memeorandum: A year of transformation for The New York Times (Joe Pompeo/Capital New York)

11:30 AM ET, December 18, 2014

Top Items:

Obama libre — The last five weeks of the president's year were better than almost all the rest. — If President Barack Obama's year ended in November, it would have been one of the worst of his presidency. — Good thing he had the last five weeks. — Story Continued Below

Discussion: Weekly Standard

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

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 …

Discussion: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, FiveThirtyEight, The Mahablog, New York Times, Political Wire, Balloon Juice and Talking Points Memo

Washington Post:

Obama gives the Castro regime in Cuba an undeserved bailout — IN RECENT months, the outlook for the Castro regime in Cuba was growing steadily darker. The modest reforms it adopted in recent years to improve abysmal economic conditions had stalled, due to the regime's refusal to allow Cubans greater freedoms.

Discussion: Power Line, Slate, Washington Times, NBC News, Fausta's Blog, Hot Air, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Scared Monkeys, RedState, The White House, National Review, Slantpoint, Outside the Beltway and Vox Popoli

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.

Politico:
The Democrats' risky Cuba bet

Discussion: The Hill, NPR, Associated Press, Slantpoint, Washington Post and Hot Air

Steve Benen / msnbc.com:
Republicans hardly unanimous on new Cuba policy

Discussion: The Hill, Daily Kos, Politico and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:
Can Obama lift Cuba embargo alone?

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette, Instapundit and Daily Kos

New York Times:
Mr. Obama's Historic Move on Cuba

Discussion: Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Nation, The Huffington Post, Gawker, Addicting Info and Fausta's Blog

Associated Press:
Obama reignites political debate over Cuba

Discussion: ABC News and Associated Press

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 …

Erik Hayden / Hollywood Reporter:

Texas Theater to Show ‘Team America’ In Place of ‘The Interview’ — After Sony canceled the release of the North Korea assassination comedy The Interview, a Texas theater said it would swap the film with Paramount's 2004 film Team America: World Police for one free screening.

Discussion: Addicting Info, National Review, Hot Air, The Huffington Post, Hit & Run, The Hill, Nerdist, Truth Revolt, The Verge, The Daily Caller, Jezebel, Inside Movies and NPR

USA Today:

Official: North Korea behind Sony hack — Hackers who targeted Sony Pictures in a massive data breach are now threatening anyone who goes to see the new film ‘The Interview’ with a “9/11” style attack. Carmike Cinemas is the first chain to cancel planned showings of the film in response.

Discussion: TMZ.com and National Review

NY Daily News:
Terrorists 1, Hollywood 0 — Sony Pictures buckles to faceless …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

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

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Associated Press and abc11.com

David Auerbach / Slate:
The Sony Hackers Are Terrorists

Discussion: BillMoyers.com, The Verge, Tech Times, Mashable, The Daily Banter and EW.com

Christopher Rosen / The Huffington Post:
Sony Cancels Plans To Release ‘The Interview’ On Christmas Day

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Tech Times, Slantpoint, Hollywood Reporter, Washington Post, Associated Press and CBS Philly, more at Mediagazer »

Kim Zetter / Wired:
The Evidence That North Korea Hacked Sony Is Flimsy

Discussion: Mediaite, Vox, Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, EW.com, Power Line, Hit & Run and New York Times

Reuters:
Sony cancels North Korea movie in apparent win for Pyongyang hackers

Discussion: National Review, The Great Debate and TalkLeft

Associated Press:
AP source: North Korea linked to Sony hacking

Discussion: Associated Press, ABC News and abc11.com

NBC News:
N. Korean Hack on Sony Won't Go ‘Unanswered’: U.S. Official

Discussion: Bloomberg Politics, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, The Federalist, The Huffington Post, ABC News, Deadline, Mashable, The Hill, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Gawker, Towleroad News #gay and CNNMoney.com

Dennis Romero / LA Weekly:
Killing The Interview Opens Studios to Terrorist Manipulation

Discussion: New York Times, Hot Air, Screen Rant and Power Line

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 …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

USA Today:

Putin: West wants to put Russian bear ‘on a chain’ — The collapse in Russia's rouble slows for a while, but fears of how the crisis will hit not only Moscow but its trade partners are deepening. As Ciara Lee reports, the repercussions could be felt far and wide. Video provided by Reuters Newslook

Discussion: kyivpost.com

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

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:

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Prairie Weather

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: Bloomberg Politics, Politico, National Review, Washington Post, Balloon Juice and The Huffington Post

CNN:

Officials: Boko Haram kidnaps 185 women and children, kills 32 people — Kano, Nigeria (CNN) — Boko Haram insurgents kidnapped at least 185 women and children, and killed 32 people in a raid in northeastern Nigeria this week, local officials and residents said.

Discussion: The Jawa Report and The Daily Caller

Megan Murphy / Financial Times:

Jeb Bush's web of interests face scrutiny as he ‘explores’ presidential bid — When Jeb Bush announced on Tuesday that he would “actively explore” a 2016 presidential bid, he jumped to the front of a long queue of Republican contenders that had been waiting to see whether the former Florida governor would enter the fray.

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, Bloomberg Politics and Talking Points Memo

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed: Jeb Bush Paid By Bank That Violated Cuba Sanctions

Nick Hanauer / The Hill:

Give Americans the overtime pay they've earned — Progressives are angry at the president for caving in to Republicans on the CRomnibus budget bill, and rightly so—the rollback of post-Great Recession regulations on financial derivatives is simply inexcusable.

Discussion: Hullabaloo