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.
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Guardian, ABC News, NPR, Religion Dispatches, New York Times, Washington Post, Hot Air, Hinterland Gazette and Political Wire
Elise Labott / CNN:
Cuba releases American Alan Gross, paves way for historic easing of American sanctions — 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 …
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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.
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ThinkProgress, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Jezebel, Fox News, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit, emptywheel, Caracas Chronicles, Townhall.com, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, BREITBART.COM, HardballTalk, Mediaite, Raw Story, Business Insider, Gawker, The Daily Caller, No More Mister Nice Blog, Shakesville and Washington Free Beacon
Reuters:
Florida's Cuban Americans rejoice at U.S. policy overhaul — (Reuters) - Some Cuban exiles rejoiced at the prospect of easier access to their relatives. Some swelled with guarded optimism over the prospect of thawing relations between the United States and the communist island.
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Booman Tribune
Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
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.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Daily Kos
Evan McMurry / Mediaite:
Rubio Lays into Obama's Cuba Moves: ‘Worst Negotiator in Modern U.S. History’
Discussion:
BREITBART.COM, The Gateway Pundit and TheBlaze.com
Erica Werner / Associated Press:
AP Interview: McConnell wants to stop coal rules
Discussion:
The World's Greatest … and Politico
Peter Sullivan / The Hill:
Jeb Bush: No talks with ‘repressive regime’
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Washington Post, Politico, USA Today, Associated Press, OnPolitics, The Nation, Real Clear Politics and Religion News Service
Evan McMorris-Santoro / BuzzFeed:
White House Credits Pope Francis For Facilitating Cuba Deal
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Bollettino Sala Stampa …, The Daily Caller, BREITBART.COM and Daily Kos
The White House:
FACT SHEET: Charting a New Course on Cuba
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Real Clear Politics, White House.gov Blog, Bloomberg View, Slate, Wall Street Journal, NPR and The Federalist
ABC News:
Alan Gross: Cuba Releases American After Five Years in Prison
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Politico, CNN, 6abc.com, abc11.com, Hot Air, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, ABC News, Riptide 2.0 and New York Times
The White House:
Statement by the President on Cuba Policy Changes
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Wall Street Journal, The Daily Banter, Washington Post and Slantpoint
Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:
Republicans Threaten To Block Future U.S. Embassy, Ambassador In Cuba
Discussion:
Hot Air, The World's Greatest …, Slantpoint, Washington Post and National Review
rubio.senate.gov:
Rubio Comments On Reports Of Change In U.S. Policy Toward Cuba, Release Of Alan Gross
Discussion:
Robert Menendez-US Senator …, The Daily Banter, Daily Signal, New York Magazine, Political Insider blog and NPR
Peter Sullivan / The Hill:
Senate Dem: Cuba trade rewards ‘brutal behavior’
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post and Viking Pundit
Washington Post:
Obama moves to normalize relations with Cuba as American is released by Havana
Discussion:
Daily Signal and Vox Popoli
Igor Bobic / The Huffington Post:
Bob Menendez, Marco Rubio Torch Obama Administration Over Cuba Announcement
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Slantpoint and Daily Kos
Justin Sink / The Hill:
In historic shift, Obama moves to normalize relations with Cuba
Discussion:
Politico, ABC News, Yahoo! News, Hot Air and Riptide 2.0
Gregg Kilday / Hollywood Reporter:
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.
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Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Inside Movies, Boing Boing, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Hit & Run, Hot Air, The Verge, Gawker, Deadline, NPR, Variety, UPROXX, Guardian, The Huffington Post and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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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 …
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Washington Post, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, Inside Movies, New York Times, Addicting Info, Re/code, Deadline, The Huffington Post, The Daily Banter, The Hill, Slantpoint, Hinterland Gazette, CANNONFIRE, Washington Free Beacon, Mashable, Mediaite, The Verge, Muckrock Submitted Requests and Take Two
Wall Street Journal:
Theaters Decide Not to Show Sony's ‘Interview’ — Film Canceled by Four Largest U.S. Chains That Operate More Than 18,000 Screens — The largest theater chains in the U.S. have decided not to play Sony Pictures' controversial comedy “The Interview” on its planned Dec. 25 opening, said two people with knowledge of the matter.
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Tech Times, Gigaom, Bloomberg View, The Verge, Crime and Consequences Blog, Mediaite, Fox News and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:
Sony Hack: New Leaked Docs Reveal Michael Lynton's Email Inbox
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New York Times, Hit & Run, Gawker, Pastebin, Outside the Beltway, JustOneMinute, Boing Boing, New York Magazine and Deadline
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 …
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Devin Dwyer / ABC News:
Obamas on Race: We've Been Treated Like the Help
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Eater and Riehl World View
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 …
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CNN, Gawker, Mashable, Mediaite, UPROXX, TMZ.com, Hinterland Gazette, The Daily Caller, abc11.com and Jezebel
Chris Davis / KCEN-TV:
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.
Pew Research Center:
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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The Huffington Post, Slantpoint, Bloomberg Politics, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and American Prospect
Katherine Timpf / National Review:
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:
The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway, ProfessorBainbridge.com and The College Fix
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:
BillMoyers.com, Slantpoint, Daily Kos and Salon
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Robert C. Hockett / The Hill:
No author, no law — Something very odd has occurred in connection …
Discussion:
Instapundit
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 …
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Washington Post, The Daily Beast, BuzzFeed, Yahoo! News and The Daily Banter
New York Times:
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. — State officials concluded that fracking …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Washington Post, BillMoyers.com, The Daily Caller and Gothamist
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