DeMint will force readings of START Treaty and omnibus bill  —  Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) will force readings of both a nuclear arms treaty and $1.1 trillion spending bill that could eat up hours of the remaining lame-duck Congress.  —  DeMint will invoke a senatorial privilege to ask …

FOXLEAKS: Fox boss ordered staff to cast doubt on climate science  —  In the midst of global climate change talks last December, a top Fox News official sent an email questioning the “veracity of climate change data” and ordering the network's journalists to “refrain from asserting that the planet has warmed …

Financial Crisis Panel In Turmoil As Republicans Defect; Plan To Blame Government For Crisis  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … The four Republicans appointed to the commission investigating the root causes of the financial crisis plan to bypass the bipartisan panel and release their own report Wednesday …

Congress' Job Approval Rating Worst in Gallup History  —  Thirteen percent approve of the way Congress is handling its job  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' assessment of Congress has hit a new low, with 13% saying they approve of the way Congress is handling its job.

The inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning's detention  —  (updated below)  —  Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old U.S. Army Private accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, has never been convicted of that crime, nor of any other crime.  Despite that, he has been detained …

FL SCHOOL BOARD SHOOTER POSTED SUICIDE NOTE RAILING AGAINST THE RICH, LINKING TO MEDIA MATTERS  —  Clay Duke, the man who opened fire on a Florida school board Tuesday, posted a “last testament” on Facebook decrying the wealthy and linking to a slew of progressive sites including theprogressivemind.info and MediaMatters.org.

Attention GOP Porkers: Hatch Had His Earmark Requests Stripped From Spending Bill  —  Republican Senators whose earmark requests pepper the much-maligned omnibus spending bill are having a really hard time explaining how they went from requesting earmarks earlier this year to decrying the legislation... because of all the earmarks.

Mark Zuckerberg  —  On the afternoon of Nov. 16, 2010, Mark Zuckerberg was leading a meeting in the Aquarium, one of Facebook's conference rooms, so named because it's in the middle of a huge work space and has glass walls on three sides so everybody can see in.

Exclusive: Twitter Raises $200 Million at $3.7 Billion Valuation; Adds McCue and Rosenblatt to Board  —  Twitter has completed its latest round of funding-$200 million at a $3.7 billion valuation-with Kleiner Perkins as the lead investor, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Goldman Execs to Get $111 Million in 2007, 2009 Bonuses  —  Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein and his top deputies will collect about $111.3 million in stock next month in a delayed payoff from last year and their record-setting 2007 bonuses.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's QDDR Town Hall *updated*  —  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's QDDR Town ..., posted with vodpod  —  The transcript:  —  UNDER SECRETARY KENNEDY: Good morning, everyone.  Before beginning this Secretary of State town hall meeting on the QDDR …

Iraq: Al Qaeda Planning Holiday Attacks in West  —  Iraqi Authorities Say Two Captured Insurgents Admit to Planned Suicide Attacks in U.S., Europe during Christmas Season  —  (AP) Iraqi authorities have obtained confessions from captured insurgents who claim al Qaeda is planning suicide attacks …

Tax-cut plan clears Senate easily  —  The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to advance President Barack Obama's tax package to the House, where the $858 billion bill is expected to receive a final vote Thursday.  —  The Senate vote was 81-19, with 13 Democrats, five Republicans and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) voting no.

WSJ/NBC Poll: Obama in Lead for 2012  —  President Barack Obama, should he choose to run for re-election, enters the 2012 presidential cycle in relatively good shape, especially considering the string of bad news that has buffeted his presidency.  —  According to the WSJ/NBC News poll out later today …

SPLC Responds to Attack by FRC, Conservative Republicans  —  This morning, 22 members of Congress and a large number of other conservatives signed on to a public statement attacking the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for listing several anti-gay religious right organizations as hate groups.

It's Scary Out There in Reporting Land  —  ‘Beats are fundamental to journalism, but our foundation is crumbling.’  —  To understand how badly we're doing the most basic work of journalism in covering the law enforcement beat, try sitting in a barbershop.  When I was getting my last haircut …

Justice Dept. sues BP over oil leak  —  “We intend to hold them fully accountable for their violations of the law,” says Attorney General Eric Holder.  —  AP Photo  —  The Justice Department sued BP, Transocean and three other companies involved in the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday …

2012 Election Preview: The Final Rankings  —  Editor's Note: This morning, we issued a press release on the national wires that ranks the 18 most likely 2012 Republican contenders - and President Obama - on their communications skills.  Below, you'll find the full text of that release.