memeorandum: Acid reflux causing Obama's sore throat (Darlene Superville/Associated Press)

2:45 AM ET, December 7, 2014

Top Items:

James Hohmann / Politico:

Dems' final insult: Landrieu crushed — Cassidy trounces incumbent with Republicans set to control 54 Senate seats in the next Congress. — AP Photo — In the final insult of a devastating 2014 election for Democrats, Sen. Mary Landrieu, the party's last remaining statewide officeholder …

Discussion: Power Line and Outside the Beltway

Alexandra Jaffe / CNN:

New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) — Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu lost her Senate runoff race Saturday night, felled by the red tide that's swept the South and ties to an unpopular President that she couldn't shake. — CNN called the race for her Republican opponent Rep. Bill Cassidy a little over a half hour after the polls closed.

Discussion: Raw Story

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

GOP group seizes on Landrieu's ‘I did not vote for Obama’ remark — Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) slipped and told a conservative radio host on Friday that she did not vote for President Obama. — It was a heated exchange and a source close to the Landrieu campaign said the Louisiana Democrat meant …

Discussion: ABC News

Melinda Deslatte / Associated Press:

Louisiana's Senate Race Down to Runoff Saturday — In the last election of the 2014 midterms, Louisiana voters Saturday decide the political fate of Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, who is struggling to win a fourth term against a wave of GOP gains across Southern states.

Discussion: Politico

Harry Enten / FiveThirtyEight:
Senate Forecast: Landrieu Headed Toward Historic Defeat In Louisiana Runoff

Discussion: Power Line, Scared Monkeys and The PJ Tatler

The White House:

Statement by the President on the Death of Luke Somers — The United States strongly condemns the barbaric murder of Luke Somers at the hands of Al-Qa'ida terrorists during a rescue operation conducted by U.S. forces in Yemen in partnership with the Yemeni government.

Discussion: Washington Post, American Spectator, Washington Monthly, BBC and Reuters

Phil Stewart / Reuters:

U.S. to keep more troops in Afghanistan as violence spikes — (Reuters) - The United States will keep up to 1,000 more soldiers than previously planned in Afghanistan into next year, outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Saturday, in a recognition of the still formidable challenge from Taliban insurgents.

Discussion: FOX News Radio

Washington Post:
Hagel: U.S. hostage ‘murdered’ in Yemen

Discussion: New York Times, Mashable and Booman Tribune

New York Times:
2 Hostages Killed in Yemen as U.S. Rescue Effort Fails

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Addicting Info, New York Magazine, Gawker, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Althouse and FOX News Radio, more at Mediagazer »

ABC News:
American Hostage Luke Somers Killed in US Rescue Attempt

Discussion: DoD, abc7chicago.com, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit

Cassandra Rules / The Free Thought Project:

Arizona Cop Caught on Cam Brutally Attacking Teen Girl While Mother Begs Them to Stop — Mesa, AZ- A video was uploaded to Facebook on Friday of a Mesa, Arizona police officer repeatedly punching and attacking a 15 year old girl as her mother begged them to stop.

Discussion: Raw Story and Addicting Info

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

NYTimes Fails to Disclose Clinton Paid for Interviews About Administration — In a five year span, the William J Clinton Foundation gave five grants totaling $851,250 to the University of Virginia's Miller Center. One year in particular, 2007, the Clinton gift was specifically marked: “Oral history project of Clinton presidency.”

New York Times:
Hillary Clinton's History as First Lady: Powerful, but Not Always Deft

Discussion: National Review

Alan Pyke / ThinkProgress:

Los Angeles Police Shoot, Kill Man Amid Crowd Of Tourists On Hollywood Walk Of Fame — Police taped off the scene of a fatal shooting on Los Angeles' Walk of Fame on Friday night. — CREDIT: KTLA — Los Angeles police officers shot and killed a man Friday night at a busy intersection …

Discussion: Liberal Values and KTLA

Jim Dalrymple II / BuzzFeed:
Police Shoot Man In Front Of Tourists On Busy Hollywood Street Corner

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Raw Story

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:

Acid reflux causing Obama's sore throat — 2 photos — BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — Acid reflux is responsible for the sore throat President Barack Obama has complained about for the past couple of weeks, the White House said Saturday, shortly after the president returned from undergoing diagnostic tests at a nearby military hospital.

Discussion: ABC News, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, Gawker and New York Magazine

Zerlina Maxwell / Washington Post:

No matter what Jackie said, we should generally believe rape claims. — Incredulity hurts victims more than it hurts wrongly-accused perps. — In last month's deep and damning Rolling Stone report about sexual assault at UVA, a reporter narrated the story of “Jackie,” …

Discussion: PBS NewsHour, Hot Air, National Review, Politico, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Taylor Marsh and RedState

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Rolling Stone's disastrous U-Va. story: A case of real media bias

Discussion: Truth Revolt, New York Times, Pressthink, Mediaite, National Review, Ed Driscoll, Hot Air, Shots in the Dark, RedState, Weekly Standard and Outside the Beltway, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:

Funeral held for man shot by cop in NYC stairwell — Associated Press 6 hrs ago — NEW YORK (AP) — Friends and family members of a man shot by police in a New York City housing project stairwell have recited poems and said prayers at his funeral. — Akai (uh-KY') Gurley's loved ones …

Discussion: FOX News Radio and NY Daily News

Associated Press:

Arizona county mulls not hiring smokers — Associated Press 3 hrs ago — TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Pima County will consider later this month whether to no longer hire smokers and put a price on workers who do smoke. — The Pima County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Dec. 16 …