Republican Doomsday Plan: Cave on Taxes, Vote ‘Present’  —  Republicans are seriously considering a Doomsday Plan if fiscal cliff talks collapse entirely.  It's quite simple: House Republicans would allow a vote on extending the Bush middle class tax cuts (the bill passed in August by the Senate) …

Sheldon Adelson Spent Far More On Campaign Than Previously Known … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Elections 2012, John Boehner, Mitt Romney, Campaign Finance, Elections 2012, Newt Gingrich, Video, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Las Vegas Sands, Sheldon Adelson, Fcpa, Mitt Romney 2012, Sands Casino …

As Americans face a fiscal cliff, the Obamas make do with 54 Christmas trees  —  Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images (2011)  —  Amazing how a reelection can reshape an incumbent's thinking about many things.  Now safely ensconced in the White House for 49 more months, the Obamas have decorated …

The Big Budget Mumble  —  In the ongoing battle of the budget, President Obama has done something very cruel.  Declaring that this time he won't negotiate with himself, he has refused to lay out a proposal reflecting what he thinks Republicans want.  Instead, he has demanded that Republicans themselves say, explicitly, what they want.

House GOP makes a $2.2 trillion debt counteroffer to Obama on cliff  —  House Republican leaders have made a counteroffer to President Obama in the fiscal cliff negotiations, proposing to cut $2.2 trillion with a combination of spending cuts, entitlement reforms and $800 billion in new tax revenue.

Prince William and Kate expecting a baby  —  Catherine and William were married at Westminster Abbey in April 2011  —  The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby, St James's Palace has announced.  —  Members of the royal family and the duchess's family, the Middletons, are said to be delighted.

Congress Retains Low Honesty Rating  —  Nurses have highest honesty rating; car salespeople, lowest  —  PRINCETON, NJ — As Congress remains involved in protracted negotiations over the pending “fiscal cliff” that could disrupt the nation's economy if not addressed by Jan. 1 …

Shameful: Pope Benedict XVI joins Twitter, vile hate starts before his first tweet  —  Twitter is buzzing today, as Pope Benedict XVI 's new Twitter account has been revealed.  The buzz started yesterday, when it was reported that the pope would launch a personal Twitter account.

Michelle Obama's Next Move  —  What's next for our incredibly popular first lady?  Samuel L. Jackson and other super-fans weigh in.  —  Chatting with a group backstage on the set of Jimmy Kimmel Live! in October, Michelle Obama made it clear that she wasn't thinking about what she might do in the future.

New York Times Seeks Buyouts From 30 in Newsroom  —  Aiming to cut costs in an increasingly troubled advertising environment, The New York Times announced on Monday morning that it would offer buyout packages to newsroom employees.  While the primary goal of the buyout program is to trim managers …

Homeless Man Is Grateful for Officer's Gift of Boots.  But He Again Is Barefoot.  —  After Officer Lawrence DePrimo knelt beside a barefoot man on a bitterly cold November night in Times Square, giving him a pair of boots, a photo of his random act of good will quickly took on a life of its own …

Again, no gay marriage orders (FINAL UPDATE)  —  The Supreme Court on Monday released additional orders from its Friday Conference, but the list did not show any action on the ten cases dealing with the same-sex marriage issue.  UPDATED: The Court later Monday morning posted on its electronic docket …

Now That the Election's Safely Over, Liberal Journalists Promise to Maybe Ask Obama a Sternly Worded Question or Two  —  You didn't really want to keep that Egg McMuffin down, did you?  Good!  Go read this Politico story about media-progressives and their dearly re-elected leader:

In KC, it's no time for a game  —  KANSAS CITY, MO.  —  Football is embarrassingly tone deaf.  —  Jovan Belcher, a starting linebacker for the Chiefs, murdered the mother of his child shortly before 8 a.m. Saturday.  He hopped in his car, drove to the Kansas City Chiefs practice facility …

Santorum launches column for ‘birther’ website  —  Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has taken a job as a columnist for World Net Daily, a conservative website best known for articles advancing “birther” conspiracy theories about President Obama.

WHY I'M ENLISTING IN ANDREW BREITBART'S WAR  —  I'm enlisting to fight in Andrew Breitbart's war.  —  The political class in Washington has degraded America.  Republicans and Democrats blame each other, and nothing gets done.  The media exacerbates the problem, fans the flames …