What the Duck?  —  How in the world did a family of squirrel-eating, Bible-thumping, catchphrase-spouting duck hunters become the biggest TV stars in America?  And what will they do now that they have 14 million fervent disciples?  Our Drew Magary toured the Louisiana backwater with Phil Robertson and the Duck Dynasty gang to find out

W.H. to nominate Sen. Max Baucus as next ambassador to China  —  Sen. Max Baucus, the veteran Montana Democrat who has served in the Senate since 1978, is expected to be nominated by the White House to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to China, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

Rand Paul: Intelligence director should resign  —  (CNN) - Republican Sen. Rand Paul said the nation's top intelligence official should resign for “lying” to a Senate committee about mass data collection by the National Security Agency.  —  “I do think what your government is doing is unconstitutional …

Rep. Jack Kingston Proposes That Poor Students Sweep Floors In Exchange For Lunch  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) wants kids to learn early in life that there's no such thing as a free lunch.  To make sure they absorb that lesson, he's proposing that low-income children …

Record High in U.S. Say Big Government Greatest Threat  —  Now 72% say it is greater threat than big business or big labor  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Seventy-two percent of Americans say big government is a greater threat to the U.S. in the future than is big business or big labor …

NYT Mag Offers Inexplicable 2006 John McCain Cover Profile in 2013  —  In the last couple of years, every time something John McCain says makes “news,” my immediate reaction—sometimes on Twitter, sometimes just in my head—is, “Remind me again why anybody should give a crap what John McCain thinks about anything?”

Watch The Moment Mitt Romney Realizes He Is Going To Lose The Election  —  Netflix is out with a trailer for its new Mitt Romney documentary — “MITT” — which provides a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look into some of the most important moments of his failed campaign for president.

For immediate release  —  Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in October indicates that economic activity is expanding at a moderate pace.  Labor market conditions have shown further improvement; the unemployment rate has declined but remains elevated.

Non-citizens caught voting in 2012 presidential election in key swing state  —  Oct. 2, 2012: Voters cast their ballots at a Franklin County polling location on the first day of in-person absentee voting in Columbus, Ohio.Reuters  —  Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced Wednesday …

Obenshain to concede Virginia attorney general's race on Wednesday in Richmond  —  State Sen. Mark D. Obenshain(R) will concede the race for Virginia attorney general to Democrat Mark R. Herring on Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the decision.

If Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is Replaced By A Republican, Here Is What Happens To The Law  —  At a forum in Reston, Virginia on Tuesday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg threw her most recent bucket of cold water on Courtwatchers urging her to retire while President Obama is still in the White House.

President Obama: 'I've Got 3 Opinionated, Strong, Tall Women'  —  Sitting down for their annual interview with PEOPLE Managing Editor Larry Hackett and Washington, D.C., correspondent Sandra Sobieraj Westfall, President and Mrs. Obama reflect on the year's difficulties, both in the political arena …

Hackers break into Washington Post servers  —  Hackers broke into The Washington Post's servers and gained access to employee user names and passwords, marking at least the third intrusion over the past three years, company officials said Wednesday.  —  The extent of the loss of company data …

North Carolina Shows How to Crush the Unemployed  —  The U.S. is about to cut the maximum duration of public support for the unemployed.  The federal extension of unemployment insurance expires on Jan. 1.  To see the consequences, look at North Carolina.  —  I've been watching the state since July …

Bloomberg's Favorite Toy  —  Inside the billionaire's quixotic, costly, and strangely milquetoast foray into opinion journalism  —  On a leafy stretch of East 78th Street, behind a locked, unmarked door with wrought-iron detailing, the office that housed Bloomberg View for the past …

Jarrett: 'I'm Not the Shadow Chief of Staff'  —  Valerie Jarrett, the only White House adviser who claims a close friendship with the Obamas that spans more than two decades, has been criticized by her West Wing colleagues for influencing the president in ways that undermine other points of view.

Uninsured Skeptical of Health Care Law in Poll  —  WASHINGTON — Americans who lack medical coverage disapprove of President Obama's health care law at roughly the same rate as the insured, even though most say they struggle to pay for basic care, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Incompetence  —  Everyone is doing thoughtful year-end pieces on President Obama.  Writers and reporters agree he's had his worst year ever.  I infer from most of their essays an unstated but broadly held sense of foreboding: There's no particular reason to believe next year will be better …

The politics of science fiction … That is from Tim Kreider, who praises the political visions and fiction of Kim Stanley Robinson.  Kreider also longs for a more political literature, devoted to such ideas as common stewardship of land and water, and also “small co-ops” instead of “vast, hierarchical, exploitative corporations.”

Jay Leno in Demand: CNN's Jeff Zucker Among Suitors  —  The late-night host will be without a TV job in February, with the architect of the “Tonight Show” debacle joining Tribune, “American Idol's” Core Media and even ex-NBC chief Jeff Gaspin among those courting him.  —  How in demand is Jay Leno?

Larry Klayman in huge CNN smackdown  —  Conservative legal activist Larry Klayman got into an argument on CNN with host Don Lemon and legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin when he was brought on to discuss his victory this week in a lawsuit challenging NSA surveillance, resulting in Lemon cutting …