How to Tell Whether Obama Did the Right Thing on Cuba  —  On my most recent visit to Cuba this past March, I brought my family with me, because I wanted my children to see what Cuba looked like before everything changed.  I didn't realize quite how quickly that change would come.

Obama's Republican  —  How a conservative Mormon became the biggest Republican Cuba advocate.  —  It all started when Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake found himself in a dark park in Havana trying to score some ice cream.  —  Flake, a devout Mormon, doesn't drink or smoke, so instead of puffing …

Why single payer died in Vermont  —  Vermont was supposed to be the beacon for a single-payer health care system in America.  But now its plans are in ruins, and its onetime champion Gov. Peter Shumlin may have set back the cause.  —  Advocates of a “Medicare for all” …

Paul slams Rubio as ‘isolationist’ on Cuba  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is hitting back against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Cuba in a preview of a possible debate between two presidential hopefuls.  —  In a series of tweets at Rubio on Friday afternoon, Paul called the Florida senator an …

Democratic techies' divided loyalties  —  Ex-Obama hands split between Clinton, rivals.  —  Scores of the Democratic techies who helped Barack Obama defeat Hillary Clinton for the 2008 presidential nomination are now seeking alternatives to Clinton in 2016.

Sean Penn on Sony Pulling “The Interview”: This Sends ISIS an “Invitation”  —  In an email to Mother Jones, the actor says if the US, China, Russia, and UN don't react strongly, global culture will be “very different.”  —  Actor and activist Sean Penn, no surprise, has some thoughts …

Operation Revenge  —  President Obama is back in his campaign comfort zone: Smiting his political enemies.  —  Two senior White House staffers stumbled out of the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago into the boozy, early-morning aftermath of President Obama's Nov. 6, 2012, reelection victory and ran smack into a sober reporter.

Some witnesses lied to Michael Brown grand jury, McCulloch says.  So why have them testify?  —  Certain witnesses who spoke before the grand jury investigating the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown told obvious lies under oath, St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch said Friday.

After turbulent year, Obama aims for quiet Hawaii getaway  —  KAILUA, Hawaii (AP) — A tumultuous year all but behind him, President Barack Obama set off for his annual winter getaway in Hawaii hoping for one thing: Quiet.  —  Air Force One touched down late in the evening at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam …

How One Man Is Terrorizing Neighbors With a Hostile Holiday Decoration Display  —  Homeowners on Fairley Road in Ross Township, Pennsylvania, say their neighbor Bill Ansell is terrorizing them year round with his hostile anti-Christmas spirit.  —  “Any opportunity he has to make our life a hardship …

Obama labor board comes down hard on McDonald's  —  In a significant victory for fast-food demonstrators, the Obama administration filed 13 legal complaints on Friday against McDonald's USA, LLC, alleging 78 instances in which it violated federal labor law by punishing workers for taking part in fast food protests.

Lawmaker Rick Brattin defends controversial abortion bill requiring father's consent  —  HARRISONVILLE, Mo. - The author of a controversial bill, which would require written and notarized consent from the father of an unborn child for a woman to obtain an abortion, defended his proposal …

Women rule Obama presser  —  President Barack Obama took eight questions at his end of the year press conference on Friday: all from women, none from television reporters.  —  The first question went to POLITICO's Carrie Budoff Brown, followed by Bloomberg BNA's Cheryl Bolen …