‘Morning Joe’ Panel: Michael Brown Was A ‘Thug,’ Protests Are Based On ‘Lies’  —  MSNBC's “Morning Joe” panel started the day off on Monday with a segment slamming protestors in Ferguson, shaming the St. Louis Rams football team, and calling slain unarmed teenager Michael Brown a “thug.”

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 …

What's saving America.  —  The last time Frank Rich had a conversation with Chris Rock was in early 1996, when they and the 1950s teen heartthrob Pat Boone were thrown together in a New York television studio as panelists on Bill Maher's old show Politically Incorrect.

In Mary Landrieu Ad, Congressman Says Obama Will Be Impeached If Cassidy Wins  —  The radio ad features Landrieu saying she approves the message and is “authorized by Friends of Mary Landrieu and authorized by the Democratic State Committee of Louisiana.”  —  View Video ›  —  The text of the ad:

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 …

Black Friday lays an egg  —  The panic-inducing artificial-shortage bargains got rolled out on Friday morning, and in some cases on Thanksgiving evening.  The workers showed up, ready for their toughest day of the year.  Millions of shoppers, though, stayed well away from the Black Friday insanity …

Bad Memories Down South  —  I've just spent nearly a week back home in exurban Atlanta, and I regret to report that the events in and in reaction to Ferguson have brought back (at least in some of the older white folks I talked with) nasty and openly racist attitudes I haven't heard expressed in so unguarded a manner since the 1970s.

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 …

Obama to Toughen Standards on Police Use of Military Gear  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama on Monday announced that he would tighten standards on the provision and use of military-style equipment by local police departments, but he stopped short of curtailing the transfer of such hardware or weapons to the local authorities.

Congress on the brink  —  Funding deadline, tax breaks come down to the wire.  —  December was supposed to be a sleepy month for Congress — a chance to finish up a productive lame-duck session and leave the decks clear for the new Republican majority that takes control in January.

23-Year-Old Woman Beaten To Death After Defending Teen Girls From Harassment  —  A candlelight memorial for Tuçe Albayrak in front of the hospital in Offenbach, Germany on Saturday  —  Thousands of German citizens are mourning a 23-year-old student who was murdered for sticking …

India ‘Eve-tease’ fightback video goes viral  —  A video of two sisters beating up three men, who were allegedly sexually harassing them on a moving bus in India, has gone viral on social media.  —  The men have been arrested and charged with assault, police said.

Hispanic approval of President Obama surges following immigration announcement  —  Emory University political science Prof. Alan Abramowitz noticed something in Gallup's weekly assessment of President Obama's approval numbers: His approval among Hispanics has shot up by 14 points over the past two weeks.

Oil at $40 Possible as Market Transforms Caracas to Iran  —  Oil's decline is proving to be the worst since the collapse of the financial system in 2008 and threatening to have the same global impact of falling prices three decades ago that led to the Mexican debt crisis and the end of the Soviet Union.