Citing ‘unfinished business,’ Rand Paul will announce re-election effort Tuesday  —  U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is making a major campaign announcement Tuesday.  —  Fresh off Thanksgiving break at his home in Bowling Green, Kentucky's junior senator will officially announce he is running in 2016 for a second term in the Senate.

Democrats Paved the Way for Their Own Decline  —  They have subordinated their traditional focus on helping working-class Americans move up the economic ladder in favor of other priorities.  —  Much has been said about the long-term demographic challenges facing the Republican Party.

County police chief says Rams apologized for ‘Hands up’ gesture; team's VP says otherwise  —  • By Jim Thomas jthomas@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8197  —  UPDATED at 9:36 p.m. Monday with comment from Rams vice president.  —  Rams vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff …

Harry Reid threatens recess, Christmas  —  Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is using his final weeks as majority leader to threaten one of lawmakers' most valuable assets: Recess.  —  Facing down a daunting list of tasks, ranging from funding the government past Dec. 11 to approving …

Republican early voting increases before Louisiana's Dec. 6 runoff  —  The number of people who cast their ballots early in Louisiana dropped off from the Nov. 4 primary election to the Dec. 6 runoff election in every statewide category except one: registered Republican voters.

GOP Staffer Who Attacked Obama Girls Was Arrested During Her Own “Awful Teen Years”  —  Buster  —  The Republican congressional aide who castigated the Obama daughters for their lack of “class” and dressing as if they were angling for a “spot at a bar” was once arrested for larceny during her own …

Obama to provide funding for 50,000 police body cameras  —  President Obama on Monday will announce $263 million in funding for law enforcement agencies to purchase body-worn cameras and improve training.  —  The White House said the funding, which would need to be matched by state and local police …

Rolling Stone Never Gave the Villains of Its Gang Rape Story a Chance to Defend Themselves  —  When scholars of the Historical Jesus try to figure out whether certain stories or sayings reported in the Gospels are authentic—a complicated concept in this context, but never mind …

Hagel ouster highlights power shift  —  The forced resignation of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is exposing deep tensions between the Pentagon and President Obama's national security staff.  —  While administration aides characterized Hagel's departure as a mutual decision …

The Torch Is Being Passed to A New Generation of Right-Wing Media  —  “If you're looking for something, you might not find it,” says Lachlan Markay.  “If you're looking for anything, then, who knows?”  —  It's the middle of November, early morning, and Markay is perched in a chair right outside …

As oil prices plunge, wide-ranging effects for consumers and the global economy  —  Tumbling oil prices are draining hundreds of billions of dollars from the coffers of oil-rich exporters and oil companies and injecting a much-needed boost for ailing economies in Europe and Japan …

Obama Dealt Major Setback in Closing Guantanamo  —  President Barack Obama's 5-year-old campaign to close the federal prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, suffered a major setback as lawmakers finalizing the annual defense policy bill rejected steps toward shuttering the facility.

The Ferguson Decision Was Not a “Miscarriage of Justice.”  Liberals Need to Accept That.  —  Susan Sontag once famously commented that one could have learned much more about the Soviet Union from 1950 to 1970 from reading the Readers' Digest than from reading The Nation.

The new GOP divide  —  2016 Republicans disagree on surveillance, gay marriage and Common Core.  —  Two years ago, Bobby Jindal was pushing a state law to adapt national curriculum standards to local schools; today, not only is the Louisiana governor suing the federal government to stop Common Core …

Bosnian community in St. Louis outraged over fatal hammer attack in Bevo Mill neighborhood  —  • By Joel Currier jcurrier@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8256  —  UPDATED at 10:45 a.m. with arrest of third suspect in attack.  —  ST. LOUIS  • A third male suspect in a deadly hammer attack …