memeorandum: U.S. to Sue S&P Over Ratings (Wall Street Journal)

10:20 PM ET, February 4, 2013

Top Items:

CNN:

Woman denies being a prostitute, meeting Menendez — (CNN) - A woman accused of being a prostitute involved with U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez denied those claims in a Spanish-language interview released Monday. — The woman, identified as 21-year-old Yaneisi Fernandez, says she's never met Menendez or worked as a prostitute.

Discussion: The Hill and Viral Read

Kevin Robillard / Politico: Robert Menendez denies prostitute ‘smears’

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:
HookerGate: Miami Herald Confirms Elements of Menendez Prostitute Story

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, The Lonely Conservative, Hot Air, The Hill, Naked Politics, Flopping Aces, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Daily Caller

Ginger Gibson / Politico:
Woman denies knowing Menendez

Discussion: CNN and Viral Read

Justin Sink / The Hill: Menendez blasts prostitution ‘smears’ as ‘absolutely false’

The Daily Caller:
In Menendez saga, prostitute fingers wealthy Dominican politician as sex-party participant

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, Viral Read, The Other McCain, FishbowlDC and VOXXI

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:

Why Ron Paul's Twitter Is Getting A Little More Interesting — The former great libertarian hope has started running his own Twitter feed since he left office. — Former Texas Rep. Ron Paul has been attracting negative attention all day for a tweet he sent Monday morning regarding the death …

Discussion: Mediaite, Fox News and NO QUARTER USA NET

Facebook:

Ron Paul · 1,118,198 like this — As a veteran, I certainly recognize that this weekend's violence and killing of Chris Kyle were a tragic and sad event. My condolences and prayers go out to Mr. Kyle's family. Unconstitutional and unnecessary wars have endless unintended consequences.

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, CNN, Washington Examiner and National Review

Vince Coglianese / The Daily Caller:
Former congressman and libertarian icon Ron Paul tweeted …

Discussion: CNN, “The Lid”, protein wisdom and LewRockwell.com Blog

Thisistwitchy / Twitchy:
Disgusting: Ron Paul attacks murder victim, war hero Chris Kyle; Updated

Discussion: This ain't Hell … and Conservative Intelligence …

Hillary Chabot / Boston Herald:

Tagg, you're it for GOP Senate hopes — Tagg Romney is considering a run in the special Senate election now that Scott Brown has opted out, the Truth Squad has learned. — Calls for Romney, 42, to join in the short campaign to replace Secretary of State John F. Kerry have increased since …

Talking Points Memo:
Tagg Romney On Senate Run: “Timing Is Not Right With Me'

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Shushannah Walshe / ABCNEWS:
Tagg Romney for Senate? No Way, Sources Say

Discussion: Politico, Roll Call, Mediaite, Addicting Info, msnbc.com and Post Politics

David Nather / Politico:

Kasich's Obamacare flip burns conservatives — Conservative groups wanted to stop the march of Obamacare expansion at ground zero: the states. — But one of their best hopes just caved. — John Kasich, the fiercely conservative governor of Ohio, announced Monday that he's …

Discussion: CNN and Washington Monthly

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
John Kasich Accepts Obamacare's Medicaid Expansion

Discussion: Brad DeLong

Jeffrey Young / The Huffington Post:
Ohio Medicaid Expansion Backed By GOP Gov. John Kasich

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The National Memo and Viral Read

BBC:

Reconstructed face of Richard III — The reconstruction was revealed earlier for the first time — A facial reconstruction based on the skull of Richard III has revealed how the English king may have looked. — A skeleton found under a car park in Leicester has been confirmed as that of the king.

Discussion: Truthdig and AMERICAN DIGEST

Richard III / BBC:

Car park skeleton is Richard III — The skeleton is ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ the remains of Richard III — A skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park has been confirmed as that of English king Richard III. — Experts from the University of Leicester said DNA from the bones matched that of descendants of the monarch's family.

