'Duck Dynasty's' Phil Robertson on Indefinite Hiatus Following Anti-Gay Remarks  —  UPDATED: The news comes after the reality star compared being gay to bestiality, drawing ire from LGBT groups including GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign.  —  Phil Robertson

Hillary Clinton on 2016 Presidential Run: 'I'll Make That Decision Sometime Next Year' … Hillary Clinton is Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person of 2013.  —  Although speculation and rumors have been swirling for months over whether Clinton will make another run for the White House in 2016, she said she hasn't decided yet.

Pajama Boy, An Insufferable Man-Child  —  He is the face of a web ad that is the latest effort by the Obama team to leverage the holidays for conversation about Obamacare.  “Wear pajamas,” the ad reads.  “Drink hot chocolate.  Talk about getting health insurance.  #GetTalking.”

Target Confirms Unauthorized Access to Payment Card Data in U.S. Stores  —  Issue has been identified and resolved  —  Target today confirmed it is aware of unauthorized access to payment card data that may have impacted certain guests making credit and debit card purchases in its U.S. stores.

Barack Obama's NSA fine-print problem  —  An independent panel's call for major changes to the nation's surveillance programs ups the pressure on President Barack Obama to back serious reforms.  —  But the big changes the committee is calling for may be less vexing for Obama than one painful …

Al Goldstein, Pioneering Pornographer, Dies at 77  —  Al Goldstein, the scabrous publisher whose Screw magazine pushed hard-core pornography into the cultural mainstream, died early Thursday in Brooklyn.  He was 77.  —  The cause was believed to be renal failure, said his lawyer, Charles C. DeStefano.

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 …

Patty Murray backs off military pension cut  —  Sen. Patty Murray is distancing herself from a cut in military pensions in the budget deal she brokered with Rep. Paul Ryan.  —  Her unease about a key element of her own deal, which passed the Senate on Wednesday and is now headed to President Barack Obama …

In probe of Va. Gov. McDonnell, prosecutors agreed to delay decision on charges  —  View Photo Gallery — McDonnell's time in office comes to a close: Gov. Robert F. McDonnell was supposed to be in the thick of the race to succeed him.  Instead, the Republican found himself relegated …

The GOP Repeal Trap  —  The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Indiana, reports on a fascinating exchange between GOP Rep. Marlin Stutzman and a local meat market owner, Lee Albright, who likes the Affordable Care Act and quizzed the Congressman about the real world implications of the GOP repeal stance:

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.

Obama's extreme use of executive discretion  —  “To contend that the obligation imposed on the president to see the laws faithfully executed implies a power to forbid their execution is a novel construction of the Constitution, and is entirely inadmissible.”  — U.S. Supreme Court, 1838

Rob Ford's apology to Daniel Dale  —  Full text of Mayor Rob Ford's apology to Daniel Dale. … / Scanned image  —  Rob Ford issued a second apology to Daniel Dale on Dec. 18. … Photos View photos  — zoom  —  Featured Video Close  — Video: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Caught Dancing at Work