memeorandum: Supreme Court temporarily allows religious groups not to cover birth control (Sandhya Somashekhar/Washington Post)

10:55 AM ET, January 2, 2014

Top Items:

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:

The resurgent progressives — The reemergence of a Democratic left will be one of the major stories of 2014. Moderates, don't be alarmed. The return of a viable, vocal left will actually be good news for the political center. — For a long time, the American conversation …

Discussion: Liberaland, Booman Tribune and National Review

New York Post:

Historic Bible goes missing after de Blasio swearing in — The FDR bible used by Mayor Bill de Blasio for his swearing in vanished after the New Year's Day ceremony, sparking a panicked, hours-long search for the historic tome. — “They had the whole detail looking through blankets,” …

Discussion: New York Times, Mediaite, Liberty Unyielding, Politicker and Capital New York

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

Is New York's de Blasio prompting a repositioning by the Clintons? — It isn't often that the swearing-in of a new mayor of New York draws national television attention, but then, it isn't every day that you see a mayor sworn in by a former president of the United States with a prospective presidential candidate also on the stage.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, NewsBusters, New York Times, The Fix and Althouse

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Taking Office, de Blasio Vows to Fix Inequity — Bill de Blasio, whose fiery populism propelled his rise from obscure neighborhood official to the 109th mayor of New York, was sworn into office on Wednesday, pledging that his ambition for a more humane and equal metropolis would remain undimmed.

Discussion: Algemeiner.com, Capital New York, Daily Kos and The Reaction

Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:
Mayor Bill De Blasio Chooses His Path With Uncompromising Inauguration

Discussion: Politico, Capital New York, New York Times, Twitchy, Politicker, NY Daily News, CBS New York, No More Mister Nice Blog and Mediaite

New York Times:

Edward Snowden, Whistle-Blower — Seven months ago, the world began to learn the vast scope of the National Security Agency's reach into the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the United States and around the globe, as it collects information about their phone calls, their email messages …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Yahoo! News, Politico, Slashdot, The Raw Story, Gawker, Post Politics, Mediaite, Business Insider, Mashable, AL.com, TheBlaze.com and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Clemency for Edward Snowden Would Not Set a Dangerous Precedent — Some months ago, Edward Snowden wrote an appeal for clemency to the U.S. government, arguing that its “systematic violations of law” created “a moral duty to act.” — On New Year's Day, America's most influential newspaper officially agreed.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Prairie Weather

Guardian:
Snowden affair: the case for a pardon | Editorial

Discussion: The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Jonathan Allen / Politico:

W.H. stands by birth-control rule — The Obama administration Wednesday said the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage regulations are fair - and they don't really hurt the Denver-based religious organization that got a temporary New Year's Eve reprieve from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Discussion: Right Wing News, Taylor Marsh, New York Times and Los Angeles Times

Sandhya Somashekhar / Washington Post:
Supreme Court temporarily allows religious groups not to cover birth control

Discussion: SCOTUSblog, The Huffington Post, Washington Times and NBCNews

Michael Moore / New York Times:
The Obamacare We Deserve — TODAY marks the beginning …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Scared Monkeys, Balloon Juice, TruthRevolt.org, Weasel Zippers, Pat Dollard, his vorpal sword, The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, Mediaite, Hullabaloo, CANNONFIRE, NewsBusters and Guardian

David Nather / Politico:
For Obamacare, it's finally showtime

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Hot Air, The Hill and Reuters

George F. Will / Washington Post:

The price of political ignorance: More government — It was naughty of Winston Churchill to say, if he really did, that “the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” Nevertheless, many voters' paucity of information about politics and government …

Discussion: Cafe Hayek

Jonathan Pearlman / Telegraph:

World's climate warming faster than feared, scientists say — Scientists say the world's climate is warming faster than feared because previous predictions were too “optimistic” and overestimated the cooling impact of clouds — As the planet marked its fourth hottest year on record …

Discussion: NoTricksZone, Right Wing News and Liberaland

Dan Vergano / National Geographic:
Climate: Cloud Mixing Means Extra Global Warming

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Real Science

John Ingold / Denver Post:

WORLD'S FIRST LEGAL RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA SALES BEGIN IN COLORADO — Colorado's ambitious experiment in cannabis policy hit a historic milestone Wednesday, when licensed stores began making the first legal sales of recreational marijuana anywhere in the world.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, WJLA-TV, New York Times, Americans Against the …, Hit & Run, The Raw Story, Gawker, The Verge, Guardian, Althouse and The Cannabist

Niraj Chokshi / Washington Post:
Marijuana sales commence in Colorado for recreational use

Discussion: InvestorPlace and The Heritage Foundation

USA Today:
Last Slide — The new year got a little happier for pot smokers …

Discussion: National Review, Liberty Unyielding, Business Insider, Politico, Mediaite and Pat Dollard

New York Times:

Boehner Is Said to Back Change on Immigration — WASHINGTON — Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio has signaled he may embrace a series of limited changes to the nation's immigration laws in the coming months, giving advocates for change new hope that 2014 might be the year that a bitterly divided …

Discussion: The Plum Line, Liberaland, PoliticusUSA, Prairie Weather and The BLT

CBC News:

Rob Ford files papers for mayoral re-election — Toronto mayor registers as candidate in Oct. 27 municipal election — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford wasted no time relaunching his bid for re-election, officially filing his nomination papers Thursday shortly after the clerk's office opened on the first day for acceptance of nominations.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Associated Press:

Former Rep. Renzi seeks later date to report to prison — FONT: — TUCSON — Former U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi has asked a judge to let him wait until Jan. 13 to report to prison to begin serving a sentence for his convictions on public corruption, money laundering and other charges.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Don Buckindail / WXIA-TV:

Missing banker accused of embezzlement caught in traffic stop — 47-year-old Aubrey Lee Price became director of Montgomery Bank and Trust in southern Georgia after a company he controlled bought a controlling interest in the bank's stock. In December 2011 Price took control of investing the bank's capital.

Discussion: NBCNews, Scared Monkeys and Mediaite

Steven Hayward / Power Line:

Slow Learners — What is it about Obama that makes otherwise intelligent people so dumb? — Politico has a headline for the ages up right now: “Management Experts Knock Obama.” Management “experts” are just noticing now, after five years, that Obama's lack of experience is significant.