Next up: ‘Occupy Congress’  —  One of the enduring questions about Occupy Wall Street has been this: Can the energy unleashed by the movement be leveraged behind a concrete political agenda and push for change that will constitute a meaningful challenge to the inequality and excessive Wall Street influence highlighted by the protests?

Cain Flubs Libya Again, Claims ‘Taliban’ Has Taken Control  —  At a press conference in Florida today, GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain — whose foreign policy maxim is “peace through strength and clarity” — attempted to clarify his stance on Libya following his epic whiffing of a question on the country this week.

Mercedes manager from Germany arrested in Alabama  —  TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A German manager with Mercedes-Benz is free after being arrested for not having a driver's license with him under Alabama's new law targeting illegal immigrants, authorities said Friday, in an otherwise routine case …

Quantum theorem shakes foundations  —  The wavefunction is a real physical object after all, say researchers.  —  At the heart of the weirdness for which the field of quantum mechanics is famous is the wavefunction, a powerful but mysterious entity that is used to determine the probabilities …

Newt: Fire the janitors, hire kids to clean schools  —  Via POLITICO's Reid Epstein, Newt Gingrich tonight said at an address at Harvard that child work laws “entrap” poor children into poverty - and suggested that a better way to handle failing schools is to fire the janitors, hire the local students and let them get paid for upkeep.

‘Obama Classic’ to feature NBA stars  —  It's still possible to see NBA All Stars in action this year — if you're willing to cough up cash for the Obama Victory Fund.  —  With extra time on their hands because of pro basketball's lockout, super hoopsters Kevin Durant, Chris Bosh …

Santorum: Americans Should Suffer  —  During a town hall meeting in Ottumwa, Iowa Friday afternoon, Rick Santorum argued that Americans receive too many government benefits and ought to “suffer” in the Christian tradition.  If “you're lower income, you can qualify for Medicaid …

Poll: Romney, Gingrich in statistical dead heat in N.H.  —  Two things are true about New Hampshire Republican primary voters.  They vote for people they know.  And they love an underdog with a comeback story.  —  Four years ago it was the weathered but feisty veteran John McCain who revived …

‘Princess Nancy’ Pelosi calls Cain ‘clueless’; vows to do more for child care  —  GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain drew applause and guffaws by referring to Nancy Pelosi as “Princess Nancy” during a debate last week.  Her reaction?  “Really, it's another one of those clueless statements …

VIDEO: Alleged White House Shooter Oscar Ortega-Hernandez  —  WASHINGTON - New video has surfaced that sheds some light into the mind of the suspected White House shooter.  —  Two months ago Oscar Ortega-Hernandez asked an Idaho University student to videotape a segment pitch to Oprah Winfrey.

OccupyPortland Man Places Small Child Between Himself And Police  —  Footage can also been seen of the man holding his young child while yelling and chanting at police.

Who's afraid of a Tea Party panel?, Part II: What the Fishwrap of Record didn't tell you  —  There's a curious little article in the New York Times about the contretemps I blogged yesterday over FreedomWorks' Tea Party Debt Commission.  The group was scheduled to discuss its report and findings …

Journalist Questions Legitimacy of Saudi Regime, Is Suspended from National Press Club  —  On Monday I went to a news conference at the National Press Club, where I am a member, titled “His Royal Highness Prince Turki al-Faisal al-Sa'ud of Saudi Arabia.”  I asked a tough question …

Charity Founded by Sandusky Makes Plans to Fold  —  STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The local charity founded by Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State defensive coordinator who earlier this month was charged with 40 counts of sexually abusing young boys, is preparing to fold as it tries to reconstruct what it knew …

Alan Keyes On Penn State: Gay Rights Advocates Only “Pretend To Draw The Line” At The Sexual Abuse Of Children"  —  Alan Keyes believes the “almost religious promotion of homosexuality” is responsible for the Penn State scandal.  —  If the allegations against Sandusky are true …

“Occupy” Protester Busted For Stealing Neighbor's Furniture For Florida Encampment  —  Buster  —  Meet Jeffrey Scott.  —  The 32-year-old “Occupy Pensacola” protester was arrested yesterday on felony burglary and larceny charges for allegedly robbing a neighbor's home of furniture …

It's time to ban insider trading by Congress  —  Congress is finally shamed into fixing a long-standing scandal.  —  By Roger Parloff, senior editor  —  FORTUNE — Last Sunday a 60-Minutes report threw a welcome spotlight on a preposterous, long-standing situation that virtually no one openly defends …

11/18: Voters Pessimistic About Super Committee Deal  —  With the deadline nearing for Congressional Republicans and Democrats on the Super Committee to reach an agreement on how to reduce the federal budget deficit, most voters nationally are not confident that a deal will be reached.

68% of the Sons of the 1% Work at Their Dad's Company  —  Nepotism and wealth go together according to a study published in the Journal of Labor Economics.  The researchers found that 68 percent of the sons of top-percentile income earners have at some point by the time they're age 33 taken a job at a firm their father also worked.

Which Economic Indicators Best Predict Presidential Elections?  —  I've written quite a bit in the past about the use and abuse of economic indicators in forecasting presidential elections.  —  In general, my view has been that there's a lot of “physics envy” in thinking that something …

Obama outpaces GOP rivals — and his own 2008 results — in small donations  —  Even with low approval ratings and an uncertain path to reelection, President Obama is exceeding expectations in one area: His campaign is doing far better at attracting grass-roots financial support this year …

Obama USDA delays shale drilling, up to 200k jobs  —  President Obama's United States Department of Agriculture has delayed shale gas drilling in Ohio for up to six months by cancelling a mineral lease auction for Wayne National Forest (WNF), in deference to environmentalist fears, to study the effects of hydraulic fracturing.

EU bans claim that water can prevent dehydration  —  Brussels bureaucrats were ridiculed yesterday after banning drink manufacturers from claiming that water can prevent dehydration.  —  EU officials concluded that, following a three-year investigation, there was no evidence to prove the previously undisputed fact.

Heaven Is a Place Called Elizabeth Warren  —  On the campaign trail in Massachusetts last month with the Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, I bore witness to acts of extreme giddiness: a 20-year-old student jumping up and down, exclaiming, “Oh, my God, I am obsessed with her”; …

Occupy Memphis, tea party members meet  —  MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Occupy Memphis member Mallory Pope had just finished telling a group of about 75 tea party followers Thursday night that politicians should not allow themselves to be influenced by lobbyists and unions when she received an unexpected invitation.

Deutsche Bank: If Merkel Doesn't Budge, ‘Our Investment Advice Is To Dig A Hole In The Ground And Hide’  —  Line of the day from Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid on Angela Merkel, and German refusal to back ECB bond buying...  The problem for the market is whether to take these comments at face value …

School Lunch And The Trouble With America  —  I was being a bit contrarian about an aspect of this on Twitter the other day, but obviously it's insane to declare that your average slice of public school pizza meets healthy eating standards for high nutrition.  Everyone understands that.