Cables Obtained by WikiLeaks Shine Light Into Secret Diplomatic Channels  —  WASHINGTON — A cache of a quarter-million confidential American diplomatic cables, most of them from the past three years, provides an unprecedented look at backroom bargaining by embassies around the world …

McCain wants ‘regime change’ in North Korea  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is calling for “regime change” in North Korea - and blames the recent crisis on the failings of Pyongyang's lone international supporter, China.  —  “It's time we talked about regime change in North Korea …

The FBI successfully thwarts its own Terrorist plot  —  The FBI is obviously quite pleased with itself over its arrest of a 19-year-old Somali-American, Mohamed Osman Mohamud, who — with months of encouragement, support and money from the FBI's own undercover agents — allegedly attempted …

A Bully Finds a Pulpit on the Web  —  SHOPPING online in late July, Clarabelle Rodriguez typed the name of her favorite eyeglass brand into Google's search bar.  —  In moments, she found the perfect frames — made by a French company called Lafont — on a Web site that looked snazzy and stood at the top of the search results.

The Country's Wealthiest Men: No, Really, Tax Us More!  —  Not that this will matter to the congressional Republicans, whose agenda is not actually improving the economy nor listening to economists, the wealthiest 2%, or any other American, come to that.  But the country's wealthiest men …

Presidential historian curses, calls Americans ‘lazy and obese’  —  Presidential biographer Edmund Morris delivered one of the more, well, colorful lines on this week's Sunday morning shows.  —  On CBS's “Face the Nation,” host Bob Schieffer, anchoring an authors roundtable discussion …

Small-town Iowa embraces Grinnell's gay, black president  —  Grinnell, Ia.  — When Grinnell College's new president, Raynard Kington, bikes over to the Danish Maid Bakery a few blocks off campus, he doesn't play the VIP card.  —  He doesn't mention the medical degree he earned at 21 or his centuries-old vacation home in Crete.

Still the Best Congress Money Can Buy  —  SO America's latest crisis — until it wasn't — was airport screeners touching our junk.  As this long year lurches toward its end, we all agree that something has gone wrong in America, and we're desperately casting about for a coherent explanation for our discontent, if not a scapegoat.

Democratic South finally falls  —  For Democrats in the South, the most ominous part of a disastrous year may not be what happened on Election Day but what has happened in the weeks since.  —  After suffering a historic rout — in which nearly every white Deep South Democrat in the U.S. House …

Why the TSA pat-downs and body scans are unconstitutional  —  The protest on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving was called National Opt-Out Day, and its organizers urged air travelers to refuse the Transportation Security Administration's full-body scanning machines.  —  But many appeared to have opted out of opting out.

The GOP's New Top Cop  —  Darrell Issa is itching to delve into Democratic malfeasance as the House's tough-talking oversight boss.  He talks with Howard Kurtz about how partisan his probes will be.  —  Darrell Issa is trying very hard to sound reasonable.