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.

Senate hatches last-minute deal  —  The Senate reached a last-minute procedural agreement late Thursday that spared them from horribly-timed votes on Friday and Saturday, and should let everyone fly home Friday for Christmas.  —  Before the deal, senators were facing a bitter end to a bitter year.

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

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 …

President ends year at all-time CNN polling low  —  Washington (CNN) - Fourteen points.  —  That's how far President Barack Obama's poll numbers fell in CNN polling over the course of what's been an especially tough year.  —  Obama's approval rating stands at 41% in a new CNN/ORC International …

Massachusetts State Police Bust ‘Obama Care’ Heroin  —  Massachusetts State Police on Friday confiscated 1,250 bags of heroin during a traffic stop — and many of the bags were labled “Obama care.”  Other bags were labled “Kurt Cobain.”  —  The traffic stop was made in the town of Hatfield, Mass.

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.

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 …

HealthCare.gov goes down as Dec. 23 deadline looms  —  With less than two hours to go before President Obama is scheduled to give his year-end news conference, people are not able to apply for health insurance on HealthCare.gov.  —  The home page is still present, but when one tries to apply …

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.

Obamacare ‘death spiral’ scenario is about the states, stupid  —  OBAMACARE HEALTH CARE HEALTHCARE.GOV HEALTH CARE EXCHANGES HHS  —  As problems continue to plague the rollout of President Obama's health care law despite improvements to the federal healthcare.gov website …

Tim Draper Wants To Split California Into Pieces And Turn Silicon Valley Into Its Own State  —  TechCrunch has learned about noted technology investor Tim Draper's plan to split California into six separate states, including a Northern California slice appropriately named “Silicon Valley.”