memeorandum: Washington Steps Warily on Housing (Binyamin Appelbaum/New York Times)

6:05 PM ET, August 7, 2013

Top Items:

IN REBUKE, OBAMA CANCELS MOSCOW SUMMIT WITH PUTIN — LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a rare diplomatic rebuke, President Barack Obama on Wednesday canceled his Moscow summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. — The decision reflected both U.S. anger over Russia's harboring …

Discussion: RT, Associated Press, Politico, Reuters, AMERICAblog, Taylor Marsh, Weekly Standard, Via Meadia, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, protein wisdom and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Robert Zubrin / National Review:

Give Snowden Immunity — The United States should give former NSA contractor Edward Snowden immunity from prosecution in exchange for congressional testimony. — The suggestion may strike many of my fellow national-security conservatives as outrageous. Snowden certainly violated the law and may have committed treason.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Hit & Run

Politico:

Jay Leno's interview with President Obama (transcript, video) — Q Welcome the President of the United States — Barack Obama. (Applause.) — Welcome back, sir. — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. It's good to be back. (Applause.) — Q Well, we're thrilled to have you.

Discussion: The Caucus, JustOneMinute, Althouse and Connecting.the.Dots

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Obama's Russia reset unravels

Discussion: CNN, Techdirt and The Hill

The White House:
Statement by the Press Secretary on the President's Travel to Russia

Discussion: AMERICAblog, New York Times, WorldViews, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, RT, New Republic, The Monkey Cage, Yahoo! News, The Dish, The Week, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, The Hinterland Gazette, AL.com and Politico

Paul Lewis / Guardian:
Veteran civil rights campaigner praises Snowden's act of ‘civil disobedience’

Discussion: The Hill, The Switch, The Huffington Post and The Raw Story

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Obama cancels upcoming meeting with Putin

Discussion: Voices, The Switch, Post Politics, New York Times, WorldViews and The Hill

The Daily Beast:

Al Qaeda Conference Call Intercepted by U.S. Officials Sparked Alerts — It wasn't just any terrorist message that triggered U.S. terror alerts and embassy closures—but a conference call of more than 20 far-flung al Qaeda operatives, Eli Lake and Josh Rogin report.

Hannah Allam / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Broad U.S. terror alert mystifies experts; 'It's crazy pants,' one says — WASHINGTON — U.S. officials insisted Tuesday that extraordinary security measures for nearly two dozen diplomatic posts were to thwart an “immediate, specific threat,” a claim questioned by counterterrorism experts …

Discussion: Associated Press, Guardian, Techdirt, Jihad Watch, The Dish, Outside the Beltway and Democracy in America

Tal Kopan / Politico:

Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski clash over Fox, MSNBC — Co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough clashed Wednesday morning on “Morning Joe” over whether there is a difference between Fox News and MSNBC, with Brzezinski calling Fox a “mouthpiece for the Republican Party.”

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Mediaite and The Hill

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Reince Is Right — WASHINGTON — Reince Priebus says a lot of goofy things, but the chairman of the Republican National Committee has a point. — Films can dramatically alter the way famous people are viewed, making them cooler, more glamorous, more sympathetic — and the reverse.

Discussion: Politico, PoliticusUSA, No More Mister Nice Blog and TheBlaze.com, more at Mediagazer »

Nick Wing / The Huffington Post:

Rick Santorum: Liberals ‘Make It Uncomfortable For Students’ To Shower At The Gym — Next time you feel uncomfortable showering at the gym, blame it on liberals and their abortion rights agenda. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R) does. — Speaking to anti-abortion group Students …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and The Raw Story

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Why isn't Rick Santorum the GOP 2016 frontrunner?

Discussion: Slate, Washington Monthly, ABC News, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite and Politico

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:
Santorum: ‘We Have The Truth And We Give Up’

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Death and Taxes, Advocate and The New Civil Rights Movement

Arizona Republic:

Hundreds protest Obama outside Phoenix high school — FONT: — Hundreds of protesters wielded signs, chanted slogans and argued with each other Tuesday outside Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, while President Barack Obama spoke about housing and the economy inside.

