The Monster of Monticello  —  Durham, N.C.  —  THOMAS JEFFERSON is in the news again, nearly 200 years after his death — alongside a high-profile biography by the journalist Jon Meacham comes a damning portrait of the third president by the independent scholar Henry Wiencek.

Police: Chiefs player kills girlfriend then kills self  —  Police are investigating two deadly shootings Saturday morning that they said are related.  —  The shootings involve a Chiefs player and his girlfriend.  —  The first shooting was reported about 8 a.m. at a home near East 54th Terrace and Crysler Avenue.

Infrastructure Spending Needed: Century-Old New Jersey Bridge Collapses For Second Time In Four Years  —  A bridge in Paulsboro, New Jersey collapsed Friday morning, derailing a train carrying highly flammable and carcinogenic vinyl chloride into Mantua Creek.

Why Obama is pushing for stimulus in ‘fiscal cliff’ deal  —  President Obama's opening offer in ‘fiscal cliff’ talks includes $255 billion in stimulus spending - tax cuts, incentives, and more.  It could be a bargaining ploy or a bid to offset rising taxes on the rich.  —  How about a little government economic stimulus?

Rep. Fleck takes place in history  —  First openly gay member of Pennsylvania House  —  Pennsylvania's 81st District is a diverse place — a threecounty territory that encompasses Appalachian, Amish and liberal arts cultures in the midst of the urban and academic centers of Altoona and State College.

Mitt Romney's loss creates GOP leadership vacuum  —  BOSTON (AP) — Mitt Romney's shadow looms over a Republican Party in disarray.  —  The face of the GOP for much of the last year, the failed presidential candidate has been a virtual ghost since his defeat Nov. 6.

School Quotas and Speech Codes May Result From Senate Amendment to Defense Bill  —  Suing schools and colleges has nothing to do with supporting our troops.  —  But that didn't stop Senators from seeking to add an amendment, SA 3215, to the 2013 Defense Authorization bill on Thursday …

Nate Silver: Politico Covers Politics Like Sports But ‘Not In An Intelligent Way At All’  —  New York Times polling guru Nate Silver took aim at Politico's brand of reporting on Friday, saying the Washington-based news outlet covers politics like sports but “not in an intelligent way at all.”

NORQUIST: NEW, LARGER ‘TEA PARTY SECOND WAVE’ COMING  —  “We are about to have a Tea Party second wave that will dwarf the first wave and that is because while ‘spend too much’ brought the Tea Party into existence, we're about to walk into ‘spend too much, regulate too much, and tax too much,’ all together.

Republicans' Ace in the Hole: Simpson-Bowles?  —  Democrats appear to have the upper hand on the politics of the fiscal cliff, which might explain their brash pronouncements and mind-blowing conceptualization of “compromise.”  This morning I outlined three possible contingencies for Republicans, none of which is especially attractive.

Hillary Clinton no fan of Susan Rice, prefers Kerry for State  —  American Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice speaks to reporters after a Security Council meeting on the situation in Libya, Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at United Nations headquarters.  (AP Photo)  —  The Rice Report...

House cuts back on Fridays  —  The House is scheduled to be in session on only 15 Fridays in 2013, an almost 30 percent drop from 2011, according to the calendar released by House Majority leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Friday.  —  In 2011, there were 21 scheduled Fridays, against only 15 planned for 2013.

News Corp. Set to Name WSJ Editor as Publishing Company's CEO  —  News Corp . plans to name Robert Thomson, managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and editor in chief of Dow Jones, as chief executive of its publishing company as early as next week, according to people familiar with the matter.