memeorandum: Hong Kong lets Snowden leave, with Cuba among possible destinations (James Pomfret/Reuters)

2:35 PM ET, June 23, 2013

Top Items:

Snowden Said to Plan Asylum in ‘Democratic Country’ — HONG KONG — The Hong Kong government announced Sunday afternoon that it had allowed the departure from its territory of Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who has acknowledged disclosing classified documents …

WikiLeaks:

WikiLeaks Statement On Edward Snowden's Exit From Hong Kong — Mr Edward Snowden, the American whistleblower who exposed evidence of a global surveillance regime conducted by US and UK intelligence agencies, has left Hong Kong legally. He is bound for a democratic nation via a safe route …

Discussion: Reuters, The Moderate Voice, News Desk, Business Insider, The Raw Story, Red Alert Politics, Hit & Run, New York Times, Guardian, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Post Politics and Politico

James Pomfret / Reuters:

Hong Kong lets Snowden leave, with Cuba among possible destinations — (Reuters) - A former contractor for the U.S. National Security Agency, charged by the United States with espionage, was allowed to leave Hong Kong on Sunday, his final destination as yet unknown, because a U.S. request …

Discussion: Xinhua News Agency, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, addictinginfo.org, The Huffington Post, New York Times, Joe. My. God., Hit & Run, TalkLeft, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Guardian, Associated Press, The Lonely Conservative and Reuters

CNN:

WikiLeaks: Snowden arrives in Moscow — (CNN) — The global cat-and-mouse hunt for Edward Snowden took a dramatic turn Sunday when the man wanted on U.S. espionage charges fled Hong Kong and reportedly arrived in Russia. — WikiLeaks said in a Twitter post Sunday that Snowden had touched down in Moscow.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Guardian, neo-neocon and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »

Kevin Liptak / CNN:

Schumer: Putin 'aiding and abetting Snowden's escape' — (CNN) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is harming his county's relationship with the United States by allowing NSA leaker Edward Snowden to land in Moscow, Sen. Chuck Schumer charged on Sunday. — The New York Democrat …

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Politico, The Moderate Voice and USA Today

Guardian:

Edward Snowden leaves Hong Kong for Moscow — NSA whistleblower left on Aeroflot flight to Moscow, Hong Kong government confirms, two days after US charged him with espionage — The NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has flown out of Hong Kong, where he had been in hiding since identifying himself …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Hinterland Gazette, Scared Monkeys, Hit & Run and Boing Boing

Reuters:

Snowden has ticket to Cuba, may go to Venezuela: Russian reports — MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden is booked on a flight from Moscow to Cuba on Monday, Russian news agencies Interfax and Itar-Tass cited sources at Russian airline Aeroflot as saying on Sunday.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Hinterland Gazette and The Gateway Pundit

ABCNEWS:
‘This Week’ Transcript: NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander

Discussion: Firedoglake, Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, ABCNEWS and msnbc.com

Guardian:
Edward Snowden arrives in Moscow

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and Mediaite

RT:
NSA leaker Snowden arrives in Moscow en route to ‘third country’ with WikiLeaks help

Discussion: Blogs of War

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
NSA leaker Snowden lands in Moscow, seeks asylum in Ecuador

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Jia Lynn Yang / Washington Post:
Snowden departed Hong Kong for a ‘third country,’ government says

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Fix, Post Politics, Gawker and CBS News

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

LGBT Military Group's Board Ousts Leader, Prompting Staff And Board Resignations — Allyson Robinson took over the helm of OutServe-SLDN last October, the first out transgender leader of a national LGBT rights organization whose primary focus is not solely transgender issues.

Discussion: AMERICAblog and Towleroad News #gay

Bil Browning / The Bilerico Project:

OutServe/SLDN Exec Dir Fired; Senior Staff Resigns [Updated] — OutServe/SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson was fired after a board coup yesterday according to a leaked email sent to Bilerico Project. Robinson was the only transgender leader of a major LGBT organization that is not specifically trans-related.

Discussion: LGBTQ Nation and Joe. My. God.

Eric W. Dolan / The Raw Story:

Morality study finds conservatives show a ‘general insensitivity to consequences’ — When it comes to topics like abortion or assisted suicide, there seems to be no common ground between conservatives and liberals. Why is there such a noticeable rift between the two political orientations?

Richard N. Haass / New York Times:

America Can Take a Breather. And It Should. — THE United States is currently enjoying an unprecedented respite in the foreign policy arena — a temporary relief from the normal rigors of history that allows us to take stock at home and abroad. — It may seem outlandish to claim that we're …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

Obama to take sweeping action on climate — President Obama will announce his intention to limit greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants, increase appliance efficiency standards and promote renewable energy development on public lands in a speech Tuesday outlining his plan to use executive powers to address climate change.

Discussion: Wonkblog, Yahoo! News, Washington Monthly, The Reality-Based Community and BizPac Review

Juliet Eilperin / Post Politics:
Obama to announce Tuesday he will regulate existing power plants as part of climate strategy

Discussion: Maggie's Farm, Right Wing News, Twitchy, E2-Wire, protein wisdom, The Gateway Pundit and ThinkProgress

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Supreme Court Weighs Cases Redefining Legal Equality — WASHINGTON — Within days, the Supreme Court is expected to issue a series of decisions that could transform three fundamental social institutions: marriage, education and voting. — The extraordinary run of blockbuster rulings due …