Pelosi Dear Democratic Colleague on CRomnibus  —  It is clear from this recess on the floor that the Republicans don't have enough votes to pass the CRomnibus.  This increases our leverage to get two offensive provisions of the bill removed: the bank bailout and big money for campaigns provision.

Scott Rudin On Obama's Favorite Movies: “I Bet He Likes Kevin Hart”  —  An exchange between Sony Pictures chair Amy Pascal and producer Scott Rudin turned into a riff on films they thought the president liked.  UPDATE: Both Rudin and Pascal have apologized for the emails.  —  Danny Moloshok / Reuters

Open Carry Activist Charged With Shooting Ex-Husband And Stepdaughter Dead  —  A woman charged with shooting and killing her ex-husband and stepdaughter has strong connections to groups advocating for expanding open carry gun laws in Texas.  —  Local news outlets on Wednesday reported …

Jeb Bush Has a Mitt Romney Problem  —  Over the last several months, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has been giving speeches, campaigning for candidates, appearing at public forums, and meeting with wealthy donors, which has led many people to believe that he may soon enter the race to become the next Republican presidential nominee.

John Brennan defends CIA, won't say torture wasn't useful  —  The director of the CIA concedes that there were some missteps.  —  CIA Director John Brennan took an extraordinary step Thursday to contain the roiling controversy over his agency's past use of aggressive interrogation techniques …

Bill Cosby Drugged Me.  This Is My Story.  —  Like most Americans, I spent the 60s, 70s, and part of the 80s in awe of Bill Cosby and his total domination of popular culture.  He was the first African American to star in a dramatic television series, I Spy, a show my family in Buffalo, New York, always watched.

Joe Manchin Joins Democrats Opposed To Obama Treasury Pick Antonio Weiss  —  WASHINGTON — Another Democrat is adding his name to a small but growing list of senators opposed to President Barack Obama's nominee for a top Treasury Department post.  —  Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) …

Why The Media's Fact Problems Are Way Bigger Than Rolling Stone  —  George Packer argues in The New Yorker that journalism's big crisis is just a business crisis.  In the very first paragraph, noting the collapse of Rolling Stone's story about a violent gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity …

And the Bum Steer of the Year Is . . .  Was 2014 the year of the Un-Bum Steer?  So many of our usual suspects behaved themselves (more or less) that we wondered if something was amiss.  Texas A&M didn't do anything too Aggie-like, the Dallas Cowboys were actually in the playoff hunt for a change …

Minority congressional staffers plan walkout in wake of Brown, Garner decisions  —  Washington (CNN) — Congressional staffers plan to walk off their jobs Thursday afternoon to show their support for the families of Michael Brown and Eric Garner in the wake of the decision by two grand juries …

Obama Justice Department Was Involved In IRS Targeting, Lerner Emails Reveal  —  Sadly, the 18 month investigation into the IRS targeting of conservative groups isn't over, and it may be worse than anyone thought.  A federal judge has broken loose more emails that the DOJ had surely hoped would never surface.

Government shutdown would not stop Obama on immigration  —  Even if Republicans shut down the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) next year, President Obama could still carry out his executive actions giving legal status to up to 5 million undocumented immigrants.

The Lost Ark: Kentucky will not grant tax incentives to Ark Encounter  —  Kentucky's Tourism Arts & Heritage Cabinet Secretary Bob Stewart informed representatives of the proposed Ark Encounter tourist attraction today that their project will not be eligible for up to $18 million in tax incentives …

‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ character names revealed (in coolest way possible) — exclusive  —  We finally got to meet some new characters in the teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but now we're getting to put some names with the faces.  —  J.J. Abrams, the film's co-writer …

ISIS Is Trying To Sell The Body Of U.S. Hostage James Foley For $1 Million  —  Middlemen in touch with ISIS or its associates say the group has turned a grim new page in its deadly hostage trade — by trying to sell the remains of at least one of the U.S. citizens it has executed in Syria.