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4:35 PM ET, December 6, 2012

Top Items:

Sen. Jim DeMint to Head Heritage Foundation — South Carolina U.S. Senator Jim DeMint will replace Ed Feulner as president of the Heritage Foundation. Mr. DeMint will leave his post as South Carolina's junior senator in early January to take control of the Washington think tank, which has an annual budget of about $80 million.

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

11 Reasons You're Glad Jim DeMint Is Leaving The Senate — In an unexpected move, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), an arch-conservative and leader of the Tea Party movement, is resigning his seat in order to head up the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington DC.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Esquire, The Hill, BuzzFeed, The Plum Line, Talking Points Memo, The National Memo and The Impolitic

Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:

Good riddance, Mr. DeMint — Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is leaving the Senate to take over the Heritage Foundation. He will replace Ed Feulner as the conservative think tank's president. He expressed no qualms about leaving the Senate before his term is up, nor did he reflect on his legislative achievements, of which none come to mind.

Discussion: Wonkette, Politico, Weasel Zippers and Riehl World News

CNN:

BREAKING: Sen. Jim DeMint will step down from Senate — Washington (CNN) - Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina will resign from his Senate seat as of Dec. 31 to take over as head of the Heritage Foundation, his office announced Thursday. — “I honestly believe that I can do a lot …

Discussion: Politico, The Heritage Foundation, Truthdig, iOwnTheWorld.com and Roland Martin Reports

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:

Sources: DeMint wants Rep. Tim Scott to take his place in Senate — Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has made it known in South Carolina that he wants Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to replace him in the Senate, two state Republican sources tell The Hill. — The sources, requesting anonymity to speak candidly …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, theGrio, Weasel Zippers, Ricochet Conversations Feed and The PJ Tatler

Manu Raju / Politico:

Jim DeMint to resign to head Heritage Foundation — Sen. Jim DeMint abruptly announced plans to resign his South Carolina Senate seat to run the conservative Heritage Foundation, a stunning move that could have repercussions in the chamber and in Senate GOP primaries across the country.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Associated Press, The Right Scoop, ABCNEWS, Red Alert Politics and Connecting.the.Dots

Erick Erickson / RedState:
Two Roads Diverged: Jim DeMint Leaves U.S. Senate for Heritage Foundation Presidency

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The State, Commentary Magazine, msnbc.com, Political Capital, Washington Wire, Wall Street Journal, American Prospect, BuzzFeed, Guardian and The Daily Caller

Aaron Blake / The Fix:
Gov. Nikki Haley to fill DeMint's seat by appointment

Discussion: Post Politics and Sister Toldjah

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Pelosi jabs DeMint on his way out

Discussion: Mediaite

Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box:
South Carolina's GOP chairman: DeMint resignation ‘a shocker’

Discussion: The Fix and Post Politics

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Republicans wave the white flag — Speaker John Boehner emerged from his weekly huddle with House Republicans on Wednesday morning to take his place behind a mahogany lectern in front of a brown backdrop. The dark tones provided ideal camouflage for the deeply tanned speaker — as though he were trying to vanish into the background.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Plum Line, The New Republic and Washington Monthly

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:

Boehner Gains Strong Backing of House G.O.P. — WASHINGTON — With a daunting fiscal crisis looming and conservatives outside the House torching him at every turn, Speaker John A. Boehner might be assumed to have a shaky hold on his gavel. Instead, it appears he is enjoying the broadest support …

Discussion: Washington Post, The New Republic, No More Mister Nice Blog, Booman Tribune, The Democratic Daily, The Caucus, The Fix, Wake up America, Daily Kos, Prairie Weather and ABCNEWS

Ned Ryun / RedState:
Fire Boehner: We Only Need 16 Votes to Depose Boehner

Discussion: msnbc.com, AMERICAblog, Doug Ross, iOwnTheWorld.com and Business Insider

Josh Tyrangiel / Business Week:

Tim Cook's Freshman Year: The Apple CEO Speaks — Prior to his death on Oct. 5, 2011, Steve Jobs made sure that the elevation of Tim Cook—his longtime head of operations and trusted deputy—to Apple chief executive officer would be drama-free. “He goes, ‘I never want you to ask what I would have done,’” recalls Cook.

Discussion: New York Times, Daily Mail, The Verge, Fortune, VentureBeat, Guardian, New York Magazine, AllThingsD, TechCrunch, The Week, The Tell, GigaOM, The Consumerist, Engadget and Mashable!

Ronnie Polidoro / Rock Center with Brian Williams:

Apple CEO Tim Cook announces plans to manufacture Mac computers in USA — In an exclusive interview with Brian Williams airing tonight at 10pm/9c on NBC's “Rock Center,” Apple CEO Tim Cook announced one of the existing Mac lines will be manufactured exclusively in the United States next year.

