De Blasio's nightmare  —  New York's mayor has lost the police — and maybe much more than that.  —  Bill de Blasio, like his progressive political idol Barack Obama, is finding out that you can't do the New Politics if you don't pay attention to the old politics.

Economy Grows Most Since '03 on U.S. Consumer-Spending Gains  —  The U.S. economy roared into overdrive in the third quarter as consumer and business spending fueled the biggest expansion in more than a decade.  —  Gross domestic product grew at a 5 percent annual rate from July through September …

Mitch McConnell: Senate 'didn't do squat for years'  —  Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says his biggest challenge will be righting the course of Congress, adding — in a swipe at outgoing Majority Leader Harry Reid — that his own chamber “basically didn't do squat for years.”

Pelosi: Boehner must force Grimm to resign  —  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is turning the heat up on Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), urging him to call for Rep. Michael Grimm's (R-N.Y.) resignation.  —  Grimm is expected to plead guilty Tuesday to a felony charge of tax evasion.

Poll: Support increases for lifting Cuba embargo, travel restrictions  —  A large majority of Americans support establishing diplomatic ties with Cuba, and even larger — and growing — majorities support an end to trade and travel bans to the country, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Chicopee Man Faces Charges For ‘Put Wings On Pigs’ Facebook Post  —  CHICOPEE (CBS/AP) — A Chicopee man is facing charges after posting “Put Wings on Pigs” to Facebook, police say.  —  Chicopee police said Monday that local residents alerted them to the “very disturbing post” by 27-year-old Charles DiRosa.

'AND HE'S DEAD, DEAD MICHAEL BROWN' [VIDEO]  —  The Glendale, CA Elks Lodge is investigating a shocking incident that went down in the club a week ago Monday, when a performer sang a song celebrating the death of Michael Brown ... for an audience that included a number of retired and current cops ... and TMZ has the video.

Apple pushes first ever automated security update to Mac users  —  (Reuters) - Apple Inc has pushed out its first-ever automated security update to Macintosh computers to help defend against newly identified bugs that security researchers have warned could enable hackers to gain remote control of machines.

Algeria kills militant chief behind Frenchman's beheading  —  © Hervé Gourdel, courtesy of Facebook  —  The Algerian army has killed three members of the Islamist group that beheaded French tourist Hervé Gourdel in September, the army said Tuesday, including the leader of Jund al-Khilafa …

Supreme Court to hear ObamaCare subsidy challenge in March  —  The highly anticipated case challenging ObamaCare's subsidies will officially reach the Supreme Court on March 4.  —  Justices will hear arguments in King v. Burwell in just under three months, according to the court's schedule posted Monday afternoon.

How many crimes can you see being committed in this anti-gun ‘public service’ ad?  —  I've gotten several e-mails about this ad, and one reader asked: If a child does what the protagonist did — would the filmmakers be criminally punishable or subject to civil liability?

BOMBSHELL REPORT: IRS Targeted ‘Icky’ Conservative Groups  —  Top IRS officials specifically targeted tea party groups and misled the public about its secret political targeting program led by ex-official Lois Lerner, according to a bombshell new congressional report.

Taliban Push Into Afghan Districts That U.S. Had Secured  —  LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan — In a large swath of the Taliban heartland in southern Afghanistan, government centers are facing a long-dormant concern this winter: Four years after the American troop surge helped make such places relatively secure …