memeorandum: Great Lakes ice cover developing; Earliest in over 40 years (Mark Torregrossa/MLive.com)

4:40 PM ET, November 25, 2014

Top Items:

Jamelle Bouie / Slate:

Why Darren Wilson was never going to be indicted for killing Michael Brown. — The first Ferguson protests had two slogans: “Hands up, don't shoot”—referring to Michael Brown's final actions before he was killed—and “Justice for Michael Brown.” And when you asked protesters what they meant by …

Discussion: The Federalist, BillMoyers.com, PoliticusUSA, New York Times, Mother Jones, ThinkProgress, Reuters, Associated Press, The Dish, Guardian and Talking Points Memo

Ben Casselman / FiveThirtyEight:

It's Incredibly Rare For A Grand Jury To Do What Ferguson's Just Did — A St. Louis County grand jury on Monday decided not to indict Ferguson, Missouri, police Officer Darren Wilson in the August killing of teenager Michael Brown. The decision wasn't a surprise — leaks from the grand jury …

Wbastone / The Smoking Gun:

Michael Brown's Stepfather Urged Protesters To “Burn This Bitch Down” After Grand Jury Announcement — Buster — Michael Brown's stepfather last night repeatedly urged protesters to “Burn this bitch down” after a prosecutor announced that no criminal charges would be filed against the Ferguson …

Discussion: Liberaland, Mediaite, FOX News Radio and National Review

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Witnesses Saw Michael Brown Attacking-and Others Saw Him Giving Up — A grand jury in St. Louis County, Missouri, has ruled that there is no probable cause to believe Officer Darren Wilson committed a crime when he killed Michael Brown. Put another way, in their estimation …

Discussion: emptywheel, Talking Points Memo, Gawker, CNN, New York Magazine, Mashable, The Daily Caller and Outside the Beltway

Meghan Keneally / ABC News:

Exclusive: George Stephanopoulos Interviews Police Officer Darren Wilson … In an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, police officer Darren Wilson breaks his silence about the shooting of Michael Brown. — Wilson told ABC News that he did not execute Brown on August 9 …

Discussion: Liberaland, Raw Story, abc7news.com and Scared Monkeys

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Ferguson Library Sees ‘Staggering’ Spike In Donations After Grand Jury Decision — The Ferguson, Mo. Public Library saw a “staggering” spike in donations Tuesday in the wake of widespread unrest in the St. Louis suburb. — While area schools cancelled classes for the day following …

Discussion: Time, KSDK-TV and Mediaite

Alana Horowitz / The Huffington Post:

Ferguson Prosecutor Robert McCulloch Gives Bizarre Press Conference — St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch announced on Monday night that Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted for the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in a press conference that many found baffling, unwieldy and inflammatory.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Yahoo! News, Time, ABC News, Hit & Run, Above the Law and Raw Story

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
Legal Experts Explain Why The Ferguson Grand Jury Was Set Up For Failure

Discussion: The New Republic, National Review, Hot Air and Lawyers, Guns & Money

KSDK-TV:
Last Slide — He said gas lines were another challenge faced …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Weekly Standard, MichelleMalkin.com, CBS St. Louis, Reuters, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, NOLA River, CNN, Time, The Daily Caller, Gawker and Scared Monkeys

New York Times:
After Violent Night in Ferguson, State Acts to Protect People and Property

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Fox News Insider, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Ed Driscoll, The Other McCain, Twitchy and New York Magazine

Brian Beutler / The New Republic:
Go to Ferguson Right Now, President Obama, and Give Your Biggest Race Speech Yet

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Gigaom, Washington Post, Questions and Observations, Fox News, New York Times, Bloomberg Politics, Hit & Run, Outside the Beltway, LiberalAmerica.org, Scared Monkeys and Christian Science Monitor

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Darren Wilson Told Grand Jury That Michael Brown Looked Like A ‘Demon’

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Dish, Fox News Insider and Mashable

CNN:
Streets of Ferguson smolder after grand jury decides not to indict officer

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, FOX2now.com and The PJ Tatler

