Republicans See Gingrich, Romney as “Acceptable” Nominees  —  All other candidates seen as unacceptable by half or more of Republicans  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Newt Gingrich (62%) and Mitt Romney (54%) are the only two candidates Republicans say would be acceptable presidential nominees from their party …

Pelosi Not Sitting on Trove of Gingrich Secrets  —  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi now says she is not sitting on a trove of opposition research on former House Speaker-turned-GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.  —  In an interview conducted Friday and published Monday …

Romney staff spent nearly $100,000 to hide records  —  (Reuters) - Mitt Romney spent nearly $100,000 in state funds to replace computers in his office at the end of his term as governor of Massachusetts in 2007 as part of an unprecedented effort to keep his records secret, Reuters has learned.

CHART OF THE DAY: Something Has Really Shifted In Europe This Time  —  It's tempting and easy to just say that whatever European leaders are cooking up right now is bound to fail, like every other past attempt at ending the crisis.  —  But here's a noteworthy market fact: Italian yields are collapsing today.

Bachmann voices concerns, still undecided on attending Trump-moderated debate  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said her campaign is “still in the process of looking at” an upcoming debate moderated by businessman Donald Trump.  —  Bachmann said on CBS's “The Early Show” that it is a …

Fox News Business: The Muppets Are ‘Brainwashing’ Young People To Hate The Oil Industry  —  Life's a happy song, but not when Fox Business is singing along.  The network is upset that the new Muppets movie, The Muppets, features an oil tycoon as a villain, with various contributors complaining …

NASA finding feeds talk of a new Earth  —  Artist's conception illustrates Kepler-22b (NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech)  —  NASA has found a new planet outside Earth's solar system that is eerily similar to Earth in important aspects.  —  Scientists say the temperature on the surface of the planet is about a comfy 72 degrees (22 Celsius).

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Reichle v. Howards  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether Secret Service agents protecting Vice President Dick Cheney may be sued for violating the free speech rights of a member of the public who made critical remarks about the Bush administration's war policies.

Montana Chamber: Tester up 5  —  A poll commissioned by the Montana Chamber of Commerce shows Sen. Jon Tester with a 5 percentage point lead over Rep. Denny Rehberg in the Senate race, 42 percent to 37 percent.  —  The data, obtained by POLITICO, was collected in mid-November …

Iran's Revolutionary Guards prepare for war  —  Iran's Revolutionary Guards have been put on a war footing amid increasing signs that the West is taking direct action to cripple Iran's nuclear programme.  —  An order from Gen Mohammed Ali Jaafari, the commander of the guards …

Scrapitalism  —  San Francisco (Three days @ 90,000+ viewers per day)  —  Berkeley (Five days @ 110,000+ viewers per day)  —  Statistic courtesy of Communist Agitprop Forbes Magazine  —  These signs are made quickly, easily and cheaply using scrap cardboard, paint and an overhead projector.

Final government shutdown fight rings out the old year  —  House and Senate appropriators are laboring to produce a $900 billion omnibus bill by the beginning of next week.  —  Failure to reach a deal would result in a government shutdown when current funding runs out Dec. 16.

The Wonky Liberal  —  Republicans have many strong arguments to make against the Obama administration, but one major criticism doesn't square with the evidence.  This is the charge that President Obama is running a virulently antibusiness administration that spews out a steady flow of job- and economy-crushing regulations.

Society: Governments must tackle record gap between rich and poor, says OECD  —  The gap between rich and poor in OECD countries has reached its highest level for over over 30 years, and governments must act quickly to tackle inequality, according to a new OECD report.