memeorandum: The Typical Household, Now Worth a Third Less (Anna Bernasek/New York Times)

9:15 AM ET, July 27, 2014

Top Items:

Repeal Prohibition, Again — It took 13 years for the United States to come to its senses and end Prohibition, 13 years in which people kept drinking, otherwise law-abiding citizens became criminals and crime syndicates arose and flourished. It has been more than 40 years since Congress passed …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, Politico, The Raw Story, The Huffington Post, Taylor Marsh, Hit & Run, Business Insider, Mashable, The Verge and Althouse

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

GOP blames Obama for Libya violence — The violence in Libya that caused U.S. embassy personnel to flee the country on Saturday is partly due to President Obama's inability to bring calm to the region, key Republican members of Congress said on Saturday. — According to House Intelligence …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Prairie Weather

CNN:

U.S. Embassy in Libya evacuates personnel — (CNN) — The U.S. Embassy in Libya evacuated its personnel on Saturday because of heavy militia violence raging in the capital, Tripoli, the State Department said. — About 150 personnel, including 80 U.S. Marines were evacuated from the embassy …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit, Outside the Beltway and Liberty Unyielding

Walter Russell Mead:

As Libya Implodes, “Smart Diplomacy” Becoming a Punch Line — The reckless and thoughtless Libya intervention just keeps looking worse. But don't read the critics to see how horrible things are: as the government announces that the U.S. has officially evacuated its embassy in Tripoli this morning …

Discussion: Power Line, travel.state.gov, Associated Press and Gawker

Ali Weinberg / ABC News:

‘Freewheeling Militia Violence’ Forced US to Evacuate Embassy in Libya, Kerry Says … The U.S. State Department was forced to suspend operations at its embassy in Libya because of “freewheeling militia violence” there, Secretary of State John Kerry said today.

Discussion: Associated Press and Mediaite

Matthew Lee / ABC News: US Evacuates Embassy in Libya Amid Clashes

Anna Bernasek / New York Times:

The Typical Household, Now Worth a Third Less — Economic inequality in the United States has been receiving a lot of attention. But it's not merely an issue of the rich getting richer. The typical American household has been getting poorer, too. — The inflation-adjusted net worth for the typical household was $87,992 in 2003.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Gateway Pundit, Scared Monkeys and Hullabaloo

Barak Ravid / Haaretz:

Kerry's latest cease-fire plan: What was he thinking? — Kerry isn't anti-Israeli; on the contrary, he's a true friend to Israel. But his conduct in recent days over the Gaza cease-fire raises serious doubts over his judgment and perception of regional events.

Discussion: Power Line, The Times of Israel, Israel Matzav, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Weekly Standard

James Call / SaintPetersBlog:

Charlie Crist: “I'm not a scientist either but I can use my brain and I can talk to one” — Charlie Crist knows how to work a storyline. — The Democratic gubernatorial candidate, who as a Republican governor in 2007 said global warming was “one of the most important issues that we will face …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Matt K Lewis / Telegraph:

Barack Obama has already checked out of his job — The degree to which Barack Obama is now phoning it in - sleepwalking perfunctorily through his second term, amid golf rounds and dinner parties - is astonishing — President Obama has emotionally checked out of his job a couple of years early, it seems.

Discussion: Hot Air, Belmont Club, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The PJ Tatler

Azam Ahmed / New York Times:

Taliban Making Military Gains in Afghanistan — MAHMUD RAQI, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters are scoring early gains in several strategic areas near the capital this summer, inflicting heavy casualties and casting new doubt on the ability of Afghan forces to contain the insurgency …

Con Coughlin / Telegraph:

Hamas and North Korea in secret arms deal — Exclusive: Hamas has paid North Korea for missiles and communications equipment in arms deal worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — Hamas militants are attempting to negotiate a new arms deal with North Korea for missiles and communications equipment …

Discussion: Israel Matzav and Algemeiner.com

Sebastian Payne / Washington Post:

Obama extends long-term trend of fundraising presidents — Last week it was Hollywood glitterati. The week before it was Wall Street financiers. Regardless of what is going on in America and the world, one thing has become certain about President Obama's work schedule — there will always be fundraisers.

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:

Ron Paul: “Too Early To Tell” If Views On Russia Will Affect Son's Candidacy — “The U.S. is every bit as involved...as Putin,” says the former Congressman. — Steve Marcus / Reuters / Reuters — WASHINGTON — Former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul said on Friday that it's …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Daily Kos and Washington Free Beacon

Benjy Sarlin / msnbc.com:
Rand Paul makes pitch to civil rights groups

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Hinterland Gazette and Daily Kos

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Rand Paul Stands Out in Courting Black Voters

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Huffington Post, Politico, Washington Monthly and Washington Post

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

After CIA gets secret whistleblower email, Congress worries about more spying — WASHINGTON — The CIA obtained a confidential email to Congress about alleged whistleblower retaliation related to the Senate's classified report on the agency's harsh interrogation program …

Discussion: Firedoglake and RT