Top Items:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Obama tries to steal GOP thunder — President Obama, no longer handcuffed by worries about vulnerable red-state Democratic senators, has been putting Republicans on their back foot. — The GOP hoped Obama would be humbled by the midterm elections that saw Democrats swept from power in the Senate.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Politico, Prairie Weather, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Political Wire
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Peter Baker / New York Times:
In State of the Union Address, Obama Is to Move Past Hardship and Reset Goals — WASHINGTON — With the American job market surging to life, President Obama plans to use his State of the Union address on Tuesday night to effectively declare victory over the economic hard times that dominated …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, Balloon Juice, NPR and White House.gov Blog
Politico:
Just another Obama speech — Lawmakers are already complaining about what they won't hear in the president's speech. — When President Barack Obama appears before Congress for Tuesday's State of the Union, he'll be facing the largest group of Republican lawmakers in more than 80 years …
Discussion:
waysandmeans.house.gov, Daily Kos and New York Times
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Obama's Social Media Team Tries to Widen Audience for State of the Union Address
Obama's Social Media Team Tries to Widen Audience for State of the Union Address
Discussion:
ABC News, Zap2it, Washington Post, Washington Times, Political Wire, ABC News and The Huffington Post
Julia O'Donoghue / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Bobby Jindal doubles down on ‘no-go zone’ comments, even as Fox News backs off similar statements — Gov. Bobby Jindal was interviewed by a CNN reporter about controversial comments he made about Muslim “no-go zones” in Europe. — Gov. Bobby Jindal continued to claim Muslim “no-go zones” …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, Political Wire and The Week
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Washington Free Beacon:
MSNBC Guest: Bobby Jindal ‘Trying to Scrub Some of the Brown Off His Skin’ — Lean forward? MSNBC upped the ante in their quest to attack Republicans on Monday when a guest made a racially charged attack on Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday. — Gov. Jindal is in London this week …
Discussion:
CNNMoney.com, Washington Times, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Hot Air, TPNN, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and RedState
Molly Balkenbush / fox4kc.com:
9-month-old dies after being shot in the head by 5-year-old brother in NW Mo. — ELMO, Mo. - An infant has died after being shot in the head in Northwest Missouri. — According to the Nodaway County Sheriff's Office, the nine-month-old baby boy was shot shortly before nine o'clock Monday morning …
Discussion:
FreakOutNation, Raw Story, Liberaland, WTVR-TV, Jezebel, WHNT-TV and Crime Blog
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Brian Burnes / Kansas City Star:
Northwest Missouri boy fatally shoots 9-month-old brother
Northwest Missouri boy fatally shoots 9-month-old brother
Discussion:
Associated Press and FOX2now.com
New York Post:
ISIS executes 13 teens for watching soccer — demonstrators chant pro-Islamic State slogans in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, northwest of Baghdad. — ISIS jihadists publicly executed 13 teenage boys for watching a soccer match.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Washington Times
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Jordan Schachtel / BREITBART.COM:
German Embed Reporter: ISIS Plans On Killing ‘Hundreds of Millions’ in ‘Religious Cleansing’
German Embed Reporter: ISIS Plans On Killing ‘Hundreds of Millions’ in ‘Religious Cleansing’
Discussion:
Allen B. West, Balloon Juice, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Vox Popoli
Ronald Brownstein / National Journal:
Where Obama Has—and Has Not—Recovered — And what the president's changing fortunes could mean for the 2016 contest. — President Obama heads into his State of the Union address tonight enjoying reviving approval ratings from key groups in his coalition, but still facing entrenched skepticism …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
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Washington Post:
Poll: Rising economy boosts Obama's standing on eve of the State of the Union
Poll: Rising economy boosts Obama's standing on eve of the State of the Union
Discussion:
Associated Press, Politico, WHNT-TV, Gallup, Taylor Marsh, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Week, Talking Points Memo, CNN, Mediaite, Bloomberg Politics, Liberal Values and Political Wire
Gary Langer / ABC News:
An Improving Economy Gives Obama His Game Back
An Improving Economy Gives Obama His Game Back
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA and Addicting Info
Gavyn Davies:
The Swiss currency bombshell - cause and effect — The completely unexpected decision of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to remove the 1.20 floor on the Swiss franc against the euro on Thursday was one of the biggest currency shocks since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Bloomberg View, Wall Street Journal, FT Alphaville and Marginal REVOLUTION
Scott Wise / WTVR-TV:
How a vacuum salesman invited to a birthday party for a child with autism moved the room to tears — CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Ever since he was a two-year-old boy, Dylan Greene has had a passion for vacuum cleaners. Dylan, who has autism, was never into “normal” toys, his mother Jodie said.
