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Twinkies Maker Hostess Going Out of Business, CEO Blames Union Strike — “It's over. This is it,” Gregory Rayburn tells “Today.” — Hostess, the makers of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread, is going out of business after striking workers failed to heed a Thursday deadline to return to work, the company said.
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Hostess Brands closing for good — NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Hostess Brands — the maker of such iconic baked goods as Twinkies, Devil Dogs and Wonder Bread — announced Friday that it is asking a federal bankruptcy court for permission to close its operations, blaming a strike by bakers protesting a new contract imposed on them.

Hostess Brands to Wind Down Company After BCTGM Union Strike Cripples Operations — Hostess Brands Inc. today announced that it is winding down operations and has filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking permission to close its business and sell its assets, including its iconic brands and facilities.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, The Hinterland Gazette, Outside the Beltway, Mashable! and Washington Examiner


Hostess going out of business; nearly 18,000 to be laid off — IRVING, Texas - — Say goodbye to your Twinkies. — North Texas-based Hostess Brands, Inc. has decided to go out of business and liquidate its assets after failing to win back striking workers.
Discussion:
Hot Air, americanthinker.com, Questions and Observations, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and The Greenroom

No more Twinkies? Hostess plans to shut down — Hostess CEO says strike was fatal blow for bankrupt company and that it is too late to fix it. Nearly 600 could lose jobs in Schiller Park and Hodgkins bakeries. — Hostess, the company that makes Twinkies and other sugary snacks …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller

Hostess to Liquidate, Lay Off 18,500 After Crushing Union Fight — Failing to persuade striking employees to return to work, Hostess Brands disclosed plans on Friday to liquidate its assets and lay off most of its 18,500 workers, bringing the 82-year-old maker of Wonder Bread and Twinkies to the end of its line.
Discussion:
protein wisdom

Twinkie Maker Hostess to Close
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Deal Journal and Law Blog

Petraeus ‘Knew Almost Immediately’ Al Qaeda-Linked Group Responsible for Benghazi — David Petraeus is going to tell members of Congress that he “knew almost immediately after the September 11th attack, that the group Ansar al Sharia, the al Qaeda sympathizing group in Libya was responsible for the attacks,” CNN reports.
Discussion:
Power Line, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative, Patterico's Pontifications and Outside the Beltway
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Petraeus testifies CIA's Libya talking points were changed, lawmaker says — Former CIA Director David Petraeus testified in a closed-door hearing Friday morning that his agency determined immediately after the Sept. 11 Libya attack that “Al Qaeda involvement” was suspected …
Discussion:
Roger L. Simon, National Review and Jihad Watch


The Audacity of 51% — Get ready for higher taxes and no spending reform. — “Maybe peace would have broken out with a different kind of White House, one less committed to waging a perpetual campaign—a White House that would see a 51-48 victory as a call to humility and compromise rather than an irrefutable mandate.”
Discussion:
NationalJournal.com, Power Line, Michelle Malkin and ThinkProgress

In testimony, Petraeus says he always saw Benghazi as terrorism — Former CIA Director David Petraeus told lawmakers at a closed-door briefing Friday the agency believed the assault on the U.S. Consulate in Libya was a terrorist attack from the beginning. — Petraeus also indicated …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'


CNN: PETRAEUS TO TESTIFY HE KNEW LIBYA WAS TERRORISM ‘ALMOST IMMEDIATELY’ — Just a few minutes ago on CNN, Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr reported that a high-placed source informed her that former CIA Chief David Petraeus will use his upcoming testimony to amend his previous testimony.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Scared Monkeys, Nice Deb, Sense of Events, americanthinker.com and CBS News


Intel officials struggle to explain Libya talking points, pressure on Petraeus to clear the air
Discussion:
Power Line, NO QUARTER USA NET and CNN

McCain skips Benghazi briefing, gets testy when questioned by CNN
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', Politico, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, AMERICAblog, Prairie Weather, Taylor Marsh, The Agonist, Daily Kos, Addicting Info, This Just In, American Prospect, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Gawker, The Reality-Based Community, Guardian, Tucson Weekly, Crooks and Liars and The Daily Dish

Harkin: Leave Medicare, Medicaid out of fiscal-cliff talks — Senate Health Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said Thursday that Medicare and Medicaid should be off the table during talks on the fiscal cliff. — Harkin spoke alongside other liberal lawmakers at an event to highlight opposition …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Suburban Guerrilla and Hullabaloo
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Obama, Boehner launch second effort to reach grand bargain to cut deficit
Discussion:
ABCNEWS


President Obama, GOP Leaders Hold Fiscal Summit at White House
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh and CNN

Life, Death and Deficits — America's political landscape is infested with many zombie ideas — beliefs about policy that have been repeatedly refuted with evidence and analysis but refuse to die. The most prominent zombie is the insistence that low taxes on rich people are the key to prosperity.
Discussion:
msnbc.com
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Here on the Fiscal Slopes
Discussion:
Wonkblog, Crooks and Liars and The Hill

Fiscal Cliff Ad Campaign: Unions Target Senate Dems
Discussion:
Washington Monthly


Israel's Airstrike Gamble — Hamas supporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah carry obituary posters of Hamas mastermind Ahmed Jabari as they march in support of the people of the Gaza Strip. On the third day of a military operation prompted by a rocket attack just south of Tel Aviv …
Discussion:
Haaretz, Washington Monthly and JTA
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Bodies for Ballots
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maannews.net, BBC, Firedoglake, ABCNEWS, Lawyers, Guns & Money, 3quarksdaily, Mondoweiss, Guardian, Associated Press and New York Times


GOP Leaders' Debate: Change Message or Candidates? — LAS VEGAS—Two weeks after their presidential election defeat, Republican Party leaders are falling into roughly two camps as they struggle to explain what happened and devise ways to broaden the party's base.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS and Prairie Weather, more at Mediagazer »
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As G.O.P. Governors Gather, Prescriptions and Whispers for 2016
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Fix, Hot Air and Politico

Times See No Evil CEO Mark Thompson's Veil of Ignorance Continues To Unravel — The NY Times stuck with embattled former BBC chief Mark Thompson based on his assurances that despite thirty-three years at the BBC including eight at the helm he had never heard a whisper about BBC star Jimmy Savile's pedophilia.
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Letter Raises Questions About When BBC Ex-Chief Learned of Abuse Cases
Discussion:
Media Decoder, Poynter and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Bob FitzSimmonds, Virginia GOP Official, Predicts Obama ‘Goes To Hell’ … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Barack Obama , Ken Cuccinelli, Video, Virginia GOP, Bob Fitzsimmonds, Bob Fitzsimmonds Barack Obama, Bob Fitzsimmonds Obama Hell, Facebook Rants, Virginia Politics, Virginia Republican Party, Virginia Republicans, Politics News
Discussion:
Mediaite and Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'

Christie agrees Romney comments were ‘wrong’, calls on GOP to pivot — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said Friday Mitt Romney's comments that President Obama won the election by giving groups “gifts” were wrong. — Romney said he agreed with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) …
Discussion:
CNN