memeorandum: Facebook's Secret Chat SDK Lets Developers Build Messenger Bots (Josh Constine/TechCrunch)

7:40 AM ET, January 6, 2016

Top Items:

Trump says Cruz's Canadian birth could be ‘very precarious’ for GOP — LOWELL, Mass. — Donald Trump said in an interview that rival Ted Cruz's Canadian birthplace was a “very precarious” issue that could make the Texas senator vulnerable if he became the Republican presidential nominee.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Guardian, ABC News, NBC News, Raw Story, Bloomberg Business, Real Clear Politics, Hot Air, NPR, Trail Blazers Blog, addictinginfo.org, CNN, Business Insider, RedState, BuzzFeed and ballot-access.org

David Siders / Sacramento Bee:

Poll: Ted Cruz surges in California, catches Trump — Texas senator now in statistical tie with Donald Trump in late-voting California — Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina tumble behind Marco Rubio … Ted Cruz has surged to a statistical tie with Donald Trump among Republicans in California …

Discussion: RedState, Hullabaloo, ThinkProgress, Vox, Political Wire and BuzzFeed

The Hill:

GOP scrambles for response to Obama's gun control actions — Congressional Republicans are scrambling for a way to halt President Obama's new unilateral actions on gun control. — One powerful appropriator, Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas), has threatened to block federal funding for the Department …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, PoliticusUSA and Politico

CNN:

Emotional Obama calls for ‘sense of urgency’ to fight gun violence — Watch “Guns in America,” CNN's townhall meeting with President Obama on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET — (CNN)President Barack Obama grew emotional Tuesday as he made a passionate call for a national “sense of urgency” to limit gun violence.

Discussion: Speaker.gov, CNNMoney, TheBlaze.com, Raw Story, WTVR-TV, Politico, Yahoo Politics, Mediaite, Bearing Arms, Occupy Democrats, Washington Post, KFOR-TV, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, addictinginfo.org, Right Wing Watch, The Daily Banter, FiveThirtyEight and The Hill

New York Times:
Tearful Obama Outlines Steps to Curb Gun Deaths

Discussion: Politifact.com Truth …, Washington Post, The Marshall Project, Hot Air, NBC News, CNBC, NPR, Towleroad, MichelleMalkin.com, ThinkProgress, Associated Press, National Review and FOX News Radio

Euan McKirdy / CNN:

North Korea says it successfully conducts hydrogen bomb test — Hong Kong (CNN)North Korea says it has successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test in a region of the country where it conducted three previous nuclear tests. — If the claim is verified, a hydrogen bomb test …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Vox, Fox 59, Hit & Run, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Instapundit and The Daily Caller

BBC:

Tremor detected near North Korea nuclear site — A 5.1 magnitude earthquake has been detected in North Korea, close to a site previously used for nuclear tests. — Chinese and South Korea officials said there were indications the tremor was man-made, meaning the North may have carried out a new nuclear test.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Claire Phipps / Guardian:

North Korea nuclear test: regime says it has successfully detonated hydrogen bomb - live — North Korea says leader Kim Jong-un signed the order for the hydrogen bomb test on 3 January. — The test “worked perfectly”, according to the official announcement.

Discussion: all

The Local:

Cover-up claim over NYE mass sexual assaults — Men of ‘Arab background’ were likely responsible for sexual assaults on dozens of women in central Cologne over the New Year, police said on Monday - as a social media storm accused police and media of a cover-up.

Discussion: The Independent, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, The Daily Caller, Instapundit, Pamela Geller, New York Times and RT

BBC:
Germany shocked by Cologne New Year gang assaults on women

Discussion: Betsy's Page, Washington Post, Doug Ross, Mashable, Patterico's Pontifications, Oath Keepers, Mediaite, The Local, American Spectator, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and Althouse

Justin Huggler / Telegraph:
German women report string of sexual assaults by ‘Arab and North African men’

Discussion: Slate, New York Times, The Last Refuge, The Local and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Melissa Eddy / New York Times:
Reports of Attacks on Women in Germany Heighten Tension Over Migrants

Discussion: BBC, Bloomberg Business, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Power Line, Althouse and National Review

Spiegel Online:
Dozens of Women Sexually Assaulted in Cologne

Discussion: Slantpoint and Washington Free Beacon

Les Zaitz / Oregonian:

Sheriff says steps being taken to end militants' occupation of federal compound — BURNS - Steps are in motion to resolve militants' occupation of a federal compound outside of town, Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said Tuesday. — “There are things being done,” Ward said. “It's not visible to the public.”

Discussion: Balloon Juice, MSNBC and American Power

Stewart Rhodes / Oath Keepers:
URGENT Warning on OR Standoff: Military Special OP Assets Have Been Assigned for Standoff.

