memeorandum: Reid seeks expanded gun background checks (Jordain Carney/The Hill)

4:45 PM ET, June 23, 2015

Top Items:

Fred Lucas / TheBlaze.com:

Hillary Clinton Not Talking About '92 Clinton-Gore Confederate Campaign Button — It's unclear if the Clinton-Gore Confederate flag campaign button that has been prominent on social media was an official part of their 1992 presidential campaign. — And Hillary Clinton isn't clarifying …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, AOL Article, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Weekly Standard, The Federalist, BizPac Review, Daily Mail, Gizmodo, Washington Post and Washington Free Beacon

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, Slate, FishbowlDC, CNN, Reuters, BuzzFeed, Hullabaloo, The Federalist, The Atlantic, Bloomberg Business, New York Times and Outside the Beltway

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

Business Insider:

Confederate flag sales are skyrocketing — UPDATE 2:38 ET: Amazon has taken down Confederate merchandise from its site. — Amazon's sales of Confederate flags have skyrocketed by more than 3,000% in the past 24 hours. — People are snatching up the flags online after several major retailers …

Discussion: Gizmodo, Al Jazeera America, The Verge, The Stranger …, Hit & Run, Boing Boing and Mediaite

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, Nashville Public Radio, Baltimore Sun, Daily Mail, NBC News, Politico, Occidental Dissent 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: Mediaite, The Mahablog, Politico, FishbowlDC, Joe. My. God. and Mock Paper Scissors

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: Fox News, ThinkProgress, NBC News, The Huffington Post, AIM, Daily Kos, ABC News, msnbc.com and NPR, more at Mediagazer »

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: KHOU-TV, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, NPR, Gizmodo, WGN-TV and Associated Press

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

Discussion: MySanAntonio.com, timesfreepress.com, USA Today, Baltimore Sun, Tennessean.com, Politico, FOX News Radio and Boing Boing

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

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

Discussion: The Atlantic, CNN, NBC News, Slantpoint, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Inae Oh / Mother Jones:
Mississippi House Speaker: Time to Remove Confederate Symbol from State Flag

Discussion: Politico, Bloomberg View, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Daily Kos and Washington Post

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, The Hill, The Nation, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, CNN, Daily Mail, Hot Air, TPNN, Politico, RedState and Hullabaloo

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

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, Washington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, 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

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, Washington Post, FITSNews, Politico, Real Clear Politics, Washington Times, New York Times and The Daily Caller

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

Discussion: Guardian, Washington Post, Politico, 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: Orange County Register, National Review, Cafe Hayek, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post

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: John Nettles Jr, Slantpoint, New York's PIX11 and FOX31 Denver

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Reid seeks expanded gun background checks — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called Tuesday for Congress to expand background checks for gun purchases in the wake of a shooting in Charleston, S.C., last week that left nine dead. — “The United States is the only advanced country …

Discussion: Politico and Daily Kos

Patrick Kulp / Mashable:

Pampers shows how smiling babies bring out the best in people — Pampers wants to highlight the way babies can brighten the days of everyone around them. — The diaper company's new ad, entitled “Better for Baby” is a two-and-a-half-minute montage of warm smiles, thoughtful gestures …

Discussion: FOX31 Denver and WTVR-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

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

Danielle Burger / Bloomberg Business:

Uninsured Rate Falls to Lowest Since Obamacare Implementation — The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has helped many Americans get health insurance, including about 10 million through new markets with government subsidies, and millions more through an expansion of Medicaid, the state-federal program for the poor.

Discussion: Liberal Values, The Huffington Post and ACASignups.net

Charles Fleming / Los Angeles Times:

California's black license plates are back in production — The black license plates used on California cars from 1963 to 1969 are back, thanks to a piece of legislation sponsored by Los Angeles Assemblyman Mike Gatto and 7,500 paying customers. — The California Department …

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

Adam Edelman / New York Daily News:

Low assault-weapon registration stats suggest low compliance with Gov. Cuomo's landmark SAFE Act gun control law — Fewer than 45,000 assault-style weapons have been registered in New York state since a landmark gun control act took effect in 2013, state records released Tuesday show …

Discussion: Hit & Run and John Hawkins' Right Wing News