memeorandum: Joni Ernst to Deliver Republican Response to the State of the Union (Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard)

6:15 PM ET, January 15, 2015

Top Items:

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: Talking Points Memo, Sky News, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Fox News:

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: protein wisdom, Fox News Insider, Israel Matzav, Scared Monkeys and Mashable

Sky News:
Suspected Jihadists Killed In Belgium Raid

Discussion: Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs and BizPac Review

Bruno Waterfield / Telegraph:
Two killed in Belgium police anti-terror raid in Verviers

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Guardian, Reuters and Mashable

BBC:
Belgian anti-terror raid in Verviers leaves two dead

Discussion: Algemeiner.com and Vlad Tepes

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

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, PoliticusUSA, The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress and Jezebel

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.

Discussion: Business Insider, Mediaite, New York Times, No More Mister Nice Blog, U-T San Diego stories and The Glittering Eye

David Sims / The Atlantic Online:
The Oscars Haven't Been This White in 19 Years

Discussion: National Post and The Huffington Post

Lauren Duca / The Huffington Post:
This Will Be The Whitest Oscars Since 1998

Discussion: NPR, TPNN, Truth Revolt and Althouse

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

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

Burgess Everett / Politico:
GOP stuck on immigration

Discussion: Washington Post and Daily Kos

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:
GOP frets over immigration 2016 backlash

Discussion: Politico, Daily Kos, Firedoglake and The PJ Tatler

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Cruz out at Senate campaign arm

Discussion: Trail Blazers Blog and Prairie Weather

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
Border fight shifts to GOP summit

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Bloomberg Politics and National Journal

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: American Spectator, TPNN and The Huffington Post

Peter Baker / New York Times:

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 …

Discussion: Jezebel

Eric Bradner / CNN:
Poll: Majority of Americans back Keystone pipeline

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and America Rising

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: Truth Revolt, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Joe. My. God., Raw Story and Althouse

David Harsanyi / The Federalist:
Why Pope Francis Is Wrong About Free Expression

Discussion: TIME, FaithWorld and National Review

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: Crime and Consequences Blog, SCOTUSblog, Joe. My. God., Michigan Journal of Law Reform, Shakesville, Advocate, NPR and Slate

Tresa Baldas / Detroit Free Press:
Judge tells state to recognize 300 same-sex marriages

Discussion: Advocate and Joe. My. God.

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, Hit & Run, Eschaton and Boing Boing

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

Bryan Alexander / USA Today:

Dick Pope: ‘I have been called a lot worse’ — Dick Pope is not going to let an already infamous name miscue detract from his Oscar nomination celebration. — The cinematographer for Mr. Turner made international news after Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science President Cheryl Boone …

Discussion: Entertain This!, Mediaite, Inside Movies and TheBlaze.com

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

Numbers / Pew Research Center for the People …:

Public's Policy Priorities Reflect Changing Conditions at Home and Abroad — Fewer Cite Economy; More Prioritize a Stronger Military — As views of the economy improve and terrorist threats persist, the public's policy priorities have changed: For the first time in five years …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Washington Post

Scott Wong / The Hill:

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

John R. Ellement / BostonGlobe.com:

Protesters snarl morning commute on I-93 near Boston — MILTON — Protesters who said they were trying to call attention to racial oppression blocked traffic heading to Boston on Interstate 93 north and south of the city Thursday morning. The actions surprised police, snarled the commute for thousands …

Discussion: Hot Air and The Gateway Pundit

Rich Lowry / Politico:

Of course it is Islam — It is settled: The Paris terror attacks had almost nothing to do with Islam. — If there is any doubt about this, consider that on the one hand, you have the chilling new tape of the Charlie Hebdo attackers declaring, “We have avenged the Prophet Muhammad,” …

Josh Richman / Political Blotter:

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.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Free Beacon, DownWithTyranny!, BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post and Truth Revolt

Mike Allen / Politico:

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.

Discussion: Washington Post, Adweek, New York Times, The Daily Beast, Race 4 2016 and Hot Air

WFTS:

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.