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9:50 AM ET, December 18, 2014

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
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:
NY Daily News:
Terrorists 1, Hollywood 0  —  Sony Pictures buckles to faceless, nameless North Koreans by yanking Seth Rogen comedy ‘The Interview’  —  For the first time since 9/11, after 13 years of resolve, America — in the person of Sony Pictures Entertainment and the entire Hollywood establishment — has allowed the terrorists to win.
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 …
Dennis Romero / LA Weekly:
Killing The Interview Opens Studios to Terrorist Manipulation
Associated Press:
AP source: North Korea linked to Sony hacking
Mike Fleming / Deadline:
North Korea-Based Thriller With Gore Verbinski And Steve Carell Canceled
Ted Bridis / Associated Press:
Sony emails show a studio ripe for hacking
NBC News:
N. Korean Hack on Sony Won't Go ‘Unanswered’: U.S. Official
Reuters:
Sony cancels North Korea movie in apparent win for Pyongyang hackers
Discussion: The Great Debate and TalkLeft
Gregg Kilday / Hollywood Reporter:
Top Five Theater Circuits Drop ‘The Interview’ After Sony Hack
Rich Lowry / Politico:
The Castros Finally Hit the Jackpot  —  Even if you oppose the isolation of Cuba, this is not a good trade.  —  Candidate Barack Obama said that, as president, he would talk to anti-American dictators without precondition.  He didn't mention that he would also give them historic policy concessions without precondition.
Discussion: National Review
RELATED:
Politico:
The Democrats' risky Cuba bet  —  Will Florida's changing demographics offset a backlash among older Cuban-Americans?  —  Barack Obama, who won the swing state of Florida in the 2012 election by 50.01 percent to 49.13 percent, knows just how many presidential candidacies have gotten bogged …
miamiherald:
A roll of the dice on Cuba  —  First things first: The release of Alan Gross, which this newspaper has called for practically from the moment he was detained five years ago, is indeed welcome news.  All Americans should all rejoice in his freedom.  “The best Hanukkah,” the overjoyed Mr. Gross told reporters.
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.
Lauren French / Politico:
How Republicans could stop Obama's Cuba play  —  Hill Republicans started making a to-do list immediately.  —  President Barack Obama's plan to normalize relations with Cuba has hit a familiar roadblock: Republicans on Capitol Hill.  —  Just hours after Obama announced that a prisoner swap …
Associated Press:
Obama reignites political debate over Cuba
Discussion: Associated Press and ABC News
Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:   Jeb Bush Paid By Bank That Violated Cuba Sanctions
Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Obama's Had a Helluva Good Month Since the Midterms  —  So how have things been going for our bored, exhausted, and disengaged president?  He's been acting pretty enthusiastic, energized, and absorbed with his job, I'd say.  Let us count the things he's done since the November 4th midterm elections:
Sarah Wheaton / Politico:
Vermont bails on single-payer health care  —  Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin on Wednesday dropped his plan to enact a single-payer health care system in his state — a plan that had won praise from liberals but never really got much past the framework stage.  —  “This is not the right time” …
Discussion: Hot Air and Viking Pundit
Joe Arnold / WHAS-TV:
Grimes pledges legal challenge if Paul attempts simultaneous races  —  Alison Lundergan Grimes says she will challenge Senator Rand Paul if he tries to get on the ballot for both Senate re-election and president  —  FRANKFORT, Ky. (WHAS11) — Six weeks after she lost her own bid for the U-S Senate …
Discussion: Balloon Juice and Politico
The Hill:
Historically unproductive Congress ends  —  One of the most unproductive and least popular Congresses in history has gaveled to a close, concluding a two-year period that will be remembered for its brinksmanship and lack of legislating.  —  The 113th Congress shut the government down for 16 days in 2013 …
Robert Schmidt / Bloomberg Politics:
Lawrence Summers' $28 Million Payday, Courtesy of Elizabeth Warren  —  Senator Elizabeth Warren famously declared “there is nobody in this country who got rich on his own.”  —  That truism presumably includes President Barack Obama's former economic chief Lawrence Summers …
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 …
Mark Sherman / Associated Press:
Executions, new death sentences continue to fall  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Executions and new death sentences dropped to their lowest numbers in decades in 2014, an anti-death penalty group said in a new report.  —  The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit organization that opposes executions …
Wall Street Journal:
Russian President Vladimir Putin Seeks to Reassure on Economy  —  In Annual News Conference, Putin Says Economic Troubles Will Pass in Less Than Two Years; Strikes Harsh Tone on Tensions With West  —  MOSCOW—President Vladimir Putin sought to reassure Russians on Thursday …
Discussion: kyivpost.com
Tim Alberta / National Journal:
Return of the Kingmaker: Jim DeMint Is Getting Back in the Game  —  “It's a mix of excitement and dread.”  —  When Ted Cruz stepped to the lectern last week inside the Heritage Foundation's auditorium, he took a moment to acknowledge the conservative think tank's president, “my good friend …
Discussion: Political Wire
 
 
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 More Items: 
Noah Rothman / Hot Air:
It's official: GOP will have biggest House majority since before the New Deal
Discussion: Ed Driscoll
Daily Mail:
Time to lay off the doughnuts! Study reveals cops are the most obese workers in America
Tina Nguyen / Mediaite:
RNC Now Offering Donors an Official Dick Cheney Cowboy Hat
Discussion: National Review and OnPolitics
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Did Ted Cruz really bungle the lame-duck session for Republicans?
Discussion: The Huffington Post
Josh Lederman / Associated Press:
Obama on Hanukkah says small acts can make miracles
 Earlier Items: 
Hadas Gold / Politico:
DCCC list-builds off Stephen Colbert
Jim Tankersley / Washington Post:
A black hole for our best and brightest
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Om Malik / On my Om:
AI platforms are unlikely to become a major source of traffic or ad revenue for media outlets, with content deals offering only a short-term revenue boost

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
A deep dive into Paramount's sale to Skydance; sources: Skydance may integrate Pluto into Paramount+, and CBS head George Cheeks is expected to be head of TV

Bloomberg:
A look at Crunchyroll's challenges, including current and former employees saying its management is out of touch, as Disney and Netflix's expand into anime
 
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