Top Items:
Jim Yardley / New York Times:
Pope Francis Suggests Donald Trump Is ‘Not Christian’ — ABOARD THE PAPAL AIRLINER — Inserting himself into the Republican presidential race, Pope Francis on Wednesday suggested that Donald J. Trump “is not Christian” because of the harshness of his campaign promises to deport more immigrants …
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Donald J Trump for President:
DONALD J. TRUMP RESPONSE TO THE POPE — If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened.
Nick Gass / Politico:
Trump goes to war with the pope — Pope Francis suggested Thursday that Donald Trump is “not Christian” because he wants to build a wall between the United States and Mexico. Trump fired back with his own statement, suggesting to the leader of the Roman Catholic Church that the Islamic State …
Discussion:
Yahoo Politics, Washington Post, ABC News, New York Times and Right Wing Watch
Nicole Winfield / Associated Press:
Pope on Trump: Anyone who wants border walls isn't Christian — ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis said Thursday that Donald Trump is “not Christian” if he wants to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Trump immediately fired back, saying it is disgraceful for a religious leader to question a person's faith.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Daily Wire
Ben Shapiro / Breitbart:
Pope Francis Rips Capitalism, American Immigration Policy at Mexican Border — Pope Francis, apparently desperate to reach out to the Catholic Church's growing base in Latin America, spent the day slapping Americans in the face from across the US-Mexico border.
Discussion:
Daily Wire and Reuters
Yahoo Politics:
Pope says Trump ‘not Christian’ in views, plans over immigration
Pope says Trump ‘not Christian’ in views, plans over immigration
Discussion:
Washington Post and Politico
Gillian Mohney / ABC News:
Pope Francis Says Contraception May Be ‘Lesser of Two Evils’ During Zika Virus Outbreak
Pope Francis Says Contraception May Be ‘Lesser of Two Evils’ During Zika Virus Outbreak
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, CRUX and abc11.com
CBS News:
CBS News poll: Trump maintains commanding lead over GOP field — Donald Trump (35 percent) continues to hold a commanding lead over the rest of the field, with a 17 point lead over his closest rival, Texas Senator Ted Cruz (18 percent). John Kasich (11 percent) has now risen to a virtual third-place tie with Marco Rubio (12 percent).
Discussion:
NBC News, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Hot Air, Political Insider blog, Politico and USA Today
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CBS News:
CBS News poll: The next Supreme Court justice, Obama, and the economy — The U.S. Supreme Court — With an unexpected vacancy on the Supreme Court as a result of Justice Antonin Scalia's death, it's unclear if he will be replaced before the November election.
Discussion:
ABC News, Politico, NBC News, mprnews.org, Wall Street Journal, BizPac Review, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, abc11.com, The Week and Washington Post
Garrett Epps / The Atlantic:
The Republicans' Scalia Hysteria — A half-century ago, the brilliant British comedy troupe Beyond the Fringe produced “The End of the World,” a skit in which a group of cultists gather atop a mountain to greet the Apocalypse, prophesied for that very day. “Now is the end!” they chant.
Discussion:
New York Times, BloombergView.com, SCOTUSblog, Fusion, Prairie Weather and PrawfsBlawg
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
White House: Obama ‘regrets’ his filibuster of Supreme Court nominee
White House: Obama ‘regrets’ his filibuster of Supreme Court nominee
Discussion:
American Spectator, ABC News, Politico, The Daily Signal, CNBC, Power Line and The Week
Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
Outside Groups Warn GOP: Don't Even Think About Holding A SCOTUS Hearing
Outside Groups Warn GOP: Don't Even Think About Holding A SCOTUS Hearing
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Daily Kos
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Scalia's death has landed Republicans in a nasty trap
Scalia's death has landed Republicans in a nasty trap
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, CBS News, Politico and Politicus USA
CNN:
Republicans weigh denying Supreme Court nominee a hearing
Republicans weigh denying Supreme Court nominee a hearing
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA, Daily Kos and Washington Post
Eric Bradner / CNN:
Sandra Day O'Connor: Obama should name Scalia's replacement
Sandra Day O'Connor: Obama should name Scalia's replacement
Discussion:
Vox, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, Above the Law, addictinginfo.org and The Week
JCN / Judicial Crisis Network:
JCN Launches “Let the People Decide” Campaign
JCN Launches “Let the People Decide” Campaign
Discussion:
Politico and Talking Points Memo
Nate Cohn / New York Times:
Mainstream G.O.P. Field of Three Faces Brutal Delegate Math — If the Republican Party remains divided for much longer, it will start getting more difficult for a mainstream candidate to win the nomination. — Yet Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and John Kasich all have incentives to stay in the race …
Discussion:
Shakesville
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Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Trump leads in South Carolina
Fox News Poll: Trump leads in South Carolina
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Power Line, Political Wire, Politico and Hot Air
Mark Murray / NBC News:
Donald Trump Falls Behind Ted Cruz in National NBC/WSJ Poll
