‘Crisis Status’ in South Korea After North Shells Island  —  SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean military went to “crisis status” on Tuesday and threatened military strikes after the North fired dozens of shells at a South Korean island, killing two of the South's soldiers and setting off …

New poll undercuts GOP claims of a midterm mandate  —  WASHINGTON — A majority of Americans want the Congress to keep the new health care law or actually expand it, despite Republican claims that they have a mandate from the people to kill it, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll.

Taliban Leader in Secret Talks Was an Impostor  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — For months, the secret talks unfolding between Taliban and Afghan leaders to end the war appeared to be showing promise, if only because of the appearance of a certain insurgent leader at one end of the table …

Nancy Pelosi to fly commercial  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will give up more than just the majority in the next Congress — she'll be stripped of her right to use military aircraft.  —  Since becoming speaker in 2007, Pelosi has used Air Force jets for flights …

Corporate Profits Were the Highest on Record Last Quarter  —  The nation's workers may be struggling, but American companies just had their best quarter ever.  —  American businesses brought in $1.66 trillion at an annual rate in the third quarter, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday.

CABLE RAT RACE: Palin Drops Big In Week 2; ‘Walking Dead’ Steady  —  Sarah Palin lost almost half of her premiere audience in the second airing of her TLC reality series Sarah Palin's Alaska.  On Sunday, the series executive produced by Mark Burnett, drew 3 million viewers.

BARBARA BUSH EXPLAINS MISCARRIAGE ANECDOTE  —  George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush appeared on CNN's “Larry King Live” Monday night, and George said that the two were “living a quiet life” (even though George said he still planned on sky-diving in 2014 to mark his 90th birthday, an endeavor he undertakes every year).

Washington Post hires conservative blogger  —  The Washington Post boasts some of the top liberal bloggers, such as Ezra Klein and Greg Sargent.  Now the paper's bringing a conservative into the blog stable.  —  The Post has hired Jennifer Rubin, previously with Commentary magazine …

My TSA Anti-Rant  —  I am so going to regret writing this post.  For those of you who used to respect me, please just chalk it up to food poisoning or early onset Alzheimer's or whatever.  But here goes.  —  I hate the TSA screening process.  Everyone hates the TSA screening process.

Exclusive: In Letter, Gates Dismissed McCain's Concerns About DADT Study  —  In late September, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates expressing his concerns that the Pentagon's Working Group review of Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was operating under the condition that …

Effort for Liberal Balance to G.O.P. Groups Begins  —  In what may prove a significant development for the 2012 elections, David Brock, a prominent Democratic political operative, says he has amassed $4 million in pledges over the last few weeks and is moving quickly to hire a staff to set …

The future of Social Security in one graph  —  This comes from the Strengthen Social Security Campaign, and it lists the impact of all of the various deficit-reduction plans on a medium-income Social Security beneficiary (click for a larger version):  —  It's worth noting that the “current law” …

Sharpton Calls For FCC Action Against Rush Limbaugh  —  SHARP-LY REPRESSIVE  —  Reverend Al: Time For FCC Crackdown On Rush  —  With Democrats holding a majority on the FCC's board, lefties are salivating over a post-election opportunity to quietly impose a crackdown on free speech in talk radio.

Sarah Palin's Mike Huckabee problem  —  1. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Monday that Sarah Palin might well “run away” with the Republican nomination for president.  —  It's funny Huckabee should say such a thing, because he's got a lot of say over whether she does just that.

NBC Names Ground Zero Mosque Developer a “Person of the Year”  —  NBC and its affiliates have been trounced in ratings over the last several years.  With stations like MSNBC under their belt and liberals such as Matt Lauer and Keith Olbermann hosting programs, NBC is clearly disconnected with the average American.

The voter fraud hall of shame: Milwaukee voter fraud conviction makes ACORN's 2010 total at least 15  —  Yet another former ACORN employee was convicted of voter fraud last week.  This brings the total number of convictions for former workers from the embattled group to at least 15 so far this year.

Senator considering run for Chicago mayor  —  Washington (CNN) - Illinois Sen. Roland Burris is considering running for mayor of Chicago, potentially joining a crowded field of candidates that includes an ex-senator, current congressman and President Obama's former chief of staff.

Go ahead, touch my junk  —  In the past couple of weeks, as a result of new rules and new equipment just coming on line, the Transportation Security Administration has surpassed the Internal Revenue Service as America's least popular government agency and a very symbol of ... nearly everything …