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Statement on Snowden's Successful Russian Asylum Bid — Today, Thursday 1st August at 15:50 MSK, Edward Snowden was granted temporary asylum in Russia. He left Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow with WikiLeaks staffer and legal advisor Sarah Harrison who has accompanied him during his 39 …
Discussion:
New Republic, Fox News, RT, The Dish, The Week, Guardian, Business Insider, The Hinterland Gazette and RIA Novosti
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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 …


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 …

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.

Edward Snowden leaves airport and enters Russia after authorities grant him temporary asylum
Discussion:
WorldViews and The Agonist


Russian Sports Minister Says Anti-LGBT Law Will Be Enforced During Olympics
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, Joe. My. God. and AMERICAblog

Russia Grants Snowden 1-Year Asylum
Discussion:
Washington Post, Ordinary Times, Taking Note, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, The Dish, The Hill, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Prairie Weather and Politico


pressure cookers, backpacks and quinoa, oh my! — It was a confluence of magnificent proportions that led six agents from the joint terrorism task force to knock on my door Wednesday morning. Little did we know our seemingly innocent, if curious to a fault, Googling of certain things …
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Google ‘Pressure Cookers’ and ‘Backpacks,’ Get a Visit from the Cops — Michele Catalano was looking for information online about pressure cookers. Her husband, in the same time frame, was Googling backpacks. Wednesday morning, six men from a joint terrorism task force showed up at their house to see if they were terrorists.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Associated Press and Dean's World

My family's Google searching got us a visit from counterterrorism police
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Raw Story


Poll: Kentucky Voters Want McConnell Out — New poll numbers released Thursday suggested that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is entering his reelection campaign next year facing two perilous obstacles: an electorate that wants him out of office and a viable Democratic challenger.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, msnbc.com, American Prospect, susiemadrak.com and ABC News
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First Thoughts: Landing with a THUD
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Wonkblog, Hawkings Here and nbcwashington.com

A New Poll Suggests Trouble for Mitch McConnell
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune

Does Mitch McConnell want to defund Obamacare?
Discussion:
The Plum Line


Ohio: Premiums going up 41 percent — The fight over Obamacare premiums has a new home base: Ohio. — Customers in the key swing state can expect to pay 41 percent more on average for individual health insurance coverage next year because of Obamacare, according to projections released …
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Free Beacon and National Republican …
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IRS Chief: I Want to Keep My Health Care Plan, Not Switch to Obamacare
Discussion:
Hot Air



A One-Stop-Shop on the Health Care Law for Businesses Big and Small
Discussion:
CNN, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Hot Air


Free Press editor Drew Johnson has been terminated after placing a headline on an editorial outside of normal editing procedures. — Johnson's headline, “Take your jobs plan and shove it, Mr. President: Your policies have harmed Chattanooga enough,” appeared on the Free Press page Tuesday …
Discussion:
The Hill, Weasel Zippers, The Right Scoop, Fox News, The Black Sphere, The Daily Caller and The Other McCain


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.
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Boehner calls for short-term fix to avoid government shutdown
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and 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:
Fox News, New Republic, Yahoo! News, msnbc.com, The Huffington Post, The Atlantic Wire, TheBlaze.com, The Reaction and Hot Air
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Armed agents raid animal shelter for baby deer — WISN 12 News investigates an operation raising questions about the use of government resources and the state policy that meant a death sentence for a fawn. — “It was like a SWAT team,” shelter employee Ray Schulze said.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler and National Review

Teamsters Ordered to Stop Picketing Funeral Homes — A judge ordered one of Chicago's most politically powerful labor unions to suspend picketing against 16 funeral homes last week after receiving reports that striking Teamsters had, among other things, disturbed a child's funeral.
Discussion:
Jammie Wearing Fools, Michelle Malkin, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and National Review


2016 presidential race: Cory Booker rules out run — No, there will not be a 2016 campaign for Cory Booker. — The Newark mayor and runaway frontrunner in the special election for the seat of late Sen. Frank Lautenberg's ruled out a presidential run or serving on the ticket of another candidate in the next national campaign.
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, Ballot Box, CNN, The Fix, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway and USA Today


Jobless Claims in U.S. Fall to Lowest Level in Five Years — U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to Lowest Level in 5 Years — Claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly dropped to the lowest level in more than five years, extending swings typical for the month of July.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos and PoliticusUSA


Hacker Forces Colin Powell To Deny Affair — Ex-Secretary of State told foreign diplomat to delete her e-mails — As a notorious hacker seeks to distribute “very personal” e-mails sent to Colin Powell by a female Romanian diplomat, the retired general is denying that he engaged …
Discussion:
Politico, The Hill and The Hinterland Gazette

Informal ‘White Student Union’ started at Georgia State — Fall semester won't start for several weeks, but Georgia State University has already received a handful of complaints about a new student club — the White Student Union. — Freshman Patrick Sharp said he started the club …
Discussion:
The Raw Story, Shakesville and The Hinterland Gazette


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:
Heritage Action for America, Business Insider, Economix and Real Time Economics