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, BBC, Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
RELATED:
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 and Scared Monkeys
Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity:
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 …
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Roger Ailes
Bruno Waterfield / Telegraph:
Two killed in Belgium police anti-terror raid in Verviers
Two killed in Belgium police anti-terror raid in Verviers
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Guardian, Reuters and Mashable
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.
RELATED:
Cameron Joseph / The Hill:
GOP frets over immigration 2016 backlash
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
Cruz out at Senate campaign arm
Discussion:
Trail Blazers Blog and Prairie Weather
Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
Border fight shifts to GOP summit
Border fight shifts to GOP summit
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Bloomberg Politics and National Journal
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, The Huffington Post and Colorlines
RELATED:
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:
New York Times, Business Insider, U-T San Diego stories, Mediaite, The Glittering Eye and National Post
Lauren Duca / The Huffington Post:
This Will Be The Whitest Oscars Since 1998
This Will Be The Whitest Oscars Since 1998
Discussion:
NPR, TPNN, Truth Revolt and Althouse
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
RELATED:
Michael Bastasch / The Daily Caller:
SHOCK POLL: 57% Of Americans Say Global Warming Is Not A Threat
SHOCK POLL: 57% Of Americans Say Global Warming Is Not A Threat
Discussion:
American Spectator, TPNN and The Huffington Post
Eric Bradner / CNN:
Poll: Majority of Americans back Keystone pipeline
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
RELATED:
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
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
RELATED:
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.
John Hinderaker / Power Line:
Does the Democratic Party Have a Future? — When Republicans lose an election, the response from the press is immediate and overwhelming: Republicans need to move to the left and be more like Democrats. But somehow, when the Democrats' power slips away over a series of election cycles, the message is quite different.
Discussion:
Associated Press
RELATED:
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,” …
RELATED:
Sally Kohn / CNN:
Terrorism doesn't justify insulting Islam
Terrorism doesn't justify insulting Islam
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, VodkaPundit, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and The Federalist
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, Eschaton, Boing Boing and Hit & Run
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:
Washington Monthly and Raw Story
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
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, The American Interest, ThinkProgress, New York Times, Addicting Info, Daily Kos and FiveThirtyEight
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.
Discussion:
CNN, Deadspin, FreakOutNation, Friendly Atheist, Associated Press, JIMROMENESKO.COM and ABC News
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 and TheBlaze.com
T. Rees Shapiro / Washington Post:
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.
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Daily Mail and neo-neocon