Top Items:
Associated Press:
North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il, 69, Has Died — SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Kim Jong Il, North Korea's mercurial and enigmatic leader, has died. He was 69. — Kim's death was announced Monday by state television from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.
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BBC:
N Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies — North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has died at the age of 69, state-run television has announced. — His death was announced in an emotional statement read out on national television. — The announcer, wearing black, said he had died on Saturday of physical and mental over-work.
Discussion:
Hot Air, ThinkProgress, Catholic Bandita, Tim Blair and The Other McCain
CNN:
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il dead, state TV reports — (CNN) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is dead, North Korean state TV said Monday. — Kim, 69, died Saturday, state TV said. — South Korean news agency Yonhap — which based its reporting on its monitoring off North Korean state television …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Atlantic Online, Boing Boing and CANNONFIRE
Bill Austin / Bloomberg:
Kim Jong Il, North Korea's ‘Dear Leader’ Dictator, Dead at 70 — Kim Jong Il, the second-generation North Korean dictator who defied global condemnation to build nuclear weapons while his people starved, has died, Yonhap News reported. He was 70. — The news came in a radio broadcast …
Discussion:
CNN, neo-neocon and Doug Ross
Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Payroll Tax Cut Blocked by House Republicans — WASHINGTON — The House Republican leader on Sunday flatly rejected a short-term, bipartisan Senate measure to extend a payroll tax break and unemployment insurance, setting the stage for a bitter year-end Congressional collision and the potential loss …
Discussion:
The Impolitic, Balloon Juice, AMERICAN FUTURE, Booman Tribune and Blue Mass Group
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Associated Press:
House GOP demands new payroll tax cut bill — WASHINGTON - Top House Republicans said Sunday they oppose a bipartisan, Senate-approved bill that extends a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for just two months and said congressional bargainers need to write a new version lasting a longer time.
Discussion:
The Mahablog
Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Keystone climbdown leaves Obama supporters scratching their heads
Keystone climbdown leaves Obama supporters scratching their heads
Discussion:
The Politico, Roll Call, The Huffington Post, New York Times and CNN
Russell Berman / The Hill:
House Republicans voice opposition to Senate payroll tax cut package
House Republicans voice opposition to Senate payroll tax cut package
Discussion:
New York Times, Firedoglake, Reuters, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, The White House and Washington Monthly
Russell Berman / The Hill:
Speaker Boehner opposes Senate's two-month payroll tax cut extension
Speaker Boehner opposes Senate's two-month payroll tax cut extension
Discussion:
The Politico
Russell Berman / The Hill:
White House backs Senate payroll bill over House objections
White House backs Senate payroll bill over House objections
Discussion:
Speaker, The Politico, RedState and CNN
Lucy Madison / CBS News:
Gingrich: Gov't branches should rule 2 out of 3 — PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO — Newt Gingrich on Sunday reiterated his argument that there is something “profoundly wrong” with the United States' judicial system, and argued that the balance of power in American government should come down to “two out of three” branches of the government.
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, Caffeinated Thoughts, The Atlantic Online, The Volokh Conspiracy and Scared Monkeys
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Quote of the Day — At this week's debate for Republican …
Quote of the Day — At this week's debate for Republican …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Political Mojo
Alexander Bolton / Ballot Box:
Gingrich: Congress can send Capitol Police to arrest rogue judges
Gingrich: Congress can send Capitol Police to arrest rogue judges
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications
New York Times:
Vaclav Havel, 1936-2011: Vaclav Havel, Former Czech President, Dies at 75 — Vaclav Havel, the Czech writer and dissident whose eloquent dissections of Communist rule helped to destroy it in revolutions that brought down the Berlin Wall and swept Mr. Havel himself into power, died on Sunday.
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J.Y. Smith / Washington Post:
Vaclav Havel, dissident playwright and former Czech president, dies
Vaclav Havel, dissident playwright and former Czech president, dies
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and Suburban Guerrilla
Ted Mann / The Atlantic Wire:
Vaclav Havel is Dead
Vaclav Havel is Dead
Discussion:
emptywheel, The Daily What, The Incidental Economist and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Michael Winfrey / Reuters:
Vaclav Havel, leader of “Velvet Revolution,” dies
Vaclav Havel, leader of “Velvet Revolution,” dies
Discussion:
Michael Totten, americanthinker.com and Hit & Run
Michael Zennie / Daily Mail:
Vivid new Battle of the Bulge photos offer never-before-seen look at the war-weary soldiers braving the frigid weather as they fight off Nazi Germany's last major offensive of World War II — Breathtaking new photographs, including several vivid full-color images, offer a never-before-seen look …
Reuters:
Last U.S. troops leave Iraq, ending war — (Reuters) - The last convoy of U.S. soldiers pulled out of Iraq on Sunday, ending nearly nine years of war that cost almost 4,500 American and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives and left a country still grappling with political uncertainty.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Zandar Versus The Stupid and TalkLeft
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Inderdeep Bains / Daily Mail:
The brave women of the Middle East: Female protesters brutally beaten with metal poles as vicious soldiers drag girls through streets by their hair in day of shame — After being viciously beaten by a 10-strong mob of Egyptian male soldiers, this woman lies helplessly on the ground as her shirt …
Discussion:
Power Line, Newshoggers.com and Atlas Shrugs
Teresa Watanabe / Los Angeles Times:
L.A. schools' healthful lunch menu panned by students — For many students, Los Angeles Unified's introduction of healthful lunches — part of a campaign against obesity, diabetes and other problems — has been a flop. The district says the menu will be revised.
Discussion:
Conservative Hideout 2.0, Don Surber, The Lonely Conservative and Political Mojo
J. Freedom du Lac / Washington Post:
In Iraq, the last to fall: David Hickman, the 4,474th U.S. service member killed — GREENSBORO, N.C. — To find Army Spec. David Emanuel Hickman on the morning after his unit returned to Fort Bragg from Iraq, you had to drive 100 miles north, to his home town.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The BRAD BLOG, Danger Room and Bark Bark Woof Woof
Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:
Minnesota Republican Resigns Post Over Allegation of ‘Inappropriate’ Relationship — This news was a shock to me, involving allegations — and we must stress that these are only allegations at this point — against a female politician whom I have actually met: … (Via TPM and Memorandum.)
Discussion:
Don Surber, Daily Pundit and Firedoglake
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Rachel E. Stassen-Berger / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Sen. Koch quit over ‘inappropriate’ relationship
Sen. Koch quit over ‘inappropriate’ relationship