memeorandum: TX Gov Orders State Guard to Monitor Possible Military Takeover of Texas (Paul J. Weber/Associated Press)

1:40 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, Daily Kos, Fox News Insider and The Intercept

Erica Ritz / TheBlaze.com:

Baltimore Peacekeeper Slams ‘Professional Agitators and Protesters’ Wreaking Havoc on His City — Munir Bahar, founder of the 300 Men March movement that aims to act as a “neutral force” between police and the rioters amid the protests in Baltimore, slammed the “professional agitators and protesters” …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Freddie Gray / Guardian:
Freddie Gray protests sweep US from Baltimore to New York - live updates

Discussion: The Atlantic, New York Times, Washington Post, The Week and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

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, Bloomberg Business, Dallas Morning News and Washington Monthly

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

Discussion: Political Wire, Instapundit and Mediaite

Paul J. Weber / Associated Press:
TX Gov Orders State Guard to Monitor Possible Military Takeover of Texas

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Banter and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

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: TIME, Weekly Standard, The Daily Beast, Fox News, Hot Air, Greek News, Liberal Values, Clinton Foundation, New York Times, Capital New York, Power Line, Washington Post, Business Insider and Outside the Beltway

Annie Linskey / BostonGlobe.com:

Clinton charity never provided foreign donor data — WASHINGTON — An unprecedented ethics promise that played a pivotal role in helping Hillary Rodham Clinton win confirmation as secretary of state, soothing senators' concerns about conflicts of interests with Clinton family charities …

Discussion: Business Insider, The Federalist, @politifact, Fox News and Liberal Values

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

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: National Journal, Bloomberg Business, ABC News, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Guardian, OnPolitics, New York Times, Raw Story, LifeNews.com, FiveThirtyEight, Common Dreams, Taylor Marsh, Politico, Daily Kos, Washington Post and BuzzFeed

Arlette Saenz / ABC News:
Senator Bernie Sanders Calls Hillary Clinton Foundation Money ‘A Very Serious Problem’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Hot Air and The Week

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: Associated Press, US News, Instapundit and Bloomberg Business

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: Business Insider, The Verge, The Moderate Voice, The Intercept, The Week 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, Politico, The Week, Booman Tribune and Mediaite

Miles Weiss / Bloomberg Business:

George Soros's Tax Bill — Deferring income helped the billionaire hedge fund manager build his fortune — George Soros likes to say the rich should pay more taxes. A substantial part of his wealth, though, comes from delaying them. While building a record as one of the world's greatest investors …

Discussion: Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon

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

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:

GOP delays vote on first spending bill — House Republicans delayed a vote Wednesday night on their first spending bill of the year amid concerns that a contentious amendment to terminate the use of a Pentagon war fund for military construction projects might have the votes to pass.

Discussion: Washington Post and Daily Kos

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Democrats march to budget war

Discussion: RedState

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: Balloon Juice, Washington Post and Mediaite

David Von Drehle / TIME:
The Roots of Baltimore's Riot

Discussion: The Huffington Post

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.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

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

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: Shakesville, Lawyers, Guns & Money and PoliticusUSA