How close did Israel just come to its own Cuban missile crisis?  —  Nov. 17, 2012: Explosion and smoke rise following an Israeli strike in Gaza, seen from the Israel Gaza Border, southern Israel.AP  —  HAIFA, ISRAEL - Hundreds of Iranian-made, long-range missiles already smuggled …

White House could protect middle class from looming tax hikes  —  The White House has the power to temporarily protect taxpayers from middle-class tax hikes even as upper income rates rise if Congress does nothing and all of the Bush-era tax rates expire in January.

Volcanoes, Not Meteorite, Killed Dinosaurs, New Study Suggests … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Video, Dinosaur Death, Dinosaur Extinction, Dinosaurs Asteroid, Dinosaurs Deccan Traps, Dinosaurs India, Dinosaurs Lava, Dinosaurs Volcano, Volcanic Activity Dinosaurs, Volcanoes Killed Dinosaurs, What Killed Dinosaurs, Science News

Boris Johnson and Michael Gove join new Tory campaign group to push for same-sex marriage  —  Senior Conservatives today launch a new group which will campaign strongly for same-sex couples to be allowed to get married in church - in defiance of their party's traditionalists.

Big Money Bets on a Housing Rebound  —  DAVID N. MILLER, a master of bailouts, steps to the dais and coolly explains how the financial world went crazy.  —  It is February 2010.  The anger behind Occupy Wall Street is building.  Flicking through slides, Mr. Miller, a Treasury official working …

Boustany Jr. tops Landry in La. runoff  —  Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (La.) defeated fellow Republican Rep. Jeff Landry late Saturday in a runoff, according to the Associated Press, bringing the last outstanding House race of the 2012 cycle to a close.  —  With 85 percent of the precincts reporting …

Ed Miliband to wage war on George Osborne over benefit cuts  —  Labour set for Commons showdown as church leaders and charities protest at assault on welfare  —  Ed Miliband is to put Labour at the head of a national revolt to kill off the chancellor's latest benefit cuts as church leaders …

Responding to Jon Chait on the Suddenly Possible Idea of Raising the Medicare Eligibility Age  —  So my old college pal Jon Chait (I promise before the end of my time here to pull out the parody my college humor magazine did of his column in the Michigan Daily) has responded to my criticism …

Sanders: GOP Senate obstructionism ‘undemocratic’ and ‘unAmerican’  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) slammed Republican obstructionism in the Senate as “undemocratic” and “unAmerican” and urged filibuster reform after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blocked his own bill earlier this week.

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 …

Gay Activists Weigh Possibilities of Marriage Ruling  —  LOS ANGELES — Within moments of the announcement on Friday that the Supreme Court would hear two cases relating to same-sex marriage, gay activists rejoiced, heralding the decision as a major advancement for their movement.

Obama Team Outlines Donor Packages for Inauguration  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama's finance team is offering corporations and other institutions that contribute $1 million exclusive access to an array of inaugural festivities, including tickets to a “benefactors reception,” a children's concert …