“With school turning out more runners, jumpers, racers, tinkerers, grabbers, snatchers, fliers, and swimmers instead of examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators, the word ‘intellectual,’ of course, became the swear word it deserved to be.”  Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

Feature of the Day: Are These the First Ever Pictures of Honduras’s Lost Ciudad Blanca?

Morning Headlines

Domestic 

Associated Press

1. At Least 6 Confirmed Dead in Texas Tornadoes
2. Police: Suspect Arrested in LA. Parade Shooting
3. Ouster of IRS Official Isn’t Ending Investigations 

New York Times

1. Baffling Rise in Suicides Plagues the U.S. Military
2. Criticized on Seizure of Records, White House Pushes News Media Shield Law
3. Cloning Is Used to Create Embryonic Stem Cells 

Politico

1. President Obama tries to stop the bleeding
2. State fretted over Benghazi talking points
3. Sexual assault scandal becomes a Pentagon test

Reuters

1. Judge to decide fate of U.S. soldier who killed servicemen in Iraq
2. Analysis: Obama climate agenda faces Supreme Court reckoning
3. House farm bill moves ahead with big cuts in food stamps 

Wall Street Journal

1. Tax Scandal Fells IRS Chief (5/15)
2. Benghazi Emails Released (5/15)
3. President Pushes for Shielding Journalists (5/15) 

Washington Post

1. New GOP debt-limit demands: Ban late-term abortion and approve Keystone pipeline?
2. Acting director of IRS forced to resign amid furor over targeting of conservative groups (5/15)
3. Groups that sought tax-exempt status says IRS dealings were a nightmare (5/15) 

Washington Times

1. White House: Have faith in government despite scandals (5/15)
2. Obama pushes out IRS chief, pledges to fix tax agency; move unlikely to end scandal (5/15)
3. Holder has memory loss at hearing about AP investigation (5/15) 

International

Associated Press

1. Kabul Car Bomb Kills 2 NATO Troops, 4 Contractors
2. Car Bombs, Shooting in Iraq Leave 15 Dead
3. Israel Police Ban Jews From Jerusalem Holy Site 

New York Times

1. Mandela Fades Amid Battles Over Who Will Claim Legacy
2. Israel Hints at New Strikes, Warning Syria Not to Hit Back
3. Attack on U.S. Military Vehicles Kills at Least 16 in Kabul   

Reuters

1. Three market blasts rock Baghdad Shi’ite districts, kill 14: police
2. Iran says ready for nuclear talks with world powers
3. Islamist gunmen kidnap several security personnel in Sinai 

Wall Street Journal

1. Reversal: Pakistan Fears Terrorists From Afganistan (5/15)
2. Euro Zone Runs Record Trade Surplus
3. U.N. Calls for Political Transition in Syria (5/15)

Washington Post

1. Turkey looks for international aid, and countries to host refugees, in Syrian crisis (5/15)
2. Francois Hollande, France’s Socialist leader, is steering a middle-line path
3. Russia protests to U.S. over alleged spy (5/15) 

Top Conservative Stories of the Day:

Breitbart

1. Congressman Devin Nunes: The DOJ Seized White House Cloak Room Phone Records, Too (5/15)
2. Sources: IRS Workers ‘Did What Their Bosses Told Them’

The Daily Caller  

1. Embattled IRS official Lois Lerner’s husband’s law firm has strong Obama connections
2. Did the IRS give Mitt Romney’s tax returns to Harry Reid?
3. White House’s Benghazi email dump shows critical two-day gap, CIA objection 

CNSNews.com

1. Holder Doesn’t Know If Anyone Ever Prosecuted Under Born Alive Infant Protection Act (5/15)
2. Outstanding Balance on Federal Student Loans Tops $600 Billion—Up 250% Under Obama (5/15)

Hot Air

        1. Video: IRS scapegoats not exactly taking it lying down

National Review

1. The Nine Lies of Lois Lerner
2. Scandal Is Not an Agenda 

Washington Free Beacon

1. Two-Faced: Russia building up missile defenses while seeking to limit U.S. defenses
2. Know Nothing: AG Holder repeatedly claimed ignorance during congressional testimony 

The Weekly Standard

1. Benghazi Emails Directly Contradict White House Claims
2. Quinnipiac Poll: McAuliffe 43, Cuccinelli 38

Top Liberal Stories of the Day:

The Daily Beast

1. How to Stop a Scandal
2. Inside the Latest Benghazi Emails: No One Knew Much of Anything
3. Eric Holder on the Skewer: The Lowest Points of His Capitol Hill Grilling 

Huffington Post

1. Obama Student Loan Policy Generates $51 Billion Profit, Causing Democrats To Lash Out (5/15)
2. Obama IRS Scandal: Acting Director of Tax Agency Resigns (UPDATE)

Talking Points Memo

1. What Crimes Might The FBI Look At In IRS Investigation?  (5/15)
2. ICYMI Yesterday

ThinkProgress

1. Four Better Ways to Spend the $55 Million Wasted On Votes To Repeal The Affordable Care Act  (5/15)