McConnell: No Shutdowns, No Full Obamacare Repeal  —  An exclusive interview with TIME about his plans as Majority Leader  —  Sen. Mitch McConnell was giddy, not an emotion often seen in the sober 72-year-old Kentuckian.  But that's the only way to describe TIME's interview with him in Perry County, Kentucky, on Monday afternoon.

9 takeaways from the 2014 election  —  1) The Democrats lost.  —  Badly.  This wasn't just a tough map.  Democrats lost Senate seats in Iowa and Colorado.  They lost governor races in Florida and Wisconsin.  Hell, they lost governor races in Illinois, Maryland, Maine, and Massachusetts!

What really went wrong for Democrats  —  The most common explanation we're hearing for the GOP sweep of a dozen Senate races last night is that an already-treacherous map for Democrats was made a lot worse by the failure of core Dem voter groups to show up.  —  But multiple Democratic …

The Polls Were Skewed Toward Democrats  —  For much of this election cycle, Democrats complained the polls were biased against them.  They said the polls were failing to represent enough minority voters and applying overly restrictive likely-voter screens.  They claimed early-voting data was proving the polls wrong.

Climate Change?  An Issue for Losers  —  Ross Douthat nails it in his NY Times blog post-mortem: … Andrew Restuccia notes in Politico: … Will Bunch in the Philadelphia Daily News: … The Keystone pipeline appears to have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, according to the National Journal:

‘Hundred-year majority’ for House GOP?  —  Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, proclaimed Wednesday that Republicans may have built a “hundred-year majority” in the House.  —  “We're as back to a majority as any of us have seen in our lifetimes.

Big win for conservative big money  —  Establishment Republican money finally got what it paid for — an electoral wave.  —  After two cycles during which conservative mega-donors' record spending was plagued by flawed candidates and internecine squabbling, their side's big money operatives got to do some gloating on election night.

President Obama Left Fighting for His Own Relevance  —  WASHINGTON — Two things were clear long before the votes were counted on Tuesday night: President Obama would face a Congress with more Republicans for his final two years in office, and the results would be seen as a repudiation of his leadership.

First Impressions: Historic GOP House Majority  —  It's hard to overstate House Democrats' bad night.  By all measures, Republicans enjoyed an historic night, exceeding pre-election expectations across the country.  There are fewer than ten races where the outcome is in some doubt …

Alex Rodriguez's DEA confession: Yes, I used steroids from fake Miami doctor  —  ›  —  ‹  —  For 21 tumultuous months, New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez has defiantly maintained he never used banned substances from a Coral Gables anti-aging clinic …

Meet Elise Stefanik, the Youngest Woman Ever Elected to Congress … Republican Elise Stefanik has become the youngest woman elected to Congress in history, winning her race against Aaron Woolf in New York's 21st open district 56-32, ABC News projects.  —  She's the first Republican to win the district …

NBC's Today Show ‘Hires’ Pippa Middleton  —  After rumored courting by both ABC and NBC, Pippa Middleton is reportedly inking a deal to become a Today correspondent.  Buckingham Palace may not be amused.  —  NBC News, which has an expensive affection for royalty—whether British or American …

Colorado to vote on personhood, again  —  On November 4, Colorado voters will vote on Amendment 67 which would change the criminal code to include ‘an unborn human being’ as a ‘person.’ Proponents argue the measure would protect pregnant women while opponents say it's a veiled abortion bill.

Election Results 2014: Here Are the Key Races That Are Still Too Close to Project  —  Voters in states across the nation handed Republicans control of the U.S. Senate on Election Day 2014, strengthened their majority control of the House of Representatives and also made a strong showing in gubernatorial races.

The 2014 electorate wasn't just older and whiter than 2012.  It also voted more Republican.  —  Based on preliminary exit poll data Tuesday night, we were able to say with some certainty how the 2014 electorate compared with 2012 and 2010.  In short: It had more white, older voters — the sort of voters more likely to vote Republican.