Discussion: The Free Thought Project, Freedom Outpost, Raw Story and Right Wing Watch

Guardian:
Authorities plan to cut off power to militia at occupied Oregon refuge

Discussion: Mediaite, addictinginfo.org, Daily Kos, Raw Story, AlterNet, Occupy Democrats, Shakesville, The Mahablog, Talking Points Memo and Balloon Juice

Lydia O'Connor / The Huffington Post:
Oregon Militants Say They're Getting Worse Treatment Than Black Lives Matter Movement

Discussion: Slantpoint, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, ThinkProgress, Salon, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CNN, JustOneMinute and Oregonian

Hilary Sargent / Boston Globe:

Meet the chef who decides what Tom Brady eats—and what he definitely doesn't — Allen Campbell talks about why our quarterback rarely eats tomatoes, where he shops for groceries, and why he doesn't serve mushrooms. Ever. — Allen Campbell has never been anything but a chef.

Discussion: Daily Mail, New York Magazine, all, AOL, USA Today and The Daily Caller

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Trump quietly builds a data juggernaut — Donald Trump's rivals cling to the hope that the surprise GOP presidential front-runner lacks the know-how to lure supporters to the polls, but POLITICO has learned that his campaign several months ago assembled an experienced data team …

Discussion: Political Wire and The Last Refuge

New York Times:

Blizzard Buried Some Dairy Cows in the Snow; 35,000 Die — LUBBOCK, Tex. — After a mild and dry Christmas Day, a fierce blizzard whipped across the rolling plains of West Texas and eastern New Mexico. The wind blew mercilessly for 48 hours, leaving snow drifts as high as 14 feet.

Discussion: Gizmodo and Mother Jones

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

Lots of Rich People Seem to Be in Tough Financial Straits — Here's a fairly remarkable poll from Gallup about financial well-being. The direction of the answers is unsurprising: if you earn more, you're more likely to have enough money to buy the things you need, and less likely to be cutting back on spending.

Discussion: Gallup, The Reality-Based Community and Unfogged

Los Angeles Times:

Rams' relocation application says it's best for long-term success in L.A. — The Rams' proposed stadium in Inglewood is lit up at sunset in this artist rendering. — The Inglewood stadium proposal backed by the St. Louis Rams is vastly superior to the rival plan in Carson …

Discussion: ProFootballTalk, FOX2now.com and KTLA

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Facebook's Secret Chat SDK Lets Developers Build Messenger Bots — M won't be the only artificial intelligence on Facebook Messenger. Facebook has given some developers access to an unannounced Chat SDK that allows them to build interactive experiences and “bots” in Messenger for shopping …

Discussion: Business Insider, Gizmodo, Engadget and The Verge

Federal Trade Commission:

Lumosity to Pay $2 Million to Settle FTC Deceptive Advertising Charges for Its “Brain Training” Program — Company Claimed Program Would Sharpen Performance in Everyday Life and Protect Against Cognitive Decline — The creators and marketers of the Lumosity “brain training” …

Discussion: Engadget, New York Magazine, Gizmodo, The Verge, Washington Post, STAT, Mashable and CBS Boston

Kurt Wagner / Re/code:

Twitter Considering 10,000-Character Limit for Tweets — Longer tweets are coming soon to Twitter. — Twitter is building a new feature that will allow users to tweet things longer than the traditional 140-character limit, and the company is targeting a launch date toward the end of Q1 …

Discussion: RT, The Hill, Business Insider, New York Times, Gizmodo, Guardian, NBC News, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, all, The Verge, USA Today, Engadget, WISH-TV, SlashGear, Mashable, VentureBeat, Scripting News and Unfogged, more at Mediagazer »

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Trump: It Would Be Interesting To Ask Bill Clinton The Difference Between Him And Cosby — Trump added that he respects women and that he would protect them. — Hello, it's me. — David Duprey / ASSOCIATED PRESS — w.soundcloud.com — Donald Trump says it would be “very interesting” …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Eliza Collins / Politico: Trump: Bill Clinton should be asked if he's like Bill Cosby

David Edwards / Raw Story:

Fox host: President Obama put a ‘raw onion’ in his podium so he could cry fake tears for kids killed by guns — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Fox News host Andrea Tantaros suggested on Tuesday President Barack Obama had used a “raw onion” to produce fake tears for shooting victims during …

Discussion: LiberalAmerica.org, The Huffington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog and Politico

Reason:

You Know Less Than You Think About Guns — The misleading uses, flagrant abuses, and shoddy statistics of social science about gun violence — Brian Doherty from the February 2016 issue - view article in the Digital Edition — “There is a gun for roughly every man, woman, and child in America …

Discussion: Hit & Run, EconLog and Vox

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:

This crowd shot from Donald Trump's Massachusetts rally is absolutely mind-boggling — Donald Trump went to Lowell, Mass. — a town about five miles south of the New Hampshire border — for one of his now trademark big-arena rallies on Monday night. This is what the crowd looked like per WaPo's Jenna Johnson.