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March 27, 2012 | | Showdown The writing may be on the wall for Obamacare. After a second day of tense Supreme Court hearings, SCOTUS scholar and CNN legal expert Jeffrey Toobin called the proceedings a “train wreck” for the administration and predicted the law’s centerpiece—the individual mandate to buy insurance—would be struck down. Justice Anthony Kennedy, a crucial swing vote, sparred with lawyers defending the reform, saying the government has a “heavy burden of justification” to prove that it can require citizens to purchase a service. He also said it would change the government's role in a “very fundamental way." Plus, John Avlon on how the right conjured up the individual mandate—and then abandoned it. investigation 2. Trayvon Shooter’s Story in Doubt Supporters of Trayvon Martin say 911 tapes contradict Zimmerman’s claim that the teenager followed him—and wonder why the shooter didn’t need prompt medical attention for his injuries. The Daily Beast’s Allison Samuels reports. CAPPED The Environmental Protection Agency struck a blow against climate change Tuesday, setting the first limits on greenhouse gasses emitted by U.S. power plants. “We’re taking a common-sense step to reduce pollution in our air, protect the planet for our children, and move us into a new era of American energy,” the EPA said in a statement. Power plants are the largest source of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. The new restrictions would apply only to newly constructed plants and would exempt plants built in the next year. CREEPY Al Jazeera said on Monday that it had received video footage that appears to be of last week’s deadly attacks on a military base and a Jewish school in Toulouse. The footage—which includes the gunman speaking and the cries of the victims—was sent to the Paris bureau of the television station—along with a letter saying the killings had been carried out in the name of al Qaeda. But a French official said on Tuesday that the video had not been sent by Mohamed Merah. Al Jazeera tweeted on Tuesday that it will not air the video. AVERAGE JOE Finally Mitt has locked down the votes of those Americans whose will take their car elevators down to their vehicles before being driven to the polls on election day. Plans revealed Tuesday for renovations to the former Massachusetts governor’s La Jolla, Calif., beach retreat depict a split-level garage complete with car lift. And while Newt Gingrich has been accused of being a lobbyist, Mitt’s house has its own greaser contracted to smooth out any impediments to the remodeling, which is to include an outdoor shower and a 3,600 square-foot basement. | | 
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