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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Rob Portman Says No To 2016 Presidential Race … It's not even 2015, and the 2016 presidential race already has its first dropout.  —  Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican who was once considered a top contender to be Mitt Romney's vice presidential nominee in 2012, said in a statement early Tuesday morning …

Obama preparing executive order on police militarization  —  Washington (CNN) — President Barack Obama, responding to concerns over the use of military-style equipment during protests in Ferguson, Missouri over the summer, is asking aides to prepare an executive order that would better track …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 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 …

UNEQUAL TREATMENT IN ARIZONA, SWINGS IN MEDICAID ACCESS SHOW PROGRAM'S IMPACT  —  Bad timing turned Karen Slone's medical problem into a crisis.  —  Slone, 53, a former administrative assistant with diabetes, followed doctors' advice for years, getting regular checkups.

U.S. attorney general to issue new guidance on racial profiling  —  (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Monday he would soon release new guidelines to limit racial profiling by federal law enforcement, a move long awaited by civil rights advocates.