GOP frets over immigration 2016 backlash  —  Republicans are worried their party's recent moves to roll back immigration measures could come back to bite them in 2016.  —  “Republicans already have a brand problem with Hispanics.  This will only exacerbate the issue,” said Mark McKinnon …

Casualties in Belgium police anti-terror raid in Verviers  —  Three people killed in anti-terror raid in Verviers, after local residents report hearing gunfire and explosions  —  Three people have been killed during a terrorism-related police operation against suspected jihadists in Belgium, a federal prosecutor said.

CHRISTIE'S MATH PROBLEM: Seeking same donors as Jeb, Mitt — COLIN REED to Romney - WHITE HOUSE CATCHES UP WITH COUNTRY, rewires State of the Union — LIESL HICKEY to Teneo  —  By Mike Allen (mallen@politico.com; @mikeallen), with Daniel Lippman (dlippman@politico.com; @dlippman)  —  Good Thursday morning.

Pope On Charlie Hebdo: There Are Limits To Free Expression  —  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 while en route to the Philippines …

U.S. Easing Decades-Old Restrictions on Travel to Cuba  —  WASHINGTON — The United States government on Friday will begin making it easier for Americans to travel to Cuba than it has been for more than half a century, opening the door to a new era of contact between neighbors …

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 …

Minutes highlight Scalise efforts to kill resolution apologizing for slavery  —  The minutes from a 1996 Louisiana House committee meeting show the efforts that then-state Rep. Steve Scalise took to water down — and try to kill — a resolution apologizing for the role slavery played in the state's history.

Oops!  “In Dog We Trust” printed within Pinellas County Sheriff's emblem on new rugs  —  Two newly rolled out rugs at the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office administration building sure looked nice while they lasted.  —  They were placed at the front entrance— bright green with the sheriff's bold, yellow emblem.

Charlie Hebdo Shootings: False Flag?  —  The Charlie Hebdo affair has many of the characteristics of a false flag operation.  The attack on the cartoonists' office was a disciplined professional attack of the kind associated with highly trained special forces; yet the suspects who were later corralled …

One of new chairman's first act?:  Removing last chairman's portrait  —  It appears new House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) really doesn't want to sit in the shadow of his predecessor and fellow Republican, Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).  —  At least, that's what his critics are saying.

Tom Steyer looks good in his own Senate 2016 poll  —  Hedge fund billionaire and environmental activist Tom Steyer said Tuesday he's considering whether to run for California's U.S. Senate seat in 2016, but apparently he's been mulling this for a while: A polling memo shows he commissioned a survey on his chances in mid-December.

‘If you snitch, your career is done’: Former Baltimore cop says he was harassed, labeled a ‘rat’ after attempt to root out police brutality  —  Det.  Joseph Crystal witnessed a handcuffed drug suspect beaten and his ankle broken by a fellow Baltimore police officer.

U-Va. Phi Psi members speak about impact of discredited gang rape allegations  —  CHARLOTTESVILLE — The Phi Kappa Psi brothers sat together in a bedroom, turning the glossy magazine pages as they absorbed the account of a gang rape that allegedly took place within the brick walls around them.

Social Media and the Cost of Caring  —  For generations, commentators have worried about the impact of technology on people's stress.  Trains and industrial machinery were seen as noisy disruptors of pastoral village life that put people on edge.  Telephones interrupted quiet times in homes.

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.

Cruz out at Senate campaign arm  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who repeatedly clashed with GOP leaders in the last Congress, has not been asked to return as vice chairman of grassroots outreach for the Senate Republican campaign arm.  —  National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Roger Wicker …