memeorandum: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders: ‘I am running for president’ (Dave Gram/Associated Press)

12:15 PM ET, April 30, 2015

Top Items:

Prisoner in van said Freddie Gray was ‘trying to injure himself,’ document says … BALTIMORE — A prisoner sharing a police transport van with Freddie Gray told investigators that he could hear Gray “banging against the walls” of the vehicle and believed that he “was intentionally trying to injure himself …

Baltimore Sun:

The truth about Freddie Gray's ‘pre-existing injury from car accident’ — Online reports are swirling that Freddie Gray had spinal surgery shortly before he died in police custody, and had collected a payout in a settlement from a car accident. Those reports — which raise questions …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The American Conservative, Fox News Insider and The Intercept

Melinda Henneberger / Bloomberg Politics:

What Brought Carly Fiorina Down at HP Is Her Greatest 2016 Asset — More than 30 years ago, on Carly Sneed's third date with her co-worker, Frank Fiorina, he told his not-yet-30-year-old dinner companion that one day she would run AT&T, the company where he was at that point a rung ahead of her on the corporate ladder.

Discussion: US News

Kevin Cirilli / The Hill:

Fiorina defends rocky tenure as HP CEO — Carly Fiorina's political future depends on whether she can defend her record as CEO of Hewlett-Packard. — The likely GOP presidential candidate is aiming to do just that in her new book Rising to the Challenge, set to be released May 5, a day after the expected launch of her 2016 campaign.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Political Wire

Dave Gram / Associated Press:

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders: ‘I am running for president’ — 1 photo — MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Promising to fight what he deems “obscene levels” of income disparity and a campaign finance system that is a “real disgrace,” independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said Wednesday he will run for president as a Democrat.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, LifeNews.com, Taylor Marsh, FiveThirtyEight, Common Dreams, Bloomberg Business, Politico, Daily Kos, Washington Post, PoliticusUSA, BuzzFeed and Rolling Stone

Washington Post:
How Hillary Clinton is running against parts of her husband's legacy

Discussion: Daily Kos, BizPac Review, Instapundit, Fox News, Vox and New York Times

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Sanders: ‘I am running for president’

Discussion: Instapundit and Bloomberg Business

Erin Kelly / USA Today:
Bernie Sanders: ‘I am running in this election to win’

Discussion: NPR, The Week and Mediaite

Greg Abbott / Salon:

Right-wing lunatics think the military is planning to invade Texas. Here's why. — You have probably heard the selyrics at least a thousand times at televised Republican rallies: … Those of course are the words to “Proud to be an American” by Lee Greenwood, a song that could almost …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Mahablog, Associated Press, Bloomberg Business and Dallas Morning News

Dylan Baddour / Houston Chronicle:
Texas governor orders troops to ‘monitor’ Jade Helm

Discussion: Political Wire, Instapundit and Mediaite

A.B. Stoddard / The Hill:

Jeb no longer in front — Four months into the 2016 presidential campaign, Jeb Bush has all the money and none of the mojo. — Despite the financial juggernaut the former Florida governor has built — Bush said this week he had raised more than anyone else has at this point …

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Cruz accuses Obama of inflaming racial tensions

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Hinterland Gazette, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

James Risen / New York Times:

American Psychological Association Bolstered C.I.A. Torture Program, Report Says — WASHINGTON — The American Psychological Association secretly collaborated with the administration of President George W. Bush to bolster a legal and ethical justification for the torture of prisoners swept …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Business Insider, The Verge, The Intercept, The Week, Washington Post and Prairie Weather

Ashley Killough / CNN:

Mike Huckabee: The Supreme Court can't overrule God — Houston (CNN)Mike Huckabee rallied a crowd of Hispanic evangelicals on Wednesday night, pushing back in the debate over religious freedom just one day after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments to determine whether states have the right to ban same-sex marriage.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, The Week, Booman Tribune and Mediaite

Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:

