ObamaCare sales surge  —  Remember Budowsky's first law of insider punditry: When the media and political herds are tripping over each other's hoofs while stampeding in a certain direction, the herds are almost always wrong.  —  Take note of the fact that in recent days …

2016 CNN Poll: Clinton deadlocked with Christie but leads other GOP presidential possibilities  —  Washington (CNN) - In a potential preview of the next presidential election, a new national poll suggests Hillary Clinton and Chris Christie would be neck and neck if the 2016 contest were held today.

Federal authorities charge white ‘knockout’ suspect with hate crime  —  Federal authorities said Thursday they have arrested and charged a Texas man in connection with the “knockout game,” accusing him of a hate crime for targeting a black man for a vicious street attack.

President Obama's Hawaii Vacation: Day 6  —  How President Barack Obama spent the sixth day of his holiday vacation in Hawaii on Thursday:  — GYM: The president woke up early for a morning workout at a gym at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.  After about an hour, Obama returned to his vacation home.

Late Surge in Web Buying Blindsides UPS, Retailers  —  Some Christmas Packages Aren't Delivered … A surge in online shopping this holiday season left stores breaking promises to deliver packages by Christmas, suggesting that retailers and shipping companies still haven't fully figured …

A&E's Duck Dynasty Dilemma  —  It had never happened before.  When big, powerful TV executives ask a star to apologize for what they deem inappropriate comments or behavior, the star simply complies.  A team of publicists is assembled, the star does the obligatory apology tour for the press …

My Fearless Political Predictions For 2014  —  It's time to see how well I did with my predictions for 2013 and to offer a set of 2014 forecasts.  —  I got 10 predictions for this year right.  President Obama's job approval rating did drop—from 53% at year's start to 40% this week.

Michelle Obama at 50  —  Trailblazing first lady is ‘American superwoman,’ championing causes, raising a family  —  First lady Michelle Obama will be the guest of honor at a White House dance party next month when she turns “50 and fabulous,” as she put it recently.

Professor admits faking AIDS vaccine to get $19M in grants  —  An Iowa State University professor resigned after admitting he falsely claimed rabbit blood could be turned into a vaccine for the AIDS virus.  —  Dr. Dong-Pyou Han spiked a clinical test sample with healthy human blood …

The Francis factor: Pope's economic ideas rattle GOP  —  “He's entitled to his opinion, but I think we should look carefully at what he's saying,” Toomey said.  “It's easy to draw I think what could be mistaken, superficial conclusions from some of the things that he said.

Greenwald Snarks at MSNBC: I Defend Snowden Like You Defend Obama ‘24 Hours a Day’  —  Journalist Glenn Greenwald appeared on MSNBC Thursday, one day after Edward Snowden delivered a Christmas address to television viewers in the UK and around the world from Russia.