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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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ABC News, The Hill, NPR, Guardian, Hot Air, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, CNN, New York Times, Religion Dispatches and Hinterland Gazette


Marco Rubio Challenges The Pope On Obama's New Cuba Policy — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) torched President Barack Obama's new policy aimed at normalizing U.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba on Wednesday, and addressed Pope Francis' support for the president's move.
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Balloon Juice, Washington Monthly, Hot Air and Daily Kos


Florida's Cuban Americans rejoice at U.S. policy overhaul
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Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

AP sources: US, Cuba seek to normalize relations
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Rubio Lays into Obama's Cuba Moves: ‘Worst Negotiator in Modern U.S. History’
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BREITBART.COM, The Gateway Pundit and TheBlaze.com

AP Interview: McConnell wants to stop coal rules
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The World's Greatest …

Cuba releases American Alan Gross, paves way for historic easing of American sanctions
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National Journal, Vox, TVNewser, Pressure Points, DCist, The Verge, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, Slantpoint, Daily Signal, Towleroad News #gay, CNBC, Liberaland and The Dish

The Last Communist City — A visit to the dystopian Havana that tourists never see
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Hot Air and Slantpoint

Jeb Bush: No talks with ‘repressive regime’
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Washington Post, The Huffington Post, USA Today, Politico, Associated Press, Hot Air, Real Clear Politics, The Nation and Washington Monthly

Republicans Threaten To Block Future U.S. Embassy, Ambassador In Cuba
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Washington Post, Slantpoint, Hot Air and The World's Greatest …

STATEMENT: Governor Jeb Bush on President Obama's Cuba Policy Announcement
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Bloomberg Politics, OnPolitics and Hot Air

White House Credits Pope Francis For Facilitating Cuba Deal
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Bollettino Sala Stampa …, BREITBART.COM, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and Daily Kos

Alan Gross: Cuba Releases American After Five Years in Prison
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The Hill, CNN, Washington Post, Politico, Hot Air, abc11.com, Yahoo! News, ABC News and Outside the Beltway

Obama moves to normalize relations with Cuba as American is released by Havana
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Daily Signal, Bloomberg View and TVNewser

Statement by the President on Cuba Policy Changes
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Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Banter and Slantpoint

U.S. Links North Korea to Sony Hacking — WASHINGTON — American intelligence officials have concluded that the North Korean government was “centrally involved” in the recent attacks on Sony Pictures's computers, a determination reached just as Sony on Wednesday canceled its release of the comedy …
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Top Five Theater Circuits Drop ‘The Interview’ After Sony Hack — The country's largest chains won't be showing the movie — The country's top five theater circuits have decided not to play Sony's The Interview, a knowledgeable source tells The Hollywood Reporter.


Sony Cancels Theatrical Release for ‘The Interview’ on Christmas — With theater chains defecting en masse, Sony Pictures Entertainment has pulled the planned Christmas Day release of “The Interview.” — In announcing the decision to cancel the holiday debut, Sony hit back at the hackers …
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Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Nerdist, Washington Post and The PJ Tatler, more at Mediagazer »


The Evidence That North Korea Hacked Sony Is Flimsy — A poster for the movie “The Interview” is taken down by a worker after being pulled from a display case at a Carmike Cinemas movie theater, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014, in Atlanta. Georgia-based Carmike Cinemas has decided to cancel …
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Power Line, CNNMoney.com, ABC News, Mediaite, Vox, Raw Story and Outside the Beltway


Exclusive: Sony Emails Say State Department Blessed Kim Jong-Un Assassination in ‘The Interview’
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Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Reuters, Hollywood Reporter, National Review, Mediaite, New York Times, Inside Movies, Addicting Info, Gigaom, The Hill and Slantpoint

Major chains drop Sony's ‘The Interview’
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Hollywood Reporter, WTVR-TV, Raw Story, Re/code and Daily Signal, more at Mediagazer »

North Korea-Based Thriller With Gore Verbinski And Steve Carell Canceled
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Commentary Magazine, Inside Movies, The Wrap, Ed Driscoll, Washington Post and Mashable


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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The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Rush Limbaugh, Talking Points Memo, UPROXX, American Spectator, JustOneMinute, Mediaite, Washington Post, ABC News, Wall Street Journal, National Review, Addicting Info, Hinterland Gazette, CNN, Business Insider, Gawker, The Huffington Post, The Gateway Pundit and The PJ Tatler
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Obamas on Race: We've Been Treated Like the Help
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Power Line and The Huffington Post

Words Exchanged Before KCEN Employee Shot in Station Parking Lot — (KCEN) - Law enforcement officials have taken a man who was hold up inside of a house into custody. They are calling him a person of interest in the shooting of Patrick Crawford. But they are not saying whether or not he is the shooter.


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 …


Cuomo to Ban Fracking in New York State, Citing Health Risks — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's administration announced on Wednesday that it would ban hydraulic fracturing in New York State because of concerns over health risks, ending years of uncertainty over the disputed method of natural gas extraction.
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New York Magazine, Washington Monthly, JustOneMinute, Tech Times, Daily Kos, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Gothamist and BillMoyers.com

Our Commitment to Safety — Millions of people have come to rely on Uber for daily commutes, special nights out, and reliable transportation for their loved ones. Riders are served by the hundreds of thousands of Uber driver partners whose service reduces drunk and distracted driving …
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New York Times, Raw Story, Mashable and The Verge


Texas City plumber's truck ends up in Syrian war — TEXAS CITY — A local plumber is being flooded with phone calls — and some threats — after a picture of one of his old company vehicles being used by Islamist militants in Syria was posted on Twitter. — The picture was posted online …
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ABC News, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Raw Story
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Texas City truck seen on Islamic military group's Twitter feed
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USA Today, Guns.com and The Daily Caller


U Michigan Department Chair: We Should ‘Hate Republicans’ — A University of Michigan department chairwoman has published an article titled, “It's Okay To Hate Republicans,” which will probably make all of her conservative students feel really comfortable and totally certain that they're being graded fairly.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and The Daily Caller

A black hole for our best and brightest — Wall Street is expanding, and the economy is worse off for it. — NEW YORK — The thing Deborah Jackson remembers from her first interviews at Goldman Sachs is the slogan. It was stamped on the glass doors of the offices in the investment bank's headquarters …

Johns Hopkins mistakenly says ‘yes’ to hundreds of rejected applicants — Sam Stephenson was steeling himself for another round of college applications after his first choice, Johns Hopkins University, turned him down. Then the 17-year-old from Culpeper County in Virginia received an e-mail …


This GOP Lawmaker Wants a Woman to Get Permission From the Father Before Having an Abortion — Unless it was “legitimate rape.” — A Missouri Republican is pushing a bill that would allow a man who gets a woman pregnant to stop her from having an abortion.
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Daily Kos, RH Reality Check, Raw Story, Hit & Run, ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, Jezebel, Slantpoint and Feministing