Romney Blames Loss on Obama's ‘Gifts’ to Minorities and Young Voters  —  Saying that he and his team still felt “troubled” by his loss to President Obama, Mitt Romney on Wednesday attributed his defeat in part to what he called big policy “gifts” that the president had bestowed …

Frederick Humphries, F.B.I. Agent in Petraeus Case  —  By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT, SCOTT SHANE and ALAIN DELAQUÉRIÈRE  —  DOVER, Fla. — The F.B.I. agent who helped start the investigation that led to the resignation of David H. Petraeus as C.I.A. director is a “hard-charging” …

John McCain's Long War Against Susan Rice  —  From left, Sens. Lindsey Graham, Kelly Ayotte, and John McCain at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday  —  You probably don't need the lesson, but here's how the filibuster works.  A nomination or bill is produced.

Nearly 250 Gaza rockets batter South; 3 Israelis killed  —  Rocket on Eshkol wounds 3 IDF soldiers as barrage on South continues in aftermath of IDF's launching of operation to root out terror; IAF strikes nearly 200 terror targets in Strip; Palestinians say 13 killed.

Top Georgia GOP Lawmakers Host Briefing on Secret Obama Mind-Control Plot  —  President Obama is using a Cold War-era mind-control technique known as “Delphi” to coerce Americans into accepting his plan for a United Nations-run communist dictatorship in which suburbanites will be forcibly relocated to cities.

Republicans say they will not back down  —  Congressional leaders took a hard line on taxes ahead of a meeting Friday at the White House, with rank-and-file Republicans expressing opposition to a “fiscal cliff” deal that would bring in more revenue to the government.

Remarks by the President in a News Conference  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody.  Please have a seat.  I hear you have some questions for me.  (Laughter.)  But let me just make a few remarks at the top, and then I'll open it up.  —  First of all, I want to reiterate what I said on Friday.

China names conservative, older leadership  —  (Reuters) - China's ruling Communist Party unveiled an older, conservative leadership line-up on Thursday that appears unlikely to take the drastic action needed to tackle pressing issues like social unrest, environmental degradation and corruption.

Euro zone falls into second recession since 2009  —  (Reuters) - The debt crisis dragged the euro zone into its second recession since 2009 in the third quarter despite modest growth in Germany and France, data showed on Thursday.  —  The two leading economies both managed 0.2 percent growth in the July-to-September period.

Changing Times  —  When people talked during the presidential campaign about the potential impact of the election on the Supreme Court, most meant the impact on the court's membership: whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney would get to fill any vacancies during the next four years.

Sandy Spurs Jump in Jobless Claims; Inflation Nudges Up  —  Super storm Sandy drove U.S. weekly jobless claims up to 439,000, while consumer prices rose slightly last month as higher rents and costlier food offset cheaper gas.  —  Separately, a reading on manufacturing in New York State showed …

Texas rep. nominates Gingrich for Speaker  —  Former Speaker and failed presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was nominated for the position of Speaker on Wednesday by conservative Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas).  There was no second.  —  House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) …

What Has Movement Conservatism Accomplished in the Last 15 Years?  —  The list isn't nearly as long as its boosters would have us think.  —  Flickr/Secret Pilgrim  —  Try as I might, I still can't find any evidence of Jonah Goldberg's claim that conservatives are the best at rigorously examining their own dogma.

Latino Poverty Rate Climbs to 28%  —  While Latinos are gaining in political clout, they are also falling down the economic ladder, new Census numbers show.  —  Latinos poverty rates climbed to 28 percent after the census reconfigured its algorithm to take into account medical costs and government programs.

Obama says climate change to take backseat to economy  —  Climate change will take a backseat to efforts to boost the economy in the near term, but the issue would return to the agenda in the future, President Barack Obama said Tuesday.  —  The president, who won an endorsement …