I Hope This Isn't True  —  Ezra Klein says that the shape of a fiscal cliff deal is clear: only a 37 percent rate on top incomes, and a rise in the Medicare eligibility age.  —  I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that this is just a case of creeping Broderism, that it's a VSP fantasy …

Charlie Crist signs papers to become a Democrat  —  It was just a matter of time.  Charlie Crist is becoming a Democrat.  —  Crist — Florida's former Republican governor who relished the tough-on-crime nickname “Chain Gang Charlie” and used to describe himself variously as a …

Special Report: From abuse to a chat room, a martyr is made - Jane's Jihad  —  (Reuters) - “Kill him.”  —  The American who called herself Jihad Jane read the words on her computer screen.  Colleen LaRose was fiddling on the Internet, passing time in her duplex near Philadelphia …

Mayan apocalypse: panic spreads as December 21 nears  —  Fears that the end of the world is nigh have spread across the world with only days until the end of the Mayan calendar, with doomsday-mongers predicting a cataclysmic end to the history of Earth.  —  Cubans participate in a Mayan ritual at Bacuranao beach in eastern Havana.

Catcher in the Rye dropped from US school curriculum  —  Schools in America are to drop classic books such as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye from their curriculum in favour of ‘informational texts’.  —  JD Salinger's novel Catcher in the Rye …

How the Mainstream Press Bungled the Single Biggest Story of the 2012 Campaign … Elections 2012 , Thomas Mann , Elite Political Press , Fact Checking , Lies , Msm , Norman Ornstein , Political Coverage , Media News  —  Post-mortems of contemporary election coverage typically include regrets …

California state revenues 10.8% below budget projections in November  —  The following information was released by the California Controller.  —  State Controller John Chiang today released his monthly report covering California's cash balance, receipts and disbursements in November 2012 …

Labor rebellion: Fast-food workers, inspired by Walmart strikers, demand higher wages  —  Last month, workers at hundreds of Walmart locations nationwide staged protests—many on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year—demanding the retail giant pay higher wages.

Egyptian President Said to Prepare Martial Law Decree  —  CAIRO — Struggling to subdue continuing street protests, the government of President Mohamed Morsi has approved legislation reimposing martial law by calling on the armed forces to keep order and authorizing soldiers to arrest civilians, Egypt's state media reported on Saturday.

Illegal immigrant gets kidney  —  Loyola covers costs of transplant  —  As an illegal immigrant, Jorge Mariscal waited eight years for a kidney transplant he feared would never come.  —  His persistence paid off Thursday when he underwent the procedure at Loyola University Medical Center.

Psy Apologizes for Anti-American Performances  —  ‘I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused anyone by those words,’ says South Korean singer  —  “Gangnam Style” singer Psy issued an apology Friday in reponse to widespread reports about his participation in two anti-American concerts a decade ago in his native South Korea.

Supreme Court to Take Up Gay Marriage  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would enter the national debate over same-sex marriage, agreeing to hear a pair of cases challenging state and federal laws that define marriage to include only unions of a man and a woman.