First Thoughts: Best of times (and worst of times) for Romney  —  NBC's David Gregory talks to TODAY's Matt Lauer about whether fierce attacks on Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney will backfire against his rivals or stop what seems to be Romney's inevitable march to the nomination.

Four Pinocchios for ‘King of Bain’  —  Your Browser DoesNot Support IFrames. … — Voice-over from “King of Bain” video promoted by a pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC, “Winning Our Future.”  —  Newt Gingrich, meet Michael Moore!  —  The 29-minute video “King of Bain” is such an over-the-top assault …

Inside the Fed in 2006: A Coming Crisis, and Banter  —  WASHINGTON — As the housing bubble entered its waning hours in 2006, top Federal Reserve officials marveled at the desperate antics of home builders seeking to lure buyers.  —  The officials laughed about the cars that builders …

Obama to propose combining agencies to shrink federal government  —  President Obama will ask Congress on Friday for the power to shrink the federal government, proposing a first step of combining several trade and commerce agencies under a plan that the White House said could eliminate …

Arthur Brisbane and selective stenography  —  The real media sin is not uncritical printing of false claims: it's extending that license only to the powerful  —  The New York Times' Public Editor Arthur Brisbane unwittingly sparked an intense and likely enduring controversy yesterday when he pondered …

U.S. Warns Top Iran Leader Not to Shut Strait of Hormuz  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is relying on a secret channel of communication to warn Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that closing the Strait of Hormuz is a “red line” that would provoke an American response …

Most of Apple's $82 billion cash stockpile is ‘trapped’ overseas  —  Apple may have enough cash on hand to make Scrooge McDuck's money vault look like a kiddie pool by comparison, but according to SeekingAlpha, most of that cash is effectively trapped overseas.

Book Depicts Cranky Obama On Baghdad Visit  —  The then-candidate “didn't want to take pictures with any more soldiers.  —  President Obama at a recent Pentagon briefing.  —  (Getty Images / SAUL LOEB)  —  Michael Hastings' new book, The Operators, jabs at what could be a vulnerable spot …

NYC Gun Charges Dropped.  Now I Can Speak Out.  —  On December 15, 2011 at approximately 5:15 a.m., I was at LaGuardia International airport preparing to check in for a flight out of the city.  During a routine check-in, I requested a firearms declaration form from the ticket agent.

Tar sands pipeline will comfort our enemies  —  By Steven M. Anderson, retired Army brigadier general, and senior mentor with the Army's Battle Command Training Program - 10/25/11 10:21 AM ET  —  As the military's senior logistician in Iraq in 2006 and 2007, I saw the impact of our oil addition in the Iraq combat zone.

How low can he go?  —  Everyone has probably heard the corny “I once caught a fish this big” joke.  A guy boasts about the size of the fish he reeled in, but when pressed, he gradually reduces the actual size of his catch.  The little comedic routine is about exaggeration.  —  I wonder if Mitt Romney has heard it.