memeorandum: The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden ‘black site’ (Spencer Ackerman/Guardian)

6:20 PM ET, February 24, 2015

Top Items:

Steven Dennis / The World's Greatest Deliberative Body:

McConnell Throws in Towel on DHS Fight, but Reid Is Waiting for Boehner to Cave (Updated) — Reid is holding out for more. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) — Updated 5:20 p.m. | In an extraordinary sequence of events, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered Democrats exactly …

Discussion: Roll Call, Daily Kos, RedState and Political Wire

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

GOP gets bad news on ObamaCare repeal plan — The Senate's chief referee has dealt a significant setback to conservatives who want to send an ObamaCare repeal bill to the president's desk this year. — GOP sources say Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has raised red flags …

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg View, Daily Kos and Politico

Gregory Korte / Associated Press:

Obama: Keystone pipeline bill ‘has earned my veto’ — WASHINGTON — President Obama vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have approved the Keystone XL pipeline, making good on a threat to reject a proposal embraced by Republicans as a jobs measure but opposed by environmentalists as contributing to climate change.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Hill, Common Dreams, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Laura Barron-Lopez / The Hill:

Obama will quickly veto Keystone bill — President Obama is poised to reject GOP-backed legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline with a swift veto designed to minimize any distraction from a looming shutdown within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Discussion: ABC News, Bloomberg Business, ABC News, Forbes, Daily Kos and PoliticusUSA

Sam Youngman / Lexington Herald-Leader:
Mitch McConnell endorses Rand Paul's call for GOP presidential caucus in Kentucky

Discussion: Hit & Run and Political Wire

Associated Press:
Boehner, McConnell: Pipeline veto purely political

Discussion: Politico, Fox News, Daily Kos, US News, PoliticusUSA, The Atlantic Online and Washington Post

ABC News:

Trayvon Martin: DOJ Set to Announce No Charges Against George Zimmerman … While the public waits for a Justice Department announcement over two separate investigations spurred by the summer shooting of an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, the department is going to first announce its findings in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

Discussion: abc30.com, The Gateway Pundit, Hinterland Gazette, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Colorlines

U.S. Department of Justice:

Federal Officials Close Investigation Into Death of Trayvon Martin — The Justice Department announced today that the independent federal investigation found insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman for the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida.

Discussion: Shakesville, TalkLeft and Mashable

USA Today:
No federal charges for Zimmerman in Trayvon Martin death

Discussion: Hot Air

Lizette Alvarez / New York Times:
Justice Dept. Won't Charge George Zimmerman in Trayvon Martin Killing

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Common Dreams

Spencer Ackerman / Guardian:

The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden ‘black site’ — The Chicago police department operates an off-the-books interrogation compound, rendering Americans unable to be found by family or attorneys while locked inside what lawyers say is the domestic equivalent of a CIA black site.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, BizPac Review, Techdirt, Business Insider, msnbc.com, The PJ Tatler, The Intercept, Common Dreams, Mediaite, The Verge, Booman Tribune, Shakesville and Hit & Run

Gallup:

Story Highlights — Medicaid expansion, state exchanges linked to greater reductions — No state reported a statistically significant increase in uninsured — Nationwide, full-year uninsured rate drops 3.5 points from 2013 to 2014 — This story is part of Gallup's annual …

Discussion: US News, Daily Kos, PoliticusUSA, Washington Post and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Sarah Kliff / Vox:
If SCOTUS kills Obamacare subsidies, Republicans don't have an exit strategy

Discussion: US News and Washington Monthly

BuzzFeed:

Ron Paul: Black Caucus Only Against War Because They Want That Money For Food Stamps — “They are really against war because they want all of that money to go to food stamps for people here.” — w.soundcloud.com — Former Republican Rep. Ron Paul, the father of potential presidential candidate Rand Paul …

Discussion: The Daily Banter, Raw Story, FreakOutNation and Booman Tribune

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

Democratic FCC commissioner balks at net neutrality rules — A Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission wants to narrow the scope of new net neutrality rules that are set for a vote on Thursday, The Hill has learned. — Mignon Clyburn, one of three Democrats on the FCC …

Discussion: The Verge, The Daily Caller and RedState

New York Post:

Eric Garner's daughter on Al Sharpton: 'He's all about the money' — Al Sharpton (left) and Erica Snipes. — Al Sharpton is all about the Benjamins, a daughter of police chokehold victim Eric Garner claims in a bombshell videotape. — Erica Snipes tees off on the reverend as interested primarily …

Discussion: CBS New York, Rush Limbaugh, Washington Free Beacon, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, TVNewser, BizPac Review, Mediaite, Pat Dollard, The Gateway Pundit, Hinterland Gazette, Twitchy, Truth Revolt and Hollywood Reporter