Clinton Foundation in campaign tailspin — Donors are having second thoughts about big giving as accusations fly about Hillary Clinton's role. — Getty — A handful of deep-pocketed donors are reconsidering their gifts to the $2 billion Clinton Foundation amid mounting questions …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Greek News, Clinton Foundation, New York Times, Capital New York, Power Line, Fox News, Washington Post, Business Insider and Outside the Beltway

Nick Loeb / New York Times:

Sofía Vergara's Ex-Fiancé: Our Frozen Embryos Have a Right to Live — DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — LAST August, I filed a complaint in Santa Monica, Calif., using pseudonyms, to protect two frozen embryos I created with my former fiancée. I wanted to keep this private, but recently the story broke to the world.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and TMZ.com

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:

Elijah Cummings Yells at Fox Reporter on Bullhorn: ‘People Are Going Home!’ — Maryland Democrat Elijah Cummings is in Baltimore tonight, and he started using a bullhorn at around 10 pm to tell people to clear out after the police-imposed curfew for protesters.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Fox News:
Source: Baltimore mayor ordered police to stand down

Discussion: Fox News Insider, CNN, New York Post, The PJ Tatler, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Mediaite, PUNDIT PRESS and Wall Street Journal

Molly Ball / The Atlantic:

The Strange Charisma of John Kasich — The last time John Kasich went to New Hampshire, the visit did not go well. It was 16 years ago, and Kasich, a 47-year-old Republican congressman who had made his name in D.C. as the budget-balancing enfant terrible of the Gingrich revolution, was running for president.

The Huffington Post:

Hillary Clinton Opposes Major Obama Trade Policy — Hillary Clinton is opposed to a critical piece of the Obama administration's Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would give corporations the right to sue sovereign nations over laws or regulations that could potentially curb their profits.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Weekly Standard and PoliticusUSA

Niall Stanage / The Hill:

Crowded primary field creates dilemma for GOP leaders — The rapid growth of the GOP presidential field is causing major headaches for party bosses ahead of a primary debate season that begins this summer. — The dilemma for Reince Priebus, Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Shakesville

Lee Fang / The Intercept:

Maryland Legislator Discusses Taking Food Stamps From Parents of Protesting Youth — (This post is from our new blog: Unofficial Sources.) — Maryland State legislator Patrick McDonough, the guest host of a drive-time radio program on Wednesday morning, discussed the possibility …

Discussion: Raw Story and Daily Kos

Lee Enterprises / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Protesters again return to Ferguson streets — Update, at 11 p.m.: Police in riot gear formed a line in front of the Ferguson Police station and ordered protesters standing on South Florissant Road to clear the road or face potential arrest. The protesters moved out of the street.

Discussion: Associated Press, ABC News and The Gateway Pundit

Nina Golgowski / NY Daily News:

CNN's Brooke Baldwin apologizes after suggesting veterans are to blame for Baltimore's rioting — CNN's Brooke Baldwin is hoping to return to the good graces of U.S. veterans with an apology after suggesting that some of them are to blame for Baltimore's rioting.

Discussion: TVNewser, RedState, The PJ Tatler, The Huffington Post and Scared Monkeys

Bloomberg Business:

Salesforce Said to Work With Bankers to Field Inquiries … Salesforce.com Inc. is working with financial advisers to help it field takeover offers after being approached by a potential acquirer, people with knowledge of the matter said. — There is no certainty any deal will transpire …

Discussion: Tech Trader Daily, Re/code, Bloomberg View and New York Times

TIME:

Go Behind TIME's Baltimore Cover With Aspiring Photographer Devin Allen — Devin Allen, who shot this week's TIME cover, is a Baltimore resident

Discussion: Washington Post, Balloon Juice and Mediaite

Gov. Martin O'Malley / The Huffington Post:

We Are Capable of More — All of us who love Baltimore have experienced a week of profound sadness and tears. — The images of these last days are now seared into our collective memory as a people — a new senior citizen center engulfed in flames, a new drugstore burning.

Discussion: Washington Post and OnPolitics