President Obama dominated the news cycle after he announced a sweeping immigration refor-- Hey! Some jerk from The Daily Caller did something! A Virginia public health panel rejected a proposed restriction on abortion providers that would've required clinics to be designed like an M.C. Escher sketch. And Steve King intends to sue the Obama administration, a case we hopes ends with mailmen dumping thousands of letters asking for the president's long-form birth certificate on the bench. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, June 15th, 2012:
WHITE HOUSE SERVES UP DREAM ACT AMUSE BOUCHE - Elise Foley: The Obama administration responded to years of pressure from immigrants rights groups on Friday with an announcement that it will stop deportations and begin granting work permits for some Dream Act-eligible students. Some 800,000 people are expected to come forward to receive deferred action from deportation, as first reported by the Associated Press on Friday morning. The policy change will apply to young undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children, along the same lines as the Dream Act, a decade-old bill that passed in the House of Representatives but failed in the Senate in 2010... Undocumented immigrants who came to the United States under the age of 16 and have lived in the country for at least five years can apply for the relief, so long as they are under the age of 30, according to a memo from DHS. They also must be either an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or armed forces, or a student who has graduated from high school or obtained a GED. Immigrants will not be eligible if they 'post a threat to national security or public safety,' including having been convicted of a felony, a 'significant' misdemeanor or multiple misdemeanors." [HuffPost]
Allen West cracked the code! "This is yet another example of executive branch overreach. We have a legislative process that ensures representative governance by the consent of the American people... It is apparent that the goal of the Obama administration is not to govern, but rule by edict. This again is a reflection of the desperation of President Obama and his liberal progressive disciples as November draws nearer." [Ibid.]
VIRGINIA HEALTH BOARD STRIKES DOWN NEW ABORTION RESTRICTIONS - Laura Bassett: "The Virginia Board of Health voted 7 to 4 on Friday to strike from the state's new abortion clinic regulations a controversial provision that would have required existing abortion clinics to meet the same building standards as hospitals. Opponents of the requirement, which specified things like hallway widths and drinking fountains in waiting rooms, said it would be so cost-prohibitive that it could effectively shut down all 20 abortion providers in the state. Supporters of the provision, including Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) and state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, said the rule was meant to protect women's safety." [HuffPost]
VOTE IN EGYPT TOMORROW - HuffPost's Max Rosenthal has been filing from Cairo. His latest update, along with Josh Hersh: "As Egyptians prepared to go to the polls on Saturday in what was supposed to be the triumphant culmination of their year and a half old revolution, a sense of despair and frustration settled over the city that helped set the Arab Spring in motion. The final vote in the presidential election, which is set to take place on Saturday and Sunday, should have been a cause for celebration. Eighteen months after an uprising in Cairo's Tahrir Square brought the end to the dictator Hosni Mubarak's 30 years in power, Egypt would for the first time be choosing its own leader. But with two candidates whom few of the original revolutionaries support -- Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood and Ahmed Shafik, a prime minister under Mubarak -- and a shocking last-second court ruling that invalidated the previously elected parliament, many of the exhausted and frustrated revolutionary youth of Cairo instead have found themselves struggling with whether they should boycott the vote -- and if there has even really been a revolution in the first place." [HuffPost]
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - In February, at the same time Congress reauthorized federal unemployment insurance programs, it made them stingier. Tami Luhby: "New rules passed by Congress this year require that the jobless go to their local One-Stop Career Center for an in-person assessment if they want to receive federal unemployment checks. This means the unemployed now have to trek to these centers, which has left some states scrambling to find space and personnel to handle all these one-on-one meetings. Some 9 million people are expected to go through these assessments by year's end. Plus, in order to comply with the new federal rules, some states are ramping up their requirements on documentation of the jobless' attempts to return to the workforce." [CNN]
Don't be bashful: Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill
PRESIDENT OBAMA RUDELY INTERRUPTS HECKLER DURING PRESS CONFERENCE: DAILY CALLER - Joe Wilson, eat your heart out. Michael Calderone: "President Obama was heckled by a reporter during his immigration remarks on Friday... During his remarks, Obama suddenly addressed a person in the crowd, telling him that he was not yet taking questions. 'Excuse me, sir, it's not time for questions, sir,' Obama said. 'Not while I'm speaking.' At the end of his speech, Obama referred back to the person who interrupted him. 'And the answer to your question is sir, and the next time I prefer you let me finish my statements before you ask that question, is this is the right thing to do for the American people. The camera flashed to a man in a suit wearing sunglasses. He was quickly identified as The Daily Caller's Neil Munro, who wrote about the news of Obama's announcement on Friday...I didn't ask for an argument. I'm answering your question,' he said, speaking over the man's protests. 'It is the right thing to do for the American people.'" [HuffPost]
What Munro said: "Why do you favor foreigners over American workers?... Is it the right thing for American workers [with] high unemployment?" [TPM]
Statement from Munro: “I always go to the White House prepared with questions for our president. I timed the question believing the president was closing his remarks, because naturally I have no intention of interrupting the President of the United States. I know he rarely takes questions before walking away from the podium. When I asked the question as he finished his speech, he turned his back on the many reporters, and walked away while I and at least one other reporter asked questions.” [Daily Caller]
