memeorandum: ‘Are you an African American?’ Why an NAACP official isn't saying. (Justin Wm/Washington Post)

4:10 PM ET, June 12, 2015

Top Items:

Claudia Koerner / BuzzFeed:

A Civil Rights Leader Has Disguised Herself As Black For Years, Her Parents Say — Rachel Dolezal is president of the Spokane, Washington, chapter of the NAACP and also chairs a city police oversight commission. Her parents also told BuzzFeed News that she is passing off her younger adopted black brother as her own son.

Discussion: Instapundit, Guardian, neo-neocon, Althouse, The Federalist, RedState, The Daily Caller, Shakesville, Hot Air, Mediaite, Jamelle Bouie and protein wisdom

Spokesman.com:

Credibility of local NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal questioned — Controversy is swirling around one of the Inland Northwest's most prominent civil rights activists, with family members of Rachel Dolezal saying the local leader of the NCAAP has been falsely portraying herself as black for years.

Coeur d'Alene Press:

Black like me? — Civil rights activist's ethnicity questioned — COEUR d'ALENE - She's risen from North Idaho civil rights champion to positions of power in Spokane as a self-described black woman. — But what if Rachel Dolezal is really white? — Dolezal, chair of Spokane's Office …

Discussion: Mashable, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

USA Today / WXIA-TV:

‘Black’ NAACP leader outed as white woman — The leader of the Spokane NAACP falsely portrays herself as black, according to her family. A recent investigation into racially charged threats made toward the president have raised more questions about who made the threats. KREM-TV … CONNECT

Discussion: New York Times, Hit & Run, Tea Party, theGrio and Associated Press

Justin Wm / Washington Post:

‘Are you an African American?’ Why an NAACP official isn't saying. — A controversy is raging over whether a prominent Washington state civil rights activist and Howard University graduate who claimed she was African American is actually white. — Rachel Dolezal, 37 …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, KXLY-TV, Hot Air, Mediaite, Slantpoint and The Week

KREM-TV:
Local NAACP leader outed as white woman refutes claim

Discussion: BizPac Review

NAACP:
NAACP STATEMENT ON RACHEL DOLEZAL

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Full Feed

Sean Davis / The Federalist:
If Rachel Dolezal Isn't Black, How Is Caitlyn Jenner A Woman?

Discussion: Hit & Run, Guardian and Althouse

Jeff Humphrey / KXLY-TV:
Did NAACP president lie about her race? City investigates

Discussion: Salon, Gawker, Outside the Beltway, ABC News, Guardian, Mediaite and NPR

Milo Yiannopoulos / BREITBART.COM:
A Big Slobbery Welcome To My Newest Trans-Black Sister, Rachel Dolezal

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

CNN:
Race of Rachel Dolezal, head of Spokane NAACP, comes under question

Discussion: ThinkProgress, KXLY-TV, theGrio, The Daily Caller, USA Today, Hot Air, TMZ.com, ABC News and The Gateway Pundit

Jessica Elgot / Guardian:
Civil rights activist misrepresented herself as black, claim parents

Discussion: Unfogged

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:

House deals humiliating blow to Obama in trade fight — Defying President Obama, House Democrats on Friday rallied to vote down legislation granting aid to workers displaced by trade, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the fast-track legislation that had been scheduled to hit the floor.

Discussion: Hit & Run, The Last Refuge, RedState and PoliticusUSA

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

Pelosi defies Obama on trade — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in a meandering but dramatic floor speech on Friday announced her vote against a measure providing assistance to workers displaced by trade. — “If TAA slows down the fast-track, I'm prepared to vote against TAA,” Pelosi said.

Discussion: Politico, The Week and Political Wire

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

House Rejects Trade Bill, Rebuffing Obama's Dramatic Appeal — WASHINGTON — House Democrats rebuffed a dramatic personal appeal from President Obama on Friday, torpedoing his ambitious push to expand his trade negotiating power — and, quite likely, his chance to secure a legacy-defining trade accord spanning the Pacific Ocean.

Discussion: Power Line, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Slantpoint, Common Dreams and Hit & Run

William Finnegan / New Yorker:

Why Does Obama Want This Trade Deal So Badly? — The political battle over the enormous, twelve-nation trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership keeps getting stranger. President Obama has made the completion of the deal the number-one legislative priority of his second term.

Discussion: rubber hose and Prairie Weather

Politico:
Obama: A vote against trade is a vote against me

Discussion: Hot Air

David Nakamura / Washington Post:
Obama-backed trade bill fails in the House

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Gateway Pundit and Bloomberg Business

Politico:
Dems deal Obama huge defeat on trade

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Daily Kos

Associated Press:
House rejects Obama on trade authority

Discussion: Associated Press, ThinkProgress, Hot Air and The Hill

The Huffington Post:
Obama Heads To Capitol Hill To Save His Trade Agenda

Discussion: Slantpoint and Political Wire

Politico:
Will Dems rescue Obama's trade pact?

Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News, Common Dreams, Washington Monthly, naked capitalism, Balloon Juice, Corrente and The Hill

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Mark Halperin, Ann Romney to host ‘Sunrise Pilates’ for GOP megadonors — Bloomberg Politics co-managing editor Mark Halperin and Ann Romney, wife of Mitt, will co-host an early morning pilates session for wealthy Republican donors at this weekend's Romney retreat in Deer Valley, Time's Zeke Miller reports.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Huffington Post

Zeke J Miller / TIME:
Rich Republican Donors Get VIP Retreat Treatment

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice and Real Clear Politics

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Walker open to teaming up with Rubio on 2016 ticket

Discussion: Washington Monthly, OnPolitics, Daily Kos, Bloomberg Business, Real Clear Politics and Washington Post

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

For Hillary, a new Iraq war trap — President Obama's decision to send 450 more American troops to Iraq has put Hillary Clinton in a tough spot. What will she say about the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria? — The answer, most likely, is nothing.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Atlantic and New York Times

Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: Hillary Clinton's Campaign Is About To Get Personal

Discussion: Liberal Values, The Cook Political Report and Taylor Marsh

Des Moines Register:

Last Slide — The Iowa Straw Poll is dead. — The governing board for the Republican Party of Iowa voted unanimously Friday to cancel the straw poll, a milestone on the path to the White House that had passed the strategic tipping point. It was no longer a political risk for presidential campaigns …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Iowa Republican, American Spectator, Fox News, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Political Wire, RedState and Wall Street Journal

Richard A. Oppel Jr / New York Times:

West Baltimore's Police Presence Drops, and Murders Soar — BALTIMORE — From the steps of her New Bethlehem Baptist Church, the Rev. Lisa Weah looked down the block to the open-air drug market outside the bodega on the corner a few hundred feet away. — The traffic there had been slowing until …

Discussion: CBS Baltimore, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News Insider and Baltimore Sun

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

Congressman On Sex Abuse Scandal: ‘The Only Victim Here Is Denny Hastert’ — The indictment last month of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) on charges of illegally concealing millions in banks withdrawals and lying to the FBI also revealed another serious breach …

Discussion: Shakesville and The Week

Jason Linkins / The Huffington Post:

Elizabeth Warren Tells Us That She Can't Even With Jamie Dimon's Mansplaining — So that happened. On this week's podcast, come for Sen. Eilzabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) plan to fix higher education, stay for her throwing shade back on JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider and Bloomberg Business