Top Items:
Jeff Merkley / New York Times:
Why I'm Supporting Bernie Sanders — NO decision we make as Americans more dramatically affects the direction of our country than our choice for president. He or she is more than the manager of the executive branch, commander in chief or appointer of judges.
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Editorials / New York Daily News:
Daily News Editorial Board says Vote Hillary Clinton: Her plans to give working- and middle-class Americans a fighting chance at rising incomes are far superior to Bernie Sanders' — A ritual that plays out at 8:30 a.m. on the first Friday of every month highlights the urgency …
Discussion:
Cosmopolitan, Vox, CNN, AOL, Towleroad, Shakesville, CBS New York, New York Post, Daily News Bin, Balloon Juice, Washington Times, The Week and Politico
Lowell McAdam / LinkedIn Pulse:
Feeling The Bern of Reality — The Facts About Verizon and The ‘Moral Economy’
Feeling The Bern of Reality — The Facts About Verizon and The ‘Moral Economy’
Discussion:
Politico, CNNMoney, The Week and Investor's Business Daily
Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: What Millennials Want
The Note: What Millennials Want
Discussion:
RedState and The Gateway Pundit
Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:
Cruz likely to block Trump on a second ballot at the GOP convention — What's the deal with the Colorado GOP convention? — What is a super PAC? … State of the 2016 race … Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is close to ensuring that Donald Trump cannot win the GOP nomination …
Discussion:
RedState, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Politico, New York Magazine, Hot Air, The Resurgent, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic and CNN
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New York Times:
Donald Trump, Losing Ground, Tries to Blame the System — WASHINGTON — Donald J. Trump and his allies are engaged in an aggressive effort to undermine the Republican nominating process by framing it as rigged and corrupt, hoping to compensate for organizational deficiencies that have left …
Matthew J. Dowd / Wall Street Journal:
How Donald Trump Is Right About Our ‘Rigged’ Politics
How Donald Trump Is Right About Our ‘Rigged’ Politics
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, The Hill and The Daily Caller
CBS News:
USS Donald Cook buzzed again by Russian jets in Baltic — Yet again Russian jets made provocatively close passes to an American warship, as tensions continue between Moscow and Washington over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. — A senior defense official told CBS News that two recent incidents were …
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon and CBS New York
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Lucas Tomlinson / Fox News:
Russian jets pass US Navy destroyer at ‘unsafe’ speed in Baltic Sea, official says
Russian jets pass US Navy destroyer at ‘unsafe’ speed in Baltic Sea, official says
Discussion:
Washington Post
David Corn / Mother Jones:
The Time Ted Cruz Defended a Ban on Dildos — His legal team argued there was no right “to stimulate one's genitals.” — In one chapter of his campaign book, A Time for Truth, Sen. Ted Cruz proudly chronicles his days as a Texas solicitor general, a post he held from 2003 to 2008.
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Rubio says he wasn't endorsing Cruz — Marco Rubio doesn't want his praise for Ted Cruz to be interpreted as an endorsement. — The Florida Republican senator said Wednesday that his remarks Tuesday to Mark Levin that he wants a conservative and that Cruz is the only candidate left that …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and LifeNews.com
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Ben White / Politico:
Cruz's message to Wall Street: Help me
Cruz's message to Wall Street: Help me
Discussion:
Washington Post, Daily Kos and The Week
Brian McBride / ABC News:
Marco Rubio (Sort of) Endorses Ted Cruz, Shuts Down VP Speculation
Marco Rubio (Sort of) Endorses Ted Cruz, Shuts Down VP Speculation
Discussion:
RedState, Talking Points Memo, Conservative Review, AOL and abc7news.com
Karin Brulliard / Washington Post:
Octopus slips out of aquarium tank, crawls across floor, escapes down pipe to ocean … Inky the octopus didn't even try to cover his tracks. — By the time the staff at New Zealand's National Aquarium noticed that he was missing, telltale suction cup prints were the main clue to an easily-solved mystery.
