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Noah Shachtman / Reuters:
Exclusive: Intercepted Calls Prove Syrian Army Used Nerve Gas, U.S. Spies Say — Last Wednesday, in the hours after a horrific chemical attack east of Damascus, an official at the Syrian Ministry of Defense exchanged panicked phone calls with a leader of a chemical weapons unit …
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New York Times, Guardian, Global Grind, NPR, Foreign Policy, Business Insider, Reuters, driftglass, American Spectator, Gawker, emptywheel, americanthinker.com, Daily Kos and The Hill
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Max Fisher / WorldViews:
Here's why Obama is giving up the element of surprise in Syria — Military thinkers from Sun Tzu to Napoleon Bonaparte have long emphasized the element of surprise. So it might seem strange that the Obama administration is not just clearly telegraphing that it likely plans to launch limited strikes …
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American Prospect, National Review, Hot Air, The Week, Real Clear Politics, Recently posted, Booman Tribune, Reuters, The Dish, Israel Matzav and Daily Kos
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. leaks tell Assad he can relax. The bombing will be brief and limited. — An American military attack on Syria could begin as early as Thursday and will involve three days of missile strikes, according to “senior U.S. officials” talking to NBC News. The Washington Post has the bombing at …
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Weekly Standard, Betsy's Page, msnbc.com, Sense of Events, NPR and National Review
Lara Seligman / The Hill:
McCain scolds White House for ‘crazy’ leaks on Syria air strikes — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Wednesday expressed outrage over leaks related to possible air strikes on Syria, calling them “crazy.” — McCain pointed to reports that say U.S. air strikes on Syria could begin as early as Friday.
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Politico
Ian Hurd / New York Times:
Bomb Syria, Even if It Is Illegal
Bomb Syria, Even if It Is Illegal
Discussion:
Guardian, Telegraph, Real Clear Politics, The Heritage Foundation and NPR
Julian Pecquet / The Hill:
Kucinich: Syria strike would turn US into 'al Qaeda's air force'
Kucinich: Syria strike would turn US into 'al Qaeda's air force'
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Washington Post, Firedoglake, Associated Press, The Week, americanthinker.com, CANNONFIRE, Mediaite, National Review and Slate
John McWhorter / Wall Street Journal:
A Better Way to Honor Dr. King's Dream — The goal of the civil-rights movement was opportunity—not a ‘post-racial’ society. — On the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, we will hear a good deal about how life in this country for black Americans has not changed as much as Martin Luther King Jr. might have wished.
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New York Times, Gawker, The Hinterland Gazette, Washington Post, National Review and The Week
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Peter Baker / New York Times:
President, Not Preacher, but Speaking More on Race
President, Not Preacher, but Speaking More on Race
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NBCNews, News One, Althouse and Washington Post
Suzanne Gamboa / Associated Press:
OBAMA EMBODIES KING'S DREAM AND HIS STRUGGLE
OBAMA EMBODIES KING'S DREAM AND HIS STRUGGLE
Discussion:
AL.com, Jammie Wearing Fools and NewsBusters
Politico:
Immigration reform's No. 1 enemy: Time — Immigration reform advocates have a new enemy: the congressional calendar. — Fall's fiscal fights have lined up in a way that could delay immigration reform until 2014, multiple senior House Republican leadership aides tell POLITICO …
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New York Times
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Elizabeth Warren / Boston Herald:
Battenfeld: Outspoken Liz Warren stays silent on Syria
Battenfeld: Outspoken Liz Warren stays silent on Syria
Discussion:
Connecting.the.Dots and New York Times
Emma Dumain / Goppers:
If Obama Bypasses Congress on Syria, Will He Face Consequences?
If Obama Bypasses Congress on Syria, Will He Face Consequences?
Discussion:
The Week, The World's Greatest …, Balloon Juice and The Plum Line
kff.org:
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: August 2013 — As outreach efforts for enrollment in the health insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) increase over the summer, the August Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that the public's most trusted sources of information on the law …
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First Read, Taegan Goddard's …, AMERICAblog News, Daily Kos, The Fix and NPR
New York Post:
Weiner paid for phony supporters at campaign events, source says — Anthony Weiner is having such a hard time generating support for his limp campaign that he has resorted to paying a rent-a-crowd firm to provide “supporters” for his events, The Post has learned.
