memeorandum: Alabama mayor, councilman fight at City Hall (Phillip Lucas/Associated Press)

11:05 AM ET, December 16, 2015

Top Items:

Leon H. Wolf / RedState:

Ted Cruz Has a Problem — Up until last night, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) 100%'s refusal to attack Donald Trump was defensible. Without question, it was smart politics, as his rise in the polls would attest. But it was also defensible on the merits as a guy who is a solid conservative in good standing …

Discussion: SGBerman, Moe Lane, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Yahoo Politics and The Week

John Podhoretz / New York Post:

Chris Christie just made the GOP race a lot more interesting — After being in the minors for two debates, Chris Christie graduated to the main stage of the Republican clash for the presidential nomination Tuesday night. And he made the most of it. — The governor of New Jersey …

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

The 13 biggest moments of the GOP debate — The Republican presidential candidates went after each other right from the start of the CNN debate Tuesday night. Here are the most memorable and important moments: — 1. Trump rules out independent bid — Moderator Hugh Hewitt asked Donald Trump …

Discussion: ABC News, The Huffington Post, CANNONFIRE, Bloomberg.com news and Yahoo Politics

Frank Bruni / New York Times:

Cruz Blusters and Trump Sulks at Tense Republican Debate — Someone needs to explain carpets to Ted Cruz. — They're continuous stretches of material, usually rectangular, sometimes round. They're not staggered, interrupted, with stops, starts, holes and sharp jags so that they smother …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Prairie Weather and PoliticusUSA

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:

CNN Republican debate: Winners and losers — Washington (CNN)Republican presidential candidates sought to cement — or improve — their standings in a debate Tuesday night that comes less than two months before the first votes of the election season are cast.

Discussion: Towleroad and ImmigrationProf Blog

Leon H. Wolf / RedState:

Winners and Losers in Tonight's CNN/Salem Debate — This was, in many respects, the best debate of the season. The moderators kept the focus for the largest part on the most meaningful conflict of the night - which was on the differences between Cruz and Rubio.

Discussion: Daily Mail, Political Wire, whorunsGov, New York Times, Hit & Run and Slate

Will Rahn / The Daily Beast:

Was Marco Rubio Overrated All Along? — Marco Rubio was supposed to be the savior of the Republican establishment. But after Tuesday's debate, maybe we should start asking ourselves if this is really a two-way race between Cruz and Trump. — That was a rough debate for Marco Rubio.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Washington Post, National Review, Eschaton, Fox News Insider and Bloomberg Business

Shushannah Walshe / ABC News:

Fifth Republican Presidential Debate: 7 Moments That Mattered — Less than 200 miles away from the scene of this month's ISIS-inspired attack in San Bernardino, California, the nine leading Republican presidential candidates used the final presidential debate of the year to loudly beat the drums of war.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Politico, The Cook Political Report, Mediaite, Washington Post, The Hinterland Gazette, Bloomberg Business, Hot Air, Yahoo Politics, TVNewser and abc7.com

Bloomberg Business:
Terrorism Dominates Republican Debate But So Do Personal Attacks

Discussion: ABC News, Hot Air, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Salon, The Moderate Voice, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Caller and Bloomberg View

Michael Crowley / Politico: How Cruz and Rubio exposed the GOP's rift on foreign policy

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
GOP candidates have an unruly fight over serious issues, with no clear winner

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, The Atlantic, CNBC and Business Insider

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:
Bush v. Trump: Behind the Vegas rumble

Discussion: Bloomberg.com news, Washington Times, Yahoo Politics and The Hill

The Huffington Post:
Read The Latest Updates On The CNN GOP Debate

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, whorunsGov and Slantpoint

Paola Chavez / ABC News:
Best Lines of the Final GOP Debate of 2015

Discussion: abc7.com

New York Times:
In Republican Debate, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio Become Targets

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, The Verge, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Outside the Beltway, Poynter., Politico, Reuters, Political Wire, FiveThirtyEight, Trail Blazers Blog and National Review, more at Mediagazer »

Hunter Walker / Yahoo Politics:
Jeb Bush takes on Trump: 'You're not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency'

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Talking Points Memo and Bloomberg.com news

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
Trump meets with GOP mega-donor but says, 'I don't want his money'

Discussion: Political Wire, New York Times, Hot Air, USA Today, ThinkProgress, Mediaite and The Week

The Hill:

Ryan unveils sweeping $1.6T deal on government funding, taxes — Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) announced to the House Republican Conference on Tuesday night that leaders have reached a sweeping year-end deal on taxes and funding the government after days of intense negotiations.

Discussion: Politico, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo and Talking Points Memo

Bloomberg Business:
Congress Reaches Fiscal Agreement Ending U.S. Oil Export Ban

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Al Jazeera America and Common Dreams

Erin Kelly / USA Today:
Congress reaches deal on 2016 spending bill to fund federal government

Discussion: Political Wire, The Week and New York Times

ABC News:

Most Now Oppose an Assault Weapons Ban; Doubts About Stopping a Lone Wolf Run High (POLL)

Discussion: Vox, Outside the Beltway, The Hill, Politico and Washington Times

Washington Post:

5th Republican debate transcript, annotated: Who said what and what it meant — Nine Republican candidates are participating in tonight's 2016 presidential debate in Las Vegas: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), former Florida governor Jeb Bush, former tech executive Carly Fiorina …

Discussion: Shakesville, The Week, USA Today, Althouse, Hit & Run, Mother Jones and ACASignups.net

David Neumark / Wall Street Journal:

The Evidence Is Piling Up That Higher Minimum Wages Kill Jobs — President Obama says there is ‘no solid evidence.’ Yes there is—lots of it. — The movement to raise the federal minimum wage has become ever more ambitious. In 2013 proponents deemed $9 an hour acceptable; today the demand is for $15.

Discussion: Cafe Hayek

Michael A. Cohen / BostonGlobe.com:

Donald Trump and the ugliness in Las Vegas — LAS VEGAS — There was a lot of rancor and ugliness on display at Donald Trump's rally Monday night at the Westgate Casino. There were fights between protesters and an unforgiving hotel security team, accompanied by cries of “Sieg Heil” directed at Black Lives Matter protesters.

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Trump's protester problem

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Independent Journal, Breitbart, Mediaite and Instapundit

Todd Starnes / Fox News:

Students practice calligraphy by writing “There is no god but Allah” — The Riverheads High School calligraphy assignment (Courtesy The Schilling Show) — A Virginia school district is defending a classroom assignment that required students to practice calligraphy by writing the Muslim statement of faith, “There is no god but Allah.

Discussion: Pamela Geller and Jihad Watch

Jamie Sotonoff / Daily Herald:

Wheaton College puts hijab-wearing professor on leave … A Wheaton College political science professor, who had been wearing a hijab to show solidarity for Muslim women in America and inviting other women to join her, was put on administrative leave Tuesday by the evangelical Christian school.

Discussion: WGN-TV, myfox8.com and BizPac Review

Arturo Garcia / Raw Story:

Republican chickenhawk Huckabee speaks to youth: ‘Get off your butt’ and defeat ISIS — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) used a question about US military involvement in Syria to denounce not only Hillary Clinton, but young people during a Republican presidential candidate on Tuesday.