Topline Results of Nov. 29-Dec. 6, 2011, CNN/TIME/ORC Poll  —  FLORIDA  —  BASED ON INTERVIEWS WITH 446 REGISTERED REPUBLICANS WHO ARE LIKELY TO VOTE IN THE FLORIDA REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY — SAMPLING ERROR: +/- 4.5 PERCENTAGE PTS.  —  1. If the Republican presidential primary were held today …

Documents: ATF used “Fast and Furious” to make the case for gun regulations  —  Documents obtained by CBS News show that the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) discussed using their covert operation “Fast and Furious” to argue for controversial new rules about gun sales.

A Farewell to Common Sense, Style, and Service on American Airlines … Airlines , American Airlines , Alec Baldwin , Alec Baldwin American Airlines , Flight Attendants , Flying , Travel News  —  First off, I would like to apologize to the other passengers onboard the American Airlines flight that I was thrown off of yesterday.

Ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich sentenced to 14 years  —  Disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison after he made a final plea for leniency, acknowledging his guilt and saying, “I am unbelievably sorry.”  —  “I believe he did, in fact, accept [responsibility] …

Poll: Elizabeth Warren soars 7 up over Scott Brown  —  UMass-Lowell, Herald poll shows attack ads harm both  —  Democrat Elizabeth Warren has opened up a lead against Republican incumbent Scott Brown for the first time in their U.S. Senate showdown, but a barrage of attack ads appears …

A Lesson in Fairness For Obama  —  Election '12: President Obama this week started testing his new campaign theme, replacing “hope and change” with the equally vacant promise of “fairness.”  Apparently he hopes Americans can be fooled twice.  —  In a talk Tuesday at the site of Teddy Roosevelt's …

Islamic cleric bans women from touching bananas, cucumbers for sexual resemblance  —  Cucumbers are forbidden for women, says Islamic sheikh.  —  CAIRO: An Islamic cleric residing in Europe said that women should not be close to bananas or cucumbers, in order to avoid any “sexual thoughts.”

Voters Flee Democratic Party in Key Swing States  —  President Obama's uphill battle to re-election is getting steeper.  —  A report released today by the centrist think-tank Third Way showed that more than 825,000 voters in eight key battleground states have fled the Democratic Party since Obama won election in 2008.

Air Force dumped ashes of more troops' remains in Va. landfill than acknowledged  —  The Air Force dumped the incinerated partial remains of at least 274 American troops in a Virginia landfill, far more than the military had acknowledged, before halting the secretive practice three years ago, records show.

Obama administration refuses to relax Plan B restrictions  —  The federal government Wednesday rejected a request to let young teenage girls buy the controversial morning-after pill Plan B directly off drugstore and supermarket shelves without a prescription.

Fifth Circuit: Holy Land Foundation convictions upheld on appeal  —  Today a Fifth Circuit judicial panel released a highly anticipated opinion affirming the convictions against the five organizers of the former Richardson-based Holy Land Foundation on charges that they conspired to funnel money to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Harry Morgan, Colonel Potter on ‘M*A*S*H,’ Dies at 96  —  Harry Morgan, the prolific character actor best known for playing the acerbic but kindly Colonel Potter in the long-running television series “M*A*S*H,” died Wednesday morning at his home in Los Angeles.  He was 96.

Ryan tries new budget tactic  —  Ryan unveiled 10 bills to reform a budget process that has frustrated both parties.  —  House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) unveiled 10 different bills on Wednesday that would change a budget process that has frustrated both parties …

Lawmakers Blast Administration For Calling Fort Hood Massacre ‘Workplace Violence’  —  Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday blasted the Defense Department for classifying the Fort Hood massacre as workplace violence and suggested political correctness is being placed above the security of the nation's Armed Forces at home.

Belgium, at Last, Forms Government  —  BRUSSELS—Belgium's new cabinet will be sworn in by King Albert II on Tuesday, the royal palace said, ending a world-record 541 days without a federal government for the heavily indebted euro-zone country.  —  Elio Di Rupo will become the divided nation's …

Why a Gingrich vs. Obama Matchup Would Be Good For the Country  —  I sincerely hope Newt Gingrich wins the Republican nomination for president: It could bring a healthy candor to our politics and end up boosting the fortunes of liberalism as well.  Now, I realize the former Speaker may not be able …

Gingrich Promise Breaks the Law  —  Newt Gingrich promised he would ask former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton “to be his secretary of state if he's elected president next year,” the Washington Times reports.  —  Unfortunately, naming individuals you would appoint to office before the election is apparently illegal.

Obama unveils new border rules  —  President Barack Obama joined Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Wednesday to announce the details of two new initiatives designed to improve safety and streamline trade and commerce between the United States and its largest trading partner.

France and Germany seek support for crisis plan  —  (Reuters) - France and Germany are to sound out conservative European leaders on Thursday about their plan to defuse the euro zone's debt crisis, eager to rally support before a high-stakes EU summit.  —  Paris and Berlin need …

Nasa's Voyager 1 in ‘cosmic purgatory’ on verge of entering Milky Way  —  Nasa's Voyager 1 has entered a new region of space between the Solar System and interstellar space in what Nasa has described as a ‘cosmic purgatory’.  —  Nasa's Voyager 1 spacecraft