Paramount Bans Showing ‘Team America’  —  Three movie theaters say Paramount Pictures has ordered them not to show Team America: World Police one day after Sony Pictures surrendered to cyberterrorists and pulled The Interview.  The famous Alamo Drafthouse in Texas, Capitol Theater in Cleveland …

U.S. airstrikes kill 3 top ISIS leaders  —  Washington (CNN) — U.S. airstrikes have killed two top-level and one mid-level ISIS leader, a senior U.S. military official tells CNN.  —  Haji Mutazz was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's deputy in Iraq; Abd al Basit was his military emir in Iraq; and Radwan Talib was his Mosul emir.

The first Latino president?  —  Obama's not there yet.  —  Bill Clinton was the first black president.  Thursday afternoon, taking in the Cuba thaw after weeks buoyed by President Barack Obama's immigration reform executive actions, Labor Secretary Tom Perez put down a new marker for his own boss.

NEBRASKA AND OKLAHOMA SUE COLORADO OVER MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION  —  Supporters erupt in cheers at the passage of Amendment 64.  Supporters of Amendment 64, the campaign to regulate marijuana like alcohol, gather at Casselman's in Denver on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012.  Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post (THE DENVER POST |

PAUL: TRADE WITH CUBA ‘PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said Thursday that starting to trade with Cuba “is probably a good idea” and that the lengthy economic embargo against the communist island “just hasn't worked.”  —  Paul became the first potential …

‘Governor, This Is Barack Obama, Formerly Of Somerville.’ … For the past eight years, Deval Patrick has joined Jim Braude and Margery Eagan on the radio each month to field calls from listeners.  On Thursday, he joined the hosts of Boston Public Radio for the final time as governor of Massachusetts.

Sexist Comment by Austin Police Officer: Isolated Incident or Part of Broader Culture?  —  Update (2:19 p.m.): Officer Andrew Petrowski officially retired from the Austin Police Department on Friday, Dec. 12 after learning KUT would air his comments this week.

Clinically dead pregnant woman being kept alive by hospital  —  Life support machine being used to protect unborn baby  —  A PREGNANT woman who is clinically brain-dead is being kept on a life support machine in hospital to keep her baby alive, the Irish Independent can reveal.  — Google

Democrats to Colbert: Thanks For Your Help!  —  I have never seen Stephen Colbert's show on Comedy Central, but I take it that it consists of an endless series of anti-Republican “jokes.”  If asked, would Colbert admit to being a loyal Democratic Party foot soldier, or would he claim …

Should the government rate our colleges?  —  Should the federal government be in the business of rating colleges?  And can it do them right?  —  That's been a question ever since the summer of 2013, when President Obama announced the Department of Education's new plan to score American colleges …

The year Congress hit rock bottom  —  Can the Hill climb out of its hole?  —  Look at what Congress pulled off in the last two weeks and it might seem like compromise and conciliation ruled the 113th Congress.  —  Lawmakers cleared a funding bill that will keep federal agencies open through Sept. 2015.

Cuba Protects America's Most Wanted  —  Cop-killers, hijackers, and bomb-makers are living in tropical paradise 90 miles from justice.  Will they ever be tried for their crimes?  —  With the prisoner exchange and the normalizing of relations with Cuba arises the question of the dozens …

The Year of Outrage  —  Slate tracked what everyone was outraged about every day in 2014.  Explore by clicking the tiles below, and then scroll down to read about how outrage has taken over our lives.  —  Interactive by Allison Benedikt, Chris Kirk, and Dan Kois

The Obamas, Race and Slights  —  The president and the first lady added their voices this week to the raging conversation on race following the protests that erupted in the wake of grand juries not indicting police officers who killed two unarmed black men — Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

The MPAA's Attempt to Revive SOPA Through A State Attorney General  —  We are deeply concerned about recent reports that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) led a secret, coordinated campaign to revive the failed SOPA legislation through other means, and helped manufacture legal arguments …

Uber Strikes Deal With Portland to Suspend Service for Three Months  —  Uber reached an agreement with Portland to suspend operations in the city for three months while regulators work to revise rules around taxis that currently prohibit ridesharing apps.  —  The city agreed to let Uber …

Public Easily Swayed On Attitudes About Health Law, Poll Finds  —  Just days before the requirement for most large employers to provide health insurance takes effect, a new poll finds the public easily swayed over arguments for and against the policy.  —  Six in 10 respondents …

Memo to Staff: Time to Lose a Few Pounds  —  Moving Beyond Gym Memberships, Companies Take Aggressive, Personalized Approach to Workers' Weight  —  The boss thinks you could stand to lose a few.  —  Seeking to make a dent in the intractable problem of obesity—a condition affecting roughly …