Top Items:
Eli Lake / The Daily Beast:
Yes, There IS Evidence Linking al Qaeda to Benghazi — Libyan militants tell the New York Times that al Qaeda is not behind the 2012 Benghazi attack. Some members of Congress have intelligence that says otherwise. — On Sunday, The New York Times published an investigation …
RELATED:
Fox News:
‘Completely false’: Sources on ground in Benghazi challenge NYT report
‘Completely false’: Sources on ground in Benghazi challenge NYT report
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Power Line, Hullabaloo and The Lonely Conservative
Thomas Joscelyn / Weekly Standard:
The New York Times Whitewashes Benghazi
The New York Times Whitewashes Benghazi
Discussion:
Power Line, americanthinker.com, BREITBART.COM, Wizbang, Examiner, Politico, Right Wing News, Hot Air, The Mahablog and Michelle Malkin
Jethro Mullen / CNN:
2nd deadly blast hits Russian city of Volgograd ahead of 2014 Sochi Olympics — (CNN) — Another deadly blast has struck the southern Russian city of Volgograd, killing at least 14 people and further highlighting Russia's security challenges as it readies to host the Winter Olympics in less than six weeks.
Discussion:
Associated Press, americanthinker.com, The Jawa Report, New Day, Atlas Shrugs, National Review and Scared Monkeys
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RIA Novosti:
At Least 14 Killed in Second Volgograd Suicide Bombing
At Least 14 Killed in Second Volgograd Suicide Bombing
Discussion:
Siberian Times, Sydney Morning Herald, The Long War Journal, Associated Press, Scared Monkeys and TalkLeft
Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:
Bombings Jolt Russia, Raising Olympic Fears
Bombings Jolt Russia, Raising Olympic Fears
Discussion:
Algemeiner.com, The Other McCain, RT, Gawker, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Business Insider, The Week and CNN
New York Times:
Cost of Being Mayor? $650 Million, if He's Rich — Michael R. Bloomberg loves tropical fish. So when he was elected mayor, he installed two giant aquariums in City Hall. — The cost to him for having the tanks cleaned out every week for the past 12 years: around $62,400. — The mayor likes to nosh, too.
Discussion:
Politicker, Post Politics and Associated Press
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Obama's TV Picks: Anything Edgy, With Hints of Reality — WASHINGTON — War, terrorism, economic struggle, mass shootings — such is life in the Oval Office for President Obama. — Yet in his few quiet moments, this president seeks not to escape to the delicious back-stabbing of the …
Discussion:
Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Verge, TheBlaze.com and New York Magazine
John Prager / Americans Against the Tea Party:
Watch Phil Robertson's Tips On Finding The Perfect Underage Girl To Marry! (Video) — As we've already established, Chris Hansen might enjoy it very much if Phil Robertson “took a seat over there,” based on some comments made at the Sportsmen's Ministry in Georgia in 2009.
Discussion:
Joe. My. God. and The Dish
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Obama, Clinton Continue Reign as Most Admired — Sixth year in a row for Obama, 12th straight year for Clinton — PRINCETON, NJ — For the sixth consecutive year, Barack Obama ranks as the Most Admired Man among Americans, and Hillary Clinton is again the Most Admired Woman. Both won by comfortable margins.
Discussion:
Joe. My. God., PoliticusUSA, CNN, Reuters and Talking Points Memo
CNN:
CNN Poll: Afghanistan war arguably most unpopular in U.S. history — Washington (CNN) - Support for the war in Afghanistan has dipped below 20%, according to a new national poll, making the country's longest military conflict arguably its most unpopular one as well.
Discussion:
Liberaland, Post Politics, Business Insider, Politico, Talking Points Memo and Booman Tribune
Scott Coltrane / The Atlantic Online:
The Risky Business of Paternity Leave — When men take time off to care for family members, their long-term earnings suffer—just as women's do. Here's why it's worth it. — As a family sociologist, I've spent several decades studying how and why men might assume responsibility for childcare and housework.
Juan Williams / The Hill:
Republicans to blame for the public's disgust with Congress — As the year ends, Gallup reports that public approval of Congress averaged 14 percent during 2013. This, the polling firm points out, is “the lowest annual average in Gallup's history.” — The pollsters added …
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Hey, it's an election year! Here's what 2014 might bring. — Our long wait for a packed election year — okay, it was just a 365-day wait — will be over in less than 48 hours when we ring in 2014 and, with it, 36 gubernatorial races, 35 Senate races and dozens of potentially competitive House contests.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and The Fix
Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
We Don't Know if Obamacare Is Working Well. But We Know It's Working. — Obamacare got off to a lousy start. But things are looking a lot better now. — Nearly a million people signed up for private health plans via healthcare.gov in December, according to statistics the Obama Administration released on Sunday morning.
Discussion:
Mediaite, National Review, Washington Post, Hot Air, Instapundit, The Moderate Voice, PoliticusUSA, Business Insider and Politico
New York Times:
Democrats Turn to Minimum Wage as 2014 Strategy — WASHINGTON — Democratic Party leaders, bruised by months of attacks on the new health care program, have found an issue they believe can lift their fortunes both locally and nationally in 2014: an increase in the minimum wage.
Discussion:
Liberaland, Wonkblog, Hot Air, First Read, Guardian and Balloon Juice
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Fiscal Fever Breaks — In 2012 President Obama, ever hopeful that reason would prevail, predicted that his re-election would finally break the G.O.P.'s “fever.” It didn't. — But the intransigence of the right wasn't the only disease troubling America's body politic in 2012.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Prairie Weather and Daily Kos
Heather Linebaugh / Guardian:
I worked on the US drone program. The public should know what really goes on — Few of the politicians who so brazenly proclaim the benefits of drones have a real clue how it actually works (and doesn't) — Whenever I read comments by politicians defending the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Predator …
Discussion:
susiemadrak.com, TIME and Truthdig