GOP's McConnell promises no more shutdowns over ObamaCare  —  Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says he will not allow another government shutdown as part of a strategy to repeal ObamaCare.  —  McConnell (Ky.) told The Hill in an interview Thursday afternoon that his party learned …

There's a little pork in that bill: The 5 most surprising provisions in the debt deal  —  (CNN) — So much for a “clean” bill.  The measure passed by Congress to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling also contains some goodies and gifts tucked into the 35-page bill.

Eureka!  Tea partiers know science  —  A finding in a study on the relationship between science literacy and political ideology surprised the Yale professor behind it: Tea party members know more science than non-tea partiers.  —  Yale law professor Dan Kahan posted on his blog this week …

The Year of Living Carlos Dangerously  —  Anthony Weiner's sexting addiction nuked his political career (twice!), endangered his marriage (twice!), and turned him into a walking penis joke (forever!).  —  Marshall Sella tails Weiner through his doomed campaign for New York mayor …

Right-wing nuts nab new way to sabotage Obamacare  —  One low-profile component could prove costly  —  The final deal to avert a breach of the debt limit and end the government shutdown included what has been described as a “small concession” to Republicans: tightening the income verification measures …

Exclusive: Jeh Johnson Tapped to Lead Department of Homeland Security  —  Jeh Johnson, the top Pentagon lawyer during Obama's first term, will be nominated to succeed Janet Napolitano at the Department of Homeland Security.  Daniel Klaidman reports.  —  The White House has settled …

Documents reveal NSA's extensive involvement in targeted killing program  —  It was an innocuous e-mail, one of millions sent every day by spouses with updates on the situation at home.  But this one was of particular interest to the National Security Agency and contained clues that put …

McCain, Gohmert spar over who's ‘intelligent’  —  (CNN) - Sen. John McCain may be advising Republicans not to speak ill will of each other, but that's not stopping him from getting into a public exchange with fellow Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert.  —  Wednesday night, McCain charged that Gohmert …

Stenographer dragged off House floor after protest  —  A House of Representatives stenographer was dragged off the floor during the vote to end the partial government shutdown and raise the U.S. debt ceiling after a bizarre protest in which she began ranting at members.

Rep. Bill Young ‘gravely ill,’ family says  —  Washington (CNN) - Rep. Bill Young of Florida, the longest-serving Republican member of the House, is “gravely ill,” his family said in a statement Wednesday.  —  “[Young's] condition turned for the worse over night and he is gravely ill …

Hillary Clinton, Welcome to the White House  —  She has no Democratic challenger, and the Republican Party is no longer a credible opposition force.  —  Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton smiles as she waits to answer questions from an audience at Chatham House on October 11, 2013 in London, England.

Mental Floss Exclusive: Our Interview with Bill Watterson! … For the December issue of mental_floss magazine, Jake Rossen managed to do something we thought was impossible—he snagged an interview with the legendary Bill Watterson!  Since we're guessing there are a few Calvin and Hobbes enthusiasts …

Milwaukee man gets jail time for voting twice in presidential election  —  By Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel  —  Chad Gigowski said he was not part of any organized election fraud effort, just high on alcohol and drugs when he voted twice in November's presidential election.

Tech experts: Health exchange site needs total overhaul  —  WASHINGTON — The federal health care exchange was built using 10-year-old technology that may require constant fixes and updates for the next six months and the eventual overhaul of the entire system, technology experts told USA TODAY.

Obamacare Website Violates Licensing Agreement for Copyrighted Software  —  Healthcare.gov, the federal government's Obamacare website, has been under heavy criticism from friend and foe alike during its first two weeks of open enrollment.  Repeated errors and delays have prevented many users …

Conservatives Learned The Wrong Lessons From The Shutdown Debacle  —  For a certain block of House conservatives, the ones who drove Speaker John Boehner toward a government shutdown and near-default against his will, the lesson of the last few weeks isn't that they overreached.

“Grenade-walking” part of “Gunwalking” scandal  —  New evidence in ATF's mysterious grenade smuggler case  —  Complete coverage of the gunwalking scandal  —  The gun battle took place last week in Guadalajara.  Authorities say five members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel used …

Dr. Manny: America's obsession with ‘The Walking Dead’ is hurting our society  —  Is watching “The Walking Dead” seriously hurting American society?  —  I would argue ‘Yes.’ Hate me all you want, or call me paranoid and misinformed, but there is one common theme that is pervasive in American pop culture today: violence.

Rick Perry Is Actually Encouraging Texans To Enroll In Obamacare  —  After years of trying to undermine the Affordable Care Act, Texas lawmakers are suddenly embracing President Obama's signature domestic policy accomplishment.  On Thursday, the Texas Tribune reported that the state is shuttering …

Kenya shopping mall attack: Chilling new footage from inside Westgate shows terrorists casually gunning down innocent shoppers  —  The video also shows terrorists calmly chatting on their mobile phones and taking turns to kneel down and pray  —  Warning: Video contains images that some may find disturbing.

Republicans Lost the Standoff, But They Won't Lose the House.  Unless...  The shutdown is over, but it lasted more than long enough to inflict significant damage to the Republican brand.  A plurality of voters blamed the GOP for the shutdown, poll after poll shows the GOP's favorability rating near record lows.