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.

The Damage of a Handshake  —  American presidents should avoid shaking the hand of dictators, especially those that have American blood on theirs.  One example of many: Raul Castro was Minister of Defense in 1996 when Cuban Air Force Mig's, cold-bloodedly and over international airspace destroyed …

Cummings: Ted Cruz ‘got an earful’ from Dems on South Africa trip  —  (Rep. Cummings' office / December 10, 2013)  —  Rep. Elijah E. Cummings is in South Africa for Nelson Mandela's memorial, but that doesn't mean he's abandoned domestic policy.  In fact, Cummings said he and other Democrats …

Budget agreement reached  —  House and Senate budget negotiators will unveil a budget agreement Tuesday evening.  —  Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) both briefed their colleagues Tuesday on their plan to set spending levels for the next two years and reorganize budget cuts set to take hold in 2014.

It's A Deal!  Paul Ryan, Patty Murray Announce Budget Agreement  —  In a major breakthrough after three years of paralyzing partisan rifts, Congress' top two budget chiefs finalized a bipartisan agreement Tuesday that would set spending levels for two years and mitigate some of the painful spending cuts required by the sequester.