Gingrich or Romney: McCain prepares to play kingmaker in 2012 GOP primary  —  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.

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] …

Obama's Kansas speech: some suspect facts  —  “I mean, understand, it's not as if we haven't tried this theory.  Remember in those years, in 2001 and 2003, Congress passed two of the most expensive tax cuts for the wealthy in history.  And what did they get us?  The slowest job growth in half a century.”

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.

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.

US will use foreign aid to defend gay rights abroad, Clinton, Obama declare: culture no excuse  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Obama administration's declaration that it plans to use foreign assistance, international diplomacy and political asylum to promote gay rights abroad is a momentous step …

Statement from FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, M.D. on Plan B One-Step  —  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been carefully evaluating for over a decade whether emergency contraceptives containing levonorgestrel, such as Plan B One-Step, are safe and effective for nonprescription use …

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 …

Republicans stands solidly against Richard Cordray  —  Senate Republicans on Wednesday showed no signs of backing down from their threatened filibuster of President Barack Obama's nominee to head a new financial watchdog agency, even as Democrats framed the fight as a stark choice between Wall Street and Main Street.

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

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 …

Firefighters let home burn over $75 fee — again  —  Firefighters in Tennessee let a home burn to the ground because the owners did not pay a $75 fire subscription fee.  WPSD-TV's Jason Hibbs reports.  —  By msnbc.com staff and WSMV-TV  —  SOUTH FULTON, Tenn. — Firefighters stood …

Jon Huntsman dials back squishiness on climate change  —  POLITICO's James Hohmann reports:

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.

Bachmann Is Concerned About Bestiality In The Military  —  Michele Bachmann condemned Congress on Glenn Beck's web show last night for moving to repeal Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which outlaws both sodomy and sex with animals.  The repeal measure is part …

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.

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