memeorandum: Senate Hands a Victory to Obama on Trade Pact (Jonathan Weisman/New York Times)

3:15 PM ET, June 23, 2015

Top Items:

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Rand Paul: Confederate Flag “Inescapably A Symbol Of Human Bondage And Slavery” — “... I think to every African-American in the country it's a symbolism of slavery to them and now it's a symbol of murder for this young man and so I think it's times to put it in a museum.” — Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Discussion: Hit & Run, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg Business, The Daily Beast, alicublog, Hot Air and New York Times

David Edwards / Raw Story:

Mike Huckabee calls for less dialog on race and more ‘conversions’ for Jesus: God already ‘solved’ racism — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee declared on Tuesday that racism had been solved. — The day after South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley …

Discussion: FishbowlDC, Mediaite, Joe. My. God. and Mock Paper Scissors

Dave Boucher / Tennessean.com:

TN leaders: Remove Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from Capitol — The bust of a Confederate general and leading figure in the early days of the Ku Klux Klan should be removed from the Tennessee statehouse, top Tennessee Democrats and the state Republican Party chairman said Monday.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Mail, Baltimore Sun, Politico, NBC News and Occidental Dissent

Politico:

Inside the Republican reversal on the Confederate flag — South Carolina Gov. Haley began informing people Friday of her decision, while Sen. Graham worked the phones with business leaders. — John McCain has expressed regret in hindsight over his own statements during his 2000 campaign that the Confederate flag was a state issue.

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, The Atlantic, BuzzFeed, The Federalist, Bloomberg Business, New York Times and Outside the Beltway

Glenn Smith / Post and Courier:

Survey finds divide, silence on Confederate flag issue in Legislature — The Post and Courier conducted a survey of House and Senate members to determine how much support exists for removing the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds. Many have not yet responded.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, AIM, Daily Kos, ABC News, NBC News and msnbc.com

Clay Chandler / The Clarion Ledger:
Gunn: Confederate part of state flag ‘needs to be removed’

MJ Lee / CNN:
First on CNN: Walmart to stop selling Confederate flag merchandise

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
Neo-Confederate Group Mobilizes To Defend Confederate Battle Flag

Discussion: New York Times, Daily Kos, PoliticusUSA, Fusion and AMERICAblog News

governor.virginia.gov:
In the Wake of U.S. Supreme Court Decision, Governor Begins Process to Remove Confederate Flag …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Gizmodo, WGN-TV, Daily Kos and Associated Press

Washington Post:
Virginia's McAuliffe plans to phase out Confederate flag license plate

Discussion: Mediaite and The Daily Caller

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
The Fight Against Confederate Symbols Spreads

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Guardian, The Texas Tribune, FOX News Radio, The Daily Caller and Boing Boing

Tom Dart / Guardian:
Mississippi to propose removal of Confederate emblem from state flag

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, WMAZ-TV, Shakesville and NPR

The Huffington Post:
As Governor, Bill Clinton Kept ‘Confederate’ Star On The Arkansas Flag

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Washington Post, Mediaite, RedState, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon and New York Times

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate advances fast-track trade bill for Obama — The Senate on Tuesday voted to advance President Obama's trade agenda, approving a measure to end debate on fast-track authority. — The 60-37 motion sets up a vote on final passage on Wednesday. If the Senate approves fast-track …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Washington Monthly, Politico, Mother Jones, The Gateway Pundit and Common Dreams

Sen. Ted Cruz / BREITBART.COM:

Exclusive — Ted Cruz: Obamatrade Enmeshed in Corrupt, Backroom Dealings — The American people do not trust President Obama. And they do not trust Republican leadership in Congress. And the reason is simple: for far too long, politicians in Washington have not told the truth.

Discussion: National Journal, ThinkProgress, The Nation, Washington Post, CNN, RedState, Daily Mail, Politico, TPNN and Hullabaloo

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Senate Hands a Victory to Obama on Trade Pact — WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday narrowly voted to end debate on legislation granting President Obama enhanced negotiating powers to complete a major Pacific trade accord, virtually ensuring final passage on Wednesday of Mr. Obama's top legislative priority …

Discussion: NBC News, The Stranger …, Pew Research Center, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Balloon Juice, Roll Call and RedState

Manu Raju / Politico:
Cruz reverses support for TPA trade bill, blasts GOP leaders

Discussion: Washington Post and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Obama scrambles for votes on fast-track authority

Discussion: Politico, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hot Air and PoliticusUSA

Suffolk University:

NH GOP Poll Shows Bush the Early Leader, While Trump Advances — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (14 percent) leads businessman Donald Trump (11 percent) in the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary contest, according to a poll from the Suffolk University Political Research Center.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Washington Post, Real Clear Politics, Washington Times and New York Times

Patrick O'Connor / Wall Street Journal:
WSJ/NBC Poll Finds Hillary Clinton in a Strong Position

Discussion: Guardian, Politico, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Taylor Marsh and Hinterland Gazette

Reid J. Epstein / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Surges in Popularity in N.H., Taking Second Place in Suffolk Poll

Discussion: The Hill and Outside the Beltway

New York Times:

The Roberts Court's Surprising Move Leftward — This term so far shows potential for a greater percentage of liberal decisions than any since 1969. — Decisions … The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has been a conservative court.

Discussion: Liberaland

Damon Root / Hit & Run:
The Kelo Debacle Turns 10

Discussion: Cafe Hayek and Washington Post

Orange County Register: Ten years later, still learning the lessons of Kelo

Caroline Bologna / The Huffington Post:

Charleston Dad's Viral Photo Captures Love In The Aftermath Of Tragedy — On Sunday June 21, local parishioners from churches across the Charleston area took part in “Charleston United,” an emotional prayer and worship gathering to honor the victims of the Emanuel A.M.E. Church shooting.

Discussion: Slantpoint, New York's PIX11 and FOX31 Denver

John Nettles Jr / Facebook: #charlestonstrong #prayforcharleston — This picture was hard …

Alastair Jamieson / NBC News:

Prison Worker Joyce Mitchell to Husband: ‘I Was Over My Head’ — New York prison worker Joyce Mitchell told her husband she was in over her head as part of a plot to free two killers who remain on the run, he told NBC News in an exclusive interview. — Speaking to TODAY's Matt Lauer …

Discussion: New York Times, Guardian, New York Post, Gothamist, Daily Mail, Business Insider, The Huffington Post and CNN

Sylvia Patrycja / Hollywood Reporter:

Composer James Horner Dies in Plane Crash: Hollywood Reacts — For his work on the 1997 best picture winner Titanic, directed by James Cameron, Horner captured the Oscar for original dramatic score, and he nabbed another Academy Award for original song (shared with lyricist Will Jennings) …

Discussion: USA Today, Variety, Washington Post, Hit & Run, Guardian, The Huffington Post, KXAN-TV and Towleroad

Andres Jauregui / The Huffington Post:

KFC ‘Fried Rat’ Is In Fact Chicken, Lab Test Confirms — It doesn't look appetizing, but it's definitely chicken. — Last week, KFC was forced to confront a customer's accusations that he'd been served a fried rat in a three-piece meal at a Los Angeles store.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, New York's PIX11 and KFOR-TV

Gillian Telling / EW.com:

EIGHT IS ENOUGH ACTOR DICK VAN PATTEN HAS DIED — Dick Van Patten, the star of TV's Eight is Enough, has died. He was 86. — “I am sorry to report this sad news,” his rep said in a statement released to media Tuesday. “His family will not be doing any press at this time.”

Discussion: American Spectator, Shakesville, New York's PIX11, myfox8.com and KFOR-TV