Morning Reads

Good morning! Today is Workers’ Memorial Day, an “international day of remembrance and action for workers killed, disabled, injured or made unwell by their work.” So remember that safe workplaces aren’t something to take for granted.

Deadly partisanship —> Jackie Calmes reports for The New York Times that conservative political attacks on the Affordable Care Act are hurting sign-ups in the poorest states with the biggest uninsured populations.

Getting their money out –> At Mother Jones, Katie Rose Quandt looks at some recent success in the divestment campaign targeting the private prison industry.

Just like every other year –> The Wire’s Sara Morrison: “NRA’s 2014 Convention Theme: FEAR.”

Embarrassing –> At Salon, Elon Green says that with its maniacal focus on highly rated stories like the missing Malaysian Airways jet, CNN has become “its own disaster.”

It’s almost like a scam –> Matea Gold reports for The Washington Post that tea party groups are raising big money… but not spending much on candidates. Instead, their leaders are raking in the bucks on “consulting fees.”

Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy –> Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) gained infamy earlier this year for threatening to throw a reporter off a balcony for asking questions about his alleged campaign finance violations. This morning he turned himself in to the FBI to face unrelated charges about his former business dealings. Alexandra Jaffe reports for The Hill that this will likely put a swing-seat into play in November.

Suing for their futures –> At The Nation, Simon Davis-Cohen reports that a group of California youths are using an ancient legal doctrine to sue the government for not doing enough to address climate change.

Security state –> The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday in a case that will determine whether police need a warrant to go through the cellphones of people they arrest. Pete Williams has the details at NBC News.

Unequal recovery –&gt The New York Times’ Annie Lowery says that the “recession wiped out primarily high-wage and middle-wage jobs,” yet the “the strongest employment growth during the sluggish recovery has been in low-wage work.”

Secret crush –> Ben White and Maggie Haberman report for Politico that Wall Street Republicans aren’t saying it out loud, but they’d prefer Hillary Clinton to GOP fire-breathers like Ted Cruz or Rand Paul in 2016.

Humanists in foxholes – -> The Army is recognizing humanism as a belief system on a par with traditional religions. Michael McGough has the details at the Los Angeles Times.

At least he wasn’t Kenyan –> At The New Republic, Abbas Milani writes that Thomas Jefferson was the first president to be accused of being a secret Muslim.

Quid, but no pro quo? –> A campaign to allow Israelis to enter the US without visas is running into a roadblock: Israel doesn’t want to offer the same access to American citizens who happen to be Muslims. Bradley Klapper and Matthew Lee report for the AP.

Women died fighting in the real world –> Women had to sue to get a chance to participate in Civil War reenactments as soldiers, but Leigh Stein notes at Slate that “hundreds or thousands” of women fought in the real Civil War.

Kryptodrakon progenitor –> Scientists have discovered the earliest known species of flying dinosaur in Northwest China. It lived 163 million years ago, 5 million earlier than  previously believed to have existed. Via: Science Daily.

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