Harry Reid Told Caucus That Pete Sessions Was Behind Obama Insult, Senators Say  —  WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told his Democratic caucus last week in a private meeting that a top House Republican said to President Barack Obama, “I cannot even stand to look at you …

Here's The Racist ‘Daily Show’ Interview That Cost A Local GOP Chair His Job  —  A North Carolina county precinct GOP chair resigned on Thursday after an offensive interview that aired on “The Daily Show” Wednesday, in which he said “lazy black people” want “the government to give them everything.”

NSA monitored calls of 35 world leaders  —  • Agency given more than 200 numbers by government official  —  • NSA encourages departments to share their ‘Rolodexes’  —  • Surveillance produced ‘little intelligence’, memo acknowledges  —  The National Security Agency monitored …

Gansler says he should have checked drinking at party  —  A month after launching his campaign for governor, Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler was entangled Thursday in yet another controversy, this time acknowledging a lapse in judgment when he appeared at a beach-house party …

Republicans' embarrassing Obamacare overreach backfires  —  Beyond a basic misunderstanding of the Democrats' position in the shutdown and debt limit fights, one of the biggest reasons Republicans got themselves into so much trouble last month is that they badly misjudged both the party's commitment …

Clinton: US ‘careening from crisis to crisis’  —  Hillary Clinton on Thursday night blamed lawmakers who govern by ideology for sending the country careening from crisis to crisis.  —  Speaking at the 10th anniversary of the founding of the progressive Center for American Progress (CAP) …

‘Offensive’ Halloween costumes banned by US university  —  University of Colorado Boulder tells students to avoid costumes including cowboys, indians, white trash or anything potentially deemed offensive  —  University students in America have been told not to wear “offensive” …

Obamacare Operator Fired After Taking Call From Hannity; Hannity To Give Her A Year's Salary  —  On the top of Thursday's broadcast of his radio show, Sean Hannity revealed Erling Davis, the Obamacare operator he called early in his Monday show, got fired.  Hannity quizzed her on how well the law …

Obama wants Marines to wear ‘girly’ hats  —  A change to the Marine Corps' uniform hats could take the hard-nosed Leathernecks from the Halls of Montezuma to the shops of Christopher Street.  —  Thanks to a plan by President Obama to create a “unisex” look for the Corps …

‘Serious’ Ken Cuccinelli keeps calm at debate  —  BLACKSBURG, Va. — Ken Cuccinelli might have been expected to throw the kitchen sink at Terry McAuliffe in the final debate of a governor's race the Republican attorney general is on track to lose.  —  It was more like a Nerf football.

Activist Tweets Former NSA Chief's ‘Off Record’ Phone Call On Train  —  Former National Security Agency director Michael Hayden is more used to being the one listening in on conversations than the one being eavesdropped on himself.  The tables were turned on Thursday, however …

New Budget Numbers May Kill A Medicare Age Hike  —  Raising the Medicare eligibility age to 67 saves far less than previously projected, a revelation that makes the policy far less attractive in upcoming deficit reduction negotiations in Congress.  —  The long-debated policy now cuts …

How I became the poster girl for liberal agitprop  —  For suggesting pundits wait before declaring the ACA a train wreck, I was called a hack - and the C-word, of course  —  I woke up Monday morning to a changed America.  After a month of news coverage focused on an extremist …

Santorum: Satan Controls The Film Industry  —  Rick Santorum is asking you to do your part to free movie theatres from the Devil's clutches by purchasing tickets to his upcoming movie, The Christmas Candle.  He appeared on the Trinity Broadcasting Network last week to plug the new movie …

Financier George Soros backs Hillary Clinton for U.S. president  —  (Reuters) - Billionaire financier George Soros, a major Democratic donor, is backing an effort to persuade former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016, a spokesman said on Thursday.

Health Care Law Fails to Lower Prices for Rural Areas  —  As technical failures bedevil the rollout of President Obama's health care law, evidence is emerging that one of the program's loftiest goals — to encourage competition among insurers in an effort to keep costs low — is falling short for many rural Americans.

Why the 1% should pay tax at 80%  —  The Reagan-Thatcher revolution changed society's beliefs about taxes.  If we want economic growth shared fairly, we must rethink  —  In the United States, the share of total pre-tax income accruing to the top 1% has more than doubled, from less than 10% in the 1970s to over 20% today (pdf).

Congressman Paul Ryan sees narrower focus for new budget talks  —  (Reuters) - A new round of budget negotiations starting next week should focus more narrowly on replacing automatic spending cuts rather than attempt to reach an elusive “grand bargain,” House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said on Thursday.

Russell Brand on revolution: “We no longer have the luxury of tradition”  —  But before we change the world, we need to change the way we think.  —  When I was asked to edit an issue of the New Statesman I said yes because it was a beautiful woman asking me.