memeorandum: The Women Take Over — In oral arguments for the Texas abortion case … (Dahlia Lithwick/Slate)

4:40 PM ET, March 3, 2016

Top Items:

Open Letter on Donald Trump from GOP National Security Leaders — We the undersigned, members of the Republican national security community, represent a broad spectrum of opinion on America's role in the world and what is necessary to keep us safe and prosperous.

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Romney to Republicans: Never Trump — Mitt Romney opened a new front in the Republican Party's civil war on Thursday, going after Donald Trump in a salt-the-earth speech that eviscerated the Republican front-runner as lacking the temperament, business record and substantive policies to occupy the White House.

Politico:

Full transcript: Mitt Romney's remarks on Donald Trump and the 2016 race — Below are Mitt Romney's full remarks on Donald Trump and the 2016 presidential race, as prepared for delivery. Romney delivered his remarks at the University of Utah. — I am not here to announce my candidacy for office.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Bloomberg Business, The Moderate Voice, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Atlantic, American Spectator, NPR, The Other McCain and Shakesville

TIME:

Read Mitt Romney's Speech About Donald Trump — Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney made the case against Donald Trump in Utah Thursday. — Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney made the case against Donald Trump in Utah Thursday.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, New York Times, neo-neocon, TheStreet.com, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …, Outside the Beltway and Instapundit

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

Mitt Romney Pulls No Punches In Major Speech Trashing Donald Trump — In what may be an unprecedented speech by a major American political figure, former presidential nominee Mitt Romney implored his fellow Republicans on Thursday not to nominate the frontrunner Donald Trump for president.

Discussion: mccain.senate.gov and Balloon Juice

Washington Post:

Mitt Romney: ‘Trump is a phony, a fraud’ who is ‘playing the American public for suckers’ — How Trump threw out the GOP playbook on Planned Parenthood — SALT LAKE CITY — Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, plans to deliver a sharp broadside against Donald Trump today …

Discussion: RedState, CBS News, Politico, ThinkProgressPage Array, Talking Points Memo and Mother Jones

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Gushing Romney Accepts Trump Endorsement — In some ways Mitt Romney's emergence as Twitter elder snarksman of the Republican party is stranger than Donald Trump's emergence as frontrunner. His speech today is obviously meant to be a weightier affair, a graver denunciation of Trump and Trumpism.

Discussion: The Week

Michelle Conlin / Reuters:

Exclusive: Koch brothers will not use funds to try to block Trump nomination — The Koch brothers, the most powerful conservative mega donors in the United States, will not use their $400 million political arsenal to try to block Republican front-runner Donald Trump's path to the presidential nomination …

Discussion: CNN and The Week

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Trump again threatens independent bid — Donald Trump said Thursday he is being treated unfairly by the Republican establishment and may run as an independent. — “I am watching television — and I am seeing ad, after ad, after ad put in by the establishment, knocking the hell out of me …

Discussion: Daily Kos, RedState and New York Magazine

Eliza Collins / Politico:
Trump punches back at ‘choke artist’ Romney

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Mashable

Tom LoBianco / CNN:
Donald Trump: Mitt Romney ‘would have dropped to his knees’ for my endorsement

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, Breitbart, Infowars, Little Green Footballs, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, NPR.org, naked capitalism and Western Journalism

Mitt Romney:
My remarks on the state of the 2016 presidential race

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, The Last Refuge, The Atlantic, Guardian, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Hullabaloo, The Daily Caller and Politico

Eli Stokols / Politico:
Kasich vows to win Ohio, fight on to convention

Discussion: ABC News and Political Wire

Geoff Earle / New York Post:
8 reasons we need to start preparing for President Trump

Discussion: Western Journalism

Olivier Knox / Yahoo Politics:
Mitt Romney tells Donald Trump voters they're ‘suckers’

Discussion: Politico and Hinckley Institute

New York Times:
Transcript of Mitt Romney's Speech on Donald Trump

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

Matea Gold / Washington Post:
Pandemonium in the GOP: Some embrace Trump while others rush to stop him

Discussion: ABC News, New York Magazine, CNN, Politico, Talking Points Memo, TownhallReview.com, Towleroad and Moe Lane

Leigh Ann Caldwell / NBC News:
Romney Slams Trump: ‘A Business Genius He Is Not’

Discussion: US News, Washington Post, Patterico's Pontifications and 89.3 KPCC

Inae Oh / Mother Jones:
Watch Mitt Romney Attempt to Tear Down “Phony” Donald Trump

Discussion: news9.com KWTV, KFOR-TV, Infowars, Fusion, 12NewsNow.Com, WCBD News 2 and Politico