Discussion: Guardian, New York Times, The Daily Caller, The Week, The Reality-Based Community, neo-neocon, The Mahablog, Taylor Marsh, The Glittering Eye, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Moe Lane

Maev Kennedy / Guardian:
DNA confirms bones belong to Richard III

Discussion: The Raw Story, The Volokh Conspiracy, Mother Jones and Balloon Juice

Karen Tumulty / She The People:

Janet Napolitano: A woman to watch for 2016 — So, what happens if Hillary Clinton doesn't run in 2016? — It is hard to imagine the presidential field without a woman contender, and here's one to keep your eye on: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Discussion: Post Politics, Weasel Zippers, Sister Toldjah and The Lonely Conservative

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Obama pushes immigration reform with CEOs, labor leaders

Discussion: Politico

Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Carney: Obama never ‘pretended’ he grew up as an avid hunter

Discussion: Politico

Agoldberg / The Smoking Gun:

Cops Say Road Rage Incident Was Prompted By Suspect's “Impeach Obama” Bumper Sticker — Paul Guaschino was driving Friday when a fellow motorist spotted an “Impeach Obama” bumper sticker on the 62-year-old Connecticut resident's vehicle. — According to cops, the other driver apparently …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. to Sue S&P Over Ratings — Justice Department Says Endorsements of Risky Mortgage Bonds Fueled Crisis — The Justice Department is expected to sue Standard & Poor's Ratings Services as soon as Tuesday, alleging the firm ignored its own standards to rate mortgage bonds that imploded …

Discussion: The Week and Business Insider

DealBook:
U.S. Plans to Sue S.&P. for Ratings on Loan Bundles

Discussion: The Stranger …

Gio Benitez / ABCNEWS:

Alabama Hostage Standoff Ends: Jimmy Lee Dykes Dead, Child Safe After Secret Surveillance — A week-long standoff in Alabama, where a retired trucker held a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker, has ended with the kidnapper dead and the child safe, according to law enforcement.

Discussion: New York Times, NY Daily News, Outside the Beltway and CNN

CNN:
Bunker gunman dead, hostage safe

Discussion: The Reaction and Real-Time News from Montgomery

Manu Raju / Politico:

McCain: Don't filibuster Hagel — Sen. John McCain appears to have cleared the way Monday for Chuck Hagel to be the next secretary of defense. — The Arizona Republican, who has been a prominent voice in the debate over Hagel, said Monday he would oppose any attempt to filibuster the nomination …

Discussion: First Read, cn|2 Politics, Hot Air and Weekly Standard

Reuters:

Insight: Electric cars head toward another dead end — (Reuters) - Are electric cars running out of juice again? — Recent moves by Japan's two largest automakers suggest that the electric car, after more than 100 years of development and several brief revivals, still is not ready for prime time - and may never be.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air and americanthinker.com

Natasha Singer / NBC News:

Why the AR-15 is most-wanted gun in America — 'It's kind of fashionable ... the young generation likes them, the assault-looking guns' — Below: — Latest market data — PASADENA, Md. — The phone rings again at Pasadena Pawn and Gun, and a familiar question comes down the line: “Got any ARs?”

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Sense of Events, Mediaite and Hullabaloo

Paul Campos / Salon:

Student loans: The next housing bubble — College students accrue hundreds of thousands in debt with little hope of paying it back. It's a cruel game — The American system of higher education is increasingly becoming a fiscal disaster for ever-larger numbers of students who move through it.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Eschaton

Brandon Friedman / TIME:

Just Who Do They Represent: At Hagel Hearing, Concern for Israel Tops U.S. Troops in Combat — When Senator Mike Lee took his turn to cross-examine defense-secretary nominee Chuck Hagel during last Thursday's confirmation hearing, he expressed considerable concern for Israel's security.

Discussion: Guardian, Hullabaloo and The Dish

Kyle Olson / EAGnews.org:

Texas 6th graders design flags for a new socialist nation — EAGnews.org — AUSTIN - You know America's changing when leftists have even infiltrated Texas schools. — According to the website txcscopereview.com, a lesson plan for 6th graders in government schools reads as follows:

Discussion: Texas CSCOPE Review, The Right Scoop, Weasel Zippers, UrbanGrounds, American Power, Moe Lane and The PJ Tatler

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Hispanics' Approval of Obama 70%, Up 12 Pts. Since August — Approval up seven percentage points among all adults in same time span — PRINCETON, NJ — In January, 70% of Hispanics approved of the job President Barack Obama was doing, down slightly from 75% in December.

Discussion: Politico, CNN and The Hinterland Gazette