Good morning! The all-powerful gardening exercise lobby has gotten today designated as National Gardening Exercise Day. So if you have a garden and are in need of some exercise, this is the day.
Stat of the day: 18.3 percent — the share of registered voters in California who bothered to cast a ballot in yesterday’s primary.
“Claim is hardening into a news media narrative” –> Charlie Savage and Andrew Lehren report for the NYT that while the claim that six or more US soldiers died searching for American POW Bowe Bergdahl has been “reported as fact,” it’s based on attributing all combat deaths in the province during a period of intense fighting to the search. ALSO: Rosie Gray reports for Buzzfeed that a veteran Republican strategist helped coordinate media appearances for angry vets who had served with Bergdahl in Afghanistan. ALSO, TOO: Tom Kludt reports for TPM that some conservatives think they finally have an impeachable offense on their hands with this prisoner swap.
Filed under “good ideas” –> On Tuesday, Sens. Michael Bennet and Jon Tester introduced a bill that would bar retired lawmakers from lobbying for the rest of their lives. Cristina Marcos has the details at The Hill.
Then there are not so good ideas –> Jim Newell reports for Salon that Ted Cruz’ plan to “eliminate super PACs” entails getting rid of the few campaign finance limits that remain.
A single word –> At the LAT, David Savage reports that the bulk of future legal challenges to the EPA’s new emissions caps will focus on the meaning of the word “system” in the Clean Air Act. ALSO: Jonathan Chait writes at NY Magazine that “conservatives are grasping for ideological truisms to fill a void of any detailed policy-level engagement” over the greenhouse gas caps.
Shock Doctrine for the middle class –> Robert Kuttner writes at TAP that we responded to the crisis of the two world wars with a concerted effort to build a prosperous middle class, and says global warming may provide a similar opportunity.
Terror financing –> At The Daily Beast, Tim Mak reports that the world’s largest banana producer, Chiquita, which has long paid off right-wing paramilitaries in Colombia, has lobbied hard to block a bill that would make it easier for victims of terror attacks to receive compensation from supporters of terrorism.
As long as the check clears –> A librarian at a for-profit college “abruptly resigned” over the admission to the school’s criminal justice program of a man with possible developmental problems who reads at a third-grade level. She tells The Republic Report’s David Halperin that the student was “being defrauded.”
Your brain on Google –> At TNR, Alice Robb reports that a team of researchers found that we tend to remember less about things we know we’ll be able to quickly look up online.
Promises, promises –> At In These Times, Sarah Jaffe wonders whether NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo will keep the promises he made the Working Families Party in exchange for its support.
Goldilocks planet? –> Astronomers working with NASA’s Kepler orbiting telescope may have found a planet with flowing water, reports Zoë Schlanger for Newsweek.
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