In Sunday-evening surprise, Senate passes food safety legislation  —  The Senate unexpectedly approved food safety legislation by voice vote Sunday evening, rescuing a bill that floated in limbo for weeks because of a clerical error.  —  The Senate passed the Food Safety and Modernization Act on Nov. 30 by a vote of 73-25.

Proposed Amendment Would Enable States to Repeal Federal Law  —  The same people driving the lawsuits that seek to dismantle the Obama administration's health care overhaul have set their sights on an even bigger target: a constitutional amendment that would allow a vote of the states to overturn any act of Congress.

One Battle Won, Activists Shift Sights  —  WASHINGTON — As gay people around the country reveled on Sunday in the historic Senate vote to repeal “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” a liberal media watchdog group said it planned to announce on Monday that it was setting up a “communications war room for gay equality” …

Rove Suspected In Swedish-U.S. Political Prosecution of WikiLeaks  —  What's Your Reaction: … Karl Rove's help for Sweden as it assists the Obama administration's prosecution against WikiLeaks could be the latest example of the adage, “Politics makes strange bedfellows.”

When Zombies Win  —  When historians look back at 2008-10, what will puzzle them most, I believe, is the strange triumph of failed ideas.  Free-market fundamentalists have been wrong about everything — yet they now dominate the political scene more thoroughly than ever.  —  How did that happen?

Tea Party Discontent Bubbles to the Surface  —  Discontent Boiling Over Tax Cuts Bill and House GOP Committee Leadership Positions  —  The new Congress hasn't been seated yet but signs of a rift are already beginning to emerge between Republican leaders and Tea Party groups …

TRENDING: Palin disses Michelle Obama over ‘dessert’  —  (CNN) - Sarah Palin is again taking aim at Michelle Obama over her anti-obesity campaign, taking the opportunity in Sunday's “Sarah Palin's Alaska” to land a diss against the first lady's efforts to improve nutrition.

QUOTE OF THE DAY.... The NYT's John Harwood ran a good piece last night, providing some context to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's successes of the last two years, and the low-key Nevadan's ability to survive, preserve, and secure a place in history.  —  Towards the end of the piece, Reid looked ahead.

Auditors Face Fraud Charge  —  New York Set to Allege Ernst & Young Stood By as Lehman Cooked Its Books  —  New York prosecutors are poised to file civil fraud charges against Ernst & Young for its alleged role in the collapse of Lehman Brothers, saying the Big Four accounting firm stood …

What's radicalizing Muslim Americans?  —  Peter King (R-Seaford) represents New York's 3rd Congressional District.  —  Earlier this month, I was elected by the House Republican Conference to be chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.  I've made it clear that I'll focus the committee …

Nine years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, the United States is assembling a vast domestic intelligence apparatus to collect information about Americans, using the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military criminal investigators.  —  The system, by far the largest …

Weighing Costs, Companies Favor Temporary Help  —  Temporary workers are starting to look, well, not so temporary.  —  Despite a surge this year in short-term hiring, many American businesses are still skittish about making those jobs permanent, raising concerns among workers and some labor experts …

Nina Totenberg: ‘I Was At - Forgive the Expression - a Christmas Party...’  —  “I was at - forgive the expression - a Christmas party,” NPR reporter Nina Totenberg interjected on Inside Washington in the weekend's oddest cautionary separation from a common description for a common event …

A Scientific Theory Is Judged By Its Predictive Power  —  “Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past.”  That is what global warming alarmists in Great Britain were telling us just ten years ago: … The Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia was, as you probably remember …

Obama reaches out to liberal groups to shore up Democratic base after tax deal  —  In the wake of President Obama's tax-cut deal with Republicans, the White House is moving quickly to mend its strained relationship with the Democratic base, reassuring liberal groups, black leaders …

Late Rep. Charlie Wilson faced death threats, scrutiny, says FBI file  —  The late Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-Texas) fell under frequent FBI scrutiny, according to 458 pages of FBI documents released to The Hill under the Freedom of Information Act.  —  According to his FBI file, Wilson …

Pigford Video Blockbuster: Key ‘Black Farmers’ Lawyer Admits Clients ‘Got Away With Murder’  —  The mainstream media has treated accusations of large-scale fraud in the Pigford settlement with overt skepticism and a distinct lack of journalistic curiosity.  The press has blindly repeated …