memeorandum: Committee chair fails to warn gay son on HJR 3 (Rebecca Townsend/NUVO)

5:05 PM ET, January 27, 2014

Top Items:

James Ball / Guardian:

NSA and GCHQ target ‘leaky’ phone apps like Angry Birds to scoop user data — GCHQ documents use Angry Birds - reportedly downloaded more than 1.7bn times - as a case study for app data collection. — The National Security Agency and its UK counterpart GCHQ have been developing capabilities …

Discussion: NBCNews, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Banter, Truthdig, emptywheel, Booman Tribune, Hinterland Gazette, Gawker, The PJ Tatler and The Verge

New York Times:

Spy Agencies Scour Phone Apps for Personal Data — When a smartphone user opens Angry Birds, the popular game application, and starts slinging birds at chortling green pigs, spy agencies have plotted how to lurk in the background to snatch data revealing the player's location, age …

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller, Liberaland, Mashable, Hit & Run, NPR and emptywheel

ProPublica:
Spy Agencies Probe Angry Birds and Other Apps for Personal Data

Discussion: TechCrunch

Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:

A Pen, a Phone, and a Flailing President — The White House's problem might not be strategies and tactics. It might be Obama himself. — For months, the White House and its allies mocked critics of Barack Obama's leadership, arguing that no president has “Green Lantern” superhero powers.

Discussion: The Plum Line, Power Line, neo-neocon, The Fix, Hot Air, National Review, VodkaPundit and Politico

Wall Street Journal:

Obama to Assert Unilateral Agenda — President to Seek to Use State of the Union Address to Shift Souring View of Leadership … WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night will seek to shift the public's souring view of his leadership …

Discussion: Business Insider, Guardian, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, New York Times and Towleroad News #gay

Juan Williams / The Hill:
Time for Obama to punch hard

Discussion: CNN and Althouse

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Morning Plum: Inside Obama's game plan for 2014

Discussion: Hot Air, NationalJournal.com, Hullabaloo and Washington Post

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Some Republicans Departing From State of Union Response Script

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice and Taegan Goddard's …

RealClearPolitics Video Log:

Hillary Clinton: “My Biggest Regret Is What Happened In Benghazi” — QUESTION: Any do-overs that you would — relative to Secretary of State? HILLARY CLINTON: Oh, sure. I mean, you know, you make these choices based on imperfect information. And you make them to — as we say, the best of your ability.

Discussion: Liberaland, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Caller, National Review and The Gateway Pundit

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Hillary Clinton Says She Hasn't Driven A Car Since 1996 (VIDEO)

Discussion: American Power

Dan Merica / CNN:
Clinton's biggest regret at State: Benghazi

Discussion: Politico and Fox News Insider

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed:
Clinton Supporters Want Iowa To Want Her

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weekly Standard, Washington Post and Booman Tribune

Jake Sherman / Politico:

Trey Radel to resign House seat — Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) will resign from Congress on Monday, according to multiple sources. — Radel, 37, was caught buying cocaine in November from an undercover federal agent in Washington and spent nearly a month in a rehabilitation facility.

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Deficit Reduction Declines as Policy Priority — Just Half of Democrats Rate Deficit as ‘Top Priority’ — For the first time since Barack Obama took office in 2009, deficit reduction has slipped as a policy priority among the public. Overall, 63% say reducing the budget deficit …

Discussion: The Plum Line, Washington Monthly, Post Politics, Liberal Values, Politico, Wonkblog, PoliticusUSA, Daily Kos and Taegan Goddard's …

Brian Beutler / Salon:

How the right destroyed itself: History, ideology and strategic blunders — Even if they could, Democrats already beat them there — Last week I wrote an article arguing that the impediments to conservative reform are structural — that the idiosyncrasies of the Republican base make appealing …

BBC:

Sochi 2014: No gay people in city, says mayor — The mayor of Sochi, host of the Winter Olympics, has said there are no gay people in the city. — Anatoly Pakhomov said homosexuals were welcome at the Games - as long as they “respect Russian law” and “don't impose their habits on others”.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Mashable, AMERICAblog News, Business Insider, ABC News, Mediaite, ThinkProgress and Outside the Beltway

National Review:

Don't Do It — The House Republican leadership has been confronted by devilishly difficult tactical choices over the years. But what to do on the issue of immigration right now isn't one of them. The correct course is easy and eminently achievable: Do nothing.

