Fifth woman raises questions about Cain's behavior  —  A former employee of the United States Agency for International Development says Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain asked her to help arrange a dinner date for him with a female audience member following a speech he delivered nine years ago.

Report: Sarkozy calls Netanyahu ‘liar’  —  Microphones accidently left on after G20 meeting pick up private conversation between US, French presidents.  Sarkozy admits he 'can't stand' Israeli premier.  Obama: You're fed up with him?  I have to deal with him every day!  —  Ynet

Top Obama Aide Takes Step Back  —  WASHINGTON—William M. Daley was hired to help resuscitate Barack Obama's presidency after deep Democratic losses in 2010.  Ten months into his tenure as chief of staff, Mr. Daley's core responsibilities are shifting, following White House missteps …

Doctor Is Guilty in Michael Jackson's Death  —  LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson, among the most famous performers in pop music history, spent his final days in a sleep-deprived haze of medication and misery until finally succumbing to a fatal dose of potent drugs provided by the private physician …

Joe Frazier, Ex-Heavyweight Champ, Dies at 67  —  Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight champion whose furious and intensely personal fights with a taunting Muhammad Ali endure as an epic rivalry in boxing history, died Monday night.  He was 67.  —  His business representative, Leslie Wolff …

Wonkbook: Romney embraces the public option  —  Rewind the tape two years to November 2009.  Liberals had a very clear plan for the health-care system.  The way to cut costs, they said, was to pit private insurers against a public insurer — ideally, a public insurer that could use Medicare's bargaining power.

NoW placed hacking lawyers under surveillance  —  Mr Lewis told Newsnight that he was “devastated” to hear the revelations  —  The News of the World (NoW) hired an ex-police officer early last year to carry out surveillance on two prominent lawyers representing victims of phone hacking, BBC Newsnight has learned.

Should Voting Be Mandatory?  —  Or are there already too many people casting ballots?  —  Understanding Nonvoters … What would happen if everybody voted?  In a careful study from 1999, the political scientists Benjamin Highton and Raymond Wolfinger wrote: “Analyses of survey data show …

Moore's Law in solar energy  —  In today's NYT, Paul Krugman highlights the subsidy being given to the ‘fracking’ methods of fossil fuel extraction: basically, another example where costs are socialized although, let's face it, the most common example.  The story of an old technology using non-market means …

TPMDC  —  Report: Super Committee GOPers Agree To Violate Norquist Pledge...With A Catch  —  Super Committee Republicans are floating a trial balloon that would produce new tax revenue, in apparent contravention of Grover Norquist's taxpayer protection pledge, according to Wall Street Journal editorialist Stephen Moore.

France cuts frantically as Italy nears debt spiral  —  France has unveiled the toughest austerity measures since World War Two despite the looming danger of a double-dip recession, vowing to slash borrowing by €65bn over the next five years in a last-ditch effort to save the country's AAA rating.

Police deal with several incidents at Occupy camp  —  PORTLAND, Ore. - Police arrested two people at the Occupy Portland camp Sunday and dealt with several more incidents, including a man who grew angry when a pizza restaurant ran out of breadsticks.  —  Barry Joe Stull, 53 …

Big labor's backlash  —  All eyes should be on Ohio tomorrow as voters decide whether to roll back Gov. John Kasich's bold public-employee reforms.  Passed this year, the much-needed course correction sharply curtailed collective-bargaining privileges for the state's 350,000 taxpayer-funded workers …

MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, Politico's Jonathan Martin snicker at journalism's ‘code of ethics’ [VIDEO]  —  The Society of Professional Journalism's code of ethics is unknown to, and easily dismissed by, MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell.  On “Andrea Mitchell Reports” Monday, the anchor introduced …

Wishful Thinking And The Road To Eurogeddon  —  Gavyn Davies has a very good piece today offering another way to think about the euromess.  I say “another way to think” advisedly — his analysis of the basics is, as far as I can tell, identical to mine, but he offers a different angle …