Cover Story: Barry Blitt's “Playing in Traffic”  —  “I'm hoping this cartoon diverts a lot of traffic to my Web site,” Barry Blitt says about “Playing in Traffic,” the image of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie that he penned for next week's cover.  —  KEYWORDS - CHRIS CHRISTIE; - COVERS

U.S. to Recognize Utah Gay Marriages Despite State Stance  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday said that it would recognize as lawful the marriages of 1,300 same-sex couples in Utah, even though the state government is refusing to do so.  —  Wading into the fast-moving legal battle …

Liberal Self-Identification Edges Up to New High in 2013  —  Fifteen-percentage-point conservative advantage ties as smallest to date  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans continue to be more likely to identify as conservatives (38%) than as liberals (23%).  But the conservative advantage …

The Employment Situation in December  —  As our economy continues to make progress, there's a lot more work to do.  Though December's job growth was less than expected, we continue to focus on the longer-term trend in the economy - 2.2 million private sector jobs added and a 1.2 percentage point decline …

U.S. job growth weakest in three years  —  (Reuters) - U.S. employers hired the fewest workers in almost three years in December, but the setback was likely to be temporary amid signs that cold weather conditions might have had an impact.  —  Nonfarm payrolls rose only 74,000 last month …

Obama administration to end contract with CGI Federal, company behind HealthCare.gov  —  The Obama administration has decided to jettison CGI Federal, the main IT contractor that was responsible for building the defect-ridden online health insurance marketplace and has been immersed in the work …

Georgia GOPer Attacking Free School Lunch Expensed $4,200 In Meals  —  Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) warned that there's “no such thing as free lunch” for school children in Georgia, but he seems to have enjoyed a few.  —  An investigation by Georgia's WSAV channel 3 found that Kingston …

Beyond Polarization to Warfare  —  At WaPo's Monkey Cage subsite today, there's an important piece by University of Texas political scientist Sean Theriault that gets to a distinction in political attitudes that some of us have been trying to articulate ever since the radicalization of one of our two major parties occurred:

How Millennials Have Already Reshaped Politics  —  Political parties are taking young people's policy preferences into account, but that doesn't mean they're getting everything they want.  —  Almost every week provides more evidence of the political system bending toward the cultural preferences of the massive millennial generation.

Al Qaeda-Affiliated Group Assaulted U.S. Embassy in Tunis  —  The State Department today designated three Ansar al Sharia organizations, as well as three of their leaders, as terrorist entities.  The State Department reports that Ansar al Sharia in Derna was “involved” in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi.

Rachel Maddow claims Florida group that backs drug-testing welfare recipients is affiliated with Koch brothers  —  PunditFact isn't always the first to weigh in on the tit-for-tat of cable news shows, in part because the nature of our work requires more than claims and counterclaims.

The Parties Have Already Devised Their Midterm Messages  —  Democrats and Republicans are ready for November, but it's not clear that either of their story lines will resonate across the spectrum.  —  The gavel has been struck on what has been widely judged to be the least productive session …

Christie crackdown ups scrutiny over Obama's scandal response  —  While New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is getting hammered over a close aide's involvement in snarling traffic as an apparent act of political retribution, he's nevertheless set himself apart from the Obama administration in his response to scandal.

Priorities USA considers Jennifer Granholm  —  Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is being seriously considered to replace John Podesta as the co-chair of a reconfigured board for the super PAC Priorities USA, POLITICO has learned.  —  Three sources familiar with the discussions …