Discussion:
Politico, Weasel Zippers, National Review, NY Daily News and Jammie Wearing Fools
Reuters:
Exclusive: U.S. delays deadline for finalizing Obamacare health plans — (Reuters) - The Obama administration has delayed a step crucial to the launch of the new healthcare law, the signing of final agreements with insurance plans to be sold on federal health insurance exchanges starting October 1.
Discussion:
AL.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, National Review, Weasel Zippers and Weekly Standard
Fox News:
Ben Bradlee's daughter-in-law reveals (almost) all on Facebook — Ben Bradlee, one of the great men of American journalism, celebrated his 92nd birthday yesterday, and his daughter-in-law paid tribute by posting a photo of them and saying “it is a dream to be part of his family.”
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Alex Weprin / TVNewser:
August 2013 Ratings: MSNBC Down Double Digits — MSNBC continued its rough 2013 in the ratings, continuing to lose significant audience from 2012. The problems were particularly prevalent in primetime, with some shows losing close to -50% of viewers. — The ratings for August 2013 (Nielsen Live + Same Day data):
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Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, NewsBusters, The Daily Caller, americanthinker.com, Weasel Zippers and Washington Free Beacon
Josh Schiller / Washington Post:
Why you won't see or hear the ‘I have a dream’ speech — Josh Schiller is an associate in the New York offices of Boies Schiller & Flexner who has represented plaintiffs and defendants in copyright infringement lawsuits. — Fifty years ago this week, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech.
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Poynter and Post Politics
Groupthink:
Solidarity is For Miley Cyrus: The Racial Implications of her VMA Performance — As a black woman, I feel like I owe a debt of gratitude to Mikki Kendall, of Solidarity Is For White Women fame for managing to so perfectly encapsulate years of subjugation of black women by white women.
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CNN, The Daily Caller, Power Line, Mediaite, Guardian and Colorlines
Ben S. Carson / Washington Times:
MLK would be alarmed by black-on-black violence, lack of family values — It is hard to believe that 50 years have elapsed since the famous “I have a dream speech” of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Mall in Washington. I was an 11-year-old child in Detroit languishing in the midst of poverty …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and TheBlaze.com
Garance Franke-Ruta / The Atlantic Online:
People Who Need to Retire: Pat Robertson Edition — The 700 Club host falsely asserted that gay men in San Francisco use special rings to give AIDS to unsuspecting people who shake their hands. What year is it? — Dear people in public life: When you love your job …
Discussion:
Mediaite, LGBTQ Nation and The Atlantic Wire
Boston Magazine:
Behind the Scenes of The Hunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — All photographs by Massachusetts State Police Sergeant Sean Murphy — It was likely the most terrifying manhunt in Boston history. With the city under lockdown and armored vehicles rolling through Watertown, the alleged Boston …
Discussion:
Global Grind, NPR, Guardian, CBS New York, NBCNews and TalkLeft
Zach Carter / The Huffington Post:
Taxpayer Dollars Paid A Third Of Richest Corporate CEOs: Report — WASHINGTON — More than one-third of the nation's highest-paid CEOs from the past two decades led companies that were subsidized by American taxpayers, according to a report released Wednesday by the Institute for Policy Studies, a liberal think tank.
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Firedoglake, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and IPS: Latest Content
Associated Press:
NYPD DESIGNATES MOSQUES AS TERRORISM ORGANIZATIONS … NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Police Department has secretly labeled entire mosques as terrorism organizations, a designation that allows police to use informants to record sermons and spy on imams, often without specific evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Weasel Zippers and The Hinterland Gazette
Jason Hancock / Kansas City Star:
Missouri chamber is under fire for hosting Texas governor's job hunting visit — That Texas Gov. Rick Perry is headed to Missouri on Thursday hoping to lure businesses back to the Lone Star State should come as no surprise. — This year, the former GOP presidential hopeful has swaggered …
Discussion:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Stevengoddard / Real Science:
Mildest US Summer In A Century — This summer, the US has experienced the fewest number of 100 degree readings in a century. The five hottest summers (1936, 1934, 1954, 1980 and 1930) all occurred with CO2 below 350 PPM. — CO2 went over 400 PPM this year, indicating that heatwaves and CO2 have nothing to do with each other.
Discussion:
Power Line
Wall Street Journal:
Leaker's Security Check Faulted — Review of Former NSA Contractor Snowden Found to be Inadequate — WASHINGTON—The most recent background check of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden was so inadequate that too few people were interviewed and potential concerns weren't pursued …
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Lawfare and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »