memeorandum: Ranking the Top 5 Senators Vulnerable in 2014 Primaries (Julie Sobel/NationalJournal.com)

10:30 PM ET, December 28, 2013

Top Items:

New York Times: No Evidence Al Qaeda ‘Had Any Role’ In Benghazi Attack — A months-long investigation by The New York Times “turned up no evidence that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role” in the assaults last year on a U.S. diplomatic mission and a C.I.A. compound in Benghazi, Libya.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Mediaite

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:

A Deadly Mix in Benghazi — Benghazi, Libya — A boyish-looking American diplomat was meeting for the first time with the Islamist leaders of eastern Libya's most formidable militias. — It was Sept. 9, 2012. Gathered on folding chairs in a banquet hall by the Mediterranean …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

The Huffington Post:

It's Not Just Poor People Getting Hosed When Congress Lets Unemployment Insurance Expire — NEW YORK — David Torian is an Ivy League-educated lawyer and a onetime chief of staff to then-Rep. Michael McNulty (D-N.Y.). He has 23 years of experience in congressional and government relations …

Discussion: The Hill and Daily Kos

Annie Lowrey / New York Times:

Benefits Ending for One Million Unemployed — WASHINGTON — An emergency federal program that acts as a lifeline for 1.3 million jobless workers will end on Saturday, drastically curtailing government support for the long-term unemployed and setting the stage for a major political fight in the new year.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Hot Air, Los Angeles Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Mahablog, GovBeat and BuzzFeed

WTOP.com:

Toby Keith restaurant in Va. bans guns, sparks uproar — WOODBRIDGE, Va. - A new restaurant that recently opened in Woodbridge is sparking a Second Amendment controversy, especially online. — The restaurant named for country music star Toby Keith has posted a “ No guns permitted” …

Discussion: The Raw Story, Liberaland, WJLA-TV, Mediaite and BREITBART.COM

Patrick Howley / The Daily Caller:

DNC sends email defending Obama from impeachment possibility — The Democratic National Committee (DNC) sent out a paranoid email Saturday evening urging supporters to vote for Democrats so that Republicans can't impeach President Obama. — The email, subject line “Impeachment,” …

Joan Walsh / Salon:

Paul Ryan lectures the pope — The Catholic conservative who insists he cares about the poor says Pope Francis doesn't understand capitalism — When 1.3 million Americans lose their unemployment benefits on Saturday, they can thank Rep. Paul Ryan. He took the lead in negotiating …

Discussion: Daily Kos and PERRspectives

Bari Weiss / Wall Street Journal:

Camille Paglia: A Feminist Defense of Masculine Virtues — The cultural critic on why ignoring the biological differences between men and women risks undermining Western civilization itself. — Philadelphia — 'What you're seeing is how a civilization commits suicide," says Camille Paglia.

Discussion: neo-neocon and Vox Popoli

Mark Gevisser / New York Times:

Life Under Russia's ‘Gay Propaganda’ Ban — The Russian port city Arkhangelsk (population 350,000) is on the White Sea, 1,230 kilometers north of Moscow. A key Allied supply line to the Soviets in both world wars, it was also the departure point for the first Soviet gulag.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay

Charles Hoskinson / Washington Examiner:

Who are the losers in the ‘Duck Dynasty’ flap? — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL DUCK DYNASTY TELEVISION POLITICAL CORRECTNESS — Now that A&E executives have surrendered to the will of hundreds of thousands of “Duck Dynasty” fans and welcomed Phil Robertson back to the show nearly 10 days …

Discussion: US News, NewsBusters, Guns.com, Althouse, ThinkProgress, PoliticusUSA and americanthinker.com

Sean McElwee / The Atlantic Online:

Can Vermont's Single-Payer System Fix What Ails American Healthcare? — As Obamacare struggles, progressives hope a bold experiment could offer a better model. But first, it has to work. — The Affordable Care Act's turbulent implementation has ruled the news cycle …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Connecting.the.Dots and Bloomberg

Jonathon Sharp / CBS Minnesota:

Police: Mark Andrew Beaten After Getting iPhone Stolen At MOA Starbucks — MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The runner-up in the Minneapolis mayoral election is recovering after being robbed and brutally beaten Thursday night at the Mall of America. — Mark Andrew, 63, was at a Starbucks inside …

Discussion: Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit and Vox Popoli