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12:00 AM ET, December 18, 2014

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Peter Baker / New York Times:
U.S. to Restore Full Relations With Cuba, Erasing a Last Trace of Cold War Hostility … WASHINGTON — President Obama on Wednesday ordered the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Cuba and the opening of an embassy in Havana for the first time in more than a half-century as he vowed to …
RELATED:
Politico:
Republicans livid over Cuba talks, call it appeasement  —  Leading Republicans reacted with outrage Wednesday over the Obama administration's move to normalize relations with Cuba, with some casting it as appeasement and the product of blackmail by the communist Castro government.
Facebook:
STATEMENT: Governor Jeb Bush on President Obama's Cuba Policy Announcement  —  The Obama Administration's decision to restore diplomatic ties with Cuba is the latest foreign policy misstep by this President, and another dramatic overreach of his executive authority.
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.
Politico:
The Democrats' risky Cuba bet
Discussion: Washington Post and New York Times
Reuters:
Florida's Cuban Americans rejoice at U.S. policy overhaul
Reuters:
Obama to announce major Cuba policy overhaul; prisoners swapped
Discussion: TalkLeft
Evan McMurry / Mediaite:
Rubio Lays into Obama's Cuba Moves: ‘Worst Negotiator in Modern U.S. History’
USA Today:
Pope Francis played key role in U.S.-Cuba deal
James Oliphant / National Journal:   Obama Goes Cowboy on Cuba
Associated Press:
AP sources: US, Cuba seek to normalize relations
Erica Werner / Associated Press:
AP Interview: McConnell wants to stop coal rules
New York Times:
U.S. Said to Find North Korea Ordered Cyberattack on Sony  —  WASHINGTON — American officials have concluded that North Korea ordered the attacks on Sony Pictures's computers, a determination reached as the studio decided Wednesday to cancel the release of a movie comedy about the assassination …
RELATED:
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.
Kim Zetter / Wired:
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 …
Brent Lang / Variety:
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 …
Dennis Romero / LA Weekly:
Killing The Interview Opens Studios to Terrorist Manipulation  —  It's a cliche, but when it comes to today's cancellation of the Sony comedy The Interview, maybe the terrorists did win.  The studio caved after hackers, reportedly linked to North Korea, threatened theater violence if the Seth Rogen movie saw the light of day.
Erin Dooley / ABC News:
Obama: Sony Hack Proves U.S. Needs to Do ‘A Lot More’ to Protect Against Cyber Threats
William Boot / The Daily Beast:
Exclusive: Sony Emails Say State Department Blessed Kim Jong-Un Assassination in ‘The Interview’
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:
Josh Lederman / Associated Press:   Obama on Hanukkah says small acts can make miracles
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.
Thomas Kaplan / New York Times:
Citing Health Risks, Cuomo to Ban Fracking in New York State  —  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 debate over a method of extracting natural gas.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:
For immediate release  —  Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in October suggests that economic activity is expanding at a moderate pace.  Labor market conditions improved further, with solid job gains and a lower unemployment rate.
RELATED:
Paul Handley / Agence France-Presse:
US Federal Reserve says can be ‘patient’ on rate rise
Discussion: Slantpoint
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Did Ted Cruz really bungle the lame-duck session for Republicans?  —  There's no doubt that many Republican senators, and plenty of conservative commentators, were angry at GOP Sen. Ted Cruz for raising a time-consuming objection to passage of the “Cromnibus” spending bill in an effort …
RELATED:
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 …
Discussion: Mashable, Mediaite and Gawker
Phil / Uber Blog:
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 …
Nick Anderson / Washington Post:
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 …
Discussion: CNN and 6abc.com
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.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Graham Dunbar / Associated Press:
APNewsBreak: Garcia resigns as FIFA prosecutor
Discussion: National Review and BuzzFeed
Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Jeb Bush Paid By Bank That Violated Cuba Sanctions
Miranda Blue / Right Wing Watch:
Pat Robertson: Gays 'Will Die Out Because They Don't Reproduce'
Discussion: Raw Story and Addicting Info
Hadas Gold / Politico:
DCCC list-builds off Stephen Colbert
Sarah Wheaton / Politico:
Vermont bails on single-payer health care
Jim Tankersley / Washington Post:
A black hole for our best and brightest
Anne Bayefsky / Jerusalem Post:
UN: Turning back the clock to pre-1948 is the real endgame
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
 Earlier Items: 
Lawrence Hurley / Reuters:
U.S. top court blocks Arizona from denying driver's licenses to immigrants
Discussion: FOX News Radio
Mushtaq Yusufzai / NBC News:
A Dad's Hell: NBC Reporter's Kids Were Inside Attack
Discussion: The Huffington Post and TVNewser
Tarini Parti / Politico:
Republican Martha McSally wins last House race of 2014
Molly Redden / Mother Jones:
This GOP Lawmaker Wants a Woman to Get Permission From the Father Before Having an Abortion
 

 
From Techmeme:

Emma Roth / The Verge:
Mark Zuckerberg says Threads is testing custom feeds for certain profiles or topics; the Threads' version seems easier to use than Bluesky's custom feeds

Financial Times:
Sources: xAI raised $5B at a $45B valuation, almost double its valuation a few months ago; SpaceX prepares a tender offer that would value the company at $250B+

Jibin Joseph / PCMag:
UK mobile operator Virgin Media O2 creates Daisy, an AI-generated “scambaiter” tool that mimics the voice of an elderly woman to waste scammers' time
 
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