Top Items:
Scott Mendelson / Forbes:
Why Ava DuVernay's ‘Selma’ Oscar Snub Matters — The Oscar nominations were announced this morning. There will be plenty of analysis regarding good surprises and bad surprises, and I may dip my toes in later today. But the most egregious omission is the sadly not-entirely-surprising absence …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, WHNT-TV, Hinterland Gazette, GeekTyrant, The Huffington Post and Colorlines
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Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:
Oscars: Acting Nominees All White — For only the second time in nearly two decades, the 20 Academy Awards acting nominations went to a group made up entirely of white actors and actresses. — Among the notable snubs was David Oyelowo, who received praise for his turn as the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma.
Todd VanDerWerff / Vox:
Selma was snubbed because the average Oscar voter is a 63-year-old white man — So what happened to Selma? — The Martin Luther King, Jr., docudrama did just score a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. (Read the full list of nominees here.) But that nomination was joined by just one other nomination, for Best Original Song.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Caller, PoliticusUSA, ThinkProgress and Jezebel
David Sims / The Atlantic Online:
The Oscars Haven't Been This White in 19 Years — Today's nominations are a throwback to the year that Braveheart swept the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. — Today's Oscar nominations contained a host of snubs that have critics and commentators up in arms (as they do every year).
Discussion:
NPR, Mediaite, The Dish, Truth Revolt, National Post and The Huffington Post
Bryan Alexander / USA Today:
Dick Pope: ‘I have been called a lot worse’
Dick Pope: ‘I have been called a lot worse’
Discussion:
Entertain This!, Mediaite, Inside Movies and TheBlaze.com
Mariano Castillo / CNN:
Report: Two killed in Belgian anti-terror operation — Video shows anti-terror raid in Belgium 01:40 — Story highlights — (CNN)[Breaking news update, 2:32 p.m.] — The group that Belgian authorities confronted Thursday was about to carry out major terrorist attacks in Belgium imminently …
Discussion:
BBC, The Atlantic Online, Sky News, Yahoo! News, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Associated Press and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
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Fox News:
3 jihadists reportedly killed in counter-terrorism raid in Belgium
3 jihadists reportedly killed in counter-terrorism raid in Belgium
Discussion:
Telegraph, Israel Matzav, Scared Monkeys, Mashable and Fox News Insider
Bloomberg.com:
Obama Said to Seek 7% Budget Boost, Setting Up Fight With Congress — (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama will ask Congress for as much as $68 billion more than current budget limits in fiscal 2016, according to two people familiar with the administration's proposal.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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Wall Street Journal:
U.K.'s Cameron to Lobby Obama on Encryption
U.K.'s Cameron to Lobby Obama on Encryption
Discussion:
THE DISTRICT SENTINEL, Politico and The Hill
Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
Is Barack Obama killing the State of the Union?
Is Barack Obama killing the State of the Union?
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Washington Monthly, The Verge and Pew Research Center …
Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
The Supreme Court Is Likely To Set Up The Same-Sex Marriage Showdown On Friday — A guide. — Getty Images/Alex Wong — This will be the second time the justices have considered whether to take any of the cases out of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and/or Tennessee.
Discussion:
Joe. My. God., Crime and Consequences Blog, SCOTUSblog, Michigan Journal of Law Reform, Shakesville, Advocate, NPR and Slate
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Tresa Baldas / Detroit Free Press:
Judge tells state to recognize 300 same-sex marriages
Judge tells state to recognize 300 same-sex marriages
Discussion:
Advocate and Joe. My. God.
Ron Charles / Washington Post:
‘Boy Who Came Back From Heaven’ going back to publisher — Tyndale House, a major Christian publisher, has announced that it will stop selling “The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven,” by Alex Malarkey and his father, Kevin Malarkey. — The best-selling book, first published in 2010 …
Discussion:
pulpitandpen.org, Raw Story, Addicting Info, Warren Throckmorton, Jezebel and Friendly Atheist
Ed Rogers / Washington Post:
The Insiders: Is Hillary Clinton stuck in a time warp? — Nothing more true has been said about the 2016 election than President Obama's observation that, “the American people will want that new-car smell.” His line is already a classic; it perfectly captures the political zeitgeist.
