‘Journalism has died’ at New York Times: Graham, McCain slam Benghazi report  —  Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain harshly criticized The New York Times on Thursday over a recent report which concluded that Al Qaeda was not involved in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.

Initial Thoughts on the Proposed Amendments to the Voting Rights Act  —  I have now had a chance to review the text the Voting Rights Amendments Act of 2014 introduced today by Representatives Sensenbrenner and Conyers (with parallel legislation being introduced by Senator Leahy in the Senate).

CNN exclusive: Port Authority job created for Christie ally, source says  —  Who's who in Christie bridge scandal  —  (CNN) — Give him a position at the top of the agency; he's a good friend of the governor.  —  That's how David Wildstein was introduced to the Port Authority of New York …

NSA collects millions of text messages daily in ‘untargeted’ global sweep  —  The National Security Agency has collected almost 200 million text messages a day from across the globe, using them to extract data including location, contact networks and credit card details, according to top-secret documents.

Executed Ohio killer Dennis McGuire took 15 minutes to die with never-before-tried drugs  —  The two-drug combination was used for the first time on the convicted killer and rapist, who stabbed pregnant woman Joy Stewart to death in 1989.  —  Condemned killer Dennis McGuire was executed using a never-tried lethal cocktail.

'Gilligan's' ‘professor’ dies  —  (CNN) — Actor Russell Johnson, best known as Professor in the 1960s TV sitcom “Gilligan's Island,” died Thursday, his agent said.  Johnson was 89.  —  Johnson played the iconic role of Professor Roy Hinkley, whose scientific schemes to get the castaways rescued …

Movie mogul says new Streep film to make NRA 'wish they weren't alive'  —  Producer reveals secret project to Howard Stern  —  Movie producer Harvey Weinstein announced for the first time on Howard Stern's radio show that he is making a full feature drama to try to destroy the National Rifle Association.

Even Worse Than We Thought  —  Fascinating email from TPM Reader DW about the sheer level of attempted sabotage down at the ground level in GOP-run Obamacare rejectionist states.

Today I Briefed Congress on the NSA  —  This morning I spent an hour in a closed room with six Members of Congress: Rep. Logfren, Rep. Sensenbrenner, Rep. Scott, Rep. Goodlate, Rep Thompson, and Rep. Amash.  No staffers, no public: just them.  Lofgren asked me to brief her and a few Representatives on the NSA.

Senate approves $1.1 trillion spending bill  —  A landmark $1.1 trillion spending bill cleared Congress Thursday evening after conservative resistance collapsed in the Senate and tea party favorite Ted Cruz dropped his insistence on a vote on funding for President Barack Obama's health care plan.

Tea Party Candidate's Ad Touts His ‘Sexy’ Wife And Large Testicles  —  California Assemblyman Tim Donnelly (R) wants voters to know that his testicles are very large.  And that he wants to put “a gun in every Californian's gun safe.”  —  That's the image Donnelly's decided to present …

Who's Rubin's Early Fave for '16?  —  One of the more amusing pastimes in Washington on slow news days is to observe how certain pundits who are only happy if they are shilling for a presidential campaign seem to be lining up early in the 2016 cycle.  Nobody was more prone to this malady …

How Washington beat Wall Street  —  NEW YORK — In 2009, Washington went to war against big Wall Street banks hoping to blow up the kind of high-risk, high-reward strategies that helped spark the financial crisis.  Five years later, that war is largely over.  And Washington won in a blowout.

Lauren Tannehill, wife of Dolphins quarterback, leaves rifle in rental car, deputies say  —  A New York mom vacationing in South Florida was expecting a healthy dose of sun, surf and fun.  Imagine her surprise when her daughter unzipped a bag in their rental Nissan Rogue and found a rifle — a big rifle.

Author Of Same-Sex Marriage Ban Speaks Out  —  The author behind Oklahoma's ban on gay marriage is speaking out.  —  It's been a part of Oklahoma's constitution for ten years.  Now, it's been struck down by a federal judge.  —  That doesn't mean same-sex couples can run straight to the altar.

The Christmas Tree: Washington's Weapon Against Conservatives  —  Over the past several decades, big-government lawmakers and lobbyists have developed a wide array of techniques they have used to successfully advance their own interests, usually to the detriment of our nation.