Gingrich or Romney: McCain prepares to play kingmaker  —  Arizona Sen. John McCain, the GOP presidential nominee in 2008, is moving toward endorsing a candidate for 2012.  —  Republican sources familiar with his thinking say he will probably endorse his onetime political enemy, Mitt Romney.

Remarks by the President on the Economy in Osawatomie, Kansas  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody.  Please, please have a seat.  Thank you so much.  Thank you.  Good afternoon, everybody.  —  AUDIENCE: Good afternoon.  —  THE PRESIDENT: Well, I want to start by thanking a few folks who've joined us today.

Sidwell Friends School, Sasha and Malia Obama's School, Opts For Asian, including Japanese Food On Pearl Harbor Day  —  Sidwell Friends School's website shows the menu for Wednesday December 7th, 2011, the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day, as an Asian food day.

Tennessee family home burns while firefighters watch  —  A Tennessee couple helplessly watched their home burn to the ground, along with all of their possessions, because they did not pay a $75 annual fee to the local fire department.  —  Vicky Bell told the NBC affiliate WPSD-TV …

Israel rift roils Democratic ranks  —  Two of the Democratic Party's core institutions are challenging a bipartisan consensus on Israel and Palestine that has dominated American foreign policy for more than a decade.  —  The Center for American Progress, the party's key hub of ideas and strategy …

Crystal Cox, Oregon Blogger, Isn't a Journalist, Concludes U.S. Court—Imposes $2.5 Million Judgement on Her  —  ​A U.S. District Court judge in Portland has drawn a line in the sand between “journalist” and “blogger.”  And for Crystal Cox, a woman on the latter end of that comparison, the distinction has cost her $2.5 million.

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.

1. Occupy Wall Street Protests Spread  —  On Sept. 17, a couple hundred protesters demonstrating against the excesses of corporate execs and the pervasive influence of high finance in U.S. politics set up camp in Lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park and refused to leave.

Death penalty dropped against Mumia Abu-Jamal  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Prosecutors announced Wednesday that they will no longer pursue the death penalty against former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, meaning he will spend the rest of his life in prison for gunning down a white police officer nearly 30 years ago.

Why Newt's surge is for real  —  Washington is waking up to a prospect that a week ago seemed far-fetched.

Rick Perry TV ad hits President Obama ‘war on religion’  —  Rick Perry's latest spot in his Iowa ad buy rotation is another faith-based appeal, but one that has one of the most audible dog-whistles so far this cycle about President Obama.  —  In the spot, “Strong,” Perry says …

Girl gang who kicked woman in the head while yelling ‘kill the white slag’ freed after judge hears 'they weren't used to drinking because they're Muslims'  — Judge: 'Those who knock someone to the floor and kick them in the head can expect to go inside, but I'm going to suspend the sentence'

S.F. police raid Occupy camp, arrest 70  —  (12-07) 09:09 PST SAN FRANCISCO — Police raided the Occupy SF camp early today, arresting 70 campers and protesters at Justin Herman Plaza and clearing out the 2-month-old encampment.  —  Officers, sheriff's deputies, firefighters …

At White House press briefing, reporter asks if Obama approves of bestiality  —  At White House press briefings, you don't normally hear questions about bestiality.  Today was not normal.  —  On Monday, press secretary Jay Carney fielded an unusual question from World Net Daily reporter Lester Kinsolving.

Bank Of America Sends Internal Email Exposing Where The “Occupy” Movement Is Hurting It Most  —  While the general media may be ignoring the latest peculiar twist on the “Occupy” theme, or in this case the “occupyourhomes.org”, Bank of America is taking it quote seriously.

The right's problems with children's entertainment  —  You've likely heard about Fox News targeting the Muppets, but it's worth appreciating the extent to which this ties into a larger pattern. … Bolling actually went after Muppets twice, first accusing the movie of trying to …

Polling Conservative Bloggers On The 2012 GOP Primaries  —  Right Wing News polled more than 250 right-of-center bloggers on which candidate they'd support if the 2012 Republican primaries were today.  The following 78 bloggers responded: 101 Dead Armadillos, Alarming News, All American Blogger …

Perry Drops Half Million On Iowa Ads  —  This post has been updated with further information about Perry's radio ad buys.  —  Texas Gov. Rick Perry will saturate the Iowa airwaves next week in a major push to boost his poll numbers just three weeks before the state's first-in-the-nation caucuses.

Rangel renews call for military draft  —  Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) on Wednesday morning renewed his call for a mandatory military draft to ensure that the demands of the U.S. armed forces are not met only by lower-income Americans who are more likely to join the military to earn a paycheck.

Restoring Robust Growth in America  —  Why has the recovery been so slow?  What can we do about it?  Alan Greenspan, George Shultz, Ed Prescott, Steve Davis, Nick Bloom, John Cochrane, Bob Hall, Lee Ohanian, John Cogan and I recently met at the Hoover Institution at Stanford to present papers …