DeMint will force readings of START Treaty and omnibus bill  —  Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) will force readings of both a nuclear arms treaty and $1.1 trillion spending bill that could eat up hours of the remaining lame-duck Congress.  —  DeMint will invoke a senatorial privilege to ask …

FOXLEAKS: Fox boss ordered staff to cast doubt on climate science  —  In the midst of global climate change talks last December, a top Fox News official sent an email questioning the “veracity of climate change data” and ordering the network's journalists to “refrain from asserting that the planet has warmed …

Congress' Job Approval Rating Worst in Gallup History  —  Thirteen percent approve of the way Congress is handling its job  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' assessment of Congress has hit a new low, with 13% saying they approve of the way Congress is handling its job.

House approves 'Don't ask' repeal, 250-175  —  The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed legislation to repeal the ban on openly gay people serving in the military.  —  Lawmakers approved a standalone repeal bill by a vote of 250-175.  Openly gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) gaveled the vote closed.

Financial Crisis Panel In Turmoil As Republicans Defect; Plan To Blame Government For Crisis  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … The four Republicans appointed to the commission investigating the root causes of the financial crisis plan to bypass the bipartisan panel and release their own report Wednesday …

FL SCHOOL BOARD SHOOTER POSTED SUICIDE NOTE RAILING AGAINST THE RICH, LINKING TO MEDIA MATTERS  —  Clay Duke, the man who opened fire on a Florida school board Tuesday, posted a “last testament” on Facebook decrying the wealthy and linking to a slew of progressive sites including theprogressivemind.info and MediaMatters.org.

Attention GOP Porkers: Hatch Had His Earmark Requests Stripped From Spending Bill  —  Republican Senators whose earmark requests pepper the much-maligned omnibus spending bill are having a really hard time explaining how they went from requesting earmarks earlier this year to decrying the legislation... because of all the earmarks.

The inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning's detention  —  (updated below)  —  Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old U.S. Army Private accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, has never been convicted of that crime, nor of any other crime.  Despite that, he has been detained …

America's Most Walkable Cities  —  The great economic reset we are in the midst of extends even to Americans' choices of places to live.  The popularity of sprawling auto-dependent suburbs is waning.  A majority of Americans—six in 10—say they would prefer to live in walkable neighborhoods, in both cities and suburbs, if they could.

Obama tells lawmakers not passing tax deal could end presidency, Dem says  —  In urging lawmakers to vote for his tax deal, President Obama is using one of his go-to lines from the healthcare debate, according to a Democratic lawmaker.  —  Obama is telling members of Congress that failure …

Tom Harkin: ‘Fireworks’ And Shot At Filibuster Reform Coming Jan. 5  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats will make a dramatic effort to reform the rules of the chamber when the next Congress begins, one of the body's primary filibuster-reform advocates said Wednesday morning.

Exclusive: Twitter Raises $200 Million at $3.7 Billion Valuation; Adds McCue and Rosenblatt to Board  —  Twitter has completed its latest round of funding-$200 million at a $3.7 billion valuation-with Kleiner Perkins as the lead investor, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Mark Zuckerberg  —  On the afternoon of Nov. 16, 2010, Mark Zuckerberg was leading a meeting in the Aquarium, one of Facebook's conference rooms, so named because it's in the middle of a huge work space and has glass walls on three sides so everybody can see in.

The 40 Best Conservative Blogs For 2010 (Version 4.0)  —  It's time for me to rank my favorite blogs for the 4th quarter of 2010.  —  Do keep in mind that as the quarter has progressed, some blogs have, of course, moved up and others have dropped, based on how often I visit them …

Goldman Execs to Get $111 Million in 2007, 2009 Bonuses  —  Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein and his top deputies will collect about $111.3 million in stock next month in a delayed payoff from last year and their record-setting 2007 bonuses.

Iraq: Al Qaeda Planning Holiday Attacks in West  —  Iraqi Authorities Say Two Captured Insurgents Admit to Planned Suicide Attacks in U.S., Europe during Christmas Season  —  (AP) Iraqi authorities have obtained confessions from captured insurgents who claim al Qaeda is planning suicide attacks …

Get America Working: We Need a Movement to Solve a Crisis  —  What's Your Reaction:  —  It's time, America.  Americans need work.  Americans need jobs.  And right now, our government's main job must be to help create these jobs.  The unemployment rate has lingered 9 percent for 19 straight months …

SPLC Responds to Attack by FRC, Conservative Republicans  —  This morning, 22 members of Congress and a large number of other conservatives signed on to a public statement attacking the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for listing several anti-gay religious right organizations as hate groups.

WSJ/NBC Poll: Obama in Lead for 2012  —  President Barack Obama, should he choose to run for re-election, enters the 2012 presidential cycle in relatively good shape, especially considering the string of bad news that has buffeted his presidency.  —  According to the WSJ/NBC News poll out later today …

Ethics panel extending probe of three lawmakers into the next Congress  —  The ethics committee has extended an investigation into the fundraising of three members in connection to their votes on the financial regulation law.  —  Ethics committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) …