Senate Democrats Poised to Block Filibusters of Presidential Picks  —  WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats are on the verge of moving to eliminate the use of the filibuster against most presidential nominees, aides and senior party leaders said Wednesday, a move that would deprive Republicans …

G.O.P. Maps Out Waves of Attacks Over Health Law  —  WASHINGTON — The memo distributed to House Republicans this week was concise and blunt, listing talking points and marching orders: “Because of Obamacare, I Lost My Insurance.”  “Obamacare Increases Health Care Costs.”

Obama's Race for the Cure  —  The President's second term may hinge on how fast his health care reform can recover  —  A good President needs a big comfort zone.  He should be able to treat enemies as opportunities, appear authentic in joy and grief, stay cool under the hot lights.

The race that broke the Cheney family  —  What happened when a gay sister came between Liz Cheney and a Senate seat.  —  Liz Cheney just wanted to enjoy her milkshake.  It was a Friday afternoon in early November, and the shadows were growing longer over the flat expanse of eastern Wyoming as a hard week dragged on.

Blame Rich, Overeducated Elites as Our Society Frays  —  Complex human societies, including our own, are fragile.  They are held together by an invisible web of mutual trust and social cooperation.  This web can fray easily, resulting in a wave of political instability, internal conflict and, sometimes, outright social collapse.

Insurers restricting choice of doctors and hospitals to keep costs down  —  As Americans have begun shopping for health plans on the insurance exchanges, they are discovering that insurers are restricting their choice of doctors and hospitals in order to keep costs low, and that many of the plans exclude top-rated hospitals.

Palo Alto man, 85, removed from plane, detained in North Korea  —  An 85-year-old Korean War veteran and experienced globetrotter from Palo Alto is being detained in North Korea, where he was removed from a plane three weeks ago while leaving the reclusive country at the end of a visit …

Statement: Police warned accuser about pursuing Jameis Winston matter  —  A Tallahassee detective told an accuser's attorney that Tallahassee is a “big football town” and her client's life could “be made miserable” if she pursued a sexual assault case against Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston …

Arne Duncan tries to turn the page  —  In his first live television interview since making controversial comments about “white suburban moms,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan apologized on Thursday for the “clumsy” remarks as he tried to turn the page.  —  Facing repeated questioning …

Queens Congresswoman Grace Meng violently mugged for her Gucci handbag near Capitol Hill  —  Meng was walking home after having dinner at a restaurant when she was knocked on the head.  She was taken to a hospital where she underwent a CT scan.  —  Rep. Grace Meng was hit on her head …

Palin kills Matt Lauer interview over Martin Bashir slur  —  It's no secret that Sarah Palin is mighty steamed at MSNBC and Martin Bashir over his despicable remarks about the abusive treatment he imagines for her.  —  And now she's doing something about it.

Obama administration looks to scrub security clearance list  —  The Obama administration has ordered a government-wide reassessment of how almost 5 million Americans have been granted classified information security clearances and whether each person currently approved to see sensitive national …

GOP on ObamaCare: Let it self-destruct  —  Republican lawmakers who pushed the government shutdown to stop ObamaCare say their new plan is to sit back and watch the law self-destruct.  —  Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and other Tea Party allies of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) say the threat of a shutdown …

Perry on Presidential Debate Overhaul: 'Hell, Yeah"  —  Photograph by Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images  —  Texas Governor Rick Perry during a press conference on the sidelines of the Republicans' State Party Convention in Anaheim, California, on Oct. 4, 2013.