Remarks from the NRA press conference on Sandy Hook school shooting, delivered on Dec. 21, 2012 (Transcript)  —  Video: After a week of silence in the wake of the Newtown shootings, the National Rifle Association finally spoke out Friday defending guns and decrying violence.

The humiliation of John Boehner  —  He's powerless, and his own party continues to make him look like a fool.  Maybe he'll just walk away  —  Last night was hardly the first public humiliation that John Boehner has suffered at the hands of his fellow Republicans, but it's probably the most stark.

Chuck Hagel apologizes for gay slur  —  Former Sen. Chuck Hagel, seeking to preserve his viability for nomination as secretary of Defense, on Friday issued a strong apology for a gay slur in 1998 that turned some top Democratic activists against his potential selection.

Scramble is on for Kerry's Senate seat  —  President Obama's nomination of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) for secretary of State on Friday will set off a mad scramble — particularly among Democrats — to fill the Massachusetts Senate seat in a special election to be held next year.

Talk radio host Dana Loesch files suit in St. Louis against Breitbart.com  —  • By Robert Patrick rpatrick@post-dispatch.com 314-621-5154  —  ST. LOUIS  • Conservative talk radio host and commentator Dana Loesch sued the owner of the conservative website Breitbart.com Friday …

Obama Waking Up From Dream of Grand Bargain  —  “Call me a hopeless optimist,” said President Obama at his press conference tonight, in which he pleaded for Republicans to join him in averting the “fiscal cliff,” “but I still think we can get this done.”  —  Okay.  You're a hopeless optimist, President Obama.

The Case For Going Over The Cliff Remains Strong  —  WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 20: U.S. President Barack Obama walks to the White House December 20, 2012 in Washington, DC.  —  I wrote earlier today that I think the failure of Plan B makes a deal more likely than it would have been had the bill passed.

Iowa Court: Bosses Can Fire ‘Irresistible’ Workers  —  The Iowa Supreme Court says a dentist did not commit gender discrimination when he fired an attractive female assistant he viewed as a threat to his marriage.  —  The court ruled Friday that a boss can fire an employee he considers an …

Newtown & My Critics  —  Well, at least no one is calling for my “head on a stick” — but that's probably because Prof. Erik Loomis of the University of Rhode Island is about the only person or entity that hasn't denounced me for pointing out in NRO's Sandy Hook symposium that the school …

GQ Exclusive!  Ben Affleck on Politics: “Ugly.”  “Toxic.”  “Horrendous.”  “Complete Bullsh-t.”  “I Don't Want To Run For Office.”  —  All this feverish speculation that Ben Affleck is ready to put himself forward as a candidate if John Kerry vacates his senate seat, does it really come from somewhere?

An opinion on gun control  —  I didn't want to post about this, because frankly, it is exhausting.  I've been having this exact same argument for my entire adult life.  It is not an exaggeration when I say that I know pretty much exactly every single thing an anti-gun person can say.

How Many People Have Been Killed by Guns Since Newtown?  —  Slate partners with @GunDeaths for an interactive, crowdsourced tally of the toll firearms have taken since Dec. 14.  —  Since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, we at Slate have been wondering …

Community Resource Officer Called to “Back Lot”  —  Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy Neil Gardner soon would complete his second year as the uniformed community resource officer assigned to Columbine High School.  Gardner, a 15-year veteran of the Sheriff's Office, normally ate his lunch …

Marijuana, Not Yet Legal for Californians, Might as Well Be  —  LOS ANGELES — Let Colorado and Washington be the marijuana trailblazers.  Let them struggle with the messy details of what it means to actually legalize the drug.  Marijuana is, as a practical matter, already legal in much of California.