EXCLUSIVE: Fear of being committed may have caused Connecticut gunman to snap  —  NEWTOWN, CONN. - The gunman who slaughtered 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school may have snapped because his mother was planning to commit him to a psychiatric facility …

Pelosi Backed Boehner's Tax Cut Proposal  —  A new tax on millionaires, if talks fail.  —  Image by Jason Reed / Reuters  —  WASHINGTON — Speaker of the House John Boehner's “Plan B” to avert the fiscal cliff would cut taxes for incomes under $1 million — a higher threshold than the White House demands …

NRA Promises “Meaningful” Contributions  —  The gun group breaks its silence.  “We were shocked, saddened, and heartbroken.”  —  National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam emails the first statement from the organization since Friday's massacre in Newtown.

Inquiry Into Libya Attack Is Sharply Critical of State Dept.  —  WASHINGTON — An independent inquiry into the attack on the United States diplomatic mission in Libya that killed four Americans on Sept. 11 sharply criticizes the State Department for a lack of seasoned security personnel …

Senate Republicans May Oppose Hagel SecDef Nomination  —  Senate Republicans signaled Tuesday afternoon that they may put up a fight if Barack Obama nominates former Nebraska Republican senator Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense.  —  Asked about Hagel's 2008 statement that the …

The Times Embarrasses Itself on Guns-Again!  —  It's too bad the members of the New York Times editorial board don't sign their editorials.  If they did, we could ridicule them by name.  The Times, as an institution, has chosen to place ideology above accuracy.

Party Identity in a Gun Cabinet  —  An American child grows up in a married household in the suburbs.  What are the chances that his family keeps a gun in their home?  —  The probability is considerably higher than residents of New York and other big cities might expect …

Family Research Council Sued For Sexual Harassment, Discrimination … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Video, Family Research Council, William Saunders, Family Research Council Gender Discrimination, Family Research Council Lawsuit, Family Research Council Sexual Harassment, Moira Gaul, Politics News

Michigan's Republican Governor Vetoes Concealed Gun Bill, Cites Sandy Hook Shooting  —  Sandy Hook was a factor, said Snyder in a statement.  “This type of violence often leaves society with more questions than answers.”  —  Republican Michigan Governor Rick Synder vetoed a concealed gun bill Tuesday afternoon.

CBS News: ‘Fast and Furious’ Gun Found At Site Where Mexican Beauty Queen Killed  —  WASHINGTON (CBSDC) - A gun found at the scene of a shootout between a Mexican drug cartel and soldiers where a beauty queen died was part of the botched “Fast and Furious” operation, CBS News reports.

University of Rhode Island professor's retweet: Murder anyone who thinks teachers should be armed; Update: Police met with prof  —  Four days ago, Erik Loomis, an assistant professor of American history at the University of Rhode Island, retweeted the above tweet.

Nate Silver: Person of the Year  —  His forecasts for the 2012 election became the talk of the chattering classes.  Now that he's vanquished his critics, what's next for the brainiac?  —  Photography by Mike McGregor  —  Nate Silver wants to know if I've seen Jiro Dreams of Sushi …

Gun Debate Must Avoid Crazy 2nd Amendment Claims  —  The rise of the Second Amendment as a serious obstacle to U.S. gun control legislation is astonishingly recent.  —  Its rise is a tribute less to the vision of the Founding Fathers than to the skill, money and power of the contemporary gun-rights movement …

Instagram says it now has the right to sell your photos  —  In its first big policy shift since Facebook bought the photo-sharing site, Instagram claims the right to sell users' photos without payment or notification.  Oh, and there's no way to opt out.  —  Instagram said today …

Snyder's popularity plummets  —  Just last month when we took a first look at the 2014 landscape we talked about how much Rick Snyder had improved his popularity during his second year in office and how he led a generic Democrat for reelection by 6 points, even as Barack Obama won the state comfortably.