memeorandum: Mayor de Blasio named PETA's Person of the Year for 2014 (Pamela Ng/New York's PIX11)

2:55 PM ET, December 18, 2014

Top Items:

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 …

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite, Bloomberg Politics, BuzzFeed, Weekly Standard, Hit & Run, Hot Air, Hinterland Gazette, ABC News, Associated Press, Washington Post, CNN, ABC News and abc11.com

Politico:

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: Hot Air, The Federalist, Daily Kos, Weekly Standard and Bloomberg View

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: Los Angeles Times, NBC News, Fausta's Blog, Washington Times, Slate, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Power Line, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hot Air, RedState, Scared Monkeys, Maggie's Farm, The White House, Slantpoint, National Review and Vox Popoli

Daniel W. Drezner / Washington Post:

Every big question you have about the U.S. opening to Cuba, answered — So by now I'm sure you're aware that the Obama administration and Cuba's communist regime have pledged to restore diplomatic ties through a variety of means, which include an exchange of prisoners …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Capitol Hill Cubans, National Review, The Huffington Post, Maggie's Farm, White House.gov Blog, Slate, Bloomberg View, The Federalist and NPR

Steve Benen / msnbc.com:

Republicans hardly unanimous on new Cuba policy — We've grown accustomed to some clear divisions among Republicans on foreign policy, with the Dick Cheney wing of the GOP aggressively at odds with the Rand Paul wing. It's not exactly a 50-50 split - the former contingent is vastly larger than the latter …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Politico, The Dish, The Hill, Daily Kos, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Hinterland Gazette

Alicia A. Caldwell / Associated Press:

New ties with Cuba won't change immigration rules — WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says the Obama administration's decision to renew diplomatic ties with Cuba won't impact immigration rules just yet. — President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that the U.S …

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: American Prospect, New York Times, Washington Post, Alternet, Wall Street Journal, The Mahablog and FiveThirtyEight

Rich Lowry / Politico:
The Castros finally hit the jackpot

Discussion: National Review

Fox News:
Congressional critics ready to block Obama push to normalize Cuban relations

Discussion: VodkaPundit, Slantpoint, Bloomberg and Fox News Insider

Dan Roberts / Guardian:
US-Cuba deal: a marriage 18 months in the making, blessed by Pope Francis

Discussion: Althouse

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

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Instapundit and Daily Kos

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

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

Eli Lake / Bloomberg View:
Obama Gives Rubio a Gift From Cuba

Discussion: New York Times, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Daily Kos, Facebook, BREITBART.COM, Washington Post and Reuters

Politico:
The Democrats' risky Cuba bet

Discussion: American Prospect, The Hill, Washington Post, Associated Press, NPR and Slantpoint

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 …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, The Daily Beast, Slate, RT, The New Republic, New York Magazine, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Guardian, The Diplomat, PandoDaily, Motherboard, The Daily Caller, Los Angeles Times, National Review, NY Daily News, The Verge, FiveThirtyEight, CNN, Twitchy, Fox News, The Huffington Post, The Federalist, Tech Times, Hit & Run, Deadline, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Banter, Hot Air, The Dish, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Shakesville, Balloon Juice, CANNONFIRE, BuzzFeed, Mashable, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Variety, Associated Press, LA Weekly, Gawker, NBC News, Vox, The Hill, Power Line, Inside Movies, Taylor Marsh, EW.com, TIME, Mediaite, Wired, Slantpoint, Outside the Beltway, CNNMoney.com, The Moderate Voice, Boing Boing, Nerdist, Vulture, Hullabaloo, Hollywood Reporter, JustOneMinute and Addicting Info, more at Mediagazer »

Erik Hayden / Hollywood Reporter:
Texas Theater to Show ‘Team America’ In Place of ‘The Interview’

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

USA Today:
Official: North Korea behind Sony hack

Discussion: TMZ.com and National Review

Ted Bridis / Associated Press:
Sony emails show a studio ripe for hacking

Discussion: ABC News, Associated Press and The Huffington Post

David Auerbach / Slate:
The Sony Hackers Are Terrorists

Discussion: New York Times, ThinkProgress, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, Twitchy, BillMoyers.com and Wall Street Journal

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

Boston Public Radio / WGBH News:

‘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.

Discussion: Bloomberg Politics, New York Times, Washington Post, Political Wire and The Huffington Post

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, New York Times, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, National Review, The Huffington Post and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

James Hohmann / Politico:
Alison Lundergan Grimes: Rand Paul can't run for president and Senate

Discussion: American Spectator and WHAS-TV

Pamela Ng / New York's PIX11:

Mayor de Blasio named PETA's Person of the Year for 2014 — NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) — Mayor Bill de Blasio was named PETA's Person of the Year for 2014 for his defense of circus animals, carriage horses and promotion of vegan eating in New York City. — “When the mayor of New York City talks …

Discussion: Washington Post and New York Magazine

Azi Paybarah / Capital New York:
At private meeting, union head tells officers to use ‘extreme discretion’

Discussion: Gothamist, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite

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

Discussion: kyivpost.com

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 Daily Caller

Lanre Ola / Reuters:
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnap 100 women, children in Nigeria

Discussion: Gawker and Shakesville

Business Wire:

Amazon Introduces Prime Now: One-Hour Delivery on Tens of Thousands of Daily Essentials Exclusively for Prime Members — Prime Now launches in Manhattan today with plans to expand to additional cities in 2015 — SEATTLE—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced Prime Now …

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Verge and Mashable

Julia Marsh / New York Post:

Catsimatidis' daughter files for divorce from husband of 3 years — Andrea Catsimatidis and Christopher Cox tour the Great Wall of China in 2013. — This political love match was not made to last. — Andrea Catsimatidis, daughter of billionaire grocer and failed mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis …

Discussion: American Spectator and Washington Free Beacon

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

RT:

US servicemen in first ground battle with ISIS - Kurdish media — American forces were involved in their first ground battle with Islamic State fighters, according to Kurdish media outlet Shafaq News, near the Ain Al-Assad base in the Anbar province of Iraq early Sunday. The report could not be independently verified.

Discussion: Liberaland and Weekly Standard