“The senators are your voice here on all matters. They are the only ones we’ll be hearing from today.”
— North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest (R) to women in the Senate gallery protesting surprise abortion legislation passed last night.
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Army Seizes Power in Egypt
Egypt’s military deposed Mohamed Morsi, “the nation’s first freely elected president, suspending the constitution, installing an interim government and insisting it was responding to the millions of Egyptians who had opposed Mr. Morsi’s Islamist agenda and his allies in the Muslim Brotherhood,” the New York Times reports.
“The military intervention marked a tumultuous new phase in the politics of the Arab world’s most populous country, which overthrew Mr. Morsi’s predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, in 2011.”
Military Coup Looming in Egypt?
Egypt’s top generals “summoned civilian political leaders to an emergency meeting Wednesday, conferring with them past the 48-hour deadline they had set for President Mohamed Morsi to leave power, as signs pointed further to an impending military takeover,” the New York Times reports.
“The military’s intelligence service placed a travel ban on President Morsi and senior Islamist aides including the Muslim Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, and his influential deputy, Khairat el-Shater… People close to the president said at around the same time that talks with the generals continued but looked increasingly futile. A decisive move was expected within hours, these people said, although the president and his advisers remained at liberty.”
Ecuador Finds Hidden Microphone in Embassy
“Ecuador has found a hidden microphone inside its London embassy, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is living, and will disclose on Wednesday who controls the device,” Reuters reports.
Quote of the Day
“There are prison-like elements, but it’s a really nice prison. You can’t complain.”
— Michelle Obama, quoted by Newsmax, on being First Lady.
Rubio to Introduce Bill to Ban Abortions
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) will be the lead sponsor of a U.S. Senate bill to ban abortion after an unborn child is 20 weeks old, the Weekly Standard reports.
“With Rubio’s presence, the bill is certain to gain enormous media attention and thus more national visibility for the issue of limiting late term abortions. Right-to-life groups have urged Rubio to take the lead on the issue, believing he would be the strongest possible advocate in the Senate. Several sources confirmed he’d agreed.”
The Week: How Rubio blew his immigration moment.
Pallone Expects Booker to Catch Him in Fundraising
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) told the Bergen Record that he expects the $2 million fundraising advantage he had over Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) at the end of March to have evaporated by the time the next campaign-finance disclosures in the U.S. Senate race are made public later this month.
North Carolina Lawmakers Push Surprise Abortion Bill
“A bill restricting abortions that popped up in the state Senate without public notice Tuesday evening and received swift approval would force clinics to meet expensive license requirements and make it more difficult for doctors to perform the procedures,” the Raleigh News and Observer reports.
“Under the bill, which was tacked onto another measure dealing with Islamic law, abortion clinics would have to meet license standards similar to those of ambulatory surgical centers. According to legislative staff, only one clinic in the state currently meets that standard. The state’s four Planned Parenthood clinics don’t meet it. The bill would also require doctors to be present when women take drugs that induce abortions.
“Democrats were outraged that the abortion provisions came up without public notice, in the late afternoon, and close to a holiday weekend.”
Explained state Sen. Buck Wilson (R) to WRAL-TV: “It just took a while for there to be a consensus of support for it within our caucus. Sometimes these things come together at the last minute.”
Bolivian Jet Rerouted Amid Suspicions Snowden on Board
“Bolivia reacted with fury after a plane carrying the country’s president home from Russia was diverted to Vienna amid suspicions that it was carrying the surveillance whistleblower, Edward Snowden,” The Guardian reports.
“France and Portugal were accused of withdrawing permission for the plane, carrying the president, Evo Morales, from energy talks in Moscow, to pass through their airspace.”
Said Bolivian foreign minister David Choquehuanca: “We don’t know who invented this lie. We want to denounce to the international community this injustice with the plane of President Evo Morales.”
Officer Removed from Duty After Chasing Speeding Governor
“The removal from duty of a prominent Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent came five days after he encouraged Iowa State Patrol troopers to pull over a speeding vehicle that, it turns out, contained Gov. Terry Branstad,” the Des Moines Register reports.
The pursuit was captured on video.
LePage Announces Re-Election at Private Event
Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) announced that he would seek a second term in office during a private fundraising event hosted by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the Lewiston Sun Journal reports.
“LePage was reticent about running last week after the Democratic majority in the state Legislature, with help from some Republican lawmakers, doled out a veto override on a state budget LePage rejected for tax increases.”
Lawmaker Quits Hispanic Caucus to Protest Immigration Bill
Rep. Filemon Vela (D-TX), who represents a South Texas border district, “resigned from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in protest of the group’s embrace of a Senate immigration bill that contains millions of dollars for drones, fences and border agents,” the Houston Chronicle reports.
Majority Don’t Like Ruling on Voting Rights Act
A new ABC News-Washington Post poll finds that just 33% of Americans approve of the Supreme Court’s ruling dismantling a key element of the Voting Rights Act, while 51% disapprove. Among blacks, disapproval of the ruling soars to 71%.
South Dakota Democratic Leader Leaves Post
The chairman of the South Dakota Democratic Party abruptly resigned, announcing that he intends to manage a congressional campaign in Iowa, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports.
Ben Nesselhuf “said he decided to take the job of managing the congressional campaign of Jim Mowrer, a 27-year-old Army and Iraq War veteran who plans to challenge conservative Republican Rep. Steve King in a district that includes extreme northwestern Iowa. The move allows him to live with his wife, who resides in Sioux City.”
White House Delays Obamacare Employer Mandate
The Obama administration “will not penalize businesses that do not provide health insurance in 2014,” the Washington Post reports.
“Instead, it will delay enforcement of a major Affordable Care Act requirement that all employers with more than 50 employees provide coverage to their workers until 2015. The administration said it would postpone the provision after hearing significant concerns from employers about the challenges of implementing it.”
The Wall Street Journal notes the move “doesn’t involve the penalties that some individuals may pay starting in the 2014 tax year if they choose to go without health insurance.”
What I Did on My Summer Vacation
The Cloakroom: Postcard from Morocco.
Morsi Rebuffs Calls to Step Down
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi defiantly rejected protesters’ calls for him to step down in a late-night address, telling Egyptians he was willing to “pay my life to protect the legitimacy” of the country’s ballot box and Islamist drafted constitution, the Wall Street Journal reports.
His statement “came as protests over his rule erupted in deadly clashes late Tuesday, with just hours to go before Mr. Morsi faced the deadline of a military-imposed ultimatum to patch relations with the country’s opposition.”
Conservatives Struggling to Recruit Candidates
“Despite pledging to wage fights against establishment Republicans deemed guilty of ideological impurity, conservatives have had a rocky cycle so far, failing to front candidates in a number of top races,” The Hill reports.
“But a number of conservative groups insist that for them, the cycle is just beginning, and warn that a grassroots storm is brewing.”
