Gingrich or Romney: McCain prepares to play kingmaker  —  Arizona Sen. John McCain, the GOP presidential nominee in 2008, is moving toward endorsing a candidate for 2012.  —  Republican sources familiar with his thinking say he will probably endorse his onetime political enemy, Mitt Romney.

Remarks by the President on the Economy in Osawatomie, Kansas  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody.  Please, please have a seat.  Thank you so much.  Thank you.  Good afternoon, everybody.  —  AUDIENCE: Good afternoon.  —  THE PRESIDENT: Well, I want to start by thanking a few folks who've joined us today.

TV News Programs Ignore Obama Administration's Landmark LGBT Announcement  —  Yesterday, the Obama administration announced a landmark full government strategy for advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in its foreign policy and called on nations around the world …

Tennessee family home burns while firefighters watch  —  A Tennessee couple helplessly watched their home burn to the ground, along with all of their possessions, because they did not pay a $75 annual fee to the local fire department.  —  Vicky Bell told the NBC affiliate WPSD-TV …

Alec Baldwin — Tossed by American Airlines Plane Captain  —  The last straw in the Alec Baldwin/American Airlines incident came when he “slammed” the bathroom door so loudly the captain of Flight 4 had to get involved ... according to people on the plane.  —  We're told Baldwin's tweets …

Crystal Cox, Oregon Blogger, Isn't a Journalist, Concludes U.S. Court—Imposes $2.5 Million Judgement on Her  —  ​A U.S. District Court judge in Portland has drawn a line in the sand between “journalist” and “blogger.”  And for Crystal Cox, a woman on the latter end of that comparison, the distinction has cost her $2.5 million.

Restoring Robust Growth in America  —  Why has the recovery been so slow?  What can we do about it?  Alan Greenspan, George Shultz, Ed Prescott, Steve Davis, Nick Bloom, John Cochrane, Bob Hall, Lee Ohanian, John Cogan and I recently met at the Hoover Institution at Stanford to present papers …

Senate G.O.P. Blocks Confirmation of Caitlin Halligan as Judge  —  WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked confirmation of Caitlin J. Halligan, a prominent New York lawyer, to be a federal appeals court judge, raising the question of whether a political deal to prevent the filibuster …

A Reluctant Enemy  —  ON a bright Hawaiian Sunday morning 70 years ago today, hundreds of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor and laid waste to the United States Pacific Fleet.  The American people boiled over in righteous fury, and America plunged into World War II.

At White House press briefing, reporter asks if Obama approves of bestiality  —  At White House press briefings, you don't normally hear questions about bestiality.  Today was not normal.  —  On Monday, press secretary Jay Carney fielded an unusual question from World Net Daily reporter Lester Kinsolving.

Mikhail Gorbachev calls for a new vote in Russia  —  should annul the results of the parliamentary vote and hold a new one, former Soviet leader  —  urged Wednesday as popular indignation grew over widespread allegations of  —  The call for an entirely new vote by the last president …

Ex-Ehrlich campaign manager Schurick convicted in robocall case  —  Paul E. Schurick, the 2010 campaign manager for former Maryland governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., was convicted Tuesday by a Baltimore jury of four counts stemming from a robocall that prosecutors said was intended to suppress the black vote.

Girl gang who kicked woman in the head while yelling ‘kill the white slag’ freed after judge hears 'they weren't used to drinking because they're Muslims'  — Judge: 'Those who knock someone to the floor and kick them in the head can expect to go inside, but I'm going to suspend the sentence'

Obama back to 51 percent disapproval in latest Gallup polling  —  President Obama's job approval rating has ticked down to 41 percent in Gallup's latest daily tracking poll, with his disapproval at 51 percent.  —  It's a drop from where the president stood at the beginning of December …

American Economy Rebounding as Investor Favorite in Global Poll  —  Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. receives its highest rating from international investors in more than two years on new optimism that the world's largest economy will weather the financial crisis in Europe and avoid a recession in 2012, according to a Bloomberg poll.

Why Newt's surge is for real  —  Washington is waking up to a prospect that a week ago seemed far-fetched.