Obama, Down but Not Out, Presses Ahead  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama emerged from last week's midterm election rejected by voters, hobbled politically and doomed to a final two years in office suffering from early lame-duck syndrome.  That, at least, was the consensus in both parties.

Americans' Cellphones Targeted in Secret U.S. Spy Program  —  Fake Cellphone Towers on Planes Used to Target Criminals, but Also Sift Through Thousands of Other Phones  —  WASHINGTON—The Justice Department is scooping up data from thousands of cellphones through fake communications towers deployed …

Obamacare architect discussed misleading public in 4th newly uncovered video  —  Washington (CNN) — As Congress voted on the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, in 2010, one of the bill's architects, MIT economist Jonathan Gruber, told a college audience that those pushing the legislation pitched …

The immigration waiting game will end soon  —  Washington (CNN) — President Obama, who will act on immigration reform by the end of the year, has not reviewed final administration recommendations on immigration but is aware of the general details in the expected plan, says a senior White House official …

pointergate  —  A few days before the November 4th election, I took a photo with an organizer while doorknocking to get the vote out.  In that photo, the organizer and I pointed at one another (after, it has often been remarked, an awkward moment of set-up).

Secret Emails of Potential Clinton Campaign Managers Revealed … For the past five years, a prominent Democratic operative who is a leading contender to manage a Hillary Clinton presidential campaign has maintained a private email listserv for friends and associates that carries a provocative name: the “Mook Mafia.”

Big donors urge Warren to run  —  Elizabeth Warren insists she has no interest in running for president in 2016, but the rich liberals to whom she spoke Thursday afternoon seemed unwilling to take ‘no’ for an answer.  —  The Massachusetts senator got a rock stars' welcome during …

Is this the anti-Obama?  —  Cincinnati (CNN) — Rob Portman is mapping out a possible presidential run, creating a narrative, talking to fundraisers and looking to change his image from the senator who once ran George W. Bush's budget office to the anti-Obama from Ohio with a serious resume.

Newly Insured Through Exchanges Give Coverage Good Marks  —  Story Highlights  —  PRINCETON, N.J. — Over seven in 10 Americans who bought new health insurance policies through the government exchanges earlier this year rate the quality of their healthcare and their healthcare coverage as “excellent” or “good.”

Ranking member contest is early test of Pelosi's power in new Congress  —  Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is a shoo-in to keep her spot as the top House Democrat in the next Congress.  But another intra-party election this month - the contest for ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee …

Obama's Unexpectedly Good Week  —  Eight days ago, President Obama went before the White House press corps to acknowledge the previous day's midterm-election results and take his knocks.  “Obviously, Republicans had a good night,” he said.  “And they deserve credit for running good campaigns.

Dempsey: 'We're Certainly Considering' Dispatching US Forces To Fight With Iraqi Troops Against ISIS  —  BEIRUT (CBS News/CBSDC/AP) — In a recording released days after he was reported to be wounded in an airstrike, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) …

Dems Deny Duckworth a Proxy Vote in Democratic Leader Elections  —  The pregnant Illinois congresswoman and wounded war veteran is unable to travel to D.C.  —  Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who is expecting a baby in December, is being denied a request to vote by proxy …

Chris Christie's temperament spooks Wall Street  —  Top GOP donors still see the New Jersey governor as a risky investment.  —  Chris Christie has seemed on top of the world to donors and supporters in the days since the GOP racked up big wins in gubernatorial races with him leading the charge for the Republican Governors Association.

A Major Breakthrough on Climate Change  —  The deal jointly announced in Beijing by President Obama and China's president, Xi Jinping, to limit greenhouse gases well beyond their earlier pledges is both a major diplomatic breakthrough and — assuming both sides can carry out their promises …