House Dems Pass Only Middle Class Tax Cut Bill  —  Using a wily procedural maneuver to tie Republican hands, House Democrats managed to pass, by a vote of 234-188, legislation that will allow the Bush tax cuts benefiting only the wealthiest Americans to expire.  —  Democrats were not united on the issue.

NASA Finds New Life (Updated)  —  NASA has discovered a new life form—called GFAJ-1—that doesn't share the biological building blocks of anything currently living in planet Earth.  It's capable of using arsenic to build its DNA, RNA, proteins, and cell membranes.  This changes everything.

Tea Party Caucus Takes $1 Billion In Earmarks  —  Members of the Congressional Tea Party Caucus may tout their commitment to cutting government spending now, but they used the 111th Congress to request hundreds of earmarks that, taken cumulatively, added more than $1 billion to the federal budget.

Why Mike Pence Could Steal Sarah Palin's Thunder … “If Mike Pence keeps talking, the left will soon have to stop talking about Sarah Palin.”  —  That's according to The Detroit News' Nolan Finley's latest editorial.  Finley goes on to note that, “Mike Pence is no Sarah Palin.

Why we removed the WikiLeaks visualizations  —  Wednesday afternoon, Tableau Software removed data visualizations published by WikiLeaks to Tableau Public.  We understand this is a sensitive issue and want to assure the public and our users that this was not an easy decision, nor one that we took lightly.

McCain Questions Pentagon on Repeal of Gay Ban  —  WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain stuck to his tough position against repealing the “don't ask, don't tell” law, telling the military's leaders that many combat troops foresaw problems if gay men and women are allowed to serve openly.

Black Caucus whips for Charlie Rangel reprimand  —  The Congressional Black Caucus snapped into action in defense of Charles Rangel Thursday as the House prepared to censure him for 11 ethics violations.  —  Using whip cards produced by the office of House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) …

TRENDING: An Unscripted Moment on Palin's book tour  —  Spirit Lake, Iowa (CNN) - It was an unscripted moment on Sarah Palin's tour to promote her new book, “America by Heart.”  As hundreds of Palin's fans filed inside a cordoned off area of a northern Iowa Walmart today …

Newt Gingrich wants immigration overhaul  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has a bold goal for the next decade: Overhaul the country's immigration system so that every worker in the United States is legal.  —  “We are not going to deport 11 million people,” Gingrich said Thursday as he kicked off his first forum on Latino issues.

A Month After Elections, 200,000 Votes Found  —  The city's Board of Elections routinely reminds New Yorkers that the election night vote count is unofficial and preliminary.  —  Still, the difference in the results from Nov. 2 and in the returns formally certified by the board on Wednesday seems striking …

Jim DeMint assures GOP senators a pass  —  South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint is privately reassuring his Republican colleagues up for reelection that he won't recruit or endorse any primary opponent against them, vowing to raise more than $10 million aimed mainly at taking down Democratic incumbents.

Inside the Ring: Counterspies hunt Russian mole inside National Security Agency  —  NSA mole hunt  —  The National Security Agency (NSA) is conducting a counterintelligence probe at its Fort Meade, Md., headquarters in a top-secret hunt for a Russian agent, according to a former intelligence official close to the agency.

Deficit commission: What ObamaCare needs is ... death panels  —  The good news for Barack Obama: the Associated Press reports today that Obama's deficit commission wants to keep most of ObamaCare in place.  The bad news: they pronounce it unsustainable — unless it includes hard caps on c0verage and decisions made to stop care.

Muslim imam who lectures on non-violence in Germany is arrested for beating up his wife  —  A Muslim imam who lectures on non-violence and advises the German government on interfaith issues has been arrested in Germany for beating up his wife.  —  Sheikh Abu Adam, 40, is now on remand …