memeorandum: Huge earthquake batters Chile, 78 dead (Reuters)

11:00 AM ET, February 27, 2010

Top Items:

Alexei Barrionuevo / New York Times:

8.8-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Chile — RIO DE JANEIRO — A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, shaking the capital of Santiago for 90 seconds and sending tsunami warnings from Chile to Ecuador. — Chile's TVN cable news channel was reporting 78 deaths, with the toll expected to rise.

Discussion: FP Passport, Vanity Fair, Hot Air, Fausta's Blog, TalkLeft, Matthew Yglesias, American Power, The Confluence and The Agonist

Reuters:

Huge earthquake batters Chile, 78 dead — SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck south-central Chile early on Saturday, killing at least 78 people, knocking down homes and hospitals, and triggering a tsunami. — Buildings caught fire and residents huddled …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Clusterstock and Political Wrinkles

BBC:

Massive earthquake strikes Chile — A massive earthquake has hit central Chile, killing at least 82 people, the interior minister says. — The 8.8 magnitude quake struck at 0634 GMT about 115km (70 miles) north-east of the city of Concepcion and 325km south-west of the capital, Santiago.

Discussion: AMERICAblog News

CNN:

Powerful earthquake rattles Chile; tsunami warning issued — (CNN) — An magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck central Chile early Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. — The quake's epicenter was located near the city of Concepcion, 212 miles (341 kilometers) from the capital of Santiago.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Pam's House Blend

Robert Mackey / The Lede:

Latest Updates on Earthquake in Chile — A map showing the location of Saturday's 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile from the Web site of the U.S. Geological Survey. … About one hour ago, Reuters reported that a bulletin from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said …

Discussion: Gateway Pundit

Associated Press:

Huge quake hits Chile; tsunami threatens Pacific — TALCA, Chile - A devastating earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, toppling homes, collapsing bridges and plunging trucks into the fractured earth. A tsunami set off by the magnitude-8.8 quake threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean — roughly a quarter of the globe.

Discussion: Fox News

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Coburn warns against majority-vote tactic in weekly Republican address — Should Democrats use the budget reconciliation process to pass healthcare reform, it would fly in the face of public opinion, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said in the Republicans' weekly address.

Discussion: The Swamp, CNN and The Politico

Andy McCarthy / The Corner on National Review Online:

Transformation — By: Andy McCarthy — On Sean's panel last night, when the conversation turned to how nervous Democrats supposedly are over what for now is teeing up like a very bad November, I felt like I was channeling Mark Steyn, Mark Levin and Rush. That is, I think our side is analyzing …

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Power Line

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Democrats to Press Health Bill With Simple Majority — WASHINGTON — Seeing no prospect of a bipartisan agreement on health care, Congressional Democrats said Friday that they would make another effort to pass sweeping health care legislation on their own. — If anything, Democrats said …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Right Pundits, The Caucus, Pundit & Pundette and Hit & Run

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Ben Nelson: Dems may have to abandon comprehensive health bill, go step-by-step

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, The New Republic, JammieWearingFool, Political Punch and The Corner on National …

New York Times:
After the Summit — The main lesson to draw from Thursday's …

Discussion: American Power, Firedoglake, The Atlantic Online, DailyHowler.com, Don Surber, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and USA Today

Alex Seitz-Wald / Think Progress:

Rep. Trent Franks: African-Americans were better off under slavery. — Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) — one of the most conservative member of Congress, according to a new National Journal ranking — decried the strained state of political discourse in an interview today with blogger-activist Mike Stark.

Discussion: New York Times, Salon, American Power, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Hotline On Call and Firedoglake

Mike Stark / StarkReports.com:

Bipartisanship is dead — At yesterday's health care discussion, Louise Slaughter told a moving story. — An elderly woman needed dentures but couldn't afford them. Her sister had dentures. When she passed, the surviving sister “inherited” the dentures and used them as her own.

Discussion: Raw Story, TPM LiveWire, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Hill and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Walid Zafar / Media Matters Action Network:
Rep. Trent Franks: Blacks Better Off Under Slavery

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Online and Matthew Yglesias

Lynn Sweet / Chicago Sun Times:

White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers to step down — WASHINGTON—White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers told me Friday she will step down next month, after presiding over 330 events in the White House in 14 months. — Rogers is departing after achieving a major goal …

Discussion: Fausta's Blog, Left Coast Rebel, Vanity Fair, Michelle Malkin, Newsweek Blogs, Political Punch, New York Magazine, Mediaite, The Page, The Atlantic Online, The Lonely Conservative, Ben Smith's Blog and No Sheeples Here

The Politico:
Desiree Rogers will resign

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, Swampland, The Swamp, Wilshire & Washington and Gawker

Lynn Sweet / Politics Daily:
Desiree Rogers To Step Down As White House Social Secretary

Discussion: Lynn Sweet, Vanity Fair, ABCNEWS and NewsReal Blog

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:

Greenwald, Weiner Talk Health Care on Morning Joe: No Reason Not to Vote on Public Option — I still don't think the Senate/White House bill is going anywhere, either with or without a public option, for reasons I've outlined before — though some seem to be hell-bent on forcing House Democrats to throw themselves on its funeral pyre.

Discussion: The Politico, Economix, RedState and The Swamp

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
MEET THE NEW WAY FORWARD (SAME AS THE OLD WAY FORWARD). …

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Huffington Post and TPMDC

Jared Allen / The Hill:
Democratic leaders scramble to find support for Senate job-creation bill

Discussion: The Politico

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
The Reconciliation Ball Moves Forward...

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Washington Post, TPM LiveWire, The Politico and Daily Kos

Bruce Bartlett / Forbes:

How To Clean Up The Tax Code — Does Wyden-Gregg point the way? — On Feb. 23 Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire) introduced S. 3018, a bill to reform the federal income tax. Unlike utopian reform ideas such as the flat tax, which would tear the existing tax system …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, The Atlantic Online and Ezra Klein

Michelle Andrews / Prescriptions:

Deaths Rising for Lack of Insurance, Study Finds — As members of the Obama administration and Congress met on Thursday to try to find common ground on health care, a new report warned that without comprehensive legislation, more than 275,000 adults nationwide will die over the next decade because of a lack of health insurance.

Discussion: Liberal Values, Crooks and Liars and MyDD

Chris Neefus / CNSNews:

Pelosi Says She's Running ‘Most Ethical’ Congress Ever, But Won't Ask Rangel to Resign Chairmanship—For Now — (CNSNews.com) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) insisted on Friday that she is running the most ethical and honest Congress in history. At the same time, however …

Discussion: Breitbart.tv, Hot Air, Gateway Pundit, American Conservative …, The Lonely Conservative and The Hill

Tuathadedannan / Associated Press:

Unemployment Extension Fails in Senate — GOP Sen. Jim Bunning Blocks Action over Concerns About Swelling Deficit — (AP) The Senate failed late Thursday to extend programs for laid-off workers, jeopardizing unemployment benefits scheduled to expire over the weekend.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!