David Gregory will not host this Sunday's ‘Meet The Press’  —  NBC's David Gregory, the subject of a now-popular police investigation, is on vacation and will not host this Sunday's edition of “Meet The Press.”  —  The Washington Metropolitan Police Department launched an investigation …

The White House's Kent Conrad problem  —  On Fox News Sunday, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), the outgoing chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, made a proposal to solve the “fiscal cliff.”  The proposal isn't going anywhere, but its specifics explain something important about the White House's negotiating strategy.

Benghazi penalties are bogus  —  The four officials supposedly out of jobs because of their blunders in the run-up to the deadly Benghazi terror attack remain on the State Department payroll — and will all be back to work soon, The Post has learned.  —  The highest-ranking official caught …

Let's Come Together, America  —  Posted by Howard S., Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive officer  —  There are moments in our lives when we have an opportunity to ignite tremendous positive change—not just in the lives of the customers and communities we serve every day, but in our country.

Chuck Hagel Gets His Second Wind  —  Tom Friedman, in this morning's New York Times, endorses Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense.  Friedman finds it “disgusting” that Hagel has been “smeared as an Israel hater at best” by his detractors (some neoconservatives).

Bush 41 spends Christmas in hospital  —  (CNN) - Former President George H.W. Bush spent Christmas with his family in a Houston hospital and is in good spirits, though doctors have not yet discussed when he may be released, his spokesman told CNN.  —  “The president has made very slight improvement …

Liberals Panic As They Lose the Gun Narrative  —  When you argue for a living, you can tell how an argument is going for you.  The evidence and my gut both tell me that the liberals have lost control of the gun control narrative.  —  Not for lack of trying - it was almost as if they were poised …

FreedomWorks tea party group nearly falls apart in fight between old and new guard  —  The day after Labor Day, just as campaign season was entering its final frenzy, FreedomWorks, the Washington-based tea party organization, went into free fall.  —  Richard K. Armey, the group's chairman …

Frank Luntz: NRA not listening to public  —  Pollster Frank Luntz, who has studied attitudes about gun control, said on Wednesday that he doesn't “think the NRA is listening” to the American public in the wake of the massacre of 20 children at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school.

Court punts on recess appointments  —  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has declined to wade into the issue of whether President Barack Obama had the authority to make four recess appointments earlier this year when the Senate was not officially in recess.

A cost savings everyone should endorse  —  The cliff talks have disintegrated, victim of the Crazy Caucus also known as the Republican House.  But eventually they will resume, and with them discussion of a way to raise billions in tax revenue — an approach on which House Speaker John Boehner …

Dems choose Hanabusa, Kiaaina, Schatz as finalists for Inouye Senate seat  —  The Hawaii Democratic Party's state central committee Wednesday selected three finalists - U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, Deputy state Land and Natural Resources Director Esther Kiaaina and Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz …

Recall-mania: Why American voters are increasingly eager to oust lawmakers  —  Across the nation, a record 168 officials faced recall votes this year  —  W  —  hile the multi-billion dollar presidential campaign sucked up most of the nation's attention this year, in scores of smaller elections across …