Poll: Obamacare support, Obama approval sink to new lows  —  President Obama's job approval rating has plunged to the lowest of his presidency, according to a new CBS News poll released Wednesday, and Americans' approval of the Affordable Care Act has dropped it's lowest since CBS News started polling on the law.

Rep. Trey Radel pleads guilty on charges of cocaine possession  —  Freshman Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of cocaine in a D.C. Superior Court judge Wednesday, after allegedly buying cocaine at a restaurant in Dupont Circle late last month.

Harry Reid is set to go nuclear  —  Senator Harry Reid appears set to go nuclear — before Thanksgiving.  —  With Senate Republicans blocking a third Obama nomination to the powerful D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, a senior Senate Democratic leadership aide tells me Reid is now all but certain …

The GOP's scary-movie strategy  —  House Republican leaders could not have been more blatant in their attempts to frighten Americans if they had emerged from their weekly meeting wearing hockey masks and carrying chainsaws.  —  “The American people are very, very worried,” Majority Leader Eric Cantor …

North Texas Drivers Stopped at Roadblock Asked for Saliva, Blood  —  Fort Worth police apologize for its role in federal survey  —  Some drivers along a busy Fort Worth street on Friday were stopped at a police roadblock and directed into a parking lot, where they were asked by federal contractors …

Serial killer Joseph Franklin executed after hours of delay  —  (CNN) — White supremacist serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin was executed Wednesday morning after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final requests for a stay, the Missouri Department of Public Safety said.

Exclusive: US May Have Let ‘Dozens’ of Terrorists Into Country As Refugees … Several dozen suspected terrorist bombmakers, including some believed to have targeted American troops, may have mistakenly been allowed to move to the United States as war refugees, according to FBI agents investigating …

Hope grows for budget deal  —  They've been written off as a doomed-to-fail duo: Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray, the congressional budget leaders who are on an uphill quest to reach any kind of fiscal deal.  —  But an agreement may not be so elusive after all.

President Obama's Handwritten Tribute to the Gettysburg Address  —  One hundred fifty years after President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address, President Obama penned a handwritten tribute to President Lincoln's historic remarks.  Read his essay below, then share it with others.

Poll: Americans Think Obamacare Will Help the Poor, Not the Country  —  United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll finds public opinion on the health law remarkably steady despite rollout troubles.  —  More Americans continue to say that President Obama's health care law …

Voters reject ban on late-term abortions in Albuquerque  —  (CNN) — Voters rejected a ban on late-term abortions in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a proposal believed to be a first on a city level.  —  Referenda putting abortion on the ballot have been tried on the state level.

Mystery humans spiced up ancients' rampant sex lives  —  Genome analysis suggests interbreeding between modern humans, Neanderthals, Denisovans and a mysterious archaic population.  —  Rights & Permissions  —  New genome sequences from two extinct human relatives suggest …

Virginia Political Figure Stabbed as Son Takes Own Life, Police Say  —  State Senator R. Creigh Deeds, a leading Virginia political figure who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2009, was stabbed repeatedly on Tuesday at his home during an altercation with his son, who then apparently took his own life, the authorities said.

Obamacare bombshell: IT official says HealthCare.gov needs payment feature  —  Another ‘black eye’ for HealthCare.gov  —  CNBC's Dan Mangan analyzes the startling admission by an Obama administration official that a large portion of the Obamacare web site has not yet been built.

McDonald's Advice To Underpaid Employees: Sell Your Christmas Presents For Cash  —  Tis the season for holiday spirit: Yule logs, egg nog, festive lights and exchanging gifts with loved ones.  If you work for McDonald's, though, be sure to save those receipts.

NRSC apologizes for Obama Girl tweet  —  The National Republican Senatorial Committee came under fire Tuesday for tweeting a photo that superimposed Kentucky Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes's head on the body of “Obama Girl,” the model who starred in a series of 2007 music videos about her crush on President Obama.