Good morning — and Happy Darwin Day! It’s also Lincoln’s birthday — he was born on a Kentucky farm on this date in 1809 — and, unofficially, Freedom to Marry Day, marking this date in 2004 when then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom directed the city to issue the first marriage licenses to gay couples in the US.
Stat of the day: 259.9 percent — the share of Florida’s income growth that was pocketed by the wealthiest households in the Sunshine State between 2009 and 2012, according to the Institute for Southern Studies.
Cautious optimism –> “Marathon” peace talks culminated in a ceasefire agreement for Ukraine today, with both sides saying they will pull heavy weapons back from the frontlines starting Sunday, CNN’s Laura Smith-Spark reports. A similar agreement in September broke down and hostilities continued.
“Randomgate” –> A week after interviewing Barack Obama about his views on foreign policy, Vox’s Matt Yglesias writes that their conversation revealed some “incredibly controversial opinions,” but the media honed in on an inconsequential gaffe — a poor choice of words. Yglesias adds that the media’s focus on gaffes is “sound and fury, signifying nothing and leaving nothing behind. Worse, it distracts from more consequential, but complicated, debates.” AND: Obama’s claim that climate change kills more people than terrorism got pushback from conservatives. But TNR’s Rebecca Leber looks at the best available data and concludes that deaths resulting from climate change completely dwarf those caused by terror attacks.
Behind the scenes –> The New Yorker’s Ken Auletta reports that “Tom Brokaw played a key role in NBC’s decision” to suspend embattled news anchor Brian Williams for exaggerating tales of daring in his past.
“I think word is spreading” –> Obamacare signups are surging in deep red states in the South — “with increases of nearly 100 percent in some states compared to last year,” writes The Hill’s Sarah Ferris. It’s noteworthy because “Republican governors in each of the states have made little or no effort to promote signups, leaving the outreach to state and national healthcare advocacy groups.”
“Limited circumstances” –> The administration’s request for authorization of US involvement in a war that’s already being fought in Syria may in some circumstances open the door to the use of ground troops. Cora Currier at The Intercept has more.
Science isn’t football –> Asked in London whether he believes in evolution, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker replied, “I’m going to punt on that.” The Daily Beast’s
Profiling –> “The CIA has a long history of crafting psychological and political profiles of international figures, with varying degrees of depth and accuracy,” writes Dave Gilson at MoJo. Gilson compiled some of the agency’s greatest hits.
Bad reporting, worse reality –> At RH Reality Check, Jessica Mason Pieklo writes that the Supreme Court did not reject a nursing woman’s claim of gender discrimination because “men can lactate too,” as was widely reported by the media. But the reality of the case shows how many hurdles need to be cleared just to bring such a suit.
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother –> At The New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert says that new studies detailing the relationship between humans and Neanderthals “seem to be arriving every few weeks now,” and collectively have “the unsettling effect of making them seem ever more like us.”
RIP, Bob Simon –> The veteran CBS News correspondent was 73. He died in an automobile collision here in Manhattan last night.
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