memeorandum: Tourism suffers in winter of EU-Russia discontent (Jamey Keaten/Associated Press)

7:40 AM ET, December 21, 2014

Top Items:

2 NYPD cops shot dead ‘execution style’ in Brooklyn — A possible suspect was found shot at the scene and rushed to a nearby hospital. — Two uniformed NYPD officers were shot dead — execution style — as they sat in their marked police car on a Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, street corner.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The Moderate Voice, Twitchy, Gawker, CANNONFIRE, TPNN, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, TheBlaze.com, The Jawa Report, Power Line, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Slantpoint, JustOneMinute, Hot Air, TalkLeft and The Daily Caller

NY Daily News:

Two NYPD officers dead in ‘ambush’ while sitting in patrol car in Brooklyn by gunman who boasted on Instagram about killing cops for ‘revenge’ (GRAPHIC IMAGES) — Ismaaiyl Brinsley fired at the officers in their squad car outside of the Tompkins Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant sources said.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Newsmax, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Slantpoint, National Review and New York Magazine

New York Times:

Two N.Y.P.D. Officers Are Killed in Brooklyn Ambush; Suspect Commits Suicide — Two police officers sitting in their patrol car in Brooklyn were shot at point-blank range and killed on Saturday afternoon by a man who, officials said, had traveled to the city from Baltimore vowing to kill officers.

Discussion: DNAinfo New York, The Agonist, Vox Popoli, Patterico's Pontifications, WIS-TV and Capital New York

Alyssa Zauderer / New York's PIX11:

VIDEO: NYPD officers turn away from Mayor de Blasio as he enters police presser for murdered cops — PIX11 — Police officers turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio as he walked into the police press conference about the two NYPD officers shot and killed execution-style in Brooklyn.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, CBS New York, Capital New York, Truth Revolt, Raw Story and The Gateway Pundit

Fox News:

2 NYPD officers shot, killed in ambush on cop car — DEVELOPING: Two New York City police officer were shot and killed Saturday after they were shot by a gunman as they sat inside a patrol car. — The attack took place in Brooklyn at around 3 p.m., the New York Daily News reported.

Discussion: Vox, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, American Spectator and The PJ Tatler

Justin Fenton / Baltimore Sun:

Killer of 2 NYPD officers first shot ex-girlfriend in Owings Mills — The shooting of a woman at an Owings Mills apartment complex was the precursor for the ambush killing of two New York City police officers later in the day, law enforcement officials said.

Discussion: NY Daily News, The Gateway Pundit and Business Insider

Andy Newman / New York Times:

Updates on Fatal Shooting of Two N.Y.P.D. Officers — Updated, 11:17 p.m. Two police officers were fatally shot as they sat in their patrol car in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, on Saturday afternoon. The assailant then killed himself, the police said. Read the full story. — These updates are done for the day.

Discussion: Capital New York

CNN:

2 New York police officers shot to death — New York (CNN) — Two New York City police officers were shot and killed ambush-style Saturday as they sat in their patrol car in Brooklyn, according to two law enforcement sources. — Both officers were shot in the head, one of the sources said.

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, New Jersey 101.5 and Balloon Juice

David Mack / BuzzFeed:

Gunman Kills Two NYPD Officers In Brooklyn — “They were, quite simply, assassinated,” said NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, of the two officers shot in their patrol car Saturday in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Police said the gunman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley …

Discussion: TalkLeft and ThinkProgress

Alyssa Zauderer / New York's PIX11:
‘They were quite simply assassinated:’ 2 NYPD officers shot and killed execution-style in Brooklyn ambush

Discussion: KTLA, The Huffington Post, fox8.com and WTVR-TV

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Two NYC Police Officers Assassinated ‘Execution Style’

Discussion: BARE NAKED ISLAM, The Gateway Pundit and TPNN

Josh Lederman / Associated Press:

Obama: No justification for murder of NYC police — HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama says he unconditionally condemns the murder of two police officers shot in broad daylight on Saturday in New York. — Obama says there's no justification for the slayings.

Associated Press: GOP to back ‘The Interview’ if it gets to theaters

Josh Lederman / Associated Press: AP source: US seeks China's help after cyberattack

Jamey Keaten / Associated Press:

Tourism suffers in winter of EU-Russia discontent — Associated Press 1 hr ago — PARIS (AP) — Russia's tensions with the West over Ukraine and the slump for the ruble are echoing through the French Alps — and unfortunately for some businesses, just in time for ski season.

Associated Press:

Holder calls police shootings ‘act of barbarism’ — WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder is condemning the shooting deaths of two New York City police officers as senseless and an “unspeakable act of barbarism.” — The officers were shot Saturday in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.