PM Note: What Did Lautenberg Do?, Greatest Generation Signs Off, DNA Swab Dubbed 'Minor Intrusion'
SCOTUS Dubs DNA Swabs 'Minor Intrusion' - Scalia joined with the liberal bloc and had this dire warning: "Make no mistake about it, " Scalia writes, " As an entirely predictable consequence of today's decision your DNA can be taken and entered into a national DNA data base if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, and for whatever reason." http://abcn.ws/10LQMJi (Ariane DeVogue)
What did Frank Lautenberg Do? Nonsmoking Flights are One Thing - Back in 1987 they were debating smoking on flights under two hours (you could still smoke on longer ones). The world has changed! http://bit.ly/10UrXrm
Greatest Generation Signs Off - Today lawmakers with military service are the exception. But there was a time when war service was almost like a prerequisite to serve in the Senate. Particularly after World War II, a generation lawmakers from both parties, starting with John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon and extending through the very long careers of Daniel Inouye, Ted Stevens and others, returned from battles abroad and put their mark on the landscape. Until 2009 there were a good number of World War II vets still in the Senate.
But the last one died today. Sen. Frank Lautenberg was a self-made millionaire, twice a Senator, and an advocate for legislation to help keep Americans safe from drunk drivers, from cigarettes and more.
Read more on Lautenberg - http://abcn.ws/14aPLev
The Reactions of Political Enemies and Allies are Here - http:// abcn.ws/131YuNm
One of the nicest eulogies for Frank Lautenberg came from his longtime Senate colleague, now Vice President Joe Biden.
"Everything about Frank is what makes this country great," said Biden, referencing Lautenberg's success in business and politics and his work to ban smoking on airplanes, fight domestic abuse, crack down on drunk driving and protect the environment. "He was one of the most productive senators I ever served with," Biden said.
The Vice President said Lautenberg could have won re-election in 2014 if it were not for his failing health. "He could have won, but I think he knew, he knew that his health would not permit it," Biden said. "But he never complained, he never explained. As my dad would say, he just went out and did the job."
"I'm going to miss him a lot," Biden said. (Mary Bruce)
Christie Stakes High in Filling Lautenberg's Senate Seat, Likely to End Up in Court- As Josh Margolin put it, "Nothing is simple or easy in New Jersey politics and that rule goes into overdrive when it comes to election law."
Margolin's report with Shush Walshe tries to wade through what will happen next.
"The Senate vacancy caused by the death of New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg was immediately enmeshed in national politics, the possible presidential ambitions of Gov. Chris Christie and conflicting laws about how to fill the vacancy. "This is going to court," one Republican plotter said emphatically. Asked about the political fallout and ramifications, Christie's top political adviser Bill Palatucci told ABC News, "I'm not going to say anything right now. It just happened. May he rest in peace." http://abcn.ws/11zOlVF (Shushannah Walshe, Josh Margolin)
On this day in 1800, President John Adams moved into a tavern on Capitol Hill. http://abcn.ws/11A0Hx0
Bradley Manning Trial Beings; Prosecutor Says Leaker Gave Vital Info to Enemies- From Luis Martinez at Ft. Meade - In his opening arguments Army prosecutor Captain Joe Morrow presented detailed computer forensic evidence of Manning's computer activity that indicated he began passing along classified information to Wikileaks within two weeks of his deployment to Baghdad in November, 2009.
The prosecutor said the computer evidence indicated that in following months Manning gathered information in bulk, "not onesies or twosies…these were massive, massive downloads." Morrow said the information gathered by Manning was of "great value to our adversaries and in particular to our enemies."
Morrow said Manning "knew the consequences of his actions" as he "literally dumped that information onto the Internet in the hands of the enemy."
In his arguments David Coombs, Manning's attorney, described a young naïve soldier who decided to release the classified documents he had access to "because he thought he could make the world a better place."
"He was young, naïve, good intentioned," said Coombs. http://abcn.ws/14aPLev
Michelle Obama to Campaign for Terry McAuliffe- First lady Michelle Obama will make the short trek to Virginia on Thursday to campaign with Terry McAuliffe, as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate highlights the record of E.W. Jackson. "Michelle is taking the time to support this campaign because the stakes couldn't be higher for Virginians who need a governor to put jobs first instead of pushing a divisive social agenda," McAuliffe wrote in an email to supporters, promising to enter $5 donors into a drawing to meet the first lady. http://abcn.ws/18N4y2C (Chris Good)
Obama Drawing Mental Illness 'Out of the Shadows' 6 Months After Newtown- Nearly six months after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, President Obama is hosting a conference at the White House to bring mental health issues "out of the shadows." "The main goal of this conference is not to start a conversation," Obama said. "So many of you have spent decades waging long and lonely battles to be heard. Instead, it's about elevating that conversation to a national level and bringing mental illness out of the shadows. We want to let people living with mental health challenges know that they are not alone." http://abcn.ws/18MQjLk (Mary Bruce, Matthew Larotonda)
The Boettchers in the "Hornet's Nest" - Most often, Martha Raddatz would run into Mike Boettcher in the Kabul buro or at some remote base in Afghanistan where both were hot (or freezing), exhausted and covered in Afghan "dust". This time, they are cleaned up to talk about Mike's film, "The Hornet's Nest", where he almost lost his son Carlos, now an ABC producer. But in the end strengthened the father-son bond. http://yhoo.it/ZnXQuB
More on the documentary about them - www.thehornetsnestmovie.com.