Payrolls grow by 214K; jobless rate hits 6-year low  —  CNBC's Jim Cramer and David Faber share their thoughts on today's jobs data that saw nonfarm payrolls increase by 214,000.  —  The U.S. economy created 214,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department reported Friday …

Senate Democrats plan a legislative rush before power shifts to the GOP  —  Before ceding full control of Congress to the GOP in January, Senate Democrats are planning to rush a host of critical measures to President Obama's desk, including bills to revive dozens of expired tax breaks and avoid a government shutdown for another year.

Gay marriage bans in four states upheld on appeal  —  The same-sex marriage movement lost its first major case in a federal appeals court Thursday after a lengthy string of victories, creating a split among the nation's circuit courts that virtually guarantees Supreme Court review.

Triumph of the Wrong  —  The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet midterms to men of understanding.  Or as I put it on the eve of another Republican Party sweep, politics determines who has the power, not who has the truth.

Lame duck swims to Asia  —  If President Barack Obama expects to escape the spate of brutal post-election news by traveling 6,000 miles and 12 time zones to Asia, he's in for a surprise.  —  Regional players are taking stock of whether the U.S. president once seen as a global rock star …

McConnell: If Rand Paul runs for president, 'he'll be able to count on me'  —  LOUISVILLE — There were only two things Mitch McConnell didn't want to talk about Thursday — whether he will run for re-election in 2020 and his eventual legacy.  —  In his first one-on-one interview since …

He says he wants to live a normal life.  But he can still taste the White House.  —  Certainly, Ryan has given his suitors some cause for optimism: the visits to early primary states, the discussions with GOP donors, the high-profile blitz to promote his book, The Way Forward, which reads in parts like a presidential manifesto.

Sen. Mary Landrieu faces runoff alone  —  NEW ORLEANS — Mary Landrieu is on a solo mission to retain her Senate seat.  —  Democrats are scrapping a multimillion dollar ad buy, liberal groups aren't jumping in to help her campaign and national political staffers haven't moved down en masse to help get out the vote.

Has the Tea Party been tamed?  —  Establishment Republicans are crowing that their resounding wins Tuesday night repudiated the Tea Party's insistence that ideological purity is key to electoral success.  —  But don't tell that to conservatives, who aren't admitting defeat.

Ben Carson video to air in 22 states  —  Ben Carson is introducing himself as a potential 2016 presidential candidate in a 40-minute video that will be aired on TV stations in 22 states and Washington, D.C.  —  Armstrong Williams, a conservative commentator who is Carson's business manager …

Teacher Resigns After Being Put on Leave over Ebola Panic  —  A Kentucky elementary school teacher resigned from her job after St. Margaret Mary Catholic School kept her out over fears from students and parents about Ebola.  Susan Sherman recently returned from doing mission work in Kenya, where there are no current cases of Ebola.

32 tanks enter Ukraine from Russia: Kiev  —  Kiev (AFP) - A column of 32 tanks and other heavy weapons has entered Ukraine from Russia, the Ukrainian military said Friday, after the latest fighting left five dead and at least 31 injured.  —  Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said a convoy …

Joni Ernst spokeswoman resigned after OWI arrest  —  Gretchen Hamel, a campaign spokeswoman for Joni Ernst's U.S. Senate campaign, was arrested on Oct. 29 for operating while intoxicated and resigned the morning after the incident.  —  West Des Moines police found Hamel passed out behind …

Steal This Article  —  Late one evening in September, I opened my locker at the gym and was surprised to find my phone ringing.  I was about to become collateral damage in today's take-no-prisoners political culture.  —  BuzzFeed was reporting that the “jobs plan” of the Democratic nominee …

Midterms, for Clinton Team, Aren't All Gloom  —  In the coming weeks, Hillary Rodham Clinton will stop delivering paid speeches.  She will embark on an unofficial listening tour to gather ideas from the business community, union leaders and others.  And she will seek advice from such far-flung advisers …