memeorandum: U.S. Believes ISIS Video Shows Peter Kassig, American Hostage, After Beheading (Rukmini Callimachi/New York Times)

2:10 PM ET, November 16, 2014

Top Items:

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Obama: We didn't mislead on health care — BRISBANE, Australia — President Barack Obama denied Sunday that his signature health care reform law was deceptively marketed, rejecting statements by a consultant on the plan who said aspects of Obamacare were designed to take advantage of the “stupidity” of voters.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Liberal Values

Kyle Smith / New York Post:

The lies that are central to Obama's agenda — Damn Americans. They just don't see the wisdom of surrendering to experts the power they need to remake the country into a progressive paradise. — Sighing with regret, liberals like Jonathan Gruber admit that they're forced to hoodwink the citizens.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Power Line, MichelleMalkin.com and Washington Examiner

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Grubergate is really Obamacaregate

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community

Rukmini Callimachi / New York Times:

U.S. Believes ISIS Video Shows Peter Kassig, American Hostage, After Beheading — GAZIANTEP, Turkey — The Islamic State released a video Sunday showing a black-clad executioner standing over the severed head of a man it identified as the American aid worker Peter Kassig.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, Guardian, Gawker and Press Association

Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Got him! Jihadi John is ‘wounded in US airstrike that killed 10 top ISIS commanders at secret bunker meeting in Iraq’ — Jihadi John, the Briton who beheaded two British and two American hostages held by Islamic State terrorists, has been injured in a US-led air strike, according to reports received by the Foreign Office.

Discussion: Press Association, Guardian, The Gateway Pundit and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Fox News:
New ISIS video claims beheading of American hostage Peter Kassig

Discussion: ABC News, Hot Air and The PJ Tatler

Diaa Hadid / Associated Press:
Video: Islamic State group beheads US aid worker

Discussion: Liberaland, The Daily Caller and FOX News Radio

Jon Swaine / Guardian:

Ferguson: video shows Darren Wilson arresting man for recording him — Officer who shot and killed Michael Brown is seen telling Mike Arman 'I'm gonna lock your ass up' if he does not stop — Mike Arman's recording of his encounter with Darren Wilson. — Video footage has emerged showing …

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Prairie Weather

Joel Anderson / BuzzFeed:
Almost Everyone In Ferguson Thinks Officer Darren Wilson Will Get Off

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and New York Times

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The Great Immigration Betrayal — IN the months since President Obama first seem poised — as he now seems poised again — to issue a sweeping executive amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, we've learned two important things about how this administration approaches its constitutional obligations.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:

When Whites Just Don't Get It, Part 4 — WHEN I write about racial inequality in America, one common response from whites is eye-rolling and an emphatic: It's time to move on. — “As whites, are we doomed to an eternity of apology?” Neil tweeted at me. “When does individual responsibility kick in?”

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Maggie Haberman / Politico:

Clinton critiques Obama — LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Former President Bill Clinton said he was surprised by the Democrats' lopsided losses in Senate races in this year's midterm elections, and he suggested that President Barack Obama's decision not to sign an executive order on immigration …

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette and Political Wire

Ken Thomas / Associated Press: Bill Clinton Says He's Surprised by Midterm Loses

Danielle Kurtzleben / Vox:

Americans think the unemployment rate is 32 percent — The latest jobs report showed the unemployment rate was at its lowest level in six years, 5.8 percent. — But Americans aren't convinced that things are nearly that good. In a recent Ipsos-MORI poll, 1,001 Americans were asked …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Kristina Wong / The Hill:

GOP poised to dash Obama's Iran hopes — Republicans are flexing their muscles and threatening to block President Obama from cutting a nuclear deal with Iran on his own terms. — International negotiators have until Nov. 24 under an interim agreement to reach a deal with Tehran that would curb …

Discussion: Israel Matzav and Prairie Weather

Bill Cosby:

Over the last several weeks, decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced. The fact that they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment. He would like to thank all his fans for the outpouring …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Mediaite, Gawker and ThinkProgress

George Packer / New Yorker:

The Harder Part — In the two decades between 1968 and 1988, Democratic candidates lost the Presidency five times out of six. This miserable run forced the Party to move closer to the electoral center on issues from welfare and crime to the role and the scope of government in postindustrial America.

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:

House votes to build Keystone — The House on Friday passed legislation to authorize construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, setting the stage for a showdown in the Senate next week. — The legislation was approved 252-161, with 31 Democrats joining Republicans in backing a construction permit …

Discussion: ThinkProgress