Why I made the right call  —  View Photo Gallery — What you need to know about Susan Rice: The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has withdrawn from consideration for secretary of state  —  On Thursday I asked that President Obama no longer consider me for the job of secretary of state.

Marijuana Users Not High Priority for President Obama  —  President Obama says recreational users of marijuana in states that have legalized the substance should not be a “top priority” of federal law enforcement officials prosecuting the war on drugs.  —  “We've got bigger fish to fry,” …

The End of Birth-Control Politics  —  Over-the-counter sales of oral contraceptives will cut off a disingenuous attack line.  —  The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists announced its support last month for selling oral contraceptives over the counter without a prescription in the United States.

The G.O.P.'s Existential Crisis  —  We are not having a debt crisis.  —  It's important to make this point, because I keep seeing articles about the “fiscal cliff” that do, in fact, describe it — often in the headline — as a debt crisis.  But it isn't.  The U.S. government is having no trouble borrowing to cover its deficit.

With Gap Wide and Time Short, Obama and Boehner Meet  —  WASHINGTON — With time running short to work out a deal to avert a year-end fiscal crisis, Speaker John A. Boehner met with President Obama at the White House on Thursday evening to try to bridge a vast gap between the parties on taxes …

Man in Apparent Mitt Romney Mask Robs Sterling Bank  —  Robber took cash from all five tellers  —  A man who appeared to be wearing a Mitt Romney mask held up a bank in Sterling, Va., Thursday morning, and that's not all that had the FBI calling the robbery “unusual.”  News4's Pat Collins reports.

US says it won't ratify UN telecom treaty  —  The United States said Thursday that it will not sign a United Nations telecommunications treaty that U.S. technology companies warn would disrupt governance of the Internet and open the door to online censorship.

House GOP Secretly Authorized $500,000 To Defend Unconstitutional Anti-Gay Law  —  It has come to light that House Administration Committee Chairman Dan Lungren (R-CA) secretly approved a $500,000 increase to a contract with a private law firm to defend the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in federal court.

Only 15 States Opt to Run Obamacare Exchanges  —  Only 15 states have told the federal government they plan to operate health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama's reform law, leaving Washington with the daunting task of creating online marketplaces for two-thirds of the country.

Promise vs. Reality in Newark on Mayor's Watch  —  NEWARK — When snow blanketed this city two Christmases ago, Mayor Cory A. Booker was celebrated around the nation for personally shoveling out residents who had appealed for help on Twitter.  But here, his administration was scorned …

U.S. to send troops, Patriot missiles to Turkey  —  A member of the Syrian opposition's Al-Buraq Brigade stands guard on a main road in the northern Syrian town of Ain Dakna near the Turkish border on Monday, December 10.  Click through to view images of the fighting from December, or see photos of the conflict from November.

More staffers recount confrontational elevator rides with Rep. Foxx  —  More House staffers are coming forward with cautionary tales of their members-only elevator rides with Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.).  —  ITK last week brought you one tipster's claims of Foxx laying the verbal smackdown …

Other Media Provocateurs Pan Steven Crowder's Performance  —  “It's important not to instigate the person you're interviewing,” Fields says.  —  Video of conservative activist Steven Crowder's tussle with a union member in Michigan this week, which led to the Fox News contributor being punched …

Knife attack at Chinese school wounds 22 children  —  Beijing (CNN) — Twenty-two primary school children were wounded in a knife attack Friday in central China, authorities said.  —  The attack took place at the entrance to the Chenpeng Village Primary School in Henan province …

Virginia GOP Official Calls Union Members ‘Terrorists’  —  Union workers who were protesting the passage of so-called “right-to-work” laws outside the state capitol in Lansing, Michigan are “terrorists,” according to a former high-ranking official in the Republican Party of Virginia who now serves in a county-level elected office.

Inouye is pressed to give up his gavel  —  Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) is coming under pressure to relinquish his chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee.  —  Critics say the Senate panel has lost power in recent years under the 88-year-old Inouye, who took over the committee …

The best of the year in review!  —  From their lazy fingers to your scratchy eyeballs, journalists are now transmitting their “year in review” articles and “best of 2012″ lists if, unlike the New York Times Book Review, they haven't already published their lists of 100 notable books or their 10 best round-up.