Mississippi Senate Race Gets Even Zanier, Common Core Testing Scares Off States, House of Cards Can't Film Inside the U.N.: A.M. Links

A routine conference call between the Cochran campaign and the press "descended into madness."

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  Netflix / Youtube

  A routine conference call between Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran's campaign and the press "descended into madness" after being hijacked by activists supporting Cochran's opponent, Chris McDaniel. Just before the call, conservative blogger Charles C. Johnson had tweeted out details of the call asking his followers to "crash it with me." They contend that Cochran is guilty of fraud, though the accusations seem scurrilous so far.

• States are backing out left and right from Common Core standardized testing requirements. The high cost and dubious purpose of the tests has united everyone from conservative think tanks to teachers unions against them. "The federal government has a lot of blame here," American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten told POLITICO.
• The United Nations Security Council turned down a request from Netflix's House of Cards to film its upcoming third season inside the U.N. chambers. Russia apparently said no.
• Dinesh D'Souza and Bill Ayers debated whether the United States is a fundamentally good nation on Fox News' The Kelly File.
• Better Call Saul, AMC's spin-off of critically and commercially beloved Breaking Bad, will serve as a prequel, interlude, and sequel to the original TV series.

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