Good morning! Abraham Lincoln was born on this day in 1809, but you’ll have to wait until Monday for a holiday. In the meantime, here are some of the stories we’re reading today…
Stat of the day: 0.000 — Time separating the downhill runs of Tina Maze of Slovenia and Dominique Gisin of Switzerland in the first tie for gold in the history of Olympic alpine skiing.
That was quick –> Yesterday, Speaker John Boehner brought a clean debt limit hike to the floor, where it passed with mostly Democratic votes. Daniel Strauss reports for TPM that the hard-right Senate Conservatives Fund is already calling for his ouster as speaker.
Vestige of Jim Crow –> In the wake of Eric Holder’s call for Southern states to let former felons vote, The Daily Beast’s Jamelle Bouie reminds us that felon disenfranchisement is a relic of a particularly ugly era in the South’s history. ALSO: Robert Bentley, the Republican governor of Alabama, says he agrees with Holder.
A little civility –> Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has suspended the death penalty in the Evergreen State. John Bacon reports for USA Today.
Mad as Hell –> Residents of a Chinese village that’s been polluted for years by a local factory went on a rampage when the factory’s owners refused to meet with them, according to the AP.
Really messed that one up –> Eli Lake reports for The Daily Beast that while the American Israel Public Affairs Committee usually enjoys broad bipartisan support, it managed to alienate virtually everyone with its recent push for new sanctions against Iran over the objections of the White House — and even the Israeli government.
BENGHAZI!!! –> At The Progressive, Stephen Webster argues that a report issued by the GOP-chaired House Armed Services Committee pretty much kills off those Benghazi conspiracy theories. BUT: Sahil Kapur reports for TPM that the findings won’t deter a GOP-linked group reminiscent of the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth from using the nontroversy to go after Hillary Clinton as we approach 2016.
Dreamy –> Slate’s Dave Weigel on why some conservatives have developed a “crush” for Vladimir Putin.
Fact-check –> Will Keystone XL create only 35 permanent jobs, as Van Jones claimed last week? Politifact says: “True!”
23 years –> Alan Greenblatt reports for NPR that tipped service workers haven’t seen a hike in their federal minimum wage for over two decades.
Zombie myths never die –> At the WaPo, Harold Meyerson writes, again, that there is no law anywhere requiring businesses to “maximize shareholder returns.”
Incoherent –> At Salon, Christian and Calvin Exoo take a skeptical look at Rand Paul’s claim that marriage provides a way out of poverty.
Long-ago stroll –> Scientists discovered the oldest evidence of our human ancestors outside of Africa in the form of 800,000 year-old footprints on a British beach. Sudeshna Chowdhury has the story for the Christian Science Monitor.
