's become of the North African country since …

Discussion: Liberal Values and Instapundit

Lauren Gambino / Guardian:

NYPD chief Bratton says hiring black officers is difficult: ‘So many have spent time in jail’ — New York police commissioner says bringing more non-white officers into force is challenging because many African American men have criminal records — Hiring more non-white officers is difficult …

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette, Gawker, Slantpoint, Mediaite and The Week

9news.com.au:

Woman charged after allegedly stubbing lit cigarette into 9NEWS reporter's face — A woman visiting court to witness murder charges against another woman has been arrested after allegedly stubbing a lit cigarette into a 9NEWS reporter's face. — The 23-year-old woman pushed a baby stroller …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Week, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Paper:

Free to Be Miley — Miley Cyrus is in the midst of making a heated point about animal rights, and she's getting so worked up about it her cheekbones are jabbing the keypad of the telephone, punctuating our conversation with errant beeps. She's calling from “the middle of the jungle” …

Discussion: Radio.com, Hollywood Life, Slantpoint, In Touch Weekly, Celebuzz, Entertain This!, The Daily Caller and Mashable

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Jeb shakes up his disappointing campaign before it even starts — “I'm still for him,” says an adviser to Jeb Bush's presidential campaign, “but it hasn't gone very well so far, and we've got to face that. It's going to take some remedying.” — The remedying began Monday with word …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ABC News, Bloomberg View, Hit & Run, Hot Air, Washington Post and New York Times

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Mobilization Error — Every serious presidential candidate has to answer a fundamental strategic question: Do I think I can win by expanding my party's reach, or do I think I can win by mobilizing my party's base? — Two of the leading Republicans have staked out opposing sides on this issue.

Discussion: Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, National Journal, Washington Monthly and Wall Street Journal

Politico:

Robert Gibbs joins McDonald's — Former White House press secretary and senior adviser to President Obama's 2012 campaign Robert Gibbs is joining McDonald's as its global chief communications officer, the fast food chain announced on Tuesday. — Gibbs, who left his White House post in 2011 …