memeorandum: Year of the Condo in New York City (Michelle Higgins/New York Times)

4:30 PM ET, January 4, 2015

Top Items:

Steve Wulf / ESPN:

Stuart Scott dies at age of 49 — Stuart Scott, a longtime anchor at ESPN, died Sunday morning at the age of 49. — Among the features of the new ESPN studio in Bristol is a wall of catchphrases made famous by on-air talent over the years. An amazing nine of them belong to one man …

Discussion: The Charlotte Observer, Fusion, Bloomberg Politics, ThinkProgress, Hinterland Gazette, Scared Monkeys, theGrio, Gawker, The Reformed Broker, NOLA River and NPR

Richard Sandomir / New York Times:
ESPN's Stuart Scott Dies at Age 49

Discussion: New York Magazine, WHNT-TV and Unfogged

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:

Texas Republican announces challenge to Boehner for Speaker in new Congress — Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas) said Sunday that he will challenge John Boehner (R-Ohio) as Speaker in the new Congress. — “I'm putting my name out there today to be another candidate for Speaker,” Gohmert said on “Fox and Friends.”

Discussion: Politico and Power Line

Gohmert:

Gohmert Announces Run for Speaker of the House — Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01) released the following statement today regarding his decision to buck the status quo and challenge John Boehner in the race for House Speaker: — “After the November elections gave Republicans control of the Senate, voters made clear they wanted change.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Fox News, BREITBART.COM, Talking Points Memo, The PJ Tatler and National Review

Ted Yoho / Facebook:
I will not support John Boehner for Speaker of the House.

Discussion: Daily Signal, Bloomberg Politics, TPNN and Slantpoint

New York Post:

How Sharpton gets paid to not cry ‘racism’ at corporations — Want to influence a casino bid? Polish your corporate image? Not be labeled a racist? — Then you need to pay Al Sharpton. — For more than a decade, corporations have shelled out thousands of dollars in donations …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, BizPac Review and Liberaland

Roger L Simon / Roger L. Simon:

Egypt's al-Sisi Makes Extraordinary Speech on Islam — Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made an extraordinary speech on New Year's Day to Cairo's Al-Azhar and the Awqaf Ministry calling for a long overdue virtual ecclesiastical revolution in Islam. This is something no Western leader …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Jawa Report and Chicago Boyz

Oregonian:

Navy vet, 100, persuades protesters to let him speak: ‘Give me a chance’ — U.S. Navy veteran Dario Raschio was all smiles Saturday as he awaited a special honor from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, who joined him at Portland Community College's Southeast Campus to present the 100-year-old with a handful of medals.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Alina Simone / New York Times:

How My Mom Got Hacked — MY mother received the ransom note on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. It popped up on her computer screen soon after she'd discovered that all of her files had been locked. “Your files are encrypted,” it announced. “To get the key to decrypt files you have to pay 500 USD.”

Naomi Oreskes / New York Times:

Playing Dumb on Climate Change — CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — SCIENTISTS have often been accused of exaggerating the threat of climate change, but it's becoming increasingly clear that they ought to be more emphatic about the risk. The year just concluded is about to be declared the hottest one on record …

Discussion: The Mahablog and Daily Kos

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

GOPer Mia Love: Time ‘To Move On’ From Scalise's Hate Group Speech — Incoming Rep. Mia Love (R-UT) on Sunday said that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) should remain in Republican leadership despite recent reports that he spoke at an event for a white nationalist group in 2002.

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette

Michelle Higgins / New York Times:

Year of the Condo in New York City — At least twice as many new condominium units are scheduled to hit the Manhattan market this year as in 2014, the most since 2007. That means more choice for buyers and some welcome competition among developers. — The influx comes after a five-year shortage …

Discussion: Gothamist and Gawker

Mike Huckabee / Facebook:

This evening I wanted to share with you some news that is very personal to me. Because you have been such a good friend and a strong supporter of all my efforts, I wanted you to know first that tonight I will do more than just say goodnight on my Fox show. I will say goodbye.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, OnPolitics, Slantpoint and Politico

Chris Ariens / TVNewser:
Mike Huckabee's Final Fox News Show Airs Tonight

Discussion: American Spectator and Moe Lane

Brian Stelter / CNN:
Huckabee to end Fox News show to mull 2016

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air, The Huffington Post, The Daily Caller, Weekly Standard, Mashable, Slantpoint, Mike Huckabee, Washington Post and Scared Monkeys

Mike Huckabee:
Gov. Huckabee Departs Fox News, Will Make Decision On '16 Campaign By Late Spring

Discussion: Washington Post, Associated Press, Balloon Juice, The Huffington Post, Bloomberg Politics and Hinterland Gazette

BBC:

Boko Haram seizes army base in Nigeria town of Baga — The militant group Boko Haram has seized a town and key multinational military base in north-eastern Nigeria, officials and eyewitnesses say. — A senator in Borno state said troops had abandoned the base in the town of Baga after it was attacked on Saturday.

Discussion: The Long War Journal, NPR and CNN

Josh Kraushaar / The Atlantic Online:

Democrats' Narrow Path Back to Controlling the Senate — Seven races that will determine whether they can overtake Republicans in 2016 — Democrats are looking to reclaim their Senate majority in two years, but after losing nine Senate seats in 2014, their path back to that majority won't be easy.

Discussion: Liberal Values