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.

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 …

In U.S., Views of Obama, Democrats Improve After Election  —  Favorable opinions of Obama highest in three years  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Now that the presidential election is over, Americans look a bit more positively toward both the winner (Barack Obama) and the loser (Mitt Romney) …

Broadwell, Kelley visited White House  —  Both women at the heart of the Petraeus scandal have visited the White House on multiple occasions, a White House official confirmed to POLITICO.  —  Petraeus's biographer Paula Broadwell attended an Afghanistan briefing, while Tampa socialite Jill …

Judge denies Allen West's recount request; focus now on 4 p.m. canvassing board meeting  —  FORT PIERCE — A judge today denied U.S. Rep. Allen West's request that he order a recount of 37,379 ballots from early voting in St. Lucie County — effectively leaving the decision …

Obama Voters No Longer Allowed at Pinetop Gun Store — “Effective Immediately”  —  If you're one of the 736 people in Pinetop who voted for President Obama last week, let it be known that you are no longer welcome inside one of the town's gun shops.  —  At least, that's according to the store's owner …

Roger Ailes on Election Night: ‘Rove was wrong.  He backed down.  Our guys were right.’  —  On election night, Fox News co-founder and chairman Roger Ailes watched election coverage in the News Corp. Sports Suite, down the hall from his second floor office.

Cortland County district attorney admits acting in porn movies in 1970s  —  Mark Suben, the Cortland County district attorney, said today he acted in pornographic movies in the 1970s.  —  In a 3 p.m. news conference today, he admitted that he lied about his history to The Post-Standard …

The Iron Dome, Press Bias, and Israel's Lack of Strategic Thinking  —  Some observations as the Gaza crisis continues to unfold:  —  1. The Iron Dome anti-rocket and missile defense system seems to work better than most people expected.  Israel is becoming very good at shooting down missiles.

When the Nerds Go Marching In  —  How a dream team of engineers from Facebook, Twitter, and Google built the software that drove Barack Obama's reelection  —  Three members of Obama's tech team, from left to right: Harper Reed, Dylan Richard, and Mark Trammell (Photo by Daniel X. O'Neil).

Most Republican States Won't Build Exchanges and That Is a Good Thing  —  Map showing party affiliation by Governors, current  —  Now that we have approached what should have been the deadline for states to say whether or not they plan to build state exchanges to comply with the Affordable Care Act …

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.