Discussion: Death and Taxes, Balloon Juice, Voices, FIRST DRAFT and The Raw Story

David Lawder / Reuters:

Congress wins relief on Obamacare health plan subsidies — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress has partially wriggled free from the “Obamacare” health reforms that it passed and subjected itself to three years ago. — In a ruling issued on Wednesday, U.S. lawmakers and their staffs will continue …

Alexis Levinson / The Daily Caller:
Members, staff will keep health-care subsidies under Obamacare

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Questions and Observations, The World's Greatest … and VodkaPundit

Kyung Lah / CNN:

CNN Exclusive: Two more women come forward, say San Diego mayor harassed them — Photos: San Diego mayor's accusers — (CNN) — The man on the voicemail is flirty and clearly asking for a date. But it's the name on the message that's raising red flags. — “Hi, it's your newly favorite congressman, Bob Filner.

Discussion: KGTV-TV, msnbc.com, Guardian, National Review, Most Recent, Feministing, Jezebel, ThinkProgress, Politico, The Daily Caller, Shakesville, Taegan Goddard's …, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, America Rising and rubber hose

Rasmussen Reports:

Christie Is Candidate GOP Voters Want Least As Their 2016 Nominee — New Jersey Governor Chris Christie holds a narrow lead among Republicans for the party's 2016 presidential nomination, but even more GOP voters say he's the candidate they least want to see nominated.

Discussion: Weekly Standard and LifeNews.com

Blake Neff / Ballot Box:
Christie surges in New Hampshire

Discussion: Reuters

Ruth Marcus / Real Clear Politics:

The Day Our Earth Stood Still — Don Graham's decision to sell The Washington Post was his reverse Sophie's Choice moment. — She had to decide which cherished child to save and which to send to the gas chamber. Don and the Graham family weren't forced to make an anguishing choice but did so anyway.

Discussion: Power Line, American Spectator, National Review and Shot in the Dark

Michael Walsh / National Review:
The Post's Fire Sale

Discussion: Ed Driscoll, New York Post, American Prospect and Guardian

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:

Steve King: Belief In Climate Change Is A ‘Religion,’ ‘Not Science’ — Despite the fact that 97 percent of scientists agree that climate change is real, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is insistent that it is “not science” and that environmentalists are missing the potential upsides.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Joe Sutter / Messenger News:
King: Global warming ‘not proven, not science’

Discussion: Daily Kos

BBC:

Yemeni authorities ‘foil al-Qaeda plot to seize ports’ — Yemen says it has foiled a major al-Qaeda plot to blow up oil pipelines and seize two of the country's main ports. — Government spokesman Rajeh Badi said the plans included taking control of the al-Dhaba oil terminal and killing or kidnapping foreign workers.

Discussion: Telegraph, The Hill, Yahoo! News, TalkLeft, AL.com, CANNONFIRE, Washington Post, Guardian, ABC and Techdirt

New York Times:
Yemeni Authorities Foil Qaeda Plot, Officials Say

Discussion: Reuters, msnbc.com, Gawker, Yahoo! News, Foreign Policy, CNN and FP Passport

Ted Koppel / Wall Street Journal:

America's Chronic Overreaction to Terrorism — The country's capacity for self-inflicted damage must have astounded even Osama bin Laden. — June 28, 2014, will mark the 100th anniversary of what is arguably the most eventful terrorist attack in history.

Discussion: NewsBusters

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:

White House Seeks a Return to the Housing Status Quo — I think the most important part of today's presidential address on housing is, in some ways, this graphic that the White House pushed out on social media today. Not so much for anything the chart says as for the fact that this is the message the administration wants to push.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Binyamin Appelbaum / New York Times:
Washington Steps Warily on Housing

Discussion: New Republic, The Week and ThinkProgress

Shane Goldmacher / NationalJournal.com:

The Top 10 Lawmakers Who Could Lose a Primary Next Year — The list includes a Santa Claus impersonator-turned congressman and a doctor who slept with his patients. — Incumbency in Congress is a fortress rarely breached, particularly in primaries. In the 2012 elections …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Illinois Review

Tyler Cowen / Marginal Revolution:

Is Amazon Art a doomed venture? Let's hope so — I do not think it will revolutionize the art world: … I expect the real business here to come in posters, lower quality lithographs, and screen prints, not fine art per se. And sold on a commodity basis.

Discussion: Business Insider, The Week, ANIMAL, Agence France Presse and The Verge

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Zillow lists White House for $319 million — For only $319.6 million, a 16-bedroom, 35-bathroom house with a prime D.C. address could be yours — if the White House were for sale, that is. — Real estate website Zillow's listing for the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Discussion: Yahoo! News and CNN