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Obama Announces U.S. and Cuba Will Resume Relations — WASHINGTON — The United States will restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba and open an embassy in Havana for the first time in more than a half-century after the release of an American contractor held in prison for five years, President Obama announced on Wednesday.
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Republicans livid over Cuba talks, call it appeasement — Republican reacted with outrage Wednesday over the Obama administration's move to normalize relations with Cuba, with some lawmakers casting it as appeasement and the product of extortion by the communist Castro government.
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Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, ABC News, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Hinterland Gazette, Political Wire, Hot Air and Riptide 2.0


AP sources: US, Cuba seek to normalize relations — 1 photo — WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Cuba will start talks on normalizing full diplomatic relations, marking the most significant shift in U.S. policy toward the communist island in decades, American officials said Wednesday.


Alan Gross freed, U.S. and Cuba strike historic deal — Washington (CNN) — U.S. contractor Alan Gross, held by the Cuban government since 2009, was freed Wednesday as part of a landmark deal with Cuba that paves the way for a major overhaul in U.S. policy toward the island, senior administration officials tell CNN.
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National Journal, Liberaland, DCist, CNBC, Vox, Slantpoint, Daily Signal, Pressure Points, The Verge, Towleroad News #gay, Daily Kos, Obsidian Wings, RedState and The Dish


Rubio Lays into Obama's Cuba Moves: ‘Worst Negotiator in Modern U.S. History’ — Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) laid into President Barack Obama's impending normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba on Fox News Wednesday morning, saying Obama had traded away concessions for …
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BREITBART.COM, The Gateway Pundit and TheBlaze.com


Jeb Bush: No talks with ‘repressive regime’ — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) on Wednesday voiced his opposition to President Obama's move to begin normalizing relations with Cuba. — “I don't think we should be negotiating with a repressive regime to make changes in our relationship …
Discussion:
The Nation and Real Clear Politics


Alan Gross: Cuba Releases American After Five Years in Prison … American contractor Alan Gross has landed in the U.S. after being released earlier today from a Cuban prison where he had been held for five years. — In a landmark humanitarian prisoner exchange announced this afternoon …
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Politico, CNN, Hot Air, ABC News, Outside the Beltway, Riptide 2.0 and New York Times


In historic shift, Obama moves to normalize relations with Cuba
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Politico, BuzzFeed, ABC News, BREITBART.COM and Hot Air

Senate Dem: Cuba trade rewards ‘brutal behavior’
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The Gateway Pundit, Fox News, Washington Post and Viking Pundit

Obama On Cuba: ‘Isolation Has Not Worked — Time For A New Approach’
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Liberaland

FACT SHEET: Charting a New Course on Cuba
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Wall Street Journal, Slate, NPR and The Federalist

U.S. seeks to normalize relations with Cuba
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USA Today, ThinkProgress and Real Clear Politics

Bob Menendez, Marco Rubio Torch Obama Administration Over Cuba Announcement

Obama And Castro To Give Public Statements On US-Cuba Relations
Discussion:
Associated Press, WSBT-TV, The Huffington Post and Slantpoint


The Obamas: How We Deal with Our Own Racist Experiences — The Obamas open up about raising their daughters, the impact of stereotypes, and what's on the POTUS dance party playlist. Subscribe now for instant access to the exclusive PEOPLE interview! — The protective bubble that comes …
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JustOneMinute, Talking Points Memo, CNN, American Spectator, Rush Limbaugh, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Hot Air, ABC News, Mediaite, Addicting Info, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, The PJ Tatler, Hinterland Gazette, Gawker, Business Insider, Liberaland, FOX News Radio, The Huffington Post, Mashable and Bloomberg Politics
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Stephen Collins Confesses Sexual Abuse of Underage Girls to PEOPLE: ‘I Did Something Terribly Wrong’ — Embattled actor Stephen Collins has released a lengthy statement to PEOPLE in which he admits to inappropriate sexual contact with three female minors. — The 67-year-old …
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CNN, UPROXX, Gawker, Jezebel, Mediaite, TMZ.com, Hinterland Gazette, abc11.com, The Daily Caller and The Huffington Post


Kevin Yoder MIA After Tucking Wall Street Bailout Into Government Spending Bill — WASHINGTON — For all the anger among progressives about a Wall Street bailout provision that made its way into the just-passed $1.1 trillion government spending bill, there's been little attention on the person who put it in there.
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Slantpoint, Daily Kos, Salon and Medium
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No author, no law — Something very odd has occurred in connection …
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Instapundit

Emboldened Wall Street ready to dismantle Dodd-Frank financial law
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Washington Monthly, BillMoyers.com and Prairie Weather


Exclusive: Sony Emails Say State Department Blessed Kim Jong-Un Assassination in ‘The Interview’ — CEO Michael Lynton showed a rough cut of the movie to U.S. officials before moving ahead. Now hackers are threatening to bomb any theater that shows it. — The Daily Beast has unearthed …
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Sony Hack: New Leaked Docs Reveal Michael Lynton's Email Inbox
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New York Times, Hit & Run, Pastebin, Outside the Beltway, JustOneMinute, New York Magazine, Deadline and Politico

Bow Tie Cinemas Says 'The Interview" Pulled Over “Safety” Concerns From Hacker Threats - Update
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Re/code, Washington Post, The Daily Banter, Gawker, Mashable, Mediaite, NPR, The Verge, Variety and BuzzFeed


Terri Schiavo's Husband Speaks Out On Jeb Bush's Presidential Bid — Then-Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) discussing the Terri Schiavo case in March 2005 — In his announcement Tuesday that he would explore a 2016 presidential bid, former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) promised to focus on …
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The Daily Beast, BuzzFeed, The Daily Banter, Yahoo! News, Political Wire and Politico

Marco Rubio Won't Back Down to Jeb Bush — The Republican senator thinks he's got a different policy platform and distinct donor network. — Jeb Bush just declared that he's preparing to run for president, and Marco Rubio didn't bat an eye. — Rubio and his inner circle have long insisted …
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Power Line
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Jeb's killer flaw — the name, not the ideology
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Washington Post and The Federalist


Why do people vote against their interests? — During my time as a political strategist, one of the most vexing problems was figuring out why so many people vote against their perceived interests. Commentators like myself have spent countless hours speculating on why so many people vote …


America's wealth gap between middle-income and upper-income families is widest on record — The wealth gap between America's high income group and everyone else has reached record high levels since the economic recovery from the Great Recession of 2007-09, with a clear trajectory …
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New York Times, Wall Street Journal, American Prospect and Salon


Obama issues ‘executive orders by another name’ — By issuing his directives as “memoranda” rather than executive orders, Obama has downplayed the extent of his executive actions. — WASHINGTON — President Obama has issued a form of executive action known as the presidential memorandum …
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Fox News, BREITBART.COM, Hot Air, Washington Post, Fox News Insider, Washington Free Beacon and Riehl World View