Associated Press:
Romney calling Trump ‘phony,’ urging Republicans to shun him

Discussion: ABC News, Guardian, Gothamist, Right Wing Watch, New York Times, Algemeiner.com, Chronicle-Telegram, The American Mirror, 2016 Election Central, WATE-TV, The Hugh Hewitt ShowThe … and Associated Press

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:
Romney speech shows why Trump is winning

Discussion: ABC News, Political Wire and Washington Post

McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:
How Mitt Romney Decided To Take On Donald Trump

Discussion: Hot Air

Andrew Harnik / Los Angeles Times:
Editorial Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States

Discussion: Washington Post, Algemeiner.com, The Week and Newsalert

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Mitt Romney is doing Donald Trump a BIG favor by attacking him

Discussion: New York Times and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Timothy Cama / The Hill:

Chief justice rejects plea to block air pollution rule — Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected a plea Thursday to block a contentious air pollution rule for power plants, in a big victory for the Obama administration. — Roberts's order came despite his court's 5-4 decision …

Discussion: Western Journalism, Hot Air and The Bob and Chez Show

Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:

The Women Take Over — In oral arguments for the Texas abortion case, the three female justices upend the Supreme Court's balance of power. — When the Supreme Court last heard oral arguments in a landmark abortion case, it was April 1992, the case was Planned Parenthood v Casey, and Sandra Day O'Connor was the lone female justice.

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, MSNBC, Balloon Juice, Jezebel, SCOTUSblog, Hullabaloo, Shakesville, Mother Jones and The Huffington Post

David French / National Review:
The Abortion Industry Survives by Endangering Women's Lives

Discussion: addictinginfo.org, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Houston Public Media and Washington Post

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Chief Justice Rejects Effort to Block E.P.A. Limit on Power Plants

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and ACS Blog

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:

Rubio's path to an outright win has vanished — Marco Rubio's path to the Republican nomination short of a contested convention has narrowed to nearly nothing as his campaign and allies reboot their strategy to prepare for months of guerrilla warfare to deny Donald Trump a clean, pre-convention victory.

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times: A Wounded Marco Rubio Falls Back to Florida

Oliver Darcy / TheBlaze.com:
Sean Hannity Goes Scorched Earth Against Marco Rubio

Discussion: rubber hose and Western Journalism

Matthew Boyle / Breitbart:
Exclusive Audio — Rubio Campaign Manager Plots Brokered Convention In Manhattan Donor Meeting …

Discussion: Infowars and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Skagit Valley Herald / Goskagit.com:

Man accidentally kills himself while taking photos with gun — A 43-year-old Concrete man died Sunday after accidentally shooting himself in the face with what he thought was an unloaded gun. — The man and his girlfriend were at a residence in the 46000 block of Baker Loop Road taking photos …

Discussion: Death and TaxesDeath and Taxes, Raw Story, CBS New York, WNEP-TV, Fox 59 and Q13 FOX News

Sabato's Crystal Ball:

The Trumpmare: Can the Republicans Save the Senate? — Let's have some speculative fun, if such a thing is possible in this election year. After recent primaries, it's not a stretch to imagine Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee; in fact, the odds at the moment favor this outcome.

Discussion: New York Times

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Charles Grassley Faces Formidable Challenger in Iowa Senate Race

Discussion: Des Moines Register, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Independent Journal Review, WQAD-TV, Politicus USA, Trail Blazers Blog, Business Insider, New York Magazine and The Week

Adam Goldman / Washington Post:

Justice Dept. grants immunity to staffer who set up Clinton email server — The Justice Department has granted immunity to the former State Department staffer who worked on Hillary Rodham Clinton's private email server, a sign the FBI investigation into possible criminal wrongdoing is progressing.

Alexandra Alper / Reuters:

Mexico says won't pay for Trump's ‘terrible’ border wall — MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - There is no way Mexico would fund Donald Trump's “terrible” plan to build a wall along its border with the United States if the Republican front-runner wins the U.S. presidential election, the Mexican finance minister said.

Discussion: Vox Popoli

Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press: Mexican Govt: We ‘Categorically’ Refuse To Pay For Trump's Border Wall

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgressPage Array:

Something Just Got In The Way Of Abortion Opponents' Favorite Talking Point. The Facts. — A new study published this week in a prestigious medical journal helps debunks abortion opponents' claim that women who become pregnant are becoming less likely to choose abortion.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Refinery29, NBC News and New England Journal …

John Branch / New York Times:

Brandi Chastain to Donate Her Brain for C.T.E. Research — SAN JOSE, Calif. — The retired soccer player Brandi Chastain remains best known for scoring the winning shootout goal in the 1999 World Cup final against China and for the jersey-shedding celebration that followed.

Discussion: USA Today, The Week, NPR, The Daily Caller, State of Health and Deadspin