Obama, Cuban President Raul Castro Shake Hands at Nelson Mandela Memorial  —  President Obama shook hands with Cuban President Raul Castro today at a memorial service for the late Nelson Mandela in South Africa.  —  Obama stopped to shake Castro's hand as he was walking to the podium to pay tribute to Mandela.

Ex-Clinton Aide Expected to Join Obama  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama, after a rocky year that leaves him at the lowest ebb of his presidency, is bringing into his White House circle the longtime Democratic strategist John D. Podesta, a former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton.

GOP bills would prohibit in-flight calls  —  Political momentum to keep a ban on cellphone calls during flights gained momentum Monday as lawmakers said it would be crazy to allow them.  —  Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) became the second lawmaker after Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) to offer legislation to keep the ban in place.

‘A public safety disaster’: Obamacare could force THOUSANDS of volunteer fire departments to close  — The Affordable Care Act forces companies with more than 50 workers to buy them all health insurance or pay hefty fines  — The IRS says volunteer firefighters are 'employees …

Yes, Obamacare is Redistribution—But Republicans Are Wrong About Who Pays  —  Republicans and their allies are making a lot of different arguments about what Obamacare is doing to America.  It's hiking premiums!  It's making people lose their doctors!  It's destroying Medicare!

The New York Times' ‘homeless’ hooey  —  If a five-part opus in The New York Times by Andrea Elliott is to believed, we live in a hard-hearted city.  But if you read closely, it suggests just the opposite.  —  Begin with the family at the center of this story.  The mother, father and eight kids aren't really homeless at all.

Senate Confirms Millett to D.C. Circuit Court  —  Move Marks First Judge Approved Since Democrats Changed Filibuster Rules  —  WASHINGTON—A divided U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Washington lawyer Patricia Millett to serve on a powerful U.S. appeals court, the first Obama administration nominee …

Cracks emerge in anti-ACA wall  —  Since the beginning of the debate over health care reform in 2009, the line from congressional Republicans has been as unyielding as it's been unconstructive: whatever President Obama suggests, they hate, even when the White House adopts GOP ideas.

Again: Turkish Students Arrested for Nazi Salutes at Auschwitz  —  Two Turkish tourists could face up to two years in prison for giving Nazi salutes outside the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp in Poland.  —  The Turkish nationals - who according to Turkey's Zaman news site …

New York's top court blocks Colorado from forcing Fox reporter to reveal sources or face jail  —  New York's top court today spared FoxNews.com reporter Jana Winter from jail for refusing to reveal confidential sources for a bombshell story following the Aurora movie massacre.

Twitchy Sold To Owners Of Townhall And Hotair  —  “Media Matters types would like to paint conservatives as boring, old white guys.  Twitchy ads more fun and humor to our platform,” Townhall's general manager says.  —  Twitchy, the conservative Twitter aggregation site …

How to Keep Workers Unemployed  —  Another 99 weeks of jobless insurance won't create more jobs.  —  House-Senate negotiators are close to a modest budget accord to avoid another government shutdown, but suddenly the White House is introducing a last-minute demand.

Michigan Republican Committeeman: Gay Couples Want Health Care Because They Die Early Of AIDS  —  Dave Agema, a former Michigan state representative and current member of the National Republican Committee, told attendees of a holiday party last week that he wants to protect “traditional marriage” …

The Last Smallpox Patient on Earth  —  The case of Ali Maow Maalin, a Somalian cook  —  On December 9, 1979, the Global Commission for the Certification of Smallpox Eradication signed their names to the statement that “smallpox has been eradicated from the world.”