memeorandum: Obama Ordering Changes in U.S. Hostage Policies (Julie Hirschfeld Davis/New York Times)

6:50 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: The Daily Beast, New York Times, Hit & Run, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Bloomberg Business and The Clarion Ledger

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: AOL Article, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, BizPac Review, Daily Mail, Washington Post and Gizmodo

NBC News:

First Read: The Most Important Number in NBC/WSJ Poll — First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter. — The most important number in the new NBC/WSJ poll

Discussion: USA Today, NBC News, Shakesville, Washington Post, OnPolitics and Political Wire

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:

Congratulations! You Oppose The Confederate Flag. Now What? — The U.S. Civil War was a war that never should have been fought. Some 620,000 men died because slavery, an inhumane and evil practice, was permitted in many portions of this country. The South gets most of the blame for that …

Discussion: The Atlantic, RedState, Politico, The Texas Tribune, AOL Article, Commentary Magazine, Washington Post and alicublog

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: Reuters, Lexington Herald-Leader, Talking Points Memo, Nashville Public Radio, Common Dreams, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Baltimore Sun, Fusion, Politico, Daily Mail, Occidental Dissent, NBC News, Raw Story, Associated Press, GOP.com, The Atlantic and New York Times

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

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: Washington Post, Slate, ABC News, USA Today, Reuters, The Federalist, BuzzFeed, Bloomberg Business, FishbowlDC, Hullabaloo, New York Times, Outside the Beltway and Associated Press

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

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

Greg Bluestein / Political Insider blog:
Nathan Deal backtracks on Georgia's Confederate license plates, now wants a redesign

Discussion: Washington Post, WCNC-TV and Associated Press

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

Discussion: Mother Jones, KHOU-TV, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, NPR, Daily Kos, Gizmodo and WGN-TV

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Ky. gov candidate Bevin wants state to remove Jefferson Davis statue

Discussion: Slantpoint and Hot Air

Glenn Smith / Post and Courier:
Survey finds divide, silence on Confederate flag issue in Legislature

Discussion: Political Insider blog, Business Insider, Fox News, ThinkProgress, AIM, The Huffington Post, ABC News, NBC News, Daily Kos, msnbc.com, Washington Post and NPR, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Pare / timesfreepress.com:
Haslam favors removal of Confederate flag from Tennessee license plates

Discussion: Political Insider blog, Tennessean.com and Talking Points Memo

Scott Wise / WTVR-TV:
Governor orders Confederate flag removed from Virginia state license plates

Discussion: Bloomberg View, The Huffington Post, Joe. My. God. and Bloomberg Business

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

Discussion: Weekly Standard, BREITBART.COM, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Mediaite, RedState, Washington Free Beacon, New York Times and Hot Air

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

Discussion: The Atlantic, Political Insider blog, CNN, NBC News, Slantpoint, Mediaite, Bloomberg Business, The Daily Caller and No More Mister Nice Blog

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, Trail Blazers Blog, The Daily Signal, The Hill, CNN, The Nation, Washington Post, TPNN, ThinkProgress, Daily Mail, Politico, Hot Air, 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: Mother Jones, Politico, Bloomberg Business, Washington Monthly, The Gateway Pundit and Common Dreams

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

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

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

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

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: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Real Clear Politics, New York Times, Politico, FITSNews, Washington Times and The Daily Caller

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

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

Politico:
Harry Reid calls for expanded background checks

Discussion: NBC News and Political Wire

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

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: Balkinization and Liberaland

Justin Fenton / Baltimore Sun:

Autopsy of Freddie Gray shows ‘high-energy’ impact — Freddie Gray suffered a single “high-energy injury” — like those seen in shallow-water diving incidents — most likely caused when the police van in which he was riding suddenly decelerated, according to a copy of the autopsy report obtained by The Baltimore Sun.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Hit & Run

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

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

Public Religion Research Institute:

Survey | Most Americans Believe Protests Make the Country Better; Support Decreases Dramatically if Protesters are Identified as Black — June 2015 PRRI/RNS Religion News Survey — ▶ Read the topline questionnaire, including the survey methodology, here. ▶ Read the news release here.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Washington Post and Real Clear Politics

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