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.

Jobs Report: U.S. Adds 214,000 Jobs; Unemployment Rate Falls to 5.8%  —  Hourly Wages Climb at 2% Annual Pace  —  WASHINGTON—U.S. payrolls grew modestly in October but the unemployment rate fell and wages edged up, signs the labor market is strengthening.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

The $9 Billion Witness: Meet JPMorgan Chase's Worst Nightmare  —  Chase whistle-blower Alayne Fleischmann risked it all.

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.

The Big Sleep  —  Maybe it's best to close your eyes and fall into a Rip Van Winkle slumber for the next two years.  The party that has refused to govern for half a decade and ran a substance-free campaign will now play at governing and not take up anything of substance.

Use of word ‘Negro’ removed from new Army regulation  —  Less than 24 hours after it came to light, the Army has removed the word “negro” from its regulation governing the policies and responsibilities of command.  —  The term was used in a section of AR 600-20, which covers “Army Command Policy …

Decision Time on Immigration  —  President Obama said on Wednesday that he would act on his own by the end of the year to “improve” the immigration system, presumably by giving many — perhaps millions — of the country's unauthorized immigrants temporary protection from deportation and permission to work.