memeorandum: Some Syria Missiles Eluded Israeli Strike, Officials Say (Michael R. Gordon/New York Times)

12:35 PM ET, August 1, 2013

Top Items:

Edward Snowden leaves airport and enters Russia after authorities grant him temporary asylum — MOSCOW — National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden left transit zone of a Moscow airport and entered Russia after authorities granted him temporary asylum, his lawyer said Thursday.

Discussion: WorldViews, Crooks and Liars and The Agonist

RT:

Snowden granted 1-year asylum in Russia, leaves airport (PHOTOS) — NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted temporary asylum in Russia and is allowed to enter the country's territory. — The whistleblower has been granted temporary political asylum in Russia …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Free Beacon, WorldViews, ThinkProgress, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Reuters:

Fugitive Snowden slips out of Moscow airport for ‘secure’ base — (Reuters) - Fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden slipped quietly out of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Thursday after Russia granted him temporary asylum, ending more than a month in limbo in the transit area.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Hinterland Gazette, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taylor Marsh and americanthinker.com

BBC:

Edward Snowden leaves Moscow airport — US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has left the Moscow airport where he has been staying since June after being granted temporary asylum. — He left unobserved after receiving, his lawyer said, the necessary papers to enter Russian territory from Sheremetyevo Airport's transit zone.

Discussion: TalkLeft, GigaOM and The Verge

Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:

Russia Grants Snowden 1-Year Asylum — MOSCOW — After a month holed up in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow, Edward J. Snowden, the former intelligence contractor wanted by the United States for leaking details of surveillance programs, has received temporary refugee status …

Discussion: The Dish, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Outside the Beltway and Washington Post

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Russia grants Snowden asylum

Discussion: The Hill and Prairie Weather

Politico:

Why Rand Paul and Chris Christie went to war — Well, that was a splendid little war. — Over the last week, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul took the GOP's intra-party bickering to a new level, openly savaging each other on issues of national security, privacy and government spending.

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Fox News, msnbc.com, The Huffington Post, New Republic, The Atlantic Wire, TheBlaze.com, Hot Air and The Reaction

John Schoonejongen / Capitol Quickies:

Rand Paul beer summit proposal rebuffed by Chris Christie — Hey, America. Are you ready for another beer summit? — Sen. Rand Paul seems to be, but his enthusiasm isn't shared by Gov. Chris Christie, with whom the senator has been feuding over the past week.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New Jersey Online, Post Politics, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, americanthinker.com, The Huffington Post and Pew Research Center …

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Libertarians flex their muscle in the GOP

Discussion: Hit & Run, CNN, ABC News, msnbc.com and New York Times

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
No beer summit for Christie, Paul

Discussion: Joe. My. God., The Hill, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Gateway Pundit

Paul Richter / Los Angeles Times:
Sen. Rand Paul loses effort to cut off aid to Egypt

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post and Hit & Run

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:

GOP's Long-Predicted Comeuppance Has Arrived — Republicans have dealt with some embarrassing moments on the House floor over the past year, but none so revealing or damning as today's snafu, when they yanked a bill to fund the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, The Hill, A plain blog about politics, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Hawkings Here and CNN

Associated Press:

Filner's lawyer says San Diego should pay for legal bills due to lack of sex harassment training — The attorney for San Diego's embattled mayor says the city failed to provide Bob Filner state-required sexual harassment training and therefore should pay to defend him against a lawsuit …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Voice of San Diego, Jammie Wearing Fools, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and Los Angeles Times

David A. Graham / The Atlantic Online:

A New Poll Suggests Trouble for Mitch McConnell — The Senate minority leader is tied up with a Democratic challenger and his favorable ratings are underwater with Kentucky voters, a survey finds. — With Congress gearing up for the August recess, Mitch McConnell can focus on his reelection campaign in Bluegrass State.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico and The Huffington Post

Joseph Gerth / blogs.courier-journal.com:
Alison Lundergan Grimes holds slim lead over Mitch McConnell, according to Democratic pollster ***UPDATED***

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Beth Reinhard / NationalJournal.com:

Democrats Using Voting Rights Issues to Protect Senate Majority — To hold Southern Senate seats, Democrats need blacks to show up and vote without Obama on the ballot. Enter Eric Holder. — Without President Obama's name on the ballot, Democrats and civil rights leaders increasingly view voting rights …

Discussion: ABC News

Daniel Henninger / Wall Street Journal:
Obama's Creeping Authoritarianism

Discussion: Betsy's Page, Questions and Observations and First Read

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Detroit's death by democracy — In 1860, an uneasy Charles Darwin confided in a letter to a friend: “I had no intention to write atheistically” but “I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention …

Discussion: Power Line

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

Hillary Clinton's 2008 slaps still sting President Obama — “Friendship” was the main course during Hillary Clinton's lunch with President Barack Obama this week, according to an Obama spokesman, but no one could have blamed Clinton for ordering a small side of I-told-you-so.

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Reuters and msnbc.com

Richard Fry / Pew Social & Demographic Trends:

A Rising Share of Young Adults Live in Their Parents' Home — A Record 21.6 Million In 2012 — OVERVIEW — In 2012, 36% of the nation's young adults ages 18 to 31—the so-called Millennial generation—were living in their parents' home, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

Discussion: Economix and Real Time Economics

Kirit Radia / ABC News:

Gay Athletes Could Be Prosecuted at 2014 Winter Olympics, Russian Lawmaker Suggests — In Russia it is now illegal to even speak about homosexuality around minors, much less openly display gay pride. Technically the ban is against “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” around minors …

Discussion: Gay Star News, Algemeiner.com, Shakesville, americanthinker.com, AMERICAblog, Washington Blade, Eschaton and Gawker

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Jimmy McMillan: Anthony Weiner for mayor — The man who became known for his campaign tagline “The rent is too damn high” officially endorsed Anthony Weiner for New York mayor, he announced via Twitter on Thursday morning. — Jimmy McMillan, who rose to fame during the 2010 …

Discussion: CNN and The Daily Caller

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:

Some Syria Missiles Eluded Israeli Strike, Officials Say — WASHINGTON — American intelligence analysts have concluded that a recent Israeli airstrike on a warehouse in Syria did not succeed in destroying all of the Russian-made antiship cruise missiles that were its target …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Israel Matzav and The Long War Journal

Kevin Liptak / CNN:

Obama says poor relatives keep his kids grounded — (CNN) - Their home has its own bowling alley, movie theatre, and chef. — But while living in the White House could leave Sasha and Malia Obama with a distorted sense of how Americans live, their father says he's always conveying …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

The Next Civil Rights Frontier — Federal civil rights officials reached an important settlement late last month with a California school district accused of discriminating against a transgender student by denying him equal access to educational programs and activities.

Discussion: The Spectacle Blog

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:

Fewer Than Ten People Show Up For Ex-Gay Pride Event That Expected to Draw ‘Thousands’ — Yesterday, American Family Radio's Sandy Rios spoke to Ex-Gay Pride Month organizer Christopher Doyle about today's ex-gay lobby day on Capitol Hill. Doyle, who was organizing the since-canceled Ex-Gay Pride banquet …

Discussion: The Raw Story, Joe. My. God., Gay Star News, Truth Wins Out, ThinkProgress, Good As You and Christian News …

Clive Crook / Bloomberg:

All This Inequality Talk Does Nothing for the Poor — Like any immigrant, I'm optimistic about the U.S. The crash will recede, confidence will come back and stronger growth will resume. The zeal of ordinary Americans to work hard and prosper will prevail over the weary incompetence of the political class.