Eric, Donald Jr. and Ivanka Trump advised The Donald to cool it on Obama, insider says  —  Rihanna and Chris Brown back on track in Berlin; Jenny McCarthy's livin' large on Twitter  —  Donald Trump's kids advised the billionaire to back off on Obama-bashing, say insiders.

Economic View: A Liberal Obama vs. a Moderate Obama in the Fiscal Debate  —  THROUGHOUT Washington, policy makers are debating how to avoid hitting a wall on Jan. 1, when large and abrupt tax increases and spending cuts will take effect automatically unless Congress acts.

Jurors Agree: University of Iowa Law School Discriminated Against Faculty Applicant Due to Her Conservative Views  —  Following up on my previous posts (links below) about Teresa Wagner's federal lawsuit: Des Monies Register, Jurors Say They Saw Hiring Bias at University of Iowa; But University …

UN Climate Chief Calls Out U.S. For Climate Inaction: Hurricane Sandy Is ‘Yet Another Wake-up Call’  —  Hurricane Sandy's $50 billion damage demonstrated the vulnerability of America's largest cities to the effects of global warming.  Christiana Figueres, the top United Nations diplomat …

That Shortage of Skilled Manufacturing Workers is Really a Shortage of Employers Willing to Pay the Market Wage  —  News stories have been filled with reports of managers of manufacturing companies insisting that they have jobs open that they can't fill because there are no qualified workers.

Thieves strike storm-damaged Breezy Point homes over Thanksgiving holiday  —  The grinches struck early this year.  —  Residents of storm-battered Breezy Point returned from the Thanksgiving holiday to discover that thieves had looted their damaged homes — even taking one family's change jars, The Post has learned.

U.S. officials tell state to use same standards to grade charter schools  —  PHILADELPHIA — Federal education officials have denied Pennsylvania's request to evaluate charter school achievement using more lenient criteria, saying they must be assessed by the same standard as traditional schools.

Grover Norquist: the end of an error?  —  Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia is making headlines today, for his recent comments about the no-tax-increase pledge he once made to powerful wingnut activist Grover Norquist.  Chambliss said he's not worried that Norquist will sic a primary challenger on him if he votes to raise taxes:

Larry Hagman, Who Played J.R. Ewing in ‘Dallas,’ Dies at 81  —  Larry Hagman, whose portrayal of one of television's most beloved villains, J. R. Ewing, led the CBS series “Dallas” to enormous worldwide popularity, died on Friday in Dallas.  He was 81.  —  The cause was complications of cancer, his family said in a statement.

It's time to rebuild America  —  Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat, is mayor of Chicago and represented Illinois' 5th District in the U.S. House from 2003 to 2009.  He was White House chief of staff from January 2009 to October 2010.  —  Too much post-election analysis has focused on voter demographics …

With second term assured, Obama aides eye jobs as lobbyists  —  With President Obama's reelection a done deal, headhunters are expecting worn-out administration aides to look for new jobs in the influence industry.  —  Several Obama aides started making post-election plans well before November …

Reid faces task of mending fences with GOP after campaign attacks  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) infuriated Republicans during the campaign with his harsh partisan attacks and now faces the delicate task of mending his relationship with the GOP.

Israel eases Gaza border restrictions after Hamas truce deal  —  GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP - Gaza residents said Saturday that Israel has eased some border restrictions as part of its truce with the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers, allowing farmers to visit land near its security fence and letting fishermen head further out to sea.

It's A Good Thing We've Got Smart Diplomacy!  —  As Paul noted earlier today, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi followed up his supposed diplomatic triumph in Gaza by claiming new, more or less dictatorial powers.  Morsi's announcement was greeted with outrage by many Egyptians, some of whom took to the streets: