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2:40 PM ET, December 17, 2014

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Peter Baker / New York Times:
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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Katie Glueck / Politico:
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.
Associated Press:
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.
Elise Labott / CNN:
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.
Justin Sink / The Hill:
In historic shift, Obama moves to normalize relations with Cuba  —  President Obama will announce Wednesday that the U.S. is beginning talks to normalize full diplomatic relations with Cuba.  —  In what a senior administration official called “the most significant changes to our Cuba policy …
Peter Sullivan / The Hill:
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
Evan McMurry / Mediaite:
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 …
ABC News:
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 …
ABC News:
Alan Gross: How His Release Went Down
Discussion: 6abc.com and Associated Press
The White House:
FACT SHEET: Charting a New Course on Cuba
Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:
Obama On Cuba: ‘Isolation Has Not Worked — Time For A New Approach’
Discussion: Liberaland
ABC News:
John Kerry News
Associated Press:
U.S. seeks to normalize relations with Cuba
Washington Post:
Obama moves to normalize relations with Cuba as American is released by Havana
Igor Bobic / The Huffington Post:
Bob Menendez, Marco Rubio Torch Obama Administration Over Cuba Announcement
Discussion: Hit & Run, Daily Kos and Slantpoint
Sandra Sobieraj Westfall / People.com:
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 …
RELATED:
Devin Dwyer / ABC News:
Obamas on Race: We've Been Treated Like the Help … President and Michelle Obama personally identify with everyday experiences of racial bias in America that have underpinned recent protests across the country, they told People magazine in an interview to be released Friday.
Associated Press:   Obama: As a black man he's been mistaken for valet
Lynette Rice / People.com:
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 …
William Boot / The Daily Beast:
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 …
RELATED:
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.
Discussion: Slantpoint, Daily Kos, Salon and Medium
RELATED:
Robert C. Hockett / The Hill:
No author, no law  —  Something very odd has occurred in connection …
Discussion: Instapundit
Peter Schroeder / The Hill:
Emboldened Wall Street ready to dismantle Dodd-Frank financial law
Erica Werner / Associated Press:
AP Interview: McConnell wants to stop coal rules  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pledged on Wednesday to do all he can to stop President Barack Obama's coal plant regulations, saying a White House “crusade” has devastated his state's economy.
RELATED:
Lindsey Graham / The Huffington Post:
The Senate Just Cemented Obama's Judicial Legacy
Tim Alberta / National Journal:
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 …
Discussion: Power Line
RELATED:
John Podhoretz / New York Post:
Jeb's killer flaw — the name, not the ideology
Discussion: Washington Post and The Federalist
Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:
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 …
James Carville / The Hill:
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 …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Dan Froomkin / The Intercept:
Billion Dollar Surveillance Blimp to Launch over Maryland
Discussion: New York Magazine
Christine Byers / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
St. Louis Bosnian woman who claimed hate crime is charged with making false report
Anna Lee / Greenville News:
Mother thought gun that killed son wasn't loaded, authorities say
Discussion: Addicting Info and Raw Story
 Earlier Items: 
James Cook / Business Insider:
Reddit Bans User Accounts After Receiving Takedown Requests From Sony Over Leaked Documents
Mark Murray / NBC News:
Hillary Clinton Early Leader in Presidential Race: Poll
Discussion: Yahoo! News, Fox News and Politico
Gary Langer / ABC News:
Democratic Allegiance Hits a Low; Can the GOP Seize the Opportunity?
Discussion: Bloomberg Politics
Sarah Ferris / The Hill:
Blacks falling behind under ObamaCare
Cameron Joseph / The Hill:
Unshakeable Sestak  —  Former Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) …
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Peter Blumberg / Bloomberg:
X sues to block California's AB 2655, aimed at curbing AI-generated deceptive election content on social media, claiming it impinges on free speech

John Koblin / New York Times:
NBC names Craig Melvin as Hoda Kotb's successor on Today, teaming up with Savannah Guthrie, starting January 13; Melvin has been Today's news anchor since 2018

Mia Sato / The Verge:
Facebook makes Views its primary metric for content, bringing it in line with Instagram; each time a piece of content appears on a screen, it counts as a View
 
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