Marco Rubio's compelling family story embellishes facts, documents show  —  During his rise to political prominence, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) frequently repeated a compelling version of his family's history that had special resonance in South Florida.  He was the son of exiles, he told audiences …

Angry Manhattan residents lambast Zuccotti Park protesters  —  Infuriated lower Manhattan residents went ballistic on Zuccotti Park protesters at a chaotic Community Board 1 meeting tonight while blasting politicians for allowing the siege to continue without any end in sight.

Steve Jobs Biography Reveals He Told Obama, 'You're Headed For A One-Term Presidency' … In one of the most hotly-anticipated biographies of the year, “Steve Jobs,” author Walter Isaacson reveals that the Apple CEO offered to design political ads for President Obama's 2012 campaign despite …

The art of the cheap shot  —  It's hard to dispute that Rick Perry's he-hired-an-illegal-immigrant attack on Mitt Romney was a cheap shot.  —  It's even harder to dispute that it worked beautifully.  —  Put aside the fact that Perry's broadside was recycled, and barely relevant to the debate.

Car Company Gets U.S. Loan, Builds Cars In Finland  —  Vice president Joe Biden, left, and Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Automotive announces that the company will produce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles at the former General Motors Boxwood Plant, Oct. 27, 2009, in Wilmington, Del. (Rob Carr/AP Photo)

Senate Votes Down Trimmed Version of Obama's Jobs Bill  —  WASHINGTON - Despite a campaign-style push this week by President Barack Obama, the Senate on Thursday scuttled pared-back jobs legislation aimed at helping state and local governments avoid layoffs of teachers and firefighters.

The heat is on  —  A new analysis of the temperature record leaves little room for the doubters.  The world is warming  —  from the print edition  —  FOR those who question whether global warming is really happening, it is necessary to believe that the instrumental temperature record is wrong.

Violent End to an Era as Qaddafi Dies in Libya  —  MISURATA, Libya — Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's last moments Thursday were as violent as the uprising that overthrew him.  —  In a cellphone video that went viral on the Internet, the deposed Libyan leader is seen splayed on the hood of a truck …

Well, Good for WDAV  —  According to this update just now, the classical music public radio station WDAV, in North Carolina, will not dismiss Lisa Simeone from her role as a freelance (ie, non-employee) host of an opera (ie, non-political) program carried by NPR, just because she has also been a spokesperson for the Occupy DC movement.

Senate OKs Bryson to head Commerce Department  —  WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to approve President Barack Obama's nomination of former utility executive John Bryson to head the Commerce Department, overcoming conservatives' objections that his pro-environmental views made him unsuited for the job.

Lindsey Graham: 'Let's Get In On The Ground.  There's A Lot Of Money To Be Made In The Future Of Libya'  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has had no shortage of criticisms for Obama administration's handling of NATO air support for Libyan rebels.  But with news this morning of Muammar Qaddafi's death …

Announcing Retirement, Dem Congressman Bashes Obama  —  Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif., announced his retirement from Congress this afternoon — and he issued a scathing parting shot at President Obama's track record on his way out.  —  In a statement explaining his decision, Cardoza …

Is Herman Cain the Most Unctuous Black Man Alive?  —  Why the Hermanator experience is making me sick  —  This Presidential election has not lacked for clowns and in a circus Herman Cain fits right in.  But as the Black clown, Cain's foot in mouth moments mostly involve insulting the Black community.

THE RISE OF A TYRANT  —  Gaddafi was born in 1942, the son of a Bedouin herdsman, in a tent near Sirte on the Mediterranean coast.  He abandoned a geography course at university for a military career that included a short spell at a British army signals school.

Gaddafi's death - who pulled the trigger?  —  (Reuters) - Disturbing images of a blood-stained and shaken Muammar Gaddafi being jostled by angry fighters quickly circulated around the world after the Libyan dictator's dramatic death near his home town of Sirte.

Mapping the FBI: Uncovering Abusive Surveillance and Racial Profiling  —  The Federal Bureau of Investigation is collecting racial and ethnic information and “mapping” American communities around the country based on crude stereotypes about which groups commit different types of crimes.

Fed Is Poised for More Easing  —  Federal Reserve officials are starting to build a case for a new program of buying mortgage-backed securities to boost the ailing economy, though they appear unlikely to move swiftly.  —  The idea would be to target any new efforts by the central bank …

How the Austerity Class Rules Washington  —  This article appeared in the November 7, 2011 edition of The Nation.  —  Recommended by  —  In September the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a bipartisan deficit-hawk group based at the New America Foundation …

What If We Paid Off The Debt?  The Secret Government Report  —  Planet Money has obtained a secret government report outlining what once looked like a potential crisis: The possibility that the U.S. government might pay off its entire debt.  —  It sounds ridiculous today.