Guns: Time to Call the Liberal Bluff?  —  Last week the left attacked Republican leaders who stayed silent about the shooting at the Planned Parenthood abattoir in Colorado Springs, but yesterday, as Scott notes below, the left attacked Republicans who expressed condolences and prayers for the victims of the San Bernardino shooting.

Behind McConnell's campaign to win over Cruz  —  Mitch McConnell is close to pulling off a feat that at first seemed impossible: Coax Ted Cruz and antagonistic conservative groups to back his strategy to repeal Obamacare.  —  For weeks, Cruz, a 2016 GOP presidential candidate and chief McConnell nemesis …

Couple seemed quiet and withdrawn — until explosion of violence  —  RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Syed Rizwan Farook seemed happy, quiet and devoutly religious both before and after his journey to Saudi Arabia last year.  His co-workers noticed only two changes after the trip: The restaurant inspector …

Confident Bush vows to ‘whoop’ Clinton in election  —  Jeb Bush says he will “whoop” Hillary Clinton if given the chance to be the Republican nominee for president.  —  “Should I win this nomination I will take it to Hillary Clinton and I will whoop her,” said Bush, speaking …

For victim's boyfriend, 22 hours of conflicting reports, then heartbreak  —  Ryan Reyes, 32, center, breaks down after finding out his boyfriend of nearly three years, Daniel Kaufman, 42, was one of those killed during Wednesday's mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center.

Scott Weiland — Found Dead on Tour Bus … EXCLUSIVE  —  Rock star Scott Weiland was found dead on his tour bus in Minnesota ... TMZ has learned.  —  Weiland was on tour with his band Scott Weiland & the Wildabouts ... they were supposed to play the Medina Ballroom tonight, but the show was cancelled.

Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Has Gone From Fringe To Mainstream, Report Says  —  Anti-Muslim rhetoric, recently on display as lawmakers discuss the issue of resettling Syrian refugees, began on the fringes of the far-right and has infiltrated mainstream politics, according to a new report released by the National Security Network.

After grumbling, Trump says he will participate in CNN debate  —  Donald Trump said Thursday that he is unexcited about the upcoming primary debate and irritated by CNN's coverage of his campaign, but confirmed that he will appear at the network's GOP forum scheduled for Dec. 15 in Las Vegas.

ATTENTION LICENSED HANDGUN OWNERS  —  In light of recent events that have occurred in the United States and around the world I want to encourage citizens of Ulster County who are licensed to carry a firearm to PLEASE DO SO.  —  I urge you to responsibly take advantage of your legal right to carry a firearm.

We've had a massive decline in gun violence in the United States.  Here's why.  —  Premeditated mass shootings in public places are happening more often, some researchers say, plunging towns and cities into grief and riveting the attention of a horrified nation.

Coldplay to Headline Super Bowl Halftime Show  —  Band to withhold new ‘A Head Full of Dreams’ album From Spotify  —  British rock band Coldplay will headline the halftime show at the National Football League's Super Bowl 50 in February, according to people familiar with the matter.

Christie can't lose  —  Nine months ago a savvy political junkie told me Chris Christie would soon announce a presidential campaign, simply because he had to.  —  Making our way through the nation's capital, my cab driver made his case: running was the only way for the New Jersey governor to clean up his image and come out ahead.

Help The Lil' Mamas Support The Wetzel Family … THE STORY  —  On December 2nd our Mama, Renee Wetzel, wrote us this:  —  “Please pray.  My husband was in a meeting and a shooter came in.  There are multiple people dead/shot.  I can't get a hold of him.”  Her husband was in San Bernardino.

Remembering the Soviet Union's Disappeared … Boris shternberg was a believer.  As the Soviet Union formed, he held a series of official positions, including administrator of Moscow's reservoir.  But the system in which he had placed his faith ultimately betrayed him …

60 Days Until Iowa: Are the Polls Predicting the Winners?  —  It's now about two months, 60 days, until actual voting begins in that fascinating exercise in democracy, the Iowa caucuses.  A few days later the good folks of New Hampshire follow with another great American tradition …

Five THOUSAND bullets and a dozen pipe bombs: The deadly cache amassed by radicalized US Muslim and his Pakistani wife who slaughtered 14 just two weeks after he clashed with Jewish co-worker in office debate about religion  — Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27 …