Melissa Harris-Perry Panel Mocks Black Romney Grandchild As Token  —  On MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry on Sunday, the panel was discussing several topics of the “of the year” variety.  In the below clip, panelists are shown photos 'of the year" and asked to offer humorous captions.

The Year Washington Fled Reality  —  ‘Message discipline’ can win elections but is not a healthy way to run a country.  —  The past year may go down not only as the least productive ever in Washington but as one of the worst for the republic.  —  In both the executive branch and Congress …

Why Obamacare Will Only Get Less Popular  —  Lisa Myers has an excellent investigative reporting piece up at NBC News documenting how one small business is dealing with Obamacare.  The quotes from the article are just brutal: … Myers does report that, “A handful of the Extreme Dodge workers came …

Public's Views on Human Evolution  —  According to a new Pew Research Center analysis, six-in-ten Americans (60%) say that “humans and other living things have evolved over time,” while a third (33%) reject the idea of evolution, saying that “humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.”

The Biggest Political