STEVE KING TO SUE OBAMA OVER IMMIGRATION MOVE - In the .000000000005 percent chance that this thing actually goes to court, we look forward to the Iowa congressman carrying around a briefcase filled with blank reams of paper just to feel important... also: yelling "Citizens Arrest!" at random intervals. Daily Caller: "Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King said Friday that he plans to sue the Obama administration to halt implementation of its newly announced selective illegal immigration law enforcement policy. He told Mike Huckabee on the former Arkansas governor’s radio program Friday that he successfully sued his own state’s governor - and won -- over a similar separation-of-powers issue. 'I will tell you that -- I’m not without experience on this -- I’m prepared to bring a suit and seek a court order to stop implementation of this policy,' King said... The Iowa Republican is vice-chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement." [Daily Caller]
ROMNEY CAMPAIGNS IN LUSH FIELD OF GOVERNMENT OVERREACH - Mollie Reilly: "Mitt Romney will return Friday to the Scamman farm, a sprawling 200-acre property located in New Hampshire's seacoast region. The farm is an important landmark for the Romney campaign -- it's where he kicked off his 2012 presidential bid last June. The farm, located in Stratham, has strong Republican ties beyond the Romney connection. It's owned by Doug and Stella Scamman, two former Republican state representatives. In 2004, George W. Bush held a large rally at the site during his reelection bid. And in 2010, an effort to preserve the farm using federal funds was successfully championed by a Romney supporter and the Republican chair of Stratham's Board of Selectmen, David Canada. That effort resulted in the Scamman farm receiving $950,000 through the federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program. The federal funds were matched by contributions from the town." [HuffPost]
MCCONNELL RAILS AGAINST CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM - Sam Stein: "In a series of speeches and interviews over the past day, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) argued against adding a further layer of disclosure to the campaign finance system, suggesting that the Obama administration would use it to browbeat political opponents. The Kentucky Republican has long been one of Congress' foremost advocates of a far-reaching interpretation of First Amendment rights. And his remarks, first to Fox News, then to the Faith and Freedom Conference and finally to the American Enterprise Institute, followed in that vein." [HuffPost]
BILL JAMES DISCUSSES THE SABERMETRICS OF POLITICS - Sam Stein: "'If you're outspent in a campaign, what you absolutely cannot do is start a pissing contest, pardon my French,' James wrote in an email. 'If you're outspent and you start talking about your opponent being corrupt and senile, you're in BIG trouble, because he's got a lot more guns than you have.' Instead of going negative, he advised, a candidate should do the exact opposite. 'Talk about your opponent in the nicest terms that you CAN, in order to take certain weapons away from him,' James wrote. 'If you're speaking well of your opponent and your opponent is savaging you, there is a chance he comes off looking like an ass and you can win the election.' Beyond that, James suggested a candidate run on a platform distinct from either major party (anti-drug war, pro-gay rights). Or a candidate could obsess over an issue completely off the beaten path. As an example, he highlighted deer-related car crashes in his home state of Kansas. 'No one talks about people hitting deer with their cars as a political issue, but in Kansas' it could work, he said." [HuffPost]
CHRIS WALLACE: LAWBREAKER - HuffPost DC: "The next time "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace interviews Ray LaHood, he shouldn't be surprised if the secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation gives him a lecture. Why? Wallace was caught this week by D.C. police talking on his cellphone while driving -- LaHood's 'biggest source of irritation' when he's driving in and around the nation's capital on the weekends." [HuffPost]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Don't make us call the Dancebulance.
MARYLAND GETS CALCIUM INFUSION - HuffPost DC:"A tanker did not spill 50,000 gallons of milk onto a Maryland roadway on Friday afternoon, as was originally reported by one media outlet. It was only 5,000 gallons." [HuffPost]
COMFORT FOOD
By @bradjshannon!
- Karl Marx wouldn't mind if we put his likeness on a credit card, would he? [http://n.pr/LssJ7d]
- Here is a study on the geography of political WiFi network names. [http://bit.ly/McC0RL]
- GIFs turn 25 years old this month. The Atlantic lets them tell their own story. [http://bit.ly/MYqhss]
- Foto Friday: A bunch of dogs surfing. [http://bit.ly/Lsrm8v]
- Foto Friday: Flower species looks like a monkey. [http://bit.ly/MYoROS]
- Foto Friday: Modern photos with people from Rennaissance paintings. [http://bit.ly/LC9wDl]
- RIP, BWE.tv: "60 Random Stock Photos To Use Up The Rest Of Our Photo Budget" [http://on.vh1.com/MYlCa7]
TWITTERAMA
@BenjySarlin: It interrupted. RT @BuzzFeedAndrew: Why the comma? RT @dailycaller: We are very proud of, @NeilMunroDC for doing his job
@dceiver: Chris Cillizza is wondering if Exec order is a "1 day story" or more. Well, how long, & how well, do YOU want to cover it? For FUCK'S sake.
@TeresaKopec: Is it me or does Grassley sound more & more like Yoda? MT @ChuckGrassley: Political move disregard ppl will
ON TAP
By @christinawilkie
TONIGHT
Friday: 4:30 or 5ish: Esteemed members of HuffPost's DC bureau start in on the Natty Lights a little earlier than most weekdays. It's our summer kick-off par-tay, so if you know the secret handshake, swing on by.
Friday 9:00pm: If you're the kind of person who wraps up most nights at a Georgetown bar with a list at the door, you'll want to spend the bulk of it at the The City Tavern Club's 15th Annual Bermuda Party. Resortwear is basically mandatory. Popped collars are dangerously prevalent. [33rd and M Streets, NW]
Saturday 8:00pm: Along the same costumey route as the Bermuda thing, the International Club of DC (which is made up of foreigners and the people who dig that) is hosting a Great Gatsby themed 20's party, a wildly original idea we've definitely never heard of. The upside is that it'll be at a swanky museum. So there's that. [National Museum of Women in the Arts]
Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com), Ryan Grim (ryan@huffingtonpost.com) or Arthur Delaney (arthur@huffingtonpost.com). Follow us on Twitter @HuffPostHill (twitter.com/HuffPostHill). Sign up here: http://huff.to/an2k2e