Grand Jury Said to Bring No Charges in Staten Island Chokehold Death of Eric Garner  —  A Staten Island grand jury has voted not to bring criminal charges against the white New York City police officer at the center of the Eric Garner case, a person briefed on the matter said Wednesday.

ObamaCare author: Health law is ‘really complicated’  —  Sen. Tom Harkin, one of the coauthors of the Affordable Care Act, now thinks Democrats may have been better off not passing it at all and holding out for a better bill.  —  The Iowa Democrat who chairs the Senate Health, Education …

Mike Huckabee: Brown Could Have Avoided Death “If He Behaved Like Something Other Than A Thug”  —  “I'm gonna tell you something â” what gets you shot is when you grab a police officer's gun, and you lunge at him, and you try to hit him in the face.  View Video ›

2014 Headed Toward Hottest Year On Record — Here's Why That's Remarkable  —  2014 is currently on track to be hottest year on record, according to new reports from both the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the U.K.'s Met Office Wednesday.  Similarly, NOAA reported two weeks ago …

Conservatives scoff at Boehner deal  —  Hardliners are again ready to cause leaders problems.  —  The “Hell No” caucus is once again causing headaches for Republican leadership.  —  A cadre of the House's most conservative members will meet Wednesday morning at the Capitol Hill Club …

Dear Media: This Elizabeth Lauten Nonsense Is Why Everybody Hates You  —  Last week, President Barack Obama pardoned a turkey prior to Thanksgiving Day, as is tradition.  And as in previous years, his teenage daughters Malia and Sasha stood by his side.  The daughters are cute as can be …

The right's ‘State of the Union plan’ continues to percolate  —  Last week, shortly before Thanksgiving, the idea that congressional Republicans might block President Obama from delivering a State of the Union address first crossed the political world's radar.

What's the Matter with Economics?  —  Seven Bad Ideas: How Mainstream Economists Have Damaged America and the World  —  The Queen of England famously asked British economists why nobody saw the financial crisis coming.  Lots of nonroyal people also have a feeling that there's something wrong with economics.

Hagel refused to hold off resignation announcement in spite of White House wishes  —  Washington (CNN) — CNN has learned the White House wanted Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to wait until this week to resign, so it would have a new nominee in place by then.

Uber.gov  —  It's Time to Let the Government Drive  —  Flying to Vegas?  Look to your left.  Now look to your right.  Statistically speaking, one of you is about to get ripped off by a cabbie.  And it'll probably be you, the imbecile who chose the middle seat and paid $15 for plane wifi.

12 Things to Keep in Mind When You Read the Torture Report  —  The Senate Intelligence Committee's torture report will be released “in a matter of days,” a committee staffer tells The Intercept.  The report, a review of brutal CIA interrogation methods during the presidency of George W. Bush …

Roy H. Beck Quietly Leads a Grass-Roots Army  —  He keeps grade cards for every member of Congress, deploys three million activists to blast lawmakers with anti-immigration-reform telephone calls, faxes and emails, and runs a website where his followers have called undocumented immigrants “criminal invaders” and “wolves at the door.”

Former Democratic congressional aide pleads guilty to sexual assault  —  A former Democratic congressional aide pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexually assaulting two women in 2010.  —  Donny Ray Williams Jr., 37, who served as a staff director for the Senate Homeland Security …

WEST ANTARCTIC MELT RATE HAS TRIPLED  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. - A comprehensive, 21-year analysis of the fastest-melting region of Antarctica has found that the melt rate of glaciers there has tripled during the last decade.  —  The glaciers in the Amundsen Sea Embayment in West Antarctica …