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 …

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 …

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.

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

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 …

Four 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 men in the middle of their morning prayers, the Israeli police said.

Why did Asian vote dip for Dems?  —  Hispanics were not the only ethnic group shedding support for the Democrats in this year's midterm elections.  —  Democratic backing among Asian-Americans declined sharply in the 2014 cycle, according to exit polls, suggesting President Obama's decision …

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.) …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

Democrats lash out at Pelosi  —  House members go on the record with rare open criticism of their leader.  —  The discontent with Nancy Pelosi is breaking out in the open.  —  Democrats in the House have quietly grumbled about Pelosi since suffering devastating losses on Election Day …

Peter Kassig's Powerful Silence Before ISIS Beheaded Him  —  The former Army Ranger did not address the camera.  —  It's tough to take any solace when the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria commits a murder, as it made clear yet again on Sunday it had done with the release of a video …

A Crucial Vote on the Surveillance Bill  —  The Republican Party is so badly fractured that it is impossible to tell what steps it will take on domestic surveillance once it assumes control of Congress in January.  Its rising libertarian wing wants to crack down on abuses of Americans' privacy …