Steve Rattner: Jonathan Gruber was ‘the man’ on Obamacare  —  Obama has since noted Gruber was never on the White House's staff.  —  Jonathan Gruber was “the man” behind Obamacare, according to a former adviser to President Barack Obama.  —  “The problem is not that Gruber helped …

Keystone at Senate tipping point  —  Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and other supporters of the Keystone XL oil pipeline are stuck at 59 votes — one vote shy of the supermajority they need to move their bill forward on Tuesday.  —  Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) …

Incredible Audio Of Gov. Jay Nixon Bumbling Through An Answer About Ferguson  —  Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) has declared a state of emergency and activated the state national guard in anticipation of a grand jury decision in the shooting of Michael Brown by Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson.

Obama in Winter  —  They say failure can be a good teacher, but, so far, the Obama administration is opting out of the course.  The post-midterm period has been one of the most bizarre of the Obama presidency.  President Obama has racked up some impressive foreign-policy accomplishments …

House Democrats Re-Elect Pelosi as Minority Leader  —  Democrats re-elected Rep. Nancy Pelosi to another two-year term as House minority leader on Tuesday, two weeks after elections in which the party lost at least a dozen seats in the chamber.  —  In a closed-door meeting of House Democrats …

Uber Executive Suggests Digging Up Dirt On Journalists  —  Senior vice president Emil Michael floated making critics' personal lives fair game.  Michael apologized Monday for the remarks.  —  Emil Michael, senior vice president of business for Uber, in July.  —  David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In Mr. Obama's own words, acting alone is ‘not how our democracy functions’  —  DEMOCRATS URGING President Obama to “go big” in his executive order on immigration might pause to consider the following scenario:  —  It is 2017.  Newly elected President Ted Cruz (R) insists he has won a mandate to repeal Obamacare.

Why is Obama ignoring the experts on illegal immigration?  —  There are some important voices that have been starkly absent as President Obama gets ready to issue an executive order that would usurp federal immigration law in the coming days.  —  “We're all pretty much ticked,” …

Four Rabbis Are Killed in Jerusalem Synagogue Attack  —  JERUSALEM — Two Palestinians armed with a gun, knives and axes stormed a synagogue complex in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of West Jerusalem on Tuesday morning and killed four rabbis in the middle of their morning prayers, the Israeli police said.

Questions About Sharpton's Finances Accompany His Rise in Influence  —  The Rev. Al Sharpton, who came to prominence as an imposing figure in a track suit, shouting indignantly at the powerful, stood quietly on a stage last month at the Four Seasons restaurant, his now slender frame wrapped …

Democrats press Obama to wait on immigration executive action  —  President Obama has a tough decision to make on the timing of an executive order to freeze deportations of illegal immigrants.  —  Senate Democrats want him to wait to give them time to pass an omnibus spending bill …

GOP hires legal scholar to oversee Obama lawsuit  —  House Republicans have hired a noted constitutional lawyer to oversee a lawsuit against President Barack Obama for alleged executive overreach.  —  Jonathan Turley, a professor at The George Washington University, has argued in favor …

The Long Shot  —  Martin O'Malley ought to be a Democrat's dream candidate.  In two terms as the governor of Maryland, he's ushered in a sweeping liberal agenda that includes gay marriage, gun control, an end to the death penalty, and in-state college tuition for undocumented immigrants.

The New Republican Plan To Rig The 2016 Presidential Election  —  Last week, Michigan state Rep. Pete Lund (R) revealed a plan that would rig the Electoral College to ensure Republican victories in 2016 and beyond if it were enacted in a sufficient number of states.

Reaping the Whirlwind  —  Today we're busily asking when President Obama will drop the immigration executive action hammer and whether Republicans will reply with screeching, government shutdowning or just getting it over with and finally impeaching President Obama.

Holder praises Koch brothers  —  Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday praised the conservative Koch Brothers for donating money to a group helping to defend indigent clients.  —  “There's a justice gap,” Holder said in an interview with the Marshall Project, which covers criminal justice news.