Top Items:

Attack Is Suspected as North Korean Internet Collapses — SAN FRANCISCO — North Korea's already tenuous links to the Internet went completely dark on Monday after days of instability, in what Internet monitors described as one of the worst North Korean network failures in years.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Little Green Footballs, Gawker, Vox, Slantpoint, CANNONFIRE, Political Wire, PoliticusUSA, TPNN, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air and Mashable
RELATED:


A Lot of Smart People Think North Korea Didn't Hack Sony — The evidence linking agents of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the recent digital implosion of Sony remains vague. And even though the feds are squarely blaming North Korea, many security experts aren't buying it.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, BuzzFeed, Re/code, Hit & Run, Frankly Curious, Balloon Juice, UPROXX and Marc's Security Ramblings, more at Mediagazer »


North Korea's Internet link is flaky today — If you've been trying to connect to North Korean Internet sites in the last 24 hours, you might have been unsuccessful. — Connectivity between North Korea and the rest of the world has been spotty for much of the time, according to Dyn Research.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Reuters, The Huffington Post, Mashable, The Verge and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion


North Korean Internet Goes Dark in Wake of Sony Hack
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay and National Review

North Korea's internet appears to be under mass cyber attack
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Zingularity, UPROXX, VentureBeat, Engadget and Balloon Juice


The NY Police Union's Vile War with Mayor De Blasio — To criticize the mayor for telling his black son what every other father of a black youth must say is divisive and fails to see what's wrong in America. — I covered New York politics for 15 years, and I saw some awfully tense moments between …
Discussion:
Slate, Fox News Insider, No More Mister Nice Blog, City Journal and The Dish
RELATED:


NYPD Chief Bill Bratton on police tension: 'We're in a change moment' — New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton believes that Mayor Bill de Blasio has lost the trust of “some officers,” telling TODAY's Matt Lauer the city finds itself in a “change moment.”
Discussion:
Crooked Timber, Hinterland Gazette, New York's PIX11, Raw Story, New York Magazine, NPR, Politico, Yahoo! News, Associated Press and New York Times

Obama's ‘propaganda’ pushed people to ‘hate the police,’ Giuliani says
Discussion:
Hit & Run, TIME, Little Green Footballs, UPI, New York Times, Taylor Marsh and Hot Air

Mayor de Blasio Calls for Suspension of Protests
Discussion:
Reuters, CBS New York, Boing Boing, The Daily Caller and National Review

Senator Blames His Own Constituents For NYC Cop Killing
Discussion:
Salon, Daily Kos, Slantpoint and BuzzFeed

The Importance of Treating NYPD Officers as Individuals
Discussion:
New York Post, Hit & Run, New York Times, The Federalist, Gothamist, Scared Monkeys, Washington Monthly and The Dish

As Police Die, Racism Narrative Unravels
Discussion:
alicublog, RedState, Roger's Rules and Ed Driscoll

For Mayor de Blasio and New York Police, a Rift Is Ripped Open
Discussion:
Reason, The Huffington Post, Associated Press, Business Insider, Obsidian Wings and Daily Mail


Rep. Michael Grimm to plead guilty to felony count of tax evasion, sources say — The Staten Island Republican was charged in a 20-count indictment with hiding more than $1 million in income and wages at a Manhattan restaurant he co-owned — Rep. Michael Grimm will plead guilty on Tuesday …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Capital New York and Political Wire
RELATED:


AMERICA'S MILITARY: A conservative institution's uneasy cultural evolution — THE FORCE IS CHANGING — OFTEN RELUCTANTLY — ALONGSIDE THE CIVILIAN SOCIETY IT SERVES — In this series on: — AMERICA'S MILITARY — Obama's mark on the military — A DEEPLY UNPOPULAR COMMANDER IN CHIEF …
Discussion:
National Review, TPNN, Power Line, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and The PJ Tatler
RELATED:

Obama's job approval plummets among US service members
Discussion:
Weekly Standard


Prosecute Torturers and Their Bosses — Since the day President Obama took office, he has failed to bring to justice anyone responsible for the torture of terrorism suspects — an official government program conceived and carried out in the years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.


How David Gregory Lost His Job — Last summer, Gregory was let go from his gig as host of “Meet the Press.” Here's an inside look at his fall from the top—and what it says about the state of TV news. — David Gregory was driving through the mountains of New Hampshire when he got the call …


Singer Joe Cocker dies aged 70 — Singer Joe Cocker, best known for his cover of the Beatles' With A Little Help From My Friends, has died aged 70. — The singer song-writer from Sheffield had a career lasting more than 40 years with hits including You Are So Beautiful and Up Where We Belong.
Discussion:
ITV, Wall Street Journal, Mashable, WGBH News, Gawker, UPROXX, Ultimate Classic Rock, PopWatch, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Gothamist and EW.com


A Letter from the Editor — Shortly before the first issue of The New Republic went on sale a little over a century ago, our founding editor Herbert Croly outlined his vision to a reporter from The New York Times: “The magazine, which is to be a weekly review of current political and social events …


Tea partier braces for primary challenge from the establishment — Mike Lee's position back home is turning the GOP civil war on its head. — Tea party favorite Mike Lee roiled the GOP establishment four years ago when he knocked off a sitting senator on his way to the Republican Senate nomination in Utah.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, RedState and National Review


Dixie rising — How the Deep South is trying to game the GOP primary. — The Deep South has elected Republicans to every top office in the region. Now it wants to be sure that clout extends to the choice of the GOP's 2016 presidential nominee. — Officials in five Southern states …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Hot Air, BillMoyers.com and Balloon Juice


Jeb Bush's Ties to Donors Put Rivals in a Bind — Network of GOP Contributors Could Hamper Other Republicans' Fund-Raising — Jeb Bush's announcement that he will explore a White House bid threatens years of painstaking spadework by other Republicans who have cultivated many of the wealthy donors loyal …
Discussion:
Washington Post and ABC News
RELATED:


Slimy Baltimore FOX Affiliate Caught Faking “Kill a Cop” Protest Chant — Last night, Baltimore's WBFF aired a video of protesters chanting “kill a cop"- evidence, it claimed, of murderously violent rhetoric on the part of anti-brutality protesters in Washington, D.C. The only problem?
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, WBFF FOX 45, PoliticusUSA and Mediaite


Pakistan to execute 500 terror convicts in coming weeks: officials — Masroor Gilani — Pakistan plans to execute around 500 militants in coming weeks, officials said Monday, after the government lifted a moratorium on the death penalty in terror cases following a Taliban school massacre.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune and Washington Times


How Vermont's single-payer health care dream fell apart — It was Friday, December 12, when Robin Lunge began worrying that Vermont's single-payer plan was doomed. — Lunge, Gov. Peter Shumlin's director of health reform, had spent weeks trying to make the math work for a a public health insurance plan …
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Washington Post and Lawyers, Guns & Money