memeorandum: GOP legislators thwart bids to expand Medicaid (Charles Babington/Associated Press)

11:55 AM ET, January 1, 2015

Top Items:

Jeb Bush severs ties to most firms with eye on 2016 — Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, moving closer to a possible presidential run, has stepped down as a paid adviser to a for-profit education company that sells online courses to public university students in exchange for a share of their tuition payments.

Discussion: Politico, The Moderate Voice, CNN, Liberaland, Bloomberg Politics and ABC News

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Bush won't attend Steve King summit — Likely 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush has declined an invitation to speak at a conservative summit in Iowa hosted by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa.), a sometimes controversial figure in the GOP. — A Bush aide told The Hill that the former Florida governor appreciated …

Discussion: Washington Post and Prairie Weather

Steve Peoples / Associated Press:

Bush resigns from remaining board memberships — WASHINGTON (AP) — Jeb Bush has resigned all of his board memberships — both nonprofit and business — in a move that helps clear a path toward a 2016 presidential campaign. — The former Florida governor stepped down from his remaining board memberships …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and abc7.com

Nahal Toosi / Politico: Jeb Bush quits all private sector, non-profit boards

Charles Babington / Associated Press:

GOP legislators thwart bids to expand Medicaid — Associated Press 4 hrs ago — WASHINGTON (AP) — Governors across the political spectrum are hitting a roadblock in their bids to expand Medicaid with federal funds: Republican legislators who adamantly oppose “Obamacare.”

Discussion: Slantpoint

Abigail Frymann Rouch / The Tablet:

Publisher HarperCollins omits Israel from school atlas ‘to meet local preferences’ — The Bishops' Conference of England and Wales has accused the publisher HarperCollins of harming peace efforts in the Middle East through its production of atlases that omit Israel from their maps.

Discussion: Daily Mail, RT, Raw Story and Power Line

Annie Karni / NY Daily News:

EXCLUSIVE: Bill de Blasio's tense relationship with the NYPD casting shadow over DNC bid — Party officials are concerned the bad blood might still be an issue when the convention is held in 2016, stealing the spotlight from the party's presidential nominee, a top Democrat told the Daily News.

Discussion: New York Post and National Review

Steve Scalise / New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Steve Scalise spoke to civic association meeting, not white nationalist conference, David Duke adviser Kenny Knight says — Reports that Rep. Steve Scalise, the third-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, gave a speech to a white nationalist conference connected with David Duke …

Discussion: Power Line, BREITBART.COM, PoliticusUSA and Slantpoint

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Supreme Court, in Big Leap, Plans to Put Filings Online — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will soon join other federal courts in making briefs and other filings available electronically, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. announced Wednesday. — The changes will come “as soon as 2016,” …

Discussion: Hot Air and The Verge

Agence France-Presse:

Netanyahu re-elected head of Israel's ruling Likud — 2 hrs ago — Ahikam Seri — Tel Aviv (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won another term as leader of the ruling rightwing Likud ahead of a snap election, the faction said Thursday, easily defeating his lone hard-right challenger.

Danielle Scruggs / FOX2now.com:

Protesters storm police headquarters in downtown St. Louis; 25 arrests made — ST. LOUIS (KTVI) - In what was slated as a peaceful “March to the Arch” by Ferguson demonstrators, more than two dozen people were arrested and pepper spray was used by police. The melee unfolded as protesters tried …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Daily Mail, Slantpoint, The Daily Caller and TPNN

Csimeral / FOX5 San Diego:

Naked man stops traffic on major freeway — Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing Attachment …

Discussion: KTLA

Braboco / iBRABO:

New Zealand Jihadist Deletes Tweets after Discovering he left Geotagging On — Author: Jeff R. Weyers, iBRABO — A SHINY NEW PHONE WITH NO WHERE TO GO — It's a rookie social media mistake and one that intelligence and law enforcement agencies pray for when tracking criminals.

Discussion: Mediaite, RT and The Gateway Pundit