Discussion:
WNEP-TV, New York's PIX11 and FOX2now.com
William M. Welch / USA Today:
Pope: Catholics need not breed ‘like rabbits’ — Pope Francis, after a visit to the largest Catholic nation in Asia, says Catholics may have a moral responsibility to limit the number of their children and need not reproduce “like rabbits.” — But the pope also reaffirmed the church's ban …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Jezebel and Hullabaloo
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Rachel Zoll / Associated Press:
Pope's climate-change stand deepens conservatives' distrust
Pope's climate-change stand deepens conservatives' distrust
Discussion:
The Federalist
New York Times:
Puzzling Death of a Prosecutor Grips Argentina — BUENOS AIRES — Police sentries guarded the federal prosecutor's luxury high-rise building. His door on the 13th floor had been locked from the inside, and a gun with a spent cartridge was found on the floor near his body. There was no suicide note.
Discussion:
Guardian, The Week, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Times of Israel and Algemeiner.com
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Christopher Dickey / The Daily Beast:
Did Iran Murder Argentina's Crusading Prosecutor Alberto Nisman?
Did Iran Murder Argentina's Crusading Prosecutor Alberto Nisman?
Discussion:
Power Line, The Times of Israel, Bloomberg View, Weekly Standard and The Daily Caller
David Edwards / Raw Story:
Ben Carson reminds C-SPAN on MLK Day: Don't forget that Obama is ‘half white’ — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Potential Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson argued on Monday that President Barack Obama might not have ruined the opportunity to elect future black presidents …
Discussion:
Bloomberg Politics, FreakOutNation, WJLA-TV and Addicting Info
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Steven Mufson / Washington Post:
On race, Obama sticks to a game plan of seeking steady progress within the system
On race, Obama sticks to a game plan of seeking steady progress within the system
Discussion:
Power Line and alicublog
Holly Yan / CNN:
Up to 50,000 gallons of oil spilled in Yellowstone River; residents told not to drink water — Story highlights — (CNN)A Montana pipeline burst sent as much as 50,400 gallons of oil gushing into the Yellowstone River, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency.
Discussion:
Reuters, The Week and Business Insider
Soeren Kern / Gatestone Institute:
European ‘No-Go’ Zones: Fact or Fiction? — Part 1: France … The jihadist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French magazine known for lampooning Islam, has cast a spotlight on so-called no-go zones in France and other European countries. — No-go zones are Muslim-dominated …
Discussion:
RedState
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Obama trolls, talks trash with a purpose — Politically, President Obama has never been weaker, after losing both House and Senate. At the same time, he has never talked tougher. There is a connection between the two. — Obama recently told Democratic lawmakers that he's going to “play offense” in coming months.
Discussion:
VodkaPundit
Katherine Skiba / Chicago Tribune:
Duckworth says she's considering Senate bid against Kirk — Rep. Tammy Duckworth ended a political guessing game Monday by making it official that she is exploring a challenge to Sen. Mark Kirk in 2016. — Duckworth, a Democrat from Hoffman Estates, told the Tribune she is considering …
Discussion:
Jezebel and Bloomberg Politics
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Emily Cahn / Roll Call:
Tammy Duckworth: I'm ‘Taking a Real Serious Look’ at Senate Run
Tammy Duckworth: I'm ‘Taking a Real Serious Look’ at Senate Run
Discussion:
Politico and OnPolitics