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Burgess Everett / Politico:
GOP stuck on immigration — The House's bill is DOA in the Senate, which is about to spend two more weeks on Keystone. So Republicans need a backup plan to meet their Feb. 27 deadline. — HERSHEY, Pa. — The GOP's expanding party divisions over immigration and an impending time crunch …
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos and Washington Post
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Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Joni Ernst to Deliver Republican Response to the State of the Union
Joni Ernst to Deliver Republican Response to the State of the Union
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Political Wire
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Cruz out at Senate campaign arm
Cruz out at Senate campaign arm
Discussion:
Trail Blazers Blog and Prairie Weather
Kate Tummarello / Politico:
GOP makes U-turn on net neutrality — Republicans in Congress are doing a 180 on net neutrality as the Federal Communications Commission prepares to issue new rules within weeks. — For years, GOP lawmakers have adamantly opposed any rules requiring Internet service providers to treat …
Discussion:
Reuters, CANNONFIRE and The PJ Tatler
The Commonwealth Fund:
The Rise in Health Care Coverage and Affordability Since Health Reform Took Effect — Findings from the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey, 2014 — Overview — New results from the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey, 2014, indicate that the Affordable …
Discussion:
Vox, New York Times and Daily Kos
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Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:
Obamacare Has Reversed A Negative Trend. Researchers Call It ‘Remarkable.’
Obamacare Has Reversed A Negative Trend. Researchers Call It ‘Remarkable.’
Discussion:
The American Interest, Addicting Info, JustOneMinute and FiveThirtyEight
Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:
Nebraska Board Of Education Member Runs Racist, Anti-LGBT Blog — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts started off his first term as governor this week by having to condemn a Republican member the state board of education, Pat McPherson, for running a conservative political blog that repeatedly referred to President Obama as a “half-breed.”
Discussion:
AKSARBENT and FreakOutNation
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Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Neb. Guv Condemns School Board Member's Blog Calling Obama A ‘Half-Breed’
Neb. Guv Condemns School Board Member's Blog Calling Obama A ‘Half-Breed’
Discussion:
Daily Nebraskan, AKSARBENT, Raw Story and Omaha World-Herald
Donna St. George / Washington Post:
Parents investigated for neglect after letting kids walk home alone — It was a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. But what the parents saw as a moment of independence for their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, they say authorities viewed much differently.
Discussion:
Washington Times, New York Times, Eschaton, Hit & Run and Boing Boing
Nicole Winfield / Associated Press:
Pope on Charlie Hebdo: There are limits to free expression — Associated Press 2 hrs ago — ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis said Thursday there are limits to freedom of expression, especially when it insults or ridicules someone's faith. — Francis spoke about the Paris terror attacks …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Truth Revolt, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Althouse, Joe. My. God. and The Daily Caller
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David Harsanyi / The Federalist:
Why Pope Francis Is Wrong About Free Expression
Why Pope Francis Is Wrong About Free Expression
Discussion:
TIME, FaithWorld and National Review
New York Post:
Mom of teen driver who killed 4-year-old explodes at judge — Lilia Reyes (right) screams at the judge. — The mother of the teenage unlicensed driver who fatally struck a little girl on the Upper West Side exploded in court Wednesday, screaming, “There is not justice!” …
Discussion:
New York Times and Gothamist
Kevin Grasha / Lansing State Journal:
Accused mom 'can't recall' where infant boy is — LANSING - Approximately three months after prosecutors say Melissa Mitin killed her newborn daughter by putting the infant face-down in a wastebasket, Mitin was pregnant again. — That pregnancy was unknown to police …
Discussion:
myfox8.com and New York's PIX11
Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:
John Dehlin, Mormon Critic, Facing Excommunication — Credit: Richard Perry/The New York Times — The Mormon Church has moved to excommunicate the prominent Utah-based founder of an online forum for critical or doubting Mormons, charging him with apostasy for supporting same-sex marriage …
BBC:
Google calls end to Glass experiment — Google is ending its experimental Google Glass programme, the BBC has learned. — The company insists it is still committed to launching the smart glasses as a consumer product, but will stop producing Glass in its present form.
Discussion:
Gigaom
Franklin Graham / WNCN:
Duke bows to pressure, cancels weekly Muslim call to prayer — Duke University has canceled its plans to have a Muslim prayer announcement broadcast from Duke Chapel's belltower on Friday afternoons. — The university announced its plans to facilitate a weekly call to prayer; but on Thursday …
Discussion:
Liberaland and National Review
Michael Bastasch / The Daily Caller:
SHOCK POLL: 57% Of Americans Say Global Warming Is Not A Threat — Is this the new climate consensus? More than half of Americans say global warming is not a threat to their way of life, according to a CNN poll. Furthermore, nearly half of Americans say global warming is caused by natural forces or isn't a proven fact.
Discussion:
CNN, Scared Monkeys, American Spectator, TPNN, America Rising and The Huffington Post