News Analysis: Still Bitter About Election, Republican Opposition Unwilling to Compromise with President  —  WASHINGTON — If Friday's memorial service for one of this country's long-serving senators was a somber recollection of a bipartisan era that once was, the rest of the day was a frenetic reminder …

Today We Are Gathered ... To Hear More About Me  —  President Obama was supposed to eulogize the memory of Sen. Daniel Inouye.  Instead he told us about his favorite summer vacation.  —  Someone needs to tell Barack Obama—it must get particularly confusing this time of year …

How ‘Cliff’ Talks Hit the Wall  —  Behind Scenes, Boehner Failed to Sell Republicans on Taxes, While Obama's Spending Plans Rankled  —  WASHINGTON—Congressional leaders and President Barack Obama called Friday for a return to negotiations to avert the so-called fiscal cliff …

Jerry Brown's California revival  —  He's no kid at age 74, but California Gov. Jerry Brown has staged a comeback this year that Bill Clinton could appreciate.  —  It looked as though Brown's second go-round in the governor's job might well end after a single term.

Hospital apologises to 38 families for appalling care that saw a patient starve to death  —  An NHS hospital has apologised to 38 families after a patient starved to death and it left other dying people screaming in pain.  —  From left: Patricia Bridle, Laurence Hodges, Lois Smith and Chris Grande

The N.R.A. Crawls From Its Hidey Hole  —  Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, would have been better advised to remain wherever he had been hiding after the Newtown, Conn., massacre, rather than appear at a news conference on Friday.

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 …

Michael Steele: NRA Press Conference ‘Very Haunting And Very Disturbing’ (VIDEO)  —  Former Republican National Committee chairman and MSNBC commentator Michael Steele on Friday said he found the press conference led by National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre “very haunting and very disturbing.”

The Myth of Fingerprints  —  One false claim making the rounds about the House Republicans who defeated John Boehner's “Plan B” last night is that they don't understand that higher taxes are inevitable.  A lot of them understand that point perfectly well.  Some of them have been privately advising …

Postal workers continue hunger strike against proposed delivery cuts  —  Despite most of Congress leaving town for the holidays, postal workers are continuing a hunger strike protesting legislation to save the United States Postal Service (USPS) through budget cuts.