Discussion: Hot Air and Weekly Standard

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Are House Republicans planning to pull a fast one on immigration?

Discussion: The Plum Line, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Washington Wire and Business Insider

Fox News:

A Republican plan to replace ObamaCare, cover pre-existing conditions and lower costs — During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Obama will probably declare that his signature health care law is finally starting to work as designed. — We expect him to claim the mantle of …

Discussion: Business Insider and AEIdeas

Avik Roy / Forbes:
Senate Republicans Develop The Most Credible Plan Yet To ‘Repeal And Replace’ Obamacare

Discussion: AEIdeas and Daily Kos

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Stephen Glass denied California law license — Stephen Glass, the former journalist who famously fabricated his articles, was denied his bid for a law license by the California Supreme Court on Monday. — Glass, whose fabrications were the subject of a 2003 film, left The New Republic …

more at Mediagazer »

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Hawaiians, D.C. Residents Most Approving of Obama in 2013 — Wyoming and West Virginia residents least approving — PRINCETON, NJ — Residents of 11 states and the District of Columbia gave President Barack Obama job approval ratings above 50% in 2013. Hawaii had the highest approval rating among …

Discussion: GovBeat, National Review, Hinterland Gazette and Washington Post

Sally Kohn / The Daily Beast:

Dear GOP, Stop Talking About Women's Bodies — Mike Huckabee and Rand Paul think women have out-of-control “libidos” and like playing the victim. Did they not learn anything from Todd Akin? — Perhaps it's time for Republican men to stop talking about women's bodies and choices.

Discussion: Mediaite, TheBlaze.com, TIME, No More Mister Nice Blog and CNN

Chicago News and Weather:

Gary woman admits selling baby for sex — HAMMOND, Ind. (Sun-Times Media Wire) - — A Gary, Ind. woman admitted this week that she sold a baby eight times to a Gary man for sex and was in the room for all the meetings except for the last one. — Natisha Hillard, 25 …

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette, LifeNews.com, The Other McCain, Right Wing News and The Raw Story

ThinkProgress:

Stop ‘Constantly Bashing Banks’ And ‘Lecturing On Ethics And Integrity,’ Megabank CEO Says — “Life is hard enough,” according to Swiss banking executive Sergio Ermotti, “without people “constantly bashing banks. ” The UBS chief executive made those remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. ”

Discussion: susiemadrak.com

Matt West / Boston Herald:

Sheriffs cheer pot shot, say DEA chief ripped Obama remarks — Photo by: — WE'RE ‘FRUSTRATED’: Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson, above, lauded DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart after she criticized President Obama for comparing smoking marijuana to drinking alcohol. — By:

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, Weekly Standard, Hit & Run, Girls Just Wanna Have Guns and The Raw Story

Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo:

Americans For Prosperity Ad Puts Obama's Head On Stalin's Body — In Michigan, Americans for Prosperity is going as far as it can with the conservative claim that President Barack Obama is a communist. — An advertisement (pictured above) for a State of the Union watch party in Michigan sponsored …

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Quentin Tarantino Suing Gawker Over Leaked ‘Hateful Eight’ Script (Exclusive) — The director takes legal action over the distribution of his script. — Quentin Tarantino — Quentin Tarantino has filed a copyright lawsuit against Gawker Media for allegedly facilitating the dissemination …

Discussion: The Verge, NBCNews, Daily Dot and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

The Star-Ledger Editorial Page:

Another cover-up in Chris Christie's administration?: Editorial — Ben Barlyn says he was fired from his position as a Hunterdon County prosecutor because he refused to drop a case against a Chris Christie ally. (2007 Star-Ledger File Photo) — Star-Ledger Editorial Board By Star-Ledger Editorial Board

Discussion: Daily Kos

Associated Press:

Florida high court OKs medical marijuana for ballot — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A proposed constitutional amendment to allow the medical use of marijuana will go before Florida voters in November after the state Supreme Court narrowly approved the ballot language Monday.

Discussion: CNN