Maria L. La Ganga / Los Angeles Times:
Darren Wilson, recalling shooting, said Michael Brown looked like a demon

Discussion: Conservatives4Palin and Washington Post

Lee Enterprises / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Darren Wilson issues statement reacting to grand jury decision

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, The Huffington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, New York Times, Raw Story, Colorlines, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, Time, The PJ Tatler and USA Today

Jonathan Capehart / Washington Post:
The crisis of leadership and confidence in Ferguson, Mo.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Daily Banter, Daily Kos, The Dish, Firedoglake and Daily Signal

Kathleen Hunter / Bloomberg.com:

Democrats Erred by Acting on Health Care in 2010, Schumer Says — Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) — Democrats made a mistake by passing President Barack Obama's health-care law in 2010 instead of focusing more directly on helping the middle class, third-ranking U.S. Senate Democrat Charles Schumer said today.

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway, Josh Blackman's Blog and Political Wire

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:

Schumer: Democrats Screwed Up By Passing Obamacare In 2010 — New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that Democrats made a mistake by setting their sights on health care reform early in President Barack Obama's first term, arguing that his party should have focused on fixing the economy first.

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Mediaite

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:
How To Talk To Your Tea Party Uncle About Obamacare This Thanksgiving

Discussion: American Spectator and Daily Signal

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Schumer slams ‘sensationalist’ press

Discussion: Hot Air

Sen. Rand Paul / TIME:

Rand Paul: The Politicians Are To Blame in Ferguson — The failure of the War on Poverty has created a culture of violence and put police in a nearly impossible situation. — We are witnessing a tragedy in Ferguson. This city in Missouri has become a focal point for so much.

Discussion: Bloomberg Politics

Tony Romm / Politico:
Rand Paul on Ferguson: Criminal justice reforms part of answer

Discussion: Hit & Run

Ron Christie / The Daily Beast:
Justice Was Served in Ferguson—This Isn't Jim Crow America

Discussion: Hot Air, Betsy's Page and Conservatives4Palin

The Hill:

How Obama and Chuck Hagel reached the end of the line — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's exit from the Obama administration came after weeks of discussion with President Obama over what role he would play in shaping defense policy over the last two years of his term.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and RealClearPolitics Videos

Glenn Thrush / Politico:
How Obama Dumped Hagel

Discussion: Lawfare, ABC News, National Review, Wall Street Journal, ABC News and Foreign Policy

Ken Kurson / The New York Observer:

Sen. Ted Cruz, '16 Presidential Hopeful, Woos New York Jewish Donors — 'I don't think I'm all that conservative'; If not a love match, at least some serious flirting — Ted Cruz addresses a small lunch group, including from left Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Michael Steinhardt, Ken Abramowitz and Mort Klein.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, US News and The PJ Tatler

Yascha Mounk / New York Times:

Is Harvard Unfair to Asian-Americans? — CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — NEARLY a century ago, Harvard had a big problem: Too many Jews. By 1922, Jews accounted for 21.5 percent of freshmen, up from 7 percent in 1900 and vastly more than at Yale or Princeton. In the Ivy League, only Columbia …

Discussion: National Review and The Dish

Sarah Ferris / The Hill:

‘Stupidity’ consultant agrees to testify — Jonathan Gruber, the former ObamaCare adviser in hot water for his comments about the “stupidity of the American voter,” has agreed to testify at a House panel next month, setting up a healthcare showdown in what could be the final week of this Congress.

Discussion: Hot Air, Politico, Prairie Weather, Washington Times, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and National Review

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

Obama's Immigration Action Reinvigorates Tea Party — WASHINGTON — In all its fury and unanimity, the response from the right over President Obama's decision to change immigration policy without the consent of Congress was the manifestation of a major transformation inside the Tea Party.

Discussion: Political Wire

New York Times:

F.D.A. to Require Calorie Count, Even for Popcorn at the Movies — WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration will announce sweeping rules on Tuesday that will require chain restaurants, movie theaters and pizza parlors across the country to post calorie counts on their menus.

Discussion: Fitness & Nutrition, The Verge, New York Magazine, Gothamist, Time and The Incidental Economist