Top Items:
FBI:
Update on Sony Investigation … Today, the FBI would like to provide an update on the status of our investigation into the cyber attack targeting Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). In late November, SPE confirmed that it was the victim of a cyber attack that destroyed systems …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, VentureBeat, Real Clear Politics, New York Magazine, Associated Press, Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider, Los Angeles Times, Truth Revolt, Mashable, Slantpoint, Mediaite, Weekly Standard, kyivpost.com, Boing Boing, Roll Call, The Moderate Voice and Reuters, more at Mediagazer »
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Brian Stelter / CNNMoney.com:
Source: Hackers send new message to Sony — The hackers behind a devastating cyberattack at Sony Pictures have sent a new message to executives at the company, crediting them for a “very wise” decision to cancel the Christmas day release of “The Interview,” a source close to the company told CNN.
Discussion:
NPR, CNN, The Verge, Hit & Run, Tech Times, Hot Air, Gawker, The PJ Tatler, Slantpoint, Mashable, WREG-TV, BuzzFeed, Politico, TMZ.com, Daily Kos and FOX31 Denver, more at Mediagazer »
Frank Pallotta / CNNMoney.com:
Sony exec fires back at President Obama — Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton, denying that the studio had “caved” by scrapping next week's opening of “The Interview,” fired back Friday after President Obama said the studio had “made a mistake.” — “The president, the press …
Discussion:
BREITBART.COM, The Huffington Post, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, CNN, EW.com, Raw Story and Slantpoint, more at Mediagazer »
Joseph Marks / Politico:
What does a cyber counterattack look like? — President Barack Obama promised at his year-end news conference Friday that the U.S. will respond “proportionally” to North Korea's cyberattack against Sony Pictures Entertainment, but the conventional options available to him are ineffective …
Discussion:
The Hill and Los Angeles Times
New York Post:
Sharpton to have say over how Sony makes movies — Al Sharpton holds a press conference at the Greenwich Hotel following his meeting with Sony executive Amy Pascal. — Coming to a theater near you: Al Sharpton. — Hollywood came to the Rev. Al Thursday as embattled Sony …
Discussion:
TPNN, Hot Air and The Gateway Pundit
Mike Fleming / Deadline:
Hollywood Cowardice: George Clooney Explains Why Sony Stood Alone In North Korean Cyberterror Attack
Hollywood Cowardice: George Clooney Explains Why Sony Stood Alone In North Korean Cyberterror Attack
Discussion:
Guardian, Reuters, The Verge, Moe Lane, The Huffington Post, The Daily Banter, Truth Revolt, CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog, Nerdist, VentureBeat, TheJournal.ie, New York Times, Ed Driscoll, Hot Air, Mediaite, emptywheel, Insider Louisville, Salon, TMZ.com, The Daily Caller, Taylor Marsh and abc11.com
Abby Phillip / Washington Post:
Theaters cancel screenings of ‘Team America’ citing Paramount Pictures
Theaters cancel screenings of ‘Team America’ citing Paramount Pictures
Discussion:
Rush Limbaugh, The Daily Caller, Mashable, Inside Movies, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Banter, Slate, National Review, The Hill, Deadline, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite
Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
GOP Senator Wants To Host Re-Election Fundraiser At A Screening Of “The Interview”
GOP Senator Wants To Host Re-Election Fundraiser At A Screening Of “The Interview”
Discussion:
USA Today, OnPolitics, The PJ Tatler and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Laura Wides-Munoz / Associated Press:
Obama's Cuba switch forces exile groups to adapt — MIAMI (AP) — Hours before President Barack Obama announced an end to a half-century of U.S. efforts to isolate Cuba's communist government, the Cuban American National Foundation opened the doors to its inviting new headquarters …
Discussion:
ABC News
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Michael Moynihan / The Daily Beast:
Castro's Hipster Apologists Want to Keep Cuba ‘Authentically’ Poor
Castro's Hipster Apologists Want to Keep Cuba ‘Authentically’ Poor
Discussion:
National Review, Moe Lane, Hit & Run and The Nation
Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
Obama renews tax breaks, creates ABLE accounts
Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
Obama signs massive defense spending bill
Koran Addo / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Some witnesses lied to Michael Brown grand jury, McCulloch says. So why have them testify? — Certain witnesses who spoke before the grand jury investigating the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown told obvious lies under oath, St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch said Friday.
