memeorandum: Will He Run? Biden Speculation Mounts (Peter Nicholas/Wall Street Journal)

11:10 AM ET, June 29, 2015

Top Items:

Sen. Rand Paul / TIME:

Rand Paul: Government Should Get Out of the Marriage Business Altogether — Paul is the junior U.S. Senator for Kentucky. — While I disagree with Supreme Court's redefinition of marriage, I believe that all Americans have the right to contract. — The Constitution is silent on the question …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Bloomberg Business, Real Clear Politics, The Week, Vox Popoli, Instapundit, PinkNews and The Daily Caller

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton:

Attorney General Paxton: Religious Liberties of Texas Public Officials Remain Constitutionally Protected After Obergefell v. Hodges — Attorney General Ken Paxton today made the following statement and issued an opinion in response to questions about the impact of Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that redefined marriage:

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Dallas Morning News, Guardian, Above the Law, Trail Blazers Blog, Towleroad, TFN Insider, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Mashable, Politico and Wall Street Journal

Austin American-Statesman:

Texas AG: County clerks can refuse gay couples — County clerks can refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on religious objections to gay marriage, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Sunday. — Paxton noted that clerks who refuse to issue licenses can expect to be sued …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, Althouse, The Last Tradition, Walid Shoebat, Daily Kos and Wall Street Journal

Alexa Ura / The Texas Tribune:
Paxton: Clerks Don't Have to Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses

Discussion: Reuters, San Antonio Current, Off the Kuff, The Week and Political Wire

Peter Nicholas / Wall Street Journal:

Will He Run? Biden Speculation Mounts — Both sons urged the vice president to enter 2016 presidential race, but so far a bid doesn't seem imminent — When deciding whether to run for office, Vice President Joe Biden has made it a practice to seek his family's counsel.

Discussion: Politico, Philly.com, OnPolitics, Daily Mail, Washington Post and Moe Lane

Juan Williams / The Hill: The pollution of politics — When President Obama lobbied …

Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: What The GOP Is Saying About SCOTUS

Discussion: NBC News, Political Wire and Associated Press

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg Business:

States Seeking Voter Citizenship Proof Denied by U.S. Supreme Court — The U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider letting states require evidence of citizenship when people register to vote for federal elections, rejecting an appeal from Arizona and Kansas.

Discussion: Politico and Election Law Blog

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg Business:

Independent Redistricting Panel Upheld by U.S. Supreme Court — The 5-4 ruling is a setback to Arizona Republicans. — The U.S. Supreme Court bolstered efforts to make federal elections more competitive, upholding an independent commission set up by Arizona voters to draw congressional districts.

Discussion: Political Wire

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg Business:
BP, Anadarko Rejected by U.S. Supreme Court on Gulf Spill Fines

Discussion: The Week

Karl Rove / Medium:

A Time for Setting the Record Straight — I'm surprised Senator Ted Cruz criticizes me in his new book, particularly since I have been promoting it on my website, Rove.com, since April. Regardless, my recollection of the phone call he references from six years ago (2009) differs from his reported account.

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, Fox News, Washington Post and Cruz for President

Matthew Boyle / BREITBART.COM:
Exclusive — Cruz's New Book : Rove Thought Bush '41 ‘Too Old to Have Good Judgment’

Discussion: Politico and New York Times

Todd J. Gillman / Trail Blazers Blog:
Updated: Spat escalates as Ted Cruz dusts off 2009 email to rebut Karl Rove denial on Bush41 endorsement episode

Discussion: Washington Post

Kim Bellware / The Huffington Post:

Supreme Court Upholds Oklahoma's Use Of Lethal Injection Drug — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled in a 5-4 vote that Oklahoma may continue to use a controversial lethal injection drug during executions. — The Oklahoma death row prisoners who brought the matter to court …

Discussion: Business Insider and Daily Kos

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Supreme Court Allows Use of Execution Drug — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Monday against three death row inmates who had sought to bar the use of an execution drug they said risked causing excruciating pain. — The drug, the sedative midazolam, played a part in three long and apparently painful executions last year.

Discussion: Washington Post, The New Republic, The Week and The Verge

New York Times:

Puerto Rico's Governor Says Island's Debts Are ‘Not Payable’ — Puerto Rico's governor, saying he needs to pull the island out of a “death spiral,” has concluded that the commonwealth cannot pay its roughly $72 billion in debts, an admission that will probably have wide-reaching financial repercussions.

Discussion: Politico, Wall Street Journal, Telegraph, Washington Post, Business Insider, Bloomberg View, The Last Tradition, Reuters, NBC News, The Week and Bloomberg Business

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

Chief Justice Roberts Rejected Marriage Equality In The Best Possible Way For Liberals — Friday's landmark victory for marriage equality was handed down over the dissents of four justices, each of whom wrote their own dissenting opinion. Of these, by far the most thoughtful and the most significant …

Discussion: Washington Post, Hit & Run and Hot Air

Washington Post:

Jeb Bush dogged by decades of questions about business deals — In early 1989, seven weeks after his father moved into the White House, Jeb Bush took a trip to Nigeria. — Nearly 100,000 Nigerians turned out to see him over four days as he accompanied the executives of a Florida company …

Discussion: The Week

Mark Oppenheimer / TIME:

Now's the Time To End Tax Exemptions for Religious Institutions — Mark Oppenheimer writes the biweekly “Beliefs” column for The New York Times and is editor-at-large for Tablet. He also reports for The Atlantic, The Nation, This American Life, and elsewhere.

Discussion: The Federalist and RedState

New York Times:

David Sweat, Escaped New York Convict, Is Shot and Captured as Hunt Ends — CONSTABLE, N.Y. — David Sweat, the remaining prison escapee on the run in northern New York, was shot by a state trooper and taken into custody on Sunday after a 23-day manhunt that began with an improbable escape …

Discussion: ABC News, Scared Monkeys, The Daily Caller, The Week, Blazing Cat Fur, Washington Post, Refinery29 and Althouse

EU Press Room:

Information from the European Commission on the latest draft proposals in the context of negotiations with Greece — In the interest of transparency and for the information of the Greek people, the European Commission is publishing the latest proposals agreed among the three institutions …

Discussion: New York Times, The Other McCain, Telegraph, Mashable and Business Insider