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7:30 PM ET, January 16, 2016

Top Items:

UPDATES: Jason Rezaian and 3 Other US Inmates Freed by Iran — TEHRAN (FNA)- 4 Iranian-American nationals who were held for various charges in Iran have been freed under a prisoners swap deal, Tehran's prosecutor announced Saturday afternoon. — “Based on an approval of the Supreme National …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Post, New York Times, Business Insider, The Iran Primer, Slantpoint, The Gateway Pundit, Liberty Unyielding, Taylor Marsh, RedState, The Daily Caller, Townhall.com, The Iran Project and The Week

New York Times:

Iran Says It Has Released Four People in a Prisoner Swap — Iran's judiciary said Saturday that that it had released four Iranian-American nationals as part of a prisoner swap with the United States. The Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian was among the prisoners freed, Iranian media reported.

Discussion: Power Line, irna.ir, Associated Press, ThinkProgress, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, addictinginfo.org, Washington Post, The Last Tradition, Allen B. West and MSNBC

Washington Post:

Iran to free Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, 3 others, Iranian reports say — VIENNA — Iran will release Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian and three other detained Iranian Americans on Saturday in exchange for seven people imprisoned or charged in the United States …

Discussion: Fox News, Business Insider, Allen B. West, Daily Wire, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, PoliticusUSA, Religion News Service, The Last Tradition, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, neo-neocon, Liberty Unyielding and rubber hose

Zeke J Miller / TIME:

Marco Rubio Condemns Prisoner Swap for Post Journalist — An exchange would incentivize “people to take Americans hostage and prisoner” — (Johnston, Iowa) — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said Saturday morning he was not aware of the specifics of the release of four Americans held prisoner in Iran …

Discussion: The Hill, alan.com, Bloomberg Business, Raw Story, Mediaite, Washington Post, Guardian and Bloomberg.com

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

US finds Iran in compliance with deal, lifts nuclear sanctions — Iran has taken sufficient steps to prevent it from building a nuclear weapon, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog certified Saturday, opening the door for the United States and countries around the world to lift sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.

Discussion: New York Times, Politico and The Moderate Voice

iaea.org:
IAEA Director General's Statement on Iran

Discussion: New York Times, KTLA and New Articles

CNN:
5 Americans released by Iran, 4 as part of prisoner swap, official says

Discussion: The Daily Caller, NBC News, WTVR-TV, addictinginfo.org, National Review, Hot Air, FOX2now.com and The Last Tradition

Carol Morello / Washington Post:
Post reporter Jason Rezaian and others to be freed in prisoner swap, according to Iranian media

Discussion: Vox, 89.3 KPCC, NBC News, Slantpoint, Weasel Zippers, Refinery29, alan.com, American Spectator, The Right Scoop, The Iran Project and Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »

Jonathan Tirone / Bloomberg Business:
Iran Sheds Economic Sanctions Yoke as Nuclear Deal Ratified

Discussion: The Week

BBC:
Jason Rezaian and three other US prisoners freed in Iran

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Resurgent, alan.com and Outside the Beltway

Maïa de la Baume / Politico:
Iran complies with nuclear deal, sanctions lifted

Discussion: Politico

Saeed Kamali Dehghan / Guardian:
Iran releases Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian in prisoner swap with US

Discussion: Slantpoint, Hot Air and Mashable

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Ted Cruz taunts Donald Trump over his slipping lead and Twitter habits — MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.—Hours before Ted Cruz and Donald Trump were slated to appear here at a tea party gathering, Cruz unloaded on Trump, taunting him over his poll numbers and ratcheting up attacks on his conservative credibility.

Discussion: Political Wire and Trail Blazers Blog

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Former RNC Chair: Trump Will Be The Republican Nominee — No one can stop the Trump train he says. — Mark Wilson / Getty Images — w.soundcloud.com — Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele says he believes Donald Trump will be the Republican Party's nominee in the general election.

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Republicans now see a Trump-Cruz race, with time for a shift running out — As the presidential primary moves into a more urgent and combative phase, there is growing acceptance among Republicans, including the Washington and financial elite, that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are the two candidates …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, RedState, The Mahablog, Daily Kos and The Resurgent

David Atkins / Washington Monthly:
Why We Should Celebrate The Trump-Cruz Ascendancy

Discussion: Booman Tribune, New York Times and Balloon Juice

Will Rahn / The Daily Beast:
Face It: It's a Two-Man Race for the GOP Nomination Now

Discussion: BarbWire.com, Washington Post, Rush Limbaugh and Wall Street Journal

Annie Karni / Politico:

Clinton surrogate to demand Sanders release medical records — A top surrogate for Hillary Clinton is prepping a new attack in an intensifying and increasingly personal war against rival Bernie Sanders — calling on the 74-year-old to release his medical records before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Kristen East / Politico:

Sanders calls on Michigan Gov. Snyder to resign over Flint water crisis — Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday called on Rick Snyder to resign, charging that the Republican Michigan governor knowingly allowed a lead-poisoning crisis in Flint to continue. — “There are no excuses,” Sanders said in a campaign release.

Discussion: Mediaite, Bloomberg.com, New York Times and MLive.com

Moe Lane / RedState:
Bernie Sanders yells at Wikipedia, cloud over... campaign logos?

Discussion: Boing Boing, Washington Examiner and Instapundit

Patrick Healy / New York Times:
Clinton Campaign Underestimated Sanders Strengths, Allies Say

Discussion: Political Wire, The Week and Slantpoint

USA Today:
Sanders a hit with Millennial women

Discussion: RedState, Weasel Zippers, The Hill and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Sasha Goldstein / New York Daily News:

Third teacher from same Louisiana school busted for sex with student after female teen fesses up — A Louisiana teacher faces charges for a year-long relationship with a 16-year-old female student, police in St. Charles Parish said. — Kimberly Naquin, 26, is a teacher at Destrehan High …

Washington Post:

District leaders furious Walmart breaking promise to build stores in poor neighborhoods — Walmart abruptly announced Friday that it was abandoning a promise to build stores in Washington's poorest neighborhoods, an agreement that had been key to the deal allowing the retailer to begin operating in the nation's capital.

Discussion: Forbes and news.walmart.com

Moira Weigel / New York Times:

5 fast facts: Taiwan's first female president Tsai Ing-wen — Is a new “female leadership style” on the rise in Southeast Asia? The opposition candidate for the elections in Taiwan says so — On Saturday, Taiwan elected its first female president. Like almost every female political leader …

Discussion: PinkNews and Joe.My.God.

Austin Ramzy / New York Times:
Tsai Ing-wen Elected President of Taiwan, First Woman to Hold Office

Discussion: CNN, The National Interest and The Week

BBC: Tsai Ing-wen elected Taiwan's first female president

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:

Iran: ‘American Sailors Started Crying After Arrest’ — A senior Iranian military commander in charge of the country's Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that the 10 U.S. sailors who were recently captured and subsequently released by the Islamic Republic “started crying after [their] arrest …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Last Tradition and BizPac Review