Top Items:
TIME:
The Top Ten Finalists for Person of the Year in 2013 — Here are the final ten contenders for TIME's Person of the Year (listed alphabetically): Bashar Assad, President of Syria Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder Ted Cruz, Texas Senator Miley Cyrus, Singer Pope Francis, Leader of the Catholic Church Barack Obama …
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Alyssa Rosenberg / ThinkProgress:
Why Miley Cyrus Should Be The 2013 Person Of The Year Instead Of Pope Francis — Time Magazine announced its finalists for Person Of The Year today, and the list is a not unsurprising mix of figures from various realms of public life: … It's easy to declare that one of these things is not like the other …
Discussion:
Religion Dispatches and The PJ Tatler
Alex Seitz-Wald / NationalJournal.com:
How Adam Lanza Wrecked Obama's Second Term — Don't blame the catastrophic health care rollout for the president's woes. The Sandy Hook shooting is the real reason things went amok. — There are plenty of reasons this is the lowest point of Barack Obama's presidency.
Reuters:
Israeli Top Leaders Not Attending Mandela Funeral — JERUSALEM — Neither Israel's prime minister nor president will attend South Africa's commemorations of the late Nelson Mandela this week, officials said, a notable absence at events expected to draw more than 70 world leaders.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and The Hinterland Gazette
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Hillary Clinton / CNN:
Obama flies to South Africa with Bushes, Hillary Clinton — (CNN) - The Air Force One flight from the U.S. to South Africa on Monday was historic not only for its final destination, but for its passenger list. — Joining President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for the trip …
Discussion:
Politico
Agence France Presse:
Israeli Leader Cancels Plans To Attend Nelson Mandela Memorial Service
Israeli Leader Cancels Plans To Attend Nelson Mandela Memorial Service
Discussion:
Agence France Presse, Yahoo! News and The Agonist
Susan B. Glasser / Politico:
Was Hillary Clinton a Good Secretary of State?
Was Hillary Clinton a Good Secretary of State?
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, The Fix, Hot Air and TheBlaze.com
Matthew Barakat / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
APNewsBreak: US Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida loses $18M in fraud scheme — McLEAN, Va. — U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida lost $18 million in a scheme that cheated him and about 120 other investors out of more than $35 million, according to court papers. — The Virginia man who ran the scheme …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Post Politics
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John Bresnahan / Associated Press:
Alan Grayson loses $18M in fraud scheme — Controversial House Democrat Alan Grayson lost $18 million as part of a criminal scheme run by a Virginia man that bilked more than 100 investors out of more than $35 million, according to federal court documents. — William Dean Chapman, 44 …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
New York Times:
Spies' Dragnet Reaches a Playing Field of Elves and Trolls — Not limiting their activities to the earthly realm, American and British spies have infiltrated the fantasy worlds of World of Warcraft and Second Life, conducting surveillance and scooping up data in the online games played …
Discussion:
Taking Note, Hit & Run, Guardian, The Verge, TechCrunch and Liberaland
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ProPublica:
World of Spycraft: NSA and CIA Spied in Online Games — by Justin Elliott, ProPublica, and Mark Mazzetti, The New York Times … Not limiting their activities to the earthly realm, American and British spies have infiltrated the fantasy worlds of World of Warcraft and Second Life …
Discussion:
The Minority Report Blog, Techdirt, Prairie Weather, KDVR.com, NPR and Gawker
James Ball / Guardian:
Xbox Live among game services targeted by US and UK spy agencies
Xbox Live among game services targeted by US and UK spy agencies
Discussion:
The Lead with Jake Tapper, Activist Post, CNN, ProPublica, emptywheel, The Raw Story, Boing Boing, Discourse.net, Computerworld, Balloon Juice and Mashable
ThinkProgress:
There's Now A Coloring Book To Teach Your Children To Love Ted Cruz — Are you a new parent terrified that the liberal media will turn your child into an Obama supporter? Or do you just need something to entertain your kids during those long drives to Tea Party rallies?
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Susan Page / USA Today:
Sibling rivalry? Zeke vs. Rahm Emanuel on Obamacare
Sibling rivalry? Zeke vs. Rahm Emanuel on Obamacare
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Washington Free Beacon and Firedoglake
J.K. Trotter / Gawker:
Fox News Paid Fired Executive $8 Million to Keep Quiet — Roger Ailes' secrets command a heavy price. Last week, the New York Times reported that Fox News had reached an out-of-court settlement with Brian Lewis, the former Roger Ailes aide who was abruptly fired in late July.
Discussion:
Politico and Erik Wemple, more at Mediagazer »
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:
Limited Support for Iran Nuclear Agreement — Iran's Leaders Seen as ‘Not Serious’ in Addressing Nuclear Concerns — The public is reacting skeptically to last month's multilateral agreement aimed at freezing parts of Iran's nuclear program. Overall, more disapprove than approve of the deal …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Politico, Yahoo! News, Weasel Zippers, Weekly Standard, Post Politics and Taegan Goddard's …
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Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:
Cheney: The Iran Deal Is Bad Because Of Obamacare
Cheney: The Iran Deal Is Bad Because Of Obamacare
Discussion:
PERRspectives, Liberaland and Agence France Presse
Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Kentucky Man Sets Gun On Toilet Paper Dispenser While Using Restroom, Gun Goes Off — A Kentucky man just needed a place to set his gun while he relieved himself in a restaurant restroom on Sunday, but the toilet paper dispenser may not have been the best choice.
Discussion:
TheNewsEnterprise.com and The Raw Story
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The Sportsman Channel:
Sarah Palin Joins Sportsman Channel as Host of Original Series “Amazing America with Sarah Palin” — Cultural, Political and Media Force, Palin Returns to Unscripted Television as Sportsman Channel's “First Lady of the Outdoors” — New Berlin, WI (December 9 2013) Former U.S. vice presidential candidate …
Discussion:
CNN, Post Politics, PoliticusUSA, Deadline.com, Politico, Jezebel, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, NewsHounds blog and Shakesville
Robert Pear / New York Times:
On Health Exchanges, Premiums May Be Low, but Other Costs Can Be High — WASHINGTON — For months, the Obama administration has heralded the low premiums of medical insurance policies on sale in the insurance exchanges created by the new health law. But as consumers dig into the details …
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner / Financial Times:
New Affordable Care US health plans will exclude top hospitals
New Affordable Care US health plans will exclude top hospitals
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Rush Limbaugh, The Mahablog and americanthinker.com
Seni Tienabeso / ABC News:
George Zimmerman's Girlfriend Wants to Drop Charges, ‘Be With Him’ … George Zimmerman's girlfriend who called Florida police to say he was breaking her stuff and was brandishing a weapon no longer wants to press charges against him and instead wants to get back together with him.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Gawker, The Hinterland Gazette, Liberaland, Mediaite and The Raw Story
Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Heritage Action Bashes Ryan-Murray Budget Framework — Heritage Action fired a warning shot Monday against an emerging budget agreement between Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) to set spending levels for a few years and mitigate some of the sequester cuts.
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RIA Novosti:
RIA Novosti to Be Liquidated in State-Owned Media Overhaul — The Kremlin announced Monday the dissolution of RIA Novosti, the country's major state-run news agency, amid a significant reorganization of state-owned media assets. — News agency RIA Novosti and the state-owned Voice …
Discussion:
New York Times, AMERICAblog News, The Daily Caller, Guardian, NPR, Business Insider, Towleroad News #gay and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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Timothy Heritage / Reuters:
Putin dissolves state news agency, tightens grip on Russia media
Putin dissolves state news agency, tightens grip on Russia media
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler and Politico
Susan Wyatt / KING-TV:
TSA agent confiscates sock monkey's toy pistol — “Rooster Monkburn” the cowboy sock monkey is without his pistol, thanks to a diligent TSA agent in St. Louis. — Phyllis May of Redmond, Wash. says she is “appalled and shocked and embarrassed all at the same time” about the incident that happened on Wednesday.
Discussion:
Gawker, Weasel Zippers, National Review, Mediaite, KDVR.com, The Raw Story, The PJ Tatler and Boing Boing
Seymour M. Hersh / London Review of Books:
Whose sarin? — Barack Obama did not tell the whole story this autumn when he tried to make the case that Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the chemical weapons attack near Damascus on 21 August. In some instances, he omitted important intelligence, and in others he presented assumptions as facts.
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Dylan Byers / Politico:
White House: Sy Hersh report ‘false’
White House: Sy Hersh report ‘false’
Discussion:
The Hill, Mediaite and The Agonist
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Colorado Miscellany —The recalls of two Democratic State Senators in September weren't an anomaly when it comes to how Colorado voters are feeling about the state legislature. Republicans lead the statewide generic legislative ballot by a 47/42 margin, including a 41/30 advantage with independents.
Discussion:
Firedoglake and KDVR.com