memeorandum: He's got a 'Downton Abbey'-inspired office, but Rep. Aaron Schock won't talk about it. (Ben Terris/Washington Post)

9:40 AM ET, March 31, 2015

Top Items:

Gov. Pence, fix ‘religious freedom’ law now — We are at a critical moment in Indiana's history. — And much is at stake. — Our image. Our reputation as a state that embraces people of diverse backgrounds and makes them feel welcome. And our efforts over many years to retool our economy …

Mike Pence / Wall Street Journal:

Ensuring Religious Freedom in Indiana — Our new law has been grossly misconstrued as a ‘license to discriminate.’ That isn't true, and here's why. — By — Last week I signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, known as RFRA, which ensures that Indiana law will respect religious freedom …

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News Insider, New York Magazine, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, CNN, Business Insider, Fox News, Advocate, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, protein wisdom, NBC News and The Federalist

New York Times:

In Indiana, Using Religion as a Cover for Bigotry — Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, who last week signed a religious-freedom law driven by bigotry against gays and lesbians, has been complaining that the law's opponents — which include top business leaders and civil-rights groups — are spreading “misinformation.”

Discussion: Guardian, AMERICAblog News, Bloomberg View, Human Rights Campaign Blog, Daily Kos, The Week, WLFI-TV, bizjournals and American Spectator

Erik Eckholm / New York Times:

Eroding Freedom in the Name of Freedom — When the federal government adopted a religious protection act in 1993, same-sex marriage was not on the horizon. — An informal coalition of liberals and conservatives endorsed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act because it seemed to protect members …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Journal, Religion Clause and Josh Blackman's Blog

Hugh Hewitt / The Hugh Hewitt Show:

Jeb Bush On The Indiana Law, Iran, and Hillary — Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is making a California swing this week, and came by the studio today: — Audio: — 03-30hhs-bush-1 — 03-30hhs-bush-2 — Transcript: — HH: I begin with a great drop-in guest, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush joins me in the studio.

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Washington Post, Washington Blade, Business Insider, New York Times and Bloomberg Business

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

Questions For Indiana's Critics — I know that I should say something about the backlash and debate over Indiana's version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, but it's been hard to come up with something that I didn't already say in my column when it was Arizona's variation on the same law …

Discussion: RedState, Hot Air, ThinkProgress and Washington Post

ABC News:
GOP Presidential Hopefuls Back Indiana ‘Religious Freedom’ Law

Discussion: New York Times, No More Mister Nice Blog, BarbWire.com, Re/code, OnPolitics, Hit & Run, Raw Story and CNN

Tom Davies / Associated Press:
Indiana Lawmakers Try to Quiet Firestorm Surrounding New Law

Discussion: Common Dreams

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Rubio backs religious freedom law

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Matt Wilstein / Mediaite:
Ben Carson Has a Hot Take on Indiana's ‘Religious Freedom’ Law

Discussion: Washington Post

Emily Zanotti / American Spectator:
Wilco Cancels IN Show But Not Shows In 9 Other RFRA States

Discussion: WGN-TV

Alex Swoyer / BREITBART.COM:
EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Ben Carson: ‘Absolutely Vital’ Americans Stand Up For Indiana's Religious Freedom Law

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Charlotte Observer, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, USA Today, Washington Times, Mediaite, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Political Insider blog, Talking Points Memo and Bloomberg Business

Brian Eason / Indianapolis Star:
Ballard to legislature: Add sexual orientation as protected class

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Towleroad News #gay

Garrett Epps / The Atlantic Online:
What Makes Indiana's Religious-Freedom Law Different?

William C. Rhoden / New York Times: Off the Dribble and Into a Firestorm in Indiana

Sean Davis / The Federalist:
Connecticut's Governor Doesn't Understand His Own State's RFRA

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Washington Post, GLAAD, The Week, Boston Globe, WOOD-TV, Outsports, National Review, Daily Kos, The Lonely Conservative, The Daily Caller, Hit & Run, “The Lid”, The Huffington Post, Mediaite, Towleroad News #gay and Hot Air

Washington Post:

Poll: Clear majority supports nuclear deal with Iran — By a nearly 2 to 1 margin, Americans support the notion of striking a deal with Iran that restricts the nation's nuclear program in exchange for loosening sanctions, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Wall Street Journal, Politico, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Colorado Independent, The Hill, Prairie Weather, Political Wire, Power Line and The Times of Israel

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Rabbi warns Obama against appeasing Iran — Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a television host, author and political aspirant, will publish a full-page advertisement in The Washington Post on Tuesday urging President Obama not to “appease” Iran by signing a nuclear agreement.

Numbers / Pew Research Center for the People …:
More Approve Than Disapprove of Iran Talks, But Most Think Iranians Are ‘Not Serious’

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, ABC News and Hot Air

Jack Gillum / Associated Press:

Clinton also used iPad for email; mixed personal, work chats — 1 photo — WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton emailed her staff on an iPad as well as a BlackBerry while secretary of state, despite her explanation she exclusively used a personal email address on a homebrew server …

Discussion: Politico, Bloomberg Business and Hot Air

Ben Terris / Washington Post:

He's got a 'Downton Abbey'-inspired office, but Rep. Aaron Schock won't talk about it. — The Rayburn House Office Building is a labyrinth of beige offices. — And then, there's . . . Rep. Aaron Schock's new digs. — Bright red walls. A gold-colored wall sconce with black candles.

Discussion: ABC News and OnPolitics

Chicago Tribune:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel opens big lead on mayoral challenger Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia — Mayor Rahm Emanuel has opened up a substantial lead on challenger Jesus “Chuy” Garcia with only a week to go in the runoff campaign, a new Chicago Tribune poll has found. — Emanuel has the backing of 58 percent …

Discussion: Politico and Chicago

Susan Svrluga / Washington Post:

Justice Dept. sues a university for firing a professor who switched gender — The U.S. Justice Department is suing an Oklahoma university, charging that school officials discriminated against a professor who changed gender during her time working there. — Rachel Tudor was hired …

Discussion: Weekly Standard

Lawrence Hurley / Reuters:

Supreme Court rejects free speech appeal over Cinco de Mayo school dispute — CBS Local - Officials in Morgan Hill are concerned about protesters converging at Live Oak High School on Cinco de Mayo, after a court upheld the school's decision to discipline students wearing American flag ...more t-shirts.

Discussion: Hot Air and Scared Monkeys

Lawrence Hurley / Reuters:
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Obamacare ‘death panel’ challenge

Discussion: Daily Kos and LifeNews.com

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

The Political Education Of Rafael Cruz — From a pro-Castro student activist to anti-communist crusader. — The parade. — Historic Images — Long before his son would run for president, or he himself would become a popular political speaker, Rafael Cruz was something else for a brief period: a pro-Castro student activist.

Michael C Bender / Bloomberg Business:

Jeb Bush's Biggest Weakness May be His Biggest Annoyance — The former Florida governor's family name is both a blessing and a curse. — MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.-Eating a buffet breakfast inside a Brazilian steakhouse about a mile from the waves crashing on South Carolina's coast …

Discussion: FishbowlDC

Tina Nguyen / Mediaite:

Andrew Sullivan: I Stopped Blogging Because ‘It Was Killing Me’ — Andrew Sullivan, the man who practically invented blogging and Mediaite's own personal Jesus, revealed in an interview that he'd shut down The Dish because of the emotional tolls of blogging at a grueling pace.

Discussion: Liberaland