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Walker breaks out in national GOP race — PPP's newest national Republican poll finds a clear leader in the race for the first time: Scott Walker is at 25% to 18% for Ben Carson, 17% for Jeb Bush, and 10% for Mike Huckabee. Rounding out the field of contenders are Chris Christie and Ted Cruz at 5% …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hot Air and The Daily Caller

Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:

Nevada Lawmaker Says Cancer Is A Fungus, Recommends Simply Washing It Out — CREDIT: AP Photo/Cathleen Allison, File — Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore (R) wants to reform the rules of end-of-life medical care so that more cancer patients can simply flush out their disease using baking soda.

Discussion: Ralston Reports and Raw Story

Michael Finnegan / Los Angeles Times:

Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa won't run for U.S. Senate — Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Tuesday that he would not enter the race for Barbara Boxer's seat in the U.S. Senate, leaving state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris as the only major candidate.

Discussion: Washington Post, KTLA and Political Wire

Rasmussen Reports:

Do Voters Believe Obama Loves America? — U.S. voters overwhelmingly say they love this country, but one-out-of-three doesn't believe President Obama feels that way. — The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 35% of Likely U.S. Voters agree with this statement …

Discussion: Washington Times and The Daily Caller

Nick Gass / Politico:

Hugh Hewitt to moderate first GOP presidential debate — Radio talk-show host Hugh Hewitt will moderate the first Republican presidential debate as part of a partnership between Salem Media Group and CNN. The debate will take place Sept. 16 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post and National Review

Timothy Cama / The Hill:

Most Keystone oil would stay in U.S., study says — The vast majority of the crude oil that goes through the planned Keystone XL pipeline would stay in the United States, according to a new analysis. — The study from analysis firm IHS Inc. also concluded that about 70 percent …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, National Geographic, The Daily Caller and Politico

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:

Black conservatives seek to draft Condoleezza Rice for Senate race — The Black Conservatives Fund wants to draft former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for a Senate bid in 2016, as they argue she represents the GOP's best chance to win a Senate seat in deep-blue California.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Washington Post, Politico, FOX News Radio and Balloon Juice

Rafael Olmeda / Sun-Sentinel:

Broward deputy drags cuffed woman through courthouse hallway by her feet … Get unlimited digital access. 99¢ for 4 weeks.

Discussion: WSVN-TV, Hit & Run, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

David Weigel / Bloomberg Business:

Durbin: Selma Anniversary Should Give GOP Pause About Opposing Loretta Lynch — Race and a top nomination for the Obama cabinet. — The nomination of Loretta Lynch for attorney general has not moved through the Senate quite as quickly as Democrats had hoped.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Carimah Townes / ThinkProgress:

Video Shows Cop Making Unprovoked Attack On Homeless Man — Cell phone video captured at a bus terminal in Ft. Lauderdale shows a police officer throwing a homeless man to the ground and slapping him for trespassing. However, the incident is not an isolated one.

Discussion: miamiherald and FreakOutNation

Arlette Saenz / ABC News:

That Time Harry Reid Wore Dark Sunglasses to a News Conference … Sen. Harry Reid sported some new, hip eyewear on Capitol Hill weeks after an exercising injury that might ultimately cost him vision in his right eye. — Reid started out the day on the Senate floor with a giant bandage across …

Discussion: Politico

New York Times:

Bill O'Reilly and Fox News Redouble Defense of His Falklands Reporting — The Fox News host Bill O'Reilly on Monday stepped up his defense against reports that he embellished stories about his war reporting earlier in his career, while some former colleagues continued to say he had exaggerated his experiences.

Randal C. Archibold / New York Times:

As Cuba Shifts Toward Capitalism, Inequality Grows More Visible — HAVANA — The river where Jonas Echevarria fishes cuts through neighborhoods brimming with new fine restaurants, spas and boutiques, springing up in Cuba's accelerating push toward private enterprise.

Discussion: Hit & Run

Reuters:

Special Report: How Iran's military chiefs operate in Iraq — (Reuters) - The face stares out from multiple billboards in central Baghdad, a grey-haired general casting a watchful eye across the Iraqi capital. This military commander is not Iraqi, though. He's Iranian.

Discussion: Algemeiner.com and The Long War Journal

Numbers / Pew Research Center for the People …:

Growing Support for Campaign Against ISIS - and Possible Use of U.S. Ground Troops — Shifting Views on How Best to Defeat Global Terrorism — The public has grown more supportive of the U.S. fight against ISIS, as about twice as many approve (63%) as disapprove (30%) …

Discussion: Politico and Washington Free Beacon