Boehner Calls Off Plan B Vote  —  Boehner issued the following statement as an emergency meeting of the House Republican Conference was ending:

A conservative case for an assault weapons ban  —  If we can't draw a sensible line on guns, we may as well call the American experiment in democracy a failure.  —  An assault weapon similar to the type used in the Newtown, Conn. shooting.  (Joe Raedle / Getty Images / December 18, 2012)

Chuck Hagel Once Opposed Nominee Because He Was “Openly Aggressively Gay”  —  The man who would be secretary of defense also supported the ban on open military service for gays and lesbians.  —  Image by Ali Jarekji / Reuters  —  WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Chuck Hagel …

The Cost of Romney's Government-Assisted Transition: $8.9 Million  —  One of the less scintillating milestones of the 2012 election was marked by the General Services Administration, when Mitt Romney became the first candidate to take advantage of the Presidential Transition Act of 2010.

Newt Gingrich On Mitt Romney: ‘I Would Have Probably Done Better’ Against Obama … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Elections 2012, Gingrich 2012, Newt Gingrich, Video, Mitt Romney 2012, Mitt Romney Gay Marriage, Newt Gingrich Gay Marriage, Newt Gingrich Immigration Reform, Newt Gingrich Mitt Romney, Rnc Review, Romney Media, Politics News

FIRST ON CNN: Mark Sanford plans to run for Congress  —  Richmond, Virginia (CNN) - Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is launching a political comeback that may begin within days.  —  Sanford is planning to run for the Congressional seat he held almost a decade ago …

Jake Tapper joins CNN as Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent  —  Tapper to Anchor New Weekday Program Beginning in 2013  —  Accomplished Washington journalist Jake Tapper, who has served the last four years as ABC's senior White House correspondent and is a best-selling author …

Why the US media ignored Murdoch's brazen bid to hijack the presidency |  Carl Bernstein  —  Did the Washington Post and others underplay the story through fear of the News Corp chairman, or simply tin-eared judgment?  —  So now we have it: what appears to be hard, irrefutable evidence …

Barney Frank On Westboro Baptist Church, Prostitution And ‘Bigot’ Antonin Scalia … FOLLOW:  —  Barney Frank, Civil Rights, Prop 8, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Gay Marriage, Antonin Scalia, Barney Frank Antonin Scalia, Congressman Barney Frank, Gay Politics, Proposition 8, Barney Frank Retirement …

Mosque arsonist tells court: ‘I only know what I hear on Fox News’  —  An Indiana man convicted of setting fire to a mosque in Ohio told a judge on Wednesday that he committed the crimes because Fox News and conservative talk radio had convinced him that “most Muslims are terrorists.”

The 50 Worst Columns of 2012  —  “Punditry is fundamentally useless,” Nate Silver recently declared.  Now we don't think every hack with an inch count and an opinion is all that bad.  But while sifting through opinion fodder every morning to find the day's five best columns …

A sad announcement  —  I know I probably shouldn't have done it — especially because yesterday was a snowy day with the temperature here in Colorado dipping well below freezing — but on a whim I took all my guns and ammunition out in a small skiff on one of the nearby lakes and, sad to say …

Cory Booker Will Run for U.S. Senate in 2014: Sources  —  Newark Mayor Cory Booker will not challenge New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in next year's gubernatorial race and will instead run for U.S. Senate in 2014, political sources familiar with his decision tell NBC 4 New York.