memeorandum: Man Freed From Prison Has a Heart Attack (Michael Powell/New York Times)

4:35 PM ET, March 23, 2013

Top Items:

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Senate passes first budget in four years — The Senate early Saturday passed its first budget in four years by a vote of 50 to 49. — The close vote was a big victory for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who had to overcome …

Discussion: The Hill, The Lonely Conservative, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and The Reaction

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Senate Passes $3.7 Trillion Budget, Its First in 4 Years — WASHINGTON — After a grueling, all-night debate that ended close to 5 a.m., the Senate on Saturday adopted its first budget in four years, a $3.7 trillion blueprint for 2014 that would fast-track passage of tax increases …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Talking Points Memo and Outside the Beltway

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Senate Budget ‘Has Zero Real Deficit Reduction ... Never Balances’ — In a statement released at 5 a.m. today, Senator Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, blasts the budget the Senate passed very early this morning. Sessions's main concern is that the budget …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

David Lawder / NBCNews.com:

Senate passes budget with $1 trillion tax hike — WASHINGTON — The Senate on Saturday narrowly passed its first federal budget in four years, a move that will usher in a relative lull in Washington's fiscal wars until an anticipated summer showdown over raising the debt ceiling.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin

Ginger Gibson / Politico: Senate passes budget — first for four years

Jordy Yager / The Hill:
Obama presses Congress to vote on assault weapons ban

Discussion: CNN

Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Senate on record opposing use of chained CPI

Discussion: CNN and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Zack Colman / E2-Wire:
Keystone XL picks up Senate backing

Discussion: The Hill, Daily Kos, Booman Tribune, Politico, Yahoo! News and The Agonist

New York Times:

Walking While Black in New York — The New York City Police Department has a long history of violating constitutional rights by stopping, questioning or frisking people on the streets without legal justification. The city has steadfastly denied that the detentions — made under …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Gothamist and Capital New York

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:
New York City Cop Testifies That He Was Told To Target Young Black Men

Discussion: NY Daily News, Prairie Weather and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

On third anniversary, Obama touts health law's benefits — President Obama on Saturday touted his landmark healthcare reform law on its third anniversary, but cautioned that there was “more work to do to implement” its provisions. — “Three years ago today, I signed into law the principle …

Discussion: Politico, CNN, The Hill and The Lonely Conservative

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:

Ted Cruz Amendment To Repeal Obamacare Fails — WASHINGTON — The Senate on Friday rejected an effort by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to repeal Obamacare, an outcome that was expected but is far from the last attempt by Republicans to dismantle President Barack Obama's signature accomplishment.

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Michael Powell / New York Times:

Man Freed From Prison Has a Heart Attack — On his second day of freedom after serving 23 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, David Ranta suffered a serious heart attack Friday night, his lawyer said. — Mr. Ranta was taken to a New York hospital — his family did not wish …

Discussion: Gothamist and ABCNEWS

WPSD Local 6:

Actress hints at Senate run in speech — CINCINNATI (AP) - Actress and Kentucky native Ashley Judd made a rare public reference to her possible run for the seat held by Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. — WXIX-TV says Judd gave the keynote speech Friday …

Discussion: The Reaction

Al Baker / New York Times:

Girls Outnumbered in New York's Elite Public Schools — In the United States, girls have outshined boys in high school for years, amassing more A's, earning more diplomas and gliding more readily into college, where they rack up more degrees — whether at the bachelor's, master's or doctoral levels.

Discussion: Gothamist and Unfogged

Joe Nocera / New York Times:

Saving Children From Guns — For nearly two months, my assistant, Jennifer Mascia, and I have been publishing a daily blog in which we aggregate articles about shootings from the previous day. Of all the stories we link to, the ones I find hardest to read are those about young children …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Prairie Weather

Daily Mail:

Massachusetts lawmaker 'took pictures of his genitals and put them on a female coworker's computer' — A state representative in Massachussetts is being investigated after allegedly sending pictures of his genitals to a government computer. — The investigation is ongoing and the committee …