Discussion:
Liberal Values, KTRS, The Huffington Post, Shakesville, FOX2now.com and Slantpoint
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Mike Hayes / BuzzFeed:
Prosecutor Says He Knew Some Witnesses Were Lying To The Ferguson Grand Jury — St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch says he knew some of the witnesses who said they saw Michael Brown get shot were lying, but he let them testify to the grand jury anyway. — Bob McCulloch — Reuters
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Hinterland Gazette, Gawker, Raw Story and The Smoking Gun
Lucy McCalmont / Politico:
Rand Paul and Marco Rubio wage Twitter battle on Cuba — The first battle of the GOP primary began on radio and cable news, spilled over to Twitter and splashed across Facebook and the wider Internet, a preview of the Republican Party's coming cage match over foreign policy.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Dish, Daily Kos, CBS Philly, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Associated Press
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David Weigel / Bloomberg Politics:
Rand Paul Battles Marco Rubio Over Cuba Policy
Rand Paul Battles Marco Rubio Over Cuba Policy
Discussion:
Politico
Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:
Rand Paul Slams Marco Rubio Over Cuba As Feud Escalates
Rand Paul Slams Marco Rubio Over Cuba As Feud Escalates
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Naked Politics, National Review, Hot Air and Washington Post
Rand Paul / Facebook:
Senator Marco Rubio believes the embargo against Cuba …
Senator Marco Rubio believes the embargo against Cuba …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Slantpoint and New York Times
Mary Bruce / ABC News:
In Case You Missed It, Obama Made History Today: Calls Only on Female Reporters … Mark this down as a historic day in White House history. — President Obama has just become the first president to field questions from only female reporters at a White House press conference.
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ABC News:
How One Man Is Terrorizing Neighbors With a Hostile Holiday Decoration Display — Homeowners on Fairley Road in Ross Township, Pennsylvania, say their neighbor Bill Ansell is terrorizing them year round with his hostile anti-Christmas spirit. — “Any opportunity he has to make our life a hardship …
Discussion:
6abc.com
Brian Mahoney / Politico:
Obama labor board comes down hard on McDonald's — In a significant victory for fast-food demonstrators, the Obama administration filed 13 legal complaints on Friday against McDonald's USA, LLC, alleging 78 instances in which it violated federal labor law by punishing workers for taking part in fast food protests.
Discussion:
Slantpoint
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Rachael Bade / Politico:
How bad would an IRS shutdown be? — The IRS chief's warning on Thursday that drastic budget cuts may force a shutdown for perhaps days is his latest bid to illustrate the impact of starving the tax agency. — But how bad would it really be? — Story Continued Below
RELATED:
Rachael Bade / Politico:
IRS warns of possible shutdown
IRS warns of possible shutdown
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Daily Signal, RedState and The Hill
Chad Mills / WIS-TV:
Family finds creepy surprise after Craigslist buy — A Midlands family says a couch they bought just about a month ago has infested their home with bed bugs. — They have a warning about where they bought that couch. — They bought it on craigslist, and with roughly 5,000 pieces …
Discussion:
FOX2now.com, New York's PIX11, FOX31 Denver and fox8.com
Rocco Parascandola Police / NY Daily News:
SEE IT: NYPD plainclothes officer delivers body blows to youth as he's being cuffed, Internal Affairs investigating — 'I can't believe he just did that after everything that's happened' a witness says as the boy is punched repeatedly while three NYPD officers try to subdue and cuff him in an incident caught on video.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Hinterland Gazette, New York's PIX11, Raw Story and Gawker
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
A Vermont Senator Asks, Why Not a Socialist President? — AMES, Iowa — Senator Bernard Sanders, an independent from Vermont who calls himself a socialist, was riding in the back seat of a rented blue minivan this week when his aide abruptly announced they were being pulled over by the Iowa State Police for speeding.
Discussion:
Washington Post
Emily Dreyfuss / Wired:
MIT Computer Scientists Demonstrate the Hard Way That Gender Still Matters — An aerial view of the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. David L Ryan/The Boston Globe/Getty Images — “We're 3 female computer scientists at MIT, here to answer questions about programming and academia.
Discussion:
The Dish