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.

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!

Poll: Most Americans are still pessimistic about the economy  —  Shares -  —  Tweets - Stumble  —  While the nation's unemployment rate is now at a five-year low, most Americans (61 percent) continue to say the economy is in bad shape.  Thirty-seven percent now think the economy is good …

OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Congress pushes quick work on Defense bill  —  The Topline: The race is on to finish the Defense authorization bill.  —  The House and Senate Armed Services leaders unveiled their final Defense bill on Monday, urging their colleagues to quickly pass it and arguing there were no other alternatives.

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.”

A student editor grovels after another cartoon kerfuffle.  —  For the University of Alabama's football team, the Nov. 30 season finale against intrastate archrival Auburn ended almost as disastrously as ObamaCare began (and as it has continued).  After leading 21-14 at the half …

APNewsBreak: US Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida loses $18M in fraud scheme  —  McLEAN, Va. — U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida lost $18 million in a scheme that cheated him and about 120 other investors out of more than $35 million, according to court papers.  —  The Virginia man who ran the scheme …

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.

‘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 …

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.

U.S. exits GM stake, taxpayers lose $10.5 billion  —  DETROIT — The U.S. government ended up losing $10.5 billion on the General Motors bailout, but it says the alternative would have been far worse.  —  The Treasury Department sold its final shares of the Detroit auto giant Monday …

In surprise move, Steve Stockman challenges John Cornyn  —  Firebrand Texas Republican Rep. Steve Stockman on Monday mounted a surprise primary challenge to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), setting the stage for the latest potentially explosive battle between a tea party darling and an incumbent firmly backed by the GOP establishment.