Angry with Obama, GOP threatens political war next year  —  Washington (CNN) — They are losing the battle over higher taxes on the wealthy, so now Republicans are threatening a political war next year when it comes time to raise the nation's debt ceiling.  —  With cracks appearing …

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.

The Morning Plum: A way out for labor in Michigan?  —  Today, Governor Rick Snyder is expected to sign “right to work” legislation in Michigan.  Obviously, this will constitute a hard blow to organized labor, for a host of reasons, symbolic and practical alike.

First on CNN: Haley finalizes short list for DeMint seat  —  Washington (CNN) - South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has whittled down the list of people she is considering for Jim DeMint's soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat to five people, a Republican close to the governor told CNN on Tuesday.

In ‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ she's the hero; in real life, CIA agent's career is more complicated  —  She was a real-life heroine of the CIA hunt for Osama bin Laden, a headstrong young operative whose work tracking the al-Qaeda leader serves as the dramatic core of a Hollywood film set to premiere next week.

Fox News Says Workers Who Don't Like Michigan's Anti-Union Bill ‘Can Get A Job Elsewhere’  —  On Tuesday, Fox News threw its weight behind Michigan's effort to allow union members to opt out of paying union dues, while benefiting from union contracts though so-called “right-to-work” legislation.

New tone?  Mich. Democrat threatens violence over right-to-work vote; ‘There will be blood’; Update: Mich. Dems proudly tweet violence threat; Update: Video added; Thugs follow-through; AFP tent stormed, Steven Crowder punched  —  Unreal.  As Twitchy reported, union goons are protesting the right-to-work vote in Michigan today.

Only 7% of Detroit Public-School 8th Graders Proficient in Reading  —  (CNSNews.com) - In the public schools in Detroit, Mich., according to the U.S. Department of Education, only 7 percent of the eighth graders are grade-level proficient or better in reading.

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 …

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.

An Embarrassing Metric Disappears  —  As the din of America's falling headfirst over the fiscal cliff reverberates across the nation, the Obama administration is quietly killing a key economic metric that tells how, and how many, people are voting with their feet.

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 …

Crafting a boom economy  —  Behind the Curtain: About this weekly feature  —  Behind the Curtain is a reported column, Web show and online conversation about the behind-the-scenes intrigue that shapes politics and policy.  It will unfold every Tuesday (and beyond, when news dictates).

Treasury Earns $7.6 Billion From Sale of Last Shares in A.I.G.  —  The Treasury Department said on Tuesday that it has sold off its remaining stake in the American International Group, reaping about $7.6 billion from the sale.  —  The government sold the 234.2 million shares at $32.50 each …

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 …

Tribune Said to Seek Bankers for Newspaper Sale  —  Tribune Co., the bankrupt owner of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and six other daily newspapers, is interviewing bankers about selling its papers, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

University of Texas professor claims black students are failing because they are raised by poor single women  — Law professor Lino Graglia has previously accused black culture of ‘setting children up for failure’  —  A professor at the University of Texas has sparked outrage by claiming black …

Raising the Medicare Eligibility Age Isn't Harmless  —  Facebook Twitter Digg Reddit StumbleUpon Delicious  —  I just can't believe we're still talking about raising the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67.  —  I've written so much about what's wrong with this policy, that I hesitate to do so again.