Employment Situation Summary  —  Transmission of material in this release is embargoed USDL-11-1691 until 8:30 a.m. (EST) Friday, December 2, 2011  —  Technical information:  —  Household data: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps

Mitt vs. Newt  —  It's Iowa minus 32 days, and barring yet another resurrection (or event of similar improbability), it's Mitt Romney vs. Newt Gingrich.  In a match race, here's the scorecard:  —  Romney has managed to weather the debates unscathed.  However, the brittleness he showed …

Herman Cain's Marriage Shaken by Infidelity Charges  —  As the one-time GOP frontrunner meets up with his wife to discuss his political future, friends say fresh charges of infidelity reopened old wounds in his marriage.  —  In October, Herman Cain was having the time of his life, according to those who know him well.

Saudis fear there will be ‘no more virgins’ and people will turn gay if female drive ban is lifted  —  Repealing a ban on women drivers in Saudi Arabia would result in ‘no more virgins’, the country's religious council has warned.  —  A ‘scientific’ report claims relaxing the ban …

Newt Gingrich surge strains his campaign  —  DES MOINES - As Newt Gingrich returns to Iowa this week for the first time as a top-flight presidential contender, his ragtag political operation suddenly faces an urgent challenge: catching up with the candidate.

Iowa Poll: Herman Cain support in Iowa takes nose dive  —  Herman Cain (David Purdy/Des Moines Register file photo)  —  Herman Cain's once-surging popularity in Iowa has plummeted in the wake of an allegation of a 13-year extramarital affair, leaving him at single-digit support with the Iowa caucuses just over a month away.

Killing the Euro  —  Can the euro be saved?  Not long ago we were told that the worst possible outcome was a Greek default.  Now a much wider disaster seems all too likely.  —  True, market pressure lifted a bit on Wednesday after central banks made a splashy announcement about expanded credit lines …

The Meathead Vote  —  For liberal baby boomers, it's always 1972.  —  In hilarious fashion, National Journal's Reid Wilson picks up on this week's predominant theme, Democrats and demographics.  He paints a sunny picture of President Obama's re-election prospects based on Ruy Teixeira …

Under assault for liberal bias, Politico's traffic dives  —  Internet traffic and Web search measurement tools from several sources indicate that despite massive promotion efforts on MSNBC and in other venues, Politico.com is rapidly losing readers, especially outside of Washington, D.C.

Payroll tax break: Extension proposals from both parties fail in Senate  —  The Senate late Thursday rejected competing partisan visions for extending a temporary tax break that benefits virtually every American worker, clearing the way for more serious negotiations over how to cover the cost of the tax cut.

Is Iran Already Under Attack?  —  Adam Chandler, the Goldblog deputy-editor-for-monitoring-Iran- obsessively-even-though-Goldblog- himself-also-monitors-Iran-obsessively, pointed out to me the other day that perhaps the West has already begun the attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, that perhaps we ought to reframe this issue a bit.

Michele Bachman gets things straight on gay marriage  —  Jane Schmidt, a student at Waverly High School, in Waverly, Iowa, recently asked Michele Bachmann, “Why can't same-sex couples get married?”  —  “They can get married,” Bachmann responded, “but they abide by the same law as everyone else.

White House warns spending talks are on track for another shutdown ‘crisis’  —  White House Budget Director Jack Lew on Friday warned that the negotiations on the 2012 omnibus spending bill are going poorly and could soon lead to a “crisis” that shuts down the government.