Discussion:
Stuff.co.nz, Daily Mail, New Zealand Herald, The Week, USA Today and Newshub
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Kevin Robillard / Politico:
White House demands Maryland super PAC pull Senate ad — The White House is wading into one of the hardest-fought Democratic primaries in the country — to tell one side to stop invoking the president on its behalf. — In an unprecedented and forceful move, President Barack Obama's administration …
Discussion:
Independent Journal … and Washington Post
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Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
White House intervenes in Maryland Senate Democratic primary
White House intervenes in Maryland Senate Democratic primary
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, NBC4 Washington and Baltimore Sun
Jason Meisner / Chicago Tribune:
In blow to defense, judge to consider lies by Hastert at his sentencing — Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert through the years. — The federal judge overseeing Dennis Hastert's hush money case said he intends to factor in at Hastert's upcoming sentencing that the former speaker lied …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Bob Cusack / The Hill:
Trump won't attend White House dinner — says he will not be attending this year's White House Correspondents' Association dinner, despite receiving a flurry of invitations from the media. — Trump attended the annual dinner in 2011, only to have President Obama poke fun at him repeatedly in his comedy routine.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Oliver Willis and Shakesville
Carrie Dann / NBC News:
NBC Poll: Trump, Clinton Lead in Maryland — Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton hold big leads in Maryland two weeks before the state's presidential primary election, according to a new NBC 4/Marist poll released Tuesday night. — Among likely Republican voters, Trump holds a 12-point lead …
Discussion:
Washington Post
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Ryan Tracy / Wall Street Journal:
Regulators Set to Reject Some Big Banks' ‘Living Wills’ — J.P. Morgan, other firms to receive not credible verdict from Fed, FDIC — WASHINGTON—Regulators are set to reject the so-called living wills of at least half of the U.S.'s systemically important banks, including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. …
Discussion:
ValueWalk, The Week and New York Times
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Jesse Hamilton / Bloomberg:
Five Big Banks' Living Wills Rejected by U.S. Banking Agencies
Five Big Banks' Living Wills Rejected by U.S. Banking Agencies
Discussion:
Shadowproof, Common Dreams and Investor's Business Daily
Jeff Grabmeier / news.osu.edu:
The 6 elements of an effective apology, according to science — COLUMBUS, Ohio - There are six components to an apology - and the more of them you include when you say you're sorry, the more effective your apology will be, according to new research. — But if you're pressed for time or space …
Discussion:
Mother Jones
Tom Hayden / The Nation:
I Used to Support Bernie, but Then I Changed My Mind — I have a variety of concerns about both candidates' campaigns. But I intend to vote for Hillary Clinton in the California primary for one fundamental reason. — By , — A maze of political signs for Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in Charleston, South Carolina.
Discussion:
Raw Story, susiemadrak.com, Boing Boing, Blue Nation Review and Guardian
Everett Rosenfeld / CNBC:
Trump spokeswoman comes out swinging against Zuckerberg — Katrina Pierson, Trump Campaign Spokeswoman, responds to comments made by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg about not building walls. — Katrina Pierson, a spokeswoman for GOP front-runner Donald Trump's presidential campaign …
Discussion:
Politico, Business Insider, NBC News and Mashable
Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
FBI paid professional hackers one-time fee to crack San Bernardino iPhone — The FBI cracked a San Bernardino terrorist's phone with the help of professional hackers who discovered and brought to the bureau at least one previously unknown software flaw, according to people familiar with the matter.
Cliff Sims / Yellowhammer News:
Whistleblowers: Bentley ordered state helicopter to fly his forgotten wallet to the beach — MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Multiple confidential sources inside of state government came forward to Yellowhammer this week with accusations that Alabama Governor Robert Bentley ordered a state helicopter …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Political Wire
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
Donald Trump meets with Megyn Kelly at Trump Tower — Donald Trump and the Fox News host Megyn Kelly met at Trump Tower on Wednesday morning, a person with knowledge of the matter told CNNMoney. — The meeting was brokered by Fox News chairman Roger Ailes. — Representatives for Trump and Fox News had no immediate comment.