Officials Say F.B.I. Knew of Petraeus Affair in the Summer  —  WASHINGTON — High-level officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department were notified in the late summer that F.B.I. agents had uncovered what appeared to be an extramarital affair involving the director …

The GOP's media cocoon  —  A long-simmering generational battle in the conservative movement is boiling over after last week's shellacking, with younger operatives and ideologues going public with calls that Republicans break free from a political-media cocoon that has become intellectually suffocating and self defeating.

Grover Norquist: Romney A ‘Poopy Head’  —  Anti-tax crusader and head of Americans for Tax Reform Grover Norquist told CBS on Monday that President Obama did not deserve a claim to an electoral mandate following his re-election because the candidate Republicans put forth to challenge him …

Elmo Voice Kevin Clash Denies Sex w/ Underage Boy — Takes Leave of Absence from Sesame Street  —  Takes Leave of Absence from Sesame Street  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  Kevin Clash — the man known as the voice of Elmo — has taken a leave of absence from Sesame Street in the wake of allegations …

MSNBC, Its Ratings Rising, Gains Ground on Fox News  —  On Tuesday night, with a minute to go until the polls closed in the battleground state of Virginia, the MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews received word through their earpieces that the state was too close to call …

Outrage Builds As Arizona Continues To Count Votes  —  Nearly a third of votes cast in Arizona remained uncounted the day after the election.  Most of them were probably cast by Latinos, organized and newly registered by multiple civil rights groups in the state to combat candidates …

GOP's Red America forced to rethink what it knows about the country  —  HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. — She arrived early to take apart the campaign office piece by piece, just as she felt so many other things about her life were being dismantled.  Beth Cox wore a Mitt Romney T-shirt …

No Meat on Mondays in Los Angeles  —  (CNSNews.com) - The Los Angeles City Council is urging all residents to observe “meatless Mondays” from now on.  —  A resolution adopted on Oct. 24 reads: “Be it resolved, that the Council of the City of Los Angeles hereby declares all Mondays …

The Real GOP Fiasco: Fairness  —  Bill Kristol, for once, is right.  The Bush tax cuts for the rich have to go.  —  The election is barely over, but true to form, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner have already bungled the next one.  Their line in the sand is exactly the wrong way to recast …

Why Obama is surely facing a second term riddled with scandal and upheaval  —  Now that the last election of his political career is behind him, President Barack Obama can concentrate on braking to avoid the fiscal cliff, re-staffing much of his administration and pausing to reflect on his long-term governing agenda.