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic Online, Guardian, Daily Download, emptywheel, The Daily Caller, The Verge, GigaOM, VentureBeat, Engadget, BBC and Via Meadia, more at Mediagazer »

Michael McAuliff / The Huffington Post:

Debt Ceiling Bluff Called By Harry Reid, Leaving Mitch McConnell To Filibuster Himself … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Debt Ceiling, Harry Reid , Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate, Video, Barack Obama Debt Ceiling, Fiscal Cliff, Mitch Mcconnell Filibuster, Politics News

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
McConnell Filibusters His Own Bill To Lift Debt Ceiling

Discussion: Mediaite and Wonkette

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
How Democrats' Main Filibuster Reform Would Work

Discussion: Washington Monthly, American Prospect, Daily Kos, ACS Blog and The Plum Line

Ramsey Cox / The Hill:
Reid blocks Senate vote on Obama's deficit-reduction plan

Discussion: Roll Call, Politico, Michelle Malkin, Scared Monkeys, Wake up America and Weekly Standard

Rick Ungar / Forbes:

Papa John's, Applebee's And Others Pay Huge Price For Anti-Obamacare Politicking — (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) — It turns out that being a good corporate citizen is as important to selling pizzas as the thinness of the crust or the quality of the cheese.

Discussion: Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes' and Hot Air

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:
Olive Garden Suffering From Bad PR After Anti-Obamacare Comments

Discussion: Business Insider

Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:

The Political Risks of Cliff-Diving — Republicans will get the blame, but it is the president who will be weakened most. — President Barack Obama has clear advantages in the public-opinion contest over the fiscal cliff. He recently won re-election, Democrats increased their Senate majority and the GOP controls only the House.

Discussion: Right Turn, Politico, Wake up America, msnbc.com and TheBlaze.com

Connie Cass / Associated Press:
HOW FAR OVER THE ‘FISCAL CLIFF’ COULD THEY GO?

Discussion: Federal Eye

Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:
Obama-friendly business group given great access to the White House

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air, CNBC, Associated Press, First Read and The Hill

David Bauder / Associated Press:

FOX'S CORRESPONDENT ON FRONT LINES WITH OBAMA — NEW YORK (AP) — Ed Henry's assignment covering the White House would be a challenge for any journalist, no matter his employer. — Yet Henry works at Fox News Channel, home base for viewers who longed for President Barack Obama's defeat.

Discussion: Mediaite and Politico

The Nation:

Go to Your Womb, Ross Douthat — This article appeared in the December 24-31, 2012 edition of The Nation. — Recommended by 1 — Courtesy: Josh Haner/New York Times — — Ross Douthat, The New York Times's Catholic-conservative columnist, is so obsessed with women's fertility it's …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Althouse

New York Times:

U.S.-Approved Weapons Transfer Ended Up With Libyan Jihadis — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration secretly gave its blessing to arms shipments to Libyan rebels from Qatar last year, but American officials later grew alarmed as evidence grew that Qatar was turning some of the weapons …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit, Belmont Club, AEIdeas, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, The Right Sphere, Weasel Zippers, Washington Examiner, Liberty Unyielding, Right Wing News, JustOneMinute, Atlas Shrugs, Vox Verax, The Jawa Report, Jihad Watch and Lawfare

Judy Kurtz / The Hill:

Lawmaker chews out staffer for riding on members-only elevator — Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) chewed out a House staffer after catching her riding on a “members only” elevator, according to an ITK tipster who was on the scene. — But Foxx's office is calling our lookout's description of events in the elevator an “exaggeration.”

Discussion: Daily Kos and Gawker

Alex Hern / New Statesman:

FT loses its motherloving mind with ill-advised rap-themed front page opinion piece — “Stay Middling And Retire Disappointed” — The FT has an incredible front-page opinion piece today. The print version has the headline “G-Dawg splashes out tax cuts like P Diddy with Dom Pérignon in his blingiest giveaway”.

Discussion: Mediaite and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Becky Iannotta / Air Force Times:

Air Force-wide inspections begin today — Commanders and supervisors in all corners of the Air Force will conduct a widespread sweep of all work spaces and public areas starting today, looking for pictures, calendars and other materials that objectify women.

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Katherine Skiba / Chicago Tribune:

Kirk to return to Senate on Jan. 3 … WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, who suffered a stroke in January, plans to return to the Senate floor on Jan. 3, the first day of the new Congress, Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Ill., said Thursday. — A Senate official, who spoke on condition of anonymity …

Discussion: The Hill and 2chambers

Ryan Cooper / Washington Monthly:

Liberals, the Fiscal Thingy, and Message Discipline — The last several weeks of negotiations have have provided a good example of one of the left's biggest weaknesses: message discipline. Ben Bernanke came up with the phrase “fiscal cliff,” and it stuck.

Discussion: Mother Jones, A plain blog about politics and Slate