memeorandum: Gay couple forced to back of bus (Lysée Mitri/KRQE-TV)

3:05 AM ET, August 5, 2013

Top Items:

Martha Raddatz / ABC News:

Senior U.S. Official: Intercepted Al Qaeda Communications Indicate Planned Attack ‘Big,’ ‘Strategically Significant’ — ABC News' Martha Raddatz and Jonathan Karl report: — On the day that almost two dozen U.S. embassies and consulates across North Africa and the Middle East are closed following …

Discussion: CBC News, Examiner, Christian Science Monitor, Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys, Mediaite, The PJ Tatler, The Moderate Voice and msnbc.com

Fox News:

Capitol Hill intelligence committee leaders: Terror threat ‘specific’ and ‘serious,’ included dates — Capitol Hill lawmakers, including top-ranking members of intelligence committees, on Sunday described the terror threat that closed 22 U.S. embassies and consulates across the Muslim region …

Discussion: Jihad Watch, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Gateway Pundit

Brendan Sasso / The Hill:
Chambliss: NSA spying uncovered threat

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Barbara Starr / CNN:
Intercepted al Qaeda message led to shuttering embassies, consulates

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, BBC, Washington Monthly and The Hill

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Graham: Al Qaeda ‘on steroids’ since Benghazi attack

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air and Mediaite

Ashley Killough / CNN:
Graham praises Obama administration; trip to Egypt still on

Discussion: Politico

Ashley Killough / CNN:
Debate over NSA programs gets renewed attention amid terror threat

Discussion: Politico

Perry Stein / Talking Points Memo:

Tea Party Challenger To McConnell: ‘Be A Man, Run On Your Record’ — Matt Bevin, the Tea-Partier challenging incumbent Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in the Republican primary, called on the five-term senator to “be a man” and “run on his record.” — “I beg him to tell the people …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Howard Fineman / The Huffington Post:
At Fancy Farm, Kentucky Tea Party Guy Has a Good Debut

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Craig Howie / Politico:
Mitch McConnell, Alison Lundergan Grimes face off at Fancy Farm

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Impolitic, Taylor Marsh, The Raw Story and Lexington Herald-Leader

Jonathan Easley / Ballot Box: Kentucky Senate candidates trade barbs at rowdy Fancy Farms picnic

Glenn Greenwald / Guardian:

Members of Congress denied access to basic information about NSA — Documents provided by two House members demonstrate how they are blocked from exercising any oversight over domestic surveillance — • Morgan Griffith's requests for NSA information — • Alan Grayson's requests for NSA information

Discussion: Mediaite, Hullabaloo, The Daily Caller, Crooks and Liars, The Hill, The Raw Story and The Hill

Jen Psaki / US Department of State:

Statement on Update of Embassy and Consulate Closure — Press Statement — Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson — Washington, DC — Given that a number of our embassies and consulates were going to be closed in accordance with local custom and practice for the bulk of the week …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Moderate Voice, The Hinterland Gazette and The Hill

Marry Me / Bangor Daily News:

‘Trayvon got justice,’ Ted Nugent says in interview with Maine radio station — Rocker Ted Nugent launched a volley of invective at local protesters and the New Haven Register during an interview Saturday with a Maine radio station. — Anyone anticipating wild remarks from the Motor City Madman …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, his vorpal sword, The Raw Story and The Huffington Post

Associated Press:

4-year-old Bobby Tufts re-elected mayor of small Minnesota town — DORSET, Minn. - Robert “Bobby” Tufts hasn't made it to preschool yet, but he's already been elected twice as mayor of a tiny tourist town in northern Minnesota. — Mayor Tufts' name was picked Sunday during annual Taste …

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Poor attendance at Obamacare event in Virginia — CENTREVILLE, Va. — A race to define Obamacare to the masses began today between the stacks at the Centreville Library. Over pizza in Decatur, Texas. And with a glass of wine in Naples, Fla. — Dozens of communities around …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin

Elisabeth Rosenthal / New York Times:

In Need of a New Hip, but Priced Out of the U.S. — WARSAW, Ind. — Michael Shopenn's artificial hip was made by a company based in this remote town, a global center of joint manufacturing. But he had to fly to Europe to have it installed. — Mr. Shopenn, 67, an architectural photographer …

Discussion: Hullabaloo and JustOneMinute

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

G.O.P. Governors Warn Party Members in Congress Not to Shut Government — MILWAUKEE — Worried about the potential impact on the fragile economies in their states, Republican governors this weekend warned their counterparts in Congress not to shut down the federal government as part of an effort …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Evan McMurry / Mediaite:

Michael Savage Questions Terror Alert: ‘First Muslim President’ Trying To ‘Justify Spying On Americans’ — Radio host Michael Savage recently went from skepticism over this weekend's terror alerts to accusations that Barack Obama was “the first Muslim president.”

Discussion: The Raw Story

Ariel Edwards-Levy / The Huffington Post:

Rick Santorum ‘Open’ To 2016 Presidential Run — Former Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum is open to running again in 2016, he said Sunday. — “I'm open to looking into the presidential race in 2016,” Santorum said on “Meet The Press.” “But we've got a little ways.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Scott Wong / Politico:

Schumer calls Putin a ‘school-yard bully’ — Russian President Vladimir Putin is nothing more than a “school-yard bully” and President Barack Obama should cancel their meeting in Moscow next month, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.) said Sunday. — Last week, Putin granted National Security …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice