AL SHARPTON'S CHICAGO TOWN HALL ERUPTS INTO REVOLT AGAINST MACHINE POLITICS  —  On Thursday, a town hall meeting hosted by Al Sharpton and the National Action Network to address gun violence exploded into a revolt against “Chicago Machine” politics, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and the aldermen in City Hall …

DC staff irked as NBC News eyes cuts  —  David Gregory, host of NBC's 'Meet the Press Inset: NBC News boss Deborah Turness  —  NBC News boss Deborah Turness is spending the last few days of the year eyeing cuts — moves that could include axing some senior on-air talent, The Post has learned.

Justine Sacco, Fired After Tweet on AIDS in Africa, Issues Apology  —  The communications director fired over a tweet evoking AIDS and race that was sent as she was headed to Africa has now apologized, saying she is “ashamed” for her insensitivity to the millions of people living with the virus.

The New York Times and the ACA: the yuppie whine-athon continues  —  I see the New York Times has published yet another article about very privileged people whining about the ACA.  —  In this case, said article features a couple making $100,000 a year who, under the ACA …

Pol sent staff video of ‘oral sex’  —  Move over, Vito “Gropez” — yet another Albany politician has been accused of outlandish sexual harassment by young female staffers.  —  Married-with-children Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak, 62, tormented three workers with lewd antics such as sending …

Michelle Nunn, Jason Carter hope to rechart the course of Georgia politics  —  MACON, Ga. — The two major parties here don't agree on many things.  One of them is that it is only a matter of time before Georgia goes from being a Republican stronghold to a state that is up for grabs.

Rand Paul's play to expand the GOP's tent  —  Rand Paul cracks jokes about smoking pot.  He says the GOP needs to bring minorities and “people with ponytails” into the fold.  The Kentucky senator doesn't back gay marriage, but he's not out beating the drums against it, either.

In wake of ‘Duck Dynasty’ star suspension, Sheriff Miller tells A&E they are not welcome  —  The suspension of “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson by the A&E Network after making controversial remarks in GQ magazine regarding homosexuality has been called a business decision.

Obama and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year  —  When Barack Obama sings “Auld Lang Syne” on New Year's Eve, he will have reason to think back, with a deep sense of nostalgia and not a small amount of regret, on the last time he sang the song.  —  If he gets a lump in his throat …

Everyone Knows Obama's 2013 Was Bad, The Tough Question Is Why  —  WASHINGTON — The end of the year brings with it one of journalism's lazier crutches — the annual list of winners and losers.  —  Whatever value there is in judging a politician's standings in late December, it's limited.

Busted NJ carjack suspects have long rap sheets  —  The four thugs accused of savagely killing a young Hoboken lawyer in a New Jersey mall's parking garage have extensive criminal histories — and one had been released from jail just four days before the slaying.

Ideas From a Manger  —  PAUSE for a moment, in the last leg of your holiday shopping, to glance at one of the manger scenes you pass along the way.  Cast your eyes across the shepherds and animals, the infant and the kings.  Then try to see the scene this way: not just as a pious set-piece …

A Frigid 2013 Draws to a Close  —  2013 will go down in the record books as one of the 10 coldest years in the U.S. since 1895.  This chart, from Real Science, shows the average temperatures recorded at all NOAA USHCN stations from 1895 to the present:  —  As Real Science points out …