Two Cheers for Zero Dark Thirty's Torture Scenes  —  One scene features a bloodied, disoriented and humiliated man is strapped to a wall with his pants around his ankles.  A second scene depicts the same man having liquid forcibly poured down his throat; later, he's shoved into a box that could barely hold your stereo.

White House drops support for major Medicaid cut  —  The Obama administration backed away Monday from roughly $100 billion in Medicaid savings it had proposed during deficit-reduction talks earlier this year.  —  The move comes as liberals have pressed the White House to take Medicaid off …

Justice Scalia defends comparing laws against homosexuality, murder  —  U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia equated homosexuality and murder on Monday as he argued at a Princeton seminar that elected bodies should be allowed to regulate actions they see as immoral.

Panel Recommends that Maine Prosecutor be Suspended … Assistant Hancock County District Attorney Mary Kellett is being recommended for suspension by a panel of the Maine Board of Bar Overseers.  Created by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, the board governs the conduct of lawyers.

The Union ‘Free-Rider Problem’ Myth in Right-to-Work Debate  —  The union is the one truly taking advantage of the collective bargaining arrangement  —  With Michigan on track to become a right-to-work state, which would make it illegal to fire an employee for refusing to pay union dues or agency fees …

NO SHOTS FIRED: STATE DEPT BENGHAZI SECURITY FORCE UNARMED  —  A source with personal knowledge of the security situation in Benghazi told Breitbart News that Senators who listened to closed door testimony about the Benghazi attack were shocked to learn State Department security personnel agents were not immediately armed.

In Talks, House Majority Weighs Loyalty to Voters  —  WASHINGTON — As their leaders inch toward agreeing to higher tax rates, dozens of House Republicans find themselves caught between the will of a larger American public that favors higher taxes on the rich and the wishes of constituents …

School Districts Closed Because Of Excessive Teacher Absences Over Right-to-Work  —  Students suffer because ‘several hundred’ teachers call in sick to attend right-to-work protest in Lansing  —  At least 26,000 children will miss school today because their teachers called in sick or took …

THE VOICES MISSING FROM THE SAFETY NET DEBATE  —  Something there is about the Supplemental Security Income Program of the Social Security Administration that seems to drive putative liberals to embrace their inner DeMint.  Years ago, when Bill Clinton was in the White House and Newt Gingrich …

N.J. Sen. Barbara Buono is first Democrat to challenge Christie for governor  —  TRENTON — State Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) has officially announced she is running for governor, making her the first Democrat to challenge Gov. Chris Christie.  —  “It's time for a leader in Trenton …

US sending 20 more F-16s to Egypt, despite turmoil in Cairo  —  Turmoil in Egypt isn't stopping a shipment of 20 F-16 fighter jets, including this one - already emblazoned with Egypt's flag.  —  Instability in Egypt, where a newly-elected Islamic government teeters over an angry population …

Republicans must wise up  —  The biggest problem the Republican Party faces is not uninspiring candidates or unsound tactics.  It is unpopular ideas.  —  This reality was brought home in last month's election.  It's playing out in the struggle over how to avoid the “fiscal cliff.”

INFOGRAPHIC: We Could End Homelessness With The Money Americans Spend On Christmas Decorations  —  The latest annual report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development shows that the national homeless population held steady from 2011 to 2012, hardly good news but perhaps better …

Clinton cancels Mid East trip due to illness  —  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will not attend the Dec. 12 meeting of the Friends of Syria in Morocco due to a lingering stomach ailment.  —  Clinton was expected to make news at the event by formally recognizing the National Coalition …

California doubles down on solar power, as critics question cost, job results  —  Solar power facilities like this one in Riverside County, Calif., have raises concerns among some, who question whether the public is really benefiting from the investment.FOX NEWS

Tempers flare at Capitol with Michigan on brink of right-to-work legislation  —  Lansing — Heated exchanges and loud chanting over controversial right-to-work legislation came into focus Tuesday with eyes on Michigan's historic showdown between Republican lawmakers and organized labor.

FBI Report Shows Anti-LGBT Hate Crimes Increased In 2011  —  The FBI has released its hate crimes statistics for the year 2011.  The Anti-Defamation League notes that the overall number of hate crime incidents decreased from 6,628 in 2010 to 6,222, the lowest number of reported hate crimes since 1994.

A Resistance Movement Rises Against ObamaCare  —  This article appears in the December 24, 2012 issue of Forbes.  —  (Photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com)  —  ObamaCare may be the law, but a major resistance movement has already sprouted across the U.S. Though approval …

George Zimmerman case: Hearing today on GPS, evidence motions  —  Zimmerman, charged with murder in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, wants to be let off GPS monitoring.  —  George Zimmerman, left, arrives at the Seminole County courthouse for a hearing, Tuesday, December 11, 2012.

Sens. Klobuchar, Hagan: Delay medical device tax  —  Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) on Monday sought to delay a new tax on medical devices, which is part of President Obama's signature healthcare law.  —  The senators — both from states where the device industry …

Terrorist Designations of the al-Nusrah Front as an Alias for al-Qa'ida in Iraq  —  Press Statement  —  Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson  —  Washington, DC  —  The Department of State has amended the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Executive Order (E.O.) …

Worst Marketing Decision Ever: Drycleaner Puts “Pro-life” Message on Their Hangers  —  There is a branch of anti-choice activists that will use pretty much anything as a medium for their message: newspaper ads, graphic signs displayed in front of schools, bus stop benches.

Election Sharpens the Partisan Divide  —  If the stop-and-go talks aimed at steering the nation away from the fiscal cliff seem to show that Washington remains a deeply divided place, there is good reason: The nation beyond the people's representatives remains just as deeply divided.