Gingrich opens up big leads in South Carolina and Florida  —  Newt Gingrich's surge in the polls isn't limited to just the early presidential-nominating contest of Iowa.  —  According to new NBC News-Marist polls, the former House speaker has now opened up commanding leads in South Carolina and Florida …

Fact-Checking Newt Gingrich and the Fact-Checkers on the Middle East  —  ABC News “fact-checked” Newt Gingrich's Middle East statements and some readers asked me to fact-check ABC, so here is my view:  —  Gingrich said Palestinians are an “invented” people.  ABC says: Not true.

Rev. Al deep in the red  —  The Rev. Al Sharpton's nonprofit paid him nearly $242,000 — even as it carried $1.6 million in debt, according to documents obtained by The Post.  —  In all, the controversial activist and his empire, including the National Action Network and two for-profit companies …

Police employ Predator drone spy planes on home front  —  Unmanned aircraft from an Air Force base in North Dakota help local police with surveillance, raising questions that trouble privacy advocates.  —  A Predator drone spy plane helped police make arrests after a North Dakota family's run-in with a local sheriff.

Rick Perry: 'I Don't Have Memorized' The Names Of All 9 Supreme Court Justices  —  During a meeting with the Des Moines Register editorial board on Friday, Rick Perry asserted there were eight justices on the Supreme Court and mispronounced Sonia Sotomayor's name.

Why Americans no longer trust Washington  —  Survey after survey in recent months has shown an alarming decline in public confidence in the nation's chief federal institutions, as well as a deepening pessimism about America's future.  Congressional approval is at an all-time low of 13 percent …

US proposes unmanned border crossing with Mexico  —  BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, Texas (AP) — The bloody drug war in Mexico shows no sign of relenting.  Neither do calls for tighter border security amid rising fears of spillover violence.  —  This hardly seems a time the U.S. would be willing …

Obama: Not redistributing wealth  —  In a “60 Minutes” interview with Steve Kroft, President Obama disputes the notion he is trying to redistribute wealth with his plans to treat the country's economic ills.  He tells Kroft he's just attempting to deliver the “American Deal” of a strong middle class …

Mitt makes $10,000 bet at ABC News debate.  Dec. 10, 2011 Transcript  —  ABC NEWS IOWA REPUBLICAN DEBATE FINAL TRANSCRIPT  —  MICHELE BACHMANN, RICK SANTORUM, MITT ROMNEY, RICK PERRY, RON PAUL, NEWT GINGRICH  —  ANCHORED BY GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS AND DIANE SAWYER