Donald Trump Falls Behind Ted Cruz in National NBC/WSJ Poll
Discussion:
Salon, Mediaite, The Right Scoop, Hullabaloo, New York Times, CNN, TPNN, Politico, Refinery29, The Week, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, The Last Refuge, Talking Points Memo, Charleston City Paper, The Daily Caller, MSNBC, National Review, AOL, Daily Wire, Hot Air, RedState, Washington Post, Conservative Review, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Fox News, Bloomberg Business, Florida Politics, Political Insider blog, New York Magazine, The Moderate Voice and Taylor Marsh
Chris Kahn / Reuters:
Trump leads Republican field nationally by more than 20 points: poll
Trump leads Republican field nationally by more than 20 points: poll
Discussion:
Power Line
Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com:
Donald Trump Promises: As President, I Will Sign a Bill to De-fund Planned Parenthood
Donald Trump Promises: As President, I Will Sign a Bill to De-fund Planned Parenthood
Discussion:
RedState, CBN.com, Hot Air and Right Wing Watch
Isaac Chotiner / Slate:
MSNBC's Town Hall With Donald Trump Was Disgraceful — The media's coverage of Trump has been soft, insufficient, and without substance. — Is Donald Trump in trouble? After facing hostile questions from Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski Wednesday night—they comprehensively laid out his flip-flops …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Politicus USA, Washington Post and Mother Jones
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Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Trump: I'll be ‘neutral’ on Israel and Palestine — GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Wednesday refused to pick sides in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. — “You know, I don't want to get into it,” he told hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski during a MSNBC town hall in Charleston, S.C.
Discussion:
RedState, Yahoo Politics, Daily Wire, Betsy's Page, Hot Air, American Spectator and Mondoweiss
Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Trump Mistakenly Thinks Description Of Sanders Is About Himself (VIDEO)
Trump Mistakenly Thinks Description Of Sanders Is About Himself (VIDEO)
Discussion:
MSNBC, Daily Wire and The Week
Ben Rhodes:
President Obama is going to Cuba. Here's why: — Cuba is only 90 miles from Florida, but for a long time the distance between our two countries seemed a lot greater. — For more than fifty years, the United States pursued a policy of isolating and pressuring Cuba.
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Jim Avila / ABC News:
President Obama to Visit Cuba in Historic Trip Next Month
President Obama to Visit Cuba in Historic Trip Next Month
Discussion:
CNN, abc11.com, Guardian, The Right Scoop, Weasel Zippers, New York Magazine and The Week
David Lat / Above the Law:
Controversy Erupts At A T14 Law School Over How (Or Even Whether) To Mourn Justice Scalia — How should one respond to the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a controversial figure within the law? One can imagine a range of possible reactions, from mourning and tributes to criticism …
Discussion:
Independent Journal Review, Althouse, Instapundit, Campus Reform, The Daily Caller and The College Fix
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Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
Summing Up Scalia — Getting right to the point:
Summing Up Scalia — Getting right to the point:
Discussion:
Balkinization
Patrick Howley / Breitbart:
Exclusive — SC Blogger: Marco Rubio's Campaign Manager Pushed Story That Nikki Haley Had An Affair With Me — COLUMBIA, S.C. — The campaign manager of 2016 GOP presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) once pushed out the story that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had an affair …
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Bill Chappell / NPR:
Oregon Occupier Countersues For $666 Billion, Citing ‘Works Of The Devil’ — Shawna Cox, one of the last militants to be arrested for occupying an Oregon wildlife refuge last month, has filed a counter-suit against the U.S. government and others in which she alleges “damages from the works of the devil in excess of 666,666,666,666.66.”
Discussion:
Friendly Atheist
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CNN:
Cliven Bundy indicted by federal grand jury
Cliven Bundy indicted by federal grand jury
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Politicus USA, Mashable and The Atlantic
Spencer Hall / SBNation.com:
A note from the editorial director — Earlier today, SB Nation posted a story called “Who is Daniel Holtzclaw?” that attempted to find out the backstory of convicted serial rapist Daniel Holtzclaw. The story focused on his football background in particular.
Discussion:
New York Times, Deadspin, Jezebel, Talking Points Memo, Slate, archive.is, Shakesville, FanSided and Slantpoint, more at Mediagazer »
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
How to Break a Party — Beginning with the Tea Party wave and continuing through the not-Romney musical chairs of the 2012 Republican primary and the battles over debt limits and fiscal cliffs, most coverage of the Republican Party's internal divisions during the Obama era fell into an easy groove …
Bradford Richardson / The Hill:
Obama ‘Hope’ designer endorses Sanders — Artist and activist Shepard Fairey, who designed the iconic “Hope” poster during then-Sen. Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, is backing Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. — “I'm supporting Bernie Sanders …
Discussion:
Daily Wire, Politico, Outside the Beltway and The Daily Caller