GOP's private war goes public  —  The simmering feud between House Republicans and movement conservatives is finally an all-out war.  —  The tension exploded on Wednesday morning when Speaker John Boehner and outside conservative groups traded sharp barbs over the budget deal Rep. Paul Ryan …

The story behind “that selfie”  —  So here's the photo, my photo, which quickly lit up the world's social networks and news websites.  The “selfie” of three world leaders who, during South Africa's farewell to Nelson Mandela, were messing about like kids instead of behaving with the mournful gravitas one might expect.

Republicans plan 30-hour talkathon to protest ‘nuclear option’ use in Senate  —  Senate Republicans will stage a more than 30-hour talkathon on the Senate floor to protest Democrats' triggering of the “nuclear option” last month.  —  The GOP protest, which could extend into the weekend …

Prosecutor: No Domestic Charges Against Zimmerman  —  MIAMI (AP) — Prosecutors say they will not file domestic violence charges against George Zimmerman after his girlfriend said in a sworn statement she did not want to pursue the case.  —  State Attorney Phil Archer in Seminole County …

Greenwald Attacks Time For Person Of The Year Selection: ‘A Meaningless Award From A Meaningless Magazine’  —  Glenn Greenwald ridiculed Time on Wednesday for the magazine's decision to name Pope Francis — and not Edward Snowden — its “person of the year” for 2013.

Kathleen Sebelius pushes back against GOP critics  —  Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius touted a vastly improved Obamacare enrollment website Wednesday morning as she sought to reassure skeptical lawmakers that people who want health insurance coverage starting Jan. 1 will have it.

GOP dislikes sitting congressman, eyes DWI pol with secret family  —  Republicans are so nervous about Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm's re-election chances that they've quietly reached out to former GOP Congressman Vito Fossella — who quit five years ago after confessing to having a secret second family …

Oregon signs up just 44 people for Obamacare despite spending $300 million  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL OBAMACARE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES OREGON HEALTHCARE.GOV TECHNOLOGY HEALTH CARE EXCHANGES  —  Oregon, once touted as a model for President Obama's health care law, signed up just 44 people …

Happy Holidays: Startup CEO Complains SF Is Full of Human Trash  —  Behold a perfect Silicon Valley denizen, an archetype: he's been written up in TechCrunch for his hackathon-organizing company.  He's been fluffed in Business Insider.  And now, inevitably, he's publicly savaged the homeless …

Lamar Alexander top aide Ryan Loskarn arrested for child porn  —  GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander's chief of staff was arrested Wednesday afternoon on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography, the Justice Department said.  —  Jesse Ryan Loskarn — who goes by his middle name …

Hill staffers warned not to rely on info from ObamaCare exchange  —  Capitol Hill staffers who signed up for ObamaCare through the Washington, D.C., healthcare exchange, called DC Health Link (DCHL), are being told to confirm their enrollments in person, and not to rely on data provided by the website.

Voucher-mania: Why the right is diseased (and out of ideas)  —  Conservatives have exactly one answer for all spending questions — and it has little to do with serious economics  —  In the second decade of the 21st century, the American right has only two economic ideas.