When New York City Police Walk Off the Job  —  Many members of the New York Police Department are furious at Mayor Bill de Blasio and, by extension, the city that elected him.  They have expressed this anger with a solidarity tantrum, repeatedly turning their backs to show their collective contempt.

Republicans Try to Fix Damage Scalise's 2002 Speech Could Do in 2016  —  WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders, poised for a celebratory takeover of Congress next week, instead found themselves scrambling Tuesday to defuse a racially charged controversy over one lawmaker's speech a decade ago to a white supremacist group.

Pope Francis splits with GOP  —  Pope Francis is increasingly driving a wedge between conservatives and the Catholic Church.  —  The magnetic pope has sparked new enthusiasm around the world for the church and has flexed his political muscles internationally, most recently by helping …

Obama approval at highest in over a year  —  President Obama's approval rating is at its highest in over a year, according to new Gallup polling.  —  The latest three-day polling average, from Dec. 27-29, puts Obama's approval at 48 percent, the highest it has been since August 2013.

Who Is Lena Dunham's Alleged Rapist?  —  Since its publication this fall, Lena Dunham's bestselling essay collection, Not That Kind of Girl, has inspired her fans and offered a different kind of inspiration to her foes.  The right-wing press, in particular, has taken Dunham's discursive set …

President Obama abandons Michael Boggs nomination  —  President Barack Obama will not renominate controversial Georgia judicial nominee Michael Boggs to the federal bench in 2015, according to the state's two Republican senators.  —  Boggs drew widespread opposition from Senate Democrats …

‘CIA fingerprints’ all over Kiev massacre - Oliver Stone  —  The armed coup in Kiev is painfully similar to CIA operations to oust unwanted foreign leaders in Iran, Chile and Venezuela, said US filmmaker Oliver Stone after interviewing Ukraine's ousted president for a documentary.

AP-GfK Poll: Americans support menu labeling  —  Associated Press 1 hr ago  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — More than half of Americans say they already have enough information at restaurants to decide whether they are making a healthy purchase.  But they want even more.

Shifting clout  —  Economists' academic rankings and media influence vary wildly  —  ECONOMISTS measure their influence by looking at their publication count.  They obsess over their RePEc ("research papers in economics") ranking, a list topped by heavyweights who inspire awe among PhD students and blank stares everywhere else.

Police fatally shoot suspect in Drexel Hill  —  Police fatally shot a 52-year-old man Tuesday afternoon in Drexel Hill after he attempted to run them down with his vehicle, said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood.  —  Officers had been trying to arrest the man …

Dana Milbank: How can America inspire the Slacktivist Generation to action?  —  I wanted to do something for my country during the holidays, so I went to the movies.  —  I watched the Christmas Day opening of “The Interview,” to show North Korea that I wasn't afraid of its threats to blow …

Michelle Duggar's Lesbian Secret: Bigoted Reality Star Has A Gay Sister! … Jim Bob, Michelle, and the infamously large Duggar brood are staunchly against gay rights.  In November, the couple deleted photos of same-sex couples kissing from their official Facebook page, and later that month …