Here's what's in Paul Ryan and Patty Murray's mini-budget deal  —  1. The total deal is $85 billion.  About $45 billion of that replaces sequestration cuts in 2014.  About $20 billion replaces sequestration cuts in 2015.  About $20 billion is deficit reduction atop sequestration.

Pope Francis, The Choice  —  With a focus on compassion, the leader of the Catholic Church has become a new voice of conscience.  Managing Editor Nancy Gibbs explains why Francis is TIME's choice for Person of the Year 2013  —  Once there was a boy so meek and modest, he was awarded a Most Humble badge.

NBC/WSJ poll: Obama ends year on low note  —  President Barak Obama attends Nelson Mandela's public memorial in Johannesburg, South Africa.  —  By Mark Murray, Senior Political Editor, NBC News  —  A year that began with President Barack Obama riding high after his re-election victory …

Cruz Says He Walked Out of Mandela Service When Raul Castro Spoke  —  Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, walked out of former South African President Nelson Mandela's memorial service Tuesday when Cuban President Raul Castro gave a speech, a spokeswoman for Cruz said.  —  “Sen. Cruz very much hopes …

Embattled HealthCare.Gov Sees Dramatic Enrollment Surge In November  —  Enrollment though HealthCare.gov increased fourfold in November, a new report released Wednesday morning by the Obama administration finds, as 110,410 Americans signed up for private coverage through the site last month, compared to just 26,794 in October.

Since October, 1.2 million have gained Obamacare coverage  —  Just about 1.2 million people have gained health coverage through Obamacare, according to new federal data released Wednesday morning.  —  Approximately 365,000 of those people have purchased private insurance and 803,000 …

Cantor's Pediatric Research Bill Has Democrats Fuming  —  While the House ties up some legislative loose ends this week before adjourning for the year, there is one suspension bill the public — and House Republicans — might be surprised to find many Democrats opposing …

Clark wins special election for US House  —  Democrat Katherine M. Clark cruised to victory Tuesday, capturing the US House seat long held by Edward J. Markey, in a lightly contested special election.  —  She will become just the fifth woman to represent Massachusetts in the US House.

Landrieu TV ad distances her from ACA  —  Sen. Mary Landrieu, the vulnerable Louisiana Democrat, tried Wednesday to distance herself even further from both Obamacare and President Barack Obama in the first television commercial of her reelection campaign.  —  The $250,000 buy continues …

Six year old suspended for ‘sexual harassment’  —  CANON CITY, Colo. -  —  A six year old boy is suspended from school in Canon City for kissing a classmate on the cheek  —  His mother says it's a crush and the two children like each other.  But the school is calling it something else; sexual harassment.

It's DINO Hunting Season as the Democrats Gird for Their Own Civil War  —  After years of reveling in intra-GOP squabbling, Democrats are facing a battle within their own party over economic populism—and the fight over inequality may dominate the 2014 races.

NSA uses Google cookies to pinpoint targets for hacking  —  The National Security Agency is secretly piggybacking on the tools that enable Internet advertisers to track consumers, using “cookies” and location data to pinpoint targets for government hacking and to bolster surveillance.

Tea partiers line up to tackle GOP senators  —  GOP senators have aggressively tried to keep their conservative base at bay to ensure there's virtually no space on their right for a primary foe to emerge.  —  That didn't work so well.  —  Republican primary challengers are lining …

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Arrest of Revenge Porn Website Operator  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrest of the alleged owner and operator of a revenge porn website who facilitated the posting of more than 10,000 sexually explicit photos …

Lamar Alexander top aide investigated for child porn  —  Law enforcement agents have searched the home of GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander's (Tenn.) chief of staff over allegations of child pornography, according to a statement released by the senator's office.  —  The senator immediately placed Loskarn on administrative leave.

GOP could shake up 2016 campaign  —  Washington (CNN) — A handful of Republican Party officials is quietly advancing a new batch of rules aimed at streamlining a chaotic presidential nominating process that many party insiders viewed as damaging to the their campaign for the White House in 2012, multiple GOP sources told CNN.