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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:
WHNT-TV, Taylor Marsh, Hinterland Gazette, GeekTyrant, The Huffington Post and Colorlines
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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.


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


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:
National Post and The Huffington Post


Dick Pope: ‘I have been called a lot worse’
Discussion:
Entertain This!, Inside Movies, Mediaite and TheBlaze.com

This Will Be The Whitest Oscars Since 1998
Discussion:
NPR, TPNN, Truth Revolt and Althouse

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:
The Atlantic Online, BBC, Sky News, Yahoo! News, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Associated Press and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
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3 jihadists reportedly killed in counter-terrorism raid in Belgium — At least 3 people were killed in an anti-terror raid in Belgium Thursday that one official confirmed was “jihadist related,” and a man suspected of selling guns used in last week's terror attacks in France was being detained …
Discussion:
Telegraph, Israel Matzav, Scared Monkeys, Fox News Insider and Mashable


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:
TPNN, American Spectator and The Huffington Post
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U.S. Easing Decades-Old Restrictions on Travel to Cuba
Discussion:
Jezebel

Poll: Majority of Americans back Keystone pipeline
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys and America Rising


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:
New York Times, Washington Times, Hit & Run, Eschaton and Boing Boing


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:
Crime and Consequences Blog, Joe. My. God., SCOTUSblog, Michigan Journal of Law Reform, Shakesville, Advocate, NPR and Slate
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Judge tells state to recognize 300 same-sex marriages
Discussion:
Advocate and Joe. My. God.


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, The Gateway Pundit, Joe. My. God., Truth Revolt, Raw Story, Althouse and The Daily Caller
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Why Pope Francis Is Wrong About Free Expression
Discussion:
TIME, FaithWorld and National Review

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.
Discussion:
CNN, Moe Lane, Bloomberg View and msnbc.com
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Does the Democratic Party Have a Future?
Discussion:
Washington Post and Associated Press


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


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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Neb. Guv Condemns School Board Member's Blog Calling Obama A ‘Half-Breed’
Discussion:
Raw Story, AKSARBENT and Omaha World-Herald


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

‘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, Warren Throckmorton, Jezebel, Addicting Info and Friendly Atheist


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, National Review and Truth Revolt


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 …

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:
ThinkProgress, Vox, New York Times, The American Interest, Addicting Info, Daily Kos, JustOneMinute and FiveThirtyEight

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:
The PJ Tatler

Joni Ernst to Deliver Republican Response to the State of the Union — Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa will be delivering the Republican response to the State of the Union Address, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced today in a press conference. — The State of the Union is scheduled for next week.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly


Condoleezza Rice testifies in CIA leaks trial — Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a highly unusual public appearance Thursday — taking the witness stand for the prosecution in a criminal case against a former CIA officer on trial for leaking details of a top-secret spy program.
Discussion:
Firedoglake


Papa John's Pizza stands by employee who shot armed robber in self defense — This image shows Donquaz Stevenson, 24, who police say attempted to rob a Papa John's pizza delivery woman at gunpoint. (DeKalb County Police Department) — Papa John's Pizza is standing by a pizza delivery woman …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air and Bearing Arms


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.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune and Raw Story


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