memeorandum: Appeals Court Refuses To Halt Utah Marriages For Same-Sex Couples (Chris Geidner/BuzzFeed)

9:10 PM ET, December 24, 2013

Top Items:

Joanne Kenen / Politico:

HHS offers help for people who miss Obamacare deadline — People who can't finish the online signup for Obamacare health insurance by midnight today because of website problems can seek extra time to finalize their application and still get covered by Jan. 1, according to a message posted on HealthCare.gov early this afternoon.

Discussion: Josh Blackman's Blog and Weasel Zippers

Robert Pear / New York Times:
White House Provides More Time for Health Sign-Up

Discussion: Hot Air and National Review

Chad Terhune / Los Angeles Times:
California health exchange tops 400,000 enrolled prior to deadline

Discussion: Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, americanthinker.com and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
ObamaCare site sees traffic surge on eve of enrollment deadline

Discussion: Politico and Los Angeles Times

Jose DelReal / Politico:

Bill de Blasio daughter reveals drug, alcohol abuse — In an unusual and moving Christmas Eve video, the college-age daughter of New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio is revealing for the first time her struggle with alcohol, drugs and depression — and is urging others in need to get help.

Discussion: ABC 7 Eyewitness News, The Hinterland Gazette, CNN and BuzzFeed

Andrea Peyser / New York Post:

Give her the heave-ho, de Blasio — Enough! — If Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio has a lick of sense in his 6-foot-5 frame, he'll cast out of his incoming administration Lis Smith — the randy Democratic operative who's got a freaky fetish for the black knee socks and balding pate of married ex-Love Gov Eliot Spitzer.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Gawker and Politicker

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Appeals Court Refuses To Halt Utah Marriages For Same-Sex Couples — A Christmas Eve order from the 10th Circuit. — Nicole Barnes, left, and her partner Tarah Camarillo exchange rings as they get married at the Salt Lake County Government Building in Salt Lake City, Utah, December 23, 2013.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, AMERICAblog News and FOX13Now.com

McKenzie Romero / Deseret News:
About 700 marriage licenses issued in Utah since judge's ruling

Discussion: LGBTQ Nation

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed: Will An Appeals Court Stop Same-Sex Couples In Utah From Marrying On Christmas Eve?

Kris Van Cleave / WJLA-TV:

VIDEO: Santa Claus shot with pellet gun at toy giveaway in Southeast — WASHINGTON (WJLA) - A man in a Santa Claus suit was shot in the back with a pellet gun Tuesday morning during a toy giveaway in Southeast Washington. — The video is disturbing. The man dressed as Santa has led …

Discussion: WUSA9.com, Liberaland, The Hinterland Gazette, The Raw Story, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Scared Monkeys, Jammie Wearing Fools and The Gateway Pundit

Jethro Mullen / CNN:

Alan Turing, British code-breaker castrated for homosexuality, receives pardon — (CNN) — Alan Turing, a British code-breaker during World War II who was later subjected to chemical castration for homosexual activity, has received a royal pardon nearly 60 years after he committed suicide.

Discussion: Mediaite and Advocate

Oliver Wright / The Independent:
Alan Turing gets royal pardon for ‘gross indecency’ - 61 years after he poisoned himself

Discussion: Firedoglake, Guardian, Shakesville, NBCNews and Business Insider

Caroline Davies / Guardian:
Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing receives royal pardon

Discussion: Feministing, Techdirt, Boing Boing, Towleroad News #gay and Gawker

Emma G. Fitzsimmons / New York Times:
Alan Turing, Enigma Code-Breaker and Computer Pioneer, Wins Royal Pardon

Discussion: emptywheel, Gizmodo and Outside the Beltway

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:

Sarah Palin: I didn't read ‘Duck Dynasty’ interview — Turns out Sarah Palin, who has been one of Duck Dynasty's biggest defenders, hasn't actually read the GQ interview that includes cast member Phil Robertson's controversial comments on homosexuality and other subjects.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, Mediaite, Liberaland, Gawker and Business Insider

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Legitimacy Problem — It's pretty clear that the implementation of Obamacare will set the tone for how Americans think about government for years to come. There are two large questions to be settled, which you might call the questions of competence and coercion.

Discussion: PolicyShop and Democratic Strategist

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
GOP should try again to delay Obamacare's individual mandate

Discussion: americanthinker.com and Hot Air

Adam Withnall / The Independent:

Kim Jong-un: North Korean leader ‘was very drunk’ when ordering executions — Source tells Japanese newspaper purge of Kim's powerful uncle Jang Song-thaek was inevitable after ‘surprising’ first deaths — The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was “very drunk” when he ordered the recent execution …

Discussion: Mediaite and Hot Air

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:

Here Are The 15 Democratic Senators Bucking The White House And Threatening War With Iran — WASHINGTON — As the United States finally puts a decade of war behind it, a group of senators, including 15 Democrats, is defying the White House and threatening to push the country into a fresh war with Iran.

Discussion: PERRspectives, Mondoweiss, Hullabaloo and Philly.com

Peter Beinart / The Daily Beast:
Where's the Anti-War Left on Iran?

Discussion: The American Conservative

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:

‘Festivus’ writer grieves about Rand Paul — One of the writers of the famed “Festivus” episode of “Seinfeld” isn't too happy Sen. Rand Paul used the holiday to tweet a rant against Washington. — Airing his own grievance on Tuesday, writer Dan O'Keefe, took a swipe at the Republican senator from Kentucky.

Discussion: The Raw Story, New Day and Talking Points Memo

Barton Gellman / Washington Post:

Edward Snowden, after months of NSA revelations, says his mission's accomplished — MOSCOW — The familiar voice on the hotel room phone did not waste words. — “What time does your clock say, exactly?” he asked. — He checked the reply against his watch and described a place to meet.

Chicago Grid:

The Snarf's at 600 W. Chicago just laid off all its employees via email — A River North sandwich shop gave its employees an unwelcome Christmas surprise on Sunday night, firing them all by email. — The 20 employees of Snarf's Sub Shop at 600 W. Chicago Ave. received the email last night around 5 p.m. Grid obtained it this morning.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, ThinkProgress, Techdirt and Gawker

Helen Pow / Daily Mail:
Chicago sandwich shop fires all its staff in an EMAIL just days before Christmas

Discussion: Chicago Grid, Jammie Wearing Fools, The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

Peter Walker / Guardian:

Edward Snowden to broadcast Channel 4's alternative Christmas Day message — NSA whistleblower records message from Russia, filmed by Laura Poitras, warning of the dangers of a loss of privacy — Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who prompted a worldwide debate when he leaked a cache …

Discussion: Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and Little Green Footballs, more at Mediagazer »

Julian Sanchez / The Atlantic Online:

The War on Terror's Jedi Mind Trick — National-security officials insist new violations of privacy are essential for keeping Americans safe from terror—but there's no evidence the programs have stopped any attacks. — A Republican-appointed judge and President Obama's own handpicked …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and Outside the Beltway

Travis Gettys / The Raw Story:

Christian activists show their love by covering Chicago atheist display and berating onlookers — A Christian activist group placed a banner over an atheist display at Chicago's Daley Plaza proclaiming that “A is for Angels.” — The banner covers a sign set up earlier this month by the Freedom …

Discussion: Liberaland and Mediaite

Las Vegas Review-Journal:

The gist of Christmas lost — 'Twas the season of Christmas, and all through the land — Were signs and symbols some folks couldn't stand. — The evergreen conifer many decorate with glee, — But don't you dare call it a Christmas tree. — Heaven forbid a Nativity in the town square

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit