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6:10 PM ET, December 18, 2014

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Ken Thomas / Associated Press:
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 …
RELATED:
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.
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 …
The Daily Beast:
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 …
RELATED:
Jaclyn Hendricks / New York Post:
Kim Jong-un death scene from ‘The Interview’ leaks online  —  Well, that was fast.  —  Right on the heels of Sony's announcement that the studio would be scrapping the Christmas Day release of “The Interview,” the film's controversial climax has surfaced.  —  The scene features North …
Discussion: The PJ Tatler
Julian Hattem / The Hill:
Theaters cancel ‘Team America’ showings  —  Theaters across the country are canceling showings of “Team America: World Police,” previously scheduled to replace “The Interview” after Sony pulled the film due to security concerns.  —  Multiple theaters on Thursday blamed the cancelation on Paramount Pictures …
Discussion: Hot Air and The Daily Banter
Erik Hayden / Hollywood Reporter:
Texas Theater to Show ‘Team America’ In Place of ‘The Interview’
USA Today:
Official: North Korea behind Sony hack
Discussion: Tech Times, National Review and TMZ.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
RELATED:
Alicia A. Caldwell / Associated Press:   New ties with Cuba won't change immigration rules
Jonathan D. Salant / New Jersey Online:
Menendez on Obama Cuba deal: ‘I think it stinks’
Discussion: BuzzFeed
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.
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
RELATED:
Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press:   Top Islamic militants killed; more US troops going to Iraq
Philip Ewing / Politico:
General: ISIL battle in Iraq could take 3 years or more
Discussion: ABC News
Department of Justice:
Attorney General Holder Directs Department to Include Gender Identity Under Sex Discrimination Employment Claims  —  New Memo Applies to All Department of Justice Components and U.S. Attorneys  —  Attorney General Holder announced today that the Department of Justice will take the position …
Discussion: Advocate, National Review and WGBH News
Azi Paybarah / Capital New York:
At private meeting, union head tells officers to use ‘extreme discretion’  —  Police union leader Pat Lynch is telling officers to use “extreme discretion,” in response to what he said was a lack support from City Hall and Washington in the wake of a grand jury decision not to indict an officer in the death of Eric Garner last month.
RELATED:
Pamela Ng / New York's PIX11:
Mayor de Blasio named PETA's Person of the Year for 2014
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
Alice Robb / The New Republic:
Watching Colbert Makes Conservatives Even More Conservative  —  After nine years hosting one of the most popular comedy programs on air, it's hard to remember a time when Stephen Colbert might have been mistaken for the kind of conservative commentator he satires.
Discussion: Slantpoint
Stephen Braun / Associated Press:
Files of more than 40,000 federal workers breached  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The computer files of more than 40,000 federal workers may have been compromised by a cyberattack at federal contractor KeyPoint Government Solutions, the second breach this year at a major firm handling national security …
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 …
Garth Kant / WND:
GOP LEGEND QUITS CONGRESS WITH MESSAGE FOR AMERICA  —  'I don't know who's happier to see me leave, Pelosi or Boehner'  —  Garth Kant is WND Washington news editor.  Previously, he spent five years writing, copy-editing and producing at “CNN Headline News,” three years writing …
Discussion: Right Wing Watch and Raw Story
Brad Aaron / Streetsblog New York City:
Vance Deal: $400 Fine for Unlicensed Driver Who Killed Senior in Crosswalk  —  An unlicensed driver who fatally struck a senior as she crossed the street with the right of way will pay a $400 fine, pursuant to a plea arrangement with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance.
Discussion: Gothamist
 
 
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 More Items: 
Slate:
The Year of Outrage  —  Slate tracked what everyone was outraged about every day in 2014.
Discussion: The Dish
John Schreiber / MyNewsLA.com:
Man arrested in 1989 killing of transgender woman in Santa Ana
Kamara A. Swaby / Harvard News:
HUDS Suspends Purchases from Israeli Soda Company
Discussion: National Review and Truth Revolt
Associated Press:
President signs legislation ending Nazi benefit checks
Ronald Brownstein / National Journal:
Jeb Bush's 2016 Move Fuels Democratic Debate
Discussion: Washington Monthly
Nick Hanauer / Politico:
The Pitchforks Are Coming... For Us Plutocrats
Erin Madigan White / THE DEFINITIVE SOURCE:
Doubling down on state government coverage
 Earlier Items: 
Elise Viebeck / The Hill:
ObamaCare fines loom for uninsured
Nick Hanauer / The Hill:
Give Americans the overtime pay they've earned
Discussion: Daily Kos and Hullabaloo
USA Today:
Putin: West wants to put Russian bear ‘on a chain’
Discussion: kyivpost.com
CNN:
Officials: Boko Haram kidnaps 185 women and children, kills 32 people
Discussion: The Daily Caller
Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Obama's Had a Helluva Good Month Since the Midterms
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Donald Trump announces that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at a16z, will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House OSTP

Financial Times:
Sources: Palantir and Anduril are in talks with OpenAI, SpaceX, and more to form a consortium to bid for US defense contracts and plan to announce it in January

 
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