memeorandum: Obama Plans to Unveil His Agenda for Economy (Mark Landler/New York Times)

2:40 PM ET, July 22, 2013

Top Items:

Matt Gutman / ABC News:

George Zimmerman Emerged From Hiding for Truck Crash Rescue — George Zimmerman, who has been in hiding since he was acquitted of murder in the death of Trayvon Martin, emerged to help rescue someone who was trapped in an overturned truck, police said today.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Althouse, The PJ Tatler, Independent Journal Review, TheBlaze.com and National Review

Los Angeles Times:

Rhetoric, race and reality in America — The biggest threat to black youths is other young blacks, not white bigots. — Rev. Al Sharpton speaks during a news conference outside the Department of Justice while discussing Trayvon Martin case. Sharpton called for the federal government …

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots

Shelby Steele / Wall Street Journal:

The Decline of the Civil-Rights Establishment — Black leaders weren't so much outraged at injustice as they were by the disregard of their own authority. — The verdict that declared George Zimmerman not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin was a traumatic event for America's civil-rights establishment …

Buckeye Firearms Foundation:

READ THIS ... Whatever you might think about the Zimmerman verdict, the fact remains that we are a nation of laws, not mob justice. — George Zimmerman was tried in a court of law and found NOT GUILTY. And that entitles him to continue exercising all his rights, including his Second Amendment right to own a firearm.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Caller and The Raw Story

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Ohio Gun Group: 'We're Buying Zimmerman A New Gun'

Discussion: WHIO-TV

Tyler Durden / Zero Hedge:

25 Facts About The Fall Of Detroit That Will Leave You Shaking Your Head — Submitted by Michael Snyder of The Economic Collapse blog, — It is so sad to watch one of America's greatest cities die a horrible death. Once upon a time, the city of Detroit was a teeming metropolis …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Heritage Foundation, americanthinker.com, National Review, Power Line and Blazing Cat Fur

New York Times:

Cries of Betrayal as Detroit Plans to Cut Pensions — DETROIT — Gloria Killebrew, 73, worked for the City of Detroit for 22 years and now spends her days caring for her husband, J. D., who has had three heart attacks and multiple kidney operations, the last of which left him needing dialysis three times …

Discussion: Via Meadia, The Week, msnbc.com, Hot Air and CBS News

Mark Landler / New York Times:

Obama Plans to Unveil His Agenda for Economy — WASHINGTON — With major battles looming in the fall over the federal budget and the debt ceiling, President Obama is trying to regain the initiative, embarking on a campaign-style tour of the Midwest this week to lay out his agenda for reinvigorating …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Washington Monthly, Via Meadia, Right Wing News, Booman Tribune, Ed Driscoll and UrbanGrounds

Dan Pfeiffer / White House.gov Blog:
You're Going to Want to Watch This Speech

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, Business Insider, The PJ Tatler and The Daily Caller

Illinois Review:

OBAMA CO-SPONSORED LEGISLATION STRENGTHENING ILLINOIS' “STAND YOUR GROUND” LAW — CHICAGO - This past week President Obama publicly urged the reexamination of state self-defense laws (see remarks below). However, nine years ago then-State Sen. Barack Obama actually co-sponsored a bill …

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Rasmussen Reports and Weasel Zippers

John Fund / National Review:
Obama Voted to Strengthen Illinois's Stand Your Ground Law in 2004

Discussion: Power Line and The PJ Tatler

Niall Stanage / The Hill:
For blacks, empathy trumps the economy

Discussion: Booman Tribune

W. James Antle III / The Daily Caller:

Southern Avenger no more: Rand Paul aide Jack Hunter leaves staff, returns to punditry — The man who for years called himself the “Southern Avenger” says he now seeks to avenge his own honor. — Jack Hunter, the aide to Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul who has been under fire …

Discussion: Courier-Journal, USA Today, CNN, msnbc.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Volokh Conspiracy, Hit & Run, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, The Raw Story, The Hill, theGrio, First Read and Post Politics

James Arkin / Politico:
Controversial Rand Paul aide Jack Hunter leaves

Discussion: National Review and The Daily Caller

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

In Climbing Income Ladder, Location Matters — The odds of rising to another income level are notably low in certain cities, like Atlanta and Charlotte, and much higher in New York and Boston.

Discussion: American Prospect, The Dish, Economix, National Review, Paul Krugman and Marginal Revolution

Steve Kornacki / Salon:

Christie may be forced to quit as governor — If the polls are right and Chris Christie wins a lopsided reelection victory this fall, it will put the New Jersey governor in position to seek the presidency in 2016. That's the conventional wisdom, at least, and there's plenty to be said for it.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and msnbc.com

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Poll: Obama's approval rating drops for second straight quarter — President Obama's approval rating fell for the second consecutive quarter, according to Gallup's average of daily tracking polls for the last three months. — Obama averaged a 47.9 percent approval rating for his 18th quarter in office …

Discussion: Hot Air and americanthinker.com

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Obama Approval Dips to 47.9% in 18th Quarter in Office

Discussion: PostPartisan, National Republican … and The Daily Caller

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:

Boehner Admits He Can't Lead His Caucus — Speaker John Boehner insisted to CBS News that he had no position on immigration reform: “It's not about me. It's not about what I want. What I've committed to, when I became speaker was to a more open and fair process.

CBS News:
Face the Nation transcripts July 21, 2013: Boehner and Snyder

Discussion: The Fix, A plain blog about politics and The Plum Line

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Detroit, the New Greece — When Detroit declared bankruptcy, or at least tried to — the legal situation has gotten complicated — I know that I wasn't the only economist to have a sinking feeling about the likely impact on our policy discourse. Was it going to be Greece all over again?

Discussion: Hit & Run, The Week, Daily Kos and VodkaPundit

Alan Cowell / New York Times:

Duchess of Cambridge Is Hospitalized in ‘Early Stages of Labor’ — LONDON — After months of ever more frenetic anticipation, the British royal family said Monday that the Duchess of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton, had gone to St. Mary's Hospital in the Paddington district of London …

Discussion: Economix, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Towleroad News #gay, Mirror.co.uk, Taylor Marsh, The Week and TalkLeft

CNN:
Royal baby on the way, Catherine enters hospital in labor

Discussion: BBC

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / Bloomberg:

Virginia Republican Suffers Abortion Backlash From Donors — Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli has less than half as much cash as Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe, with a prominent list of Republican donors sitting out this year's most competitive U.S. political contest — and in some cases switching sides.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Yahoo! News and Outside the Beltway

Peter Hamby / CNN:

‘Stop Hillary’ group ramps up anti-Clinton efforts — Washington (CNN) - Hillary Clinton may or may not run for president in 2016, but the conservative effort to derail her potential candidacy is already underway. — Iowa poll: Who wins a Clinton-Christie 2016 showdown?

Discussion: Politico, Yahoo! News, Shakesville, americanthinker.com and Taylor Marsh

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

New Leader for Al Jazeera America — Al Jazeera America, the forthcoming international news channel funded by the emir of Qatar, on Monday named an ABC News senior vice president, Kate O'Brian, to be its president. — Ms. O'Brian, a 30-year veteran of ABC, has overseen all news gathering for the network news division since 2007.

Discussion: Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
Source: David Shuster Joining Al Jazeera America

Discussion: Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:

Some Mormons Search the Web and Find Doubt — A Mormon Doubts: Hans Mattsson was once a high-ranking leader for the Mormon church in Europe. He joins others who are experiencing a crisis of faith and finding few answers from their church. — In the small but cohesive Mormon community where he grew up …

Discussion: New Republic

Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box:

McConnell to get Tea Party challenger — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will have a challenger from the right in Matt Bevin, a local businessman and Tea Party candidate who plans to announce his run for Senate this week. — Bevin, who has been exploring the race since February …

Discussion: CNN, The Week and americanthinker.com