The individual mandate no longer applies to people whose plans were canceled  —  Today, the Obama administration announced that people whose insurance plans were canceled this year will “temporarily” be exempted from the law's individual mandate.  Here's how they're doing it — and what it means for the law.

The Robertson Family Offical Statement  —  We want to thank all of you for your prayers and support.  The family has spent much time in prayer since learning of A&E's decision.  We want you to know that first and foremost we are a family rooted in our faith in God and our belief that the Bible is His word.

Paul Ryan Finds God  —  How a backstage prayer in Cleveland and a new leader in the Vatican set the budget-slashing congressman on a mission to help the poor.  “My bet is that he's on Pope Francis' team.”  —  On Oct. 24, 2012, Paul Ryan slipped into a high-ceilinged backstage room …

BREAKING: Workers Dismantle Over 70 Unions in Wisconsin  —  [Madison, Wisc...] Workers rejected over 70 of 408 school district unions during annual recertification elections that ended on Thursday, according to a preliminary analysis of the results.  —  The elections went from November 29th until noon …

10 Democratic Committee Chairs Warn Menendez's Iran Sanction Bill Could Blow Up Negotiations  —  WASHINGTON — In a remarkable rebuke to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), 10 other Senate committee chairs are circulating a joint letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada …

Officials' defenses of NSA phone program may be unraveling  —  From the moment the government's massive database of citizens' call records was exposed this year, U.S. officials have clung to two main lines of defense: The secret surveillance program was constitutional and critical to keeping the nation safe.

GCHQ and NSA targeted charities, Germans, Israeli PM and EU chief  —  • Unicef and Médecins du Monde were on surveillance list  —  • Targets went well beyond potential criminals and terrorists  —  • Revelations could cause embarrassment at EU summit

Most Americans Don't Care What Race Santa Is — Except For Republicans Who Think He's White  —  Most Americans don't care about Santa's race, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll, but nearly half of the Republicans surveyed think Santa should be portrayed as white.

Political centrism is not objectivity  —  How the media wrongly treats deficit reduction as non-ideological  —  How should the United States choose among the difficult tradeoffs it faces in setting the federal budget?  There's no one correct answer, but you wouldn't know it from coverage …

How dogs scan familiar and inverted faces: an eye movement study  — Sanni Somppi, - Heini Törnqvist, - Laura Hänninen, - Christina M. Krause, - Outi Vainio  —  Abstract  —  Faces play an important role in communication and identity recognition in social animals.

Podesta's Push for Executive Power Raises Stakes on Obama Agenda  —  When the Republican victory in the 2010 midterm election raised the prospect of political gridlock, John Podesta was ready with an answer: The president should bypass Congress and wield the executive powers of his office.

Mary Landrieu and All That JAZZ  —  The Louisiana senator says she's pro-energy, but her PAC has raised a lot of money to elect opponents of the oil and gas industry.  —  Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu rolled out her pitch for a fourth term in an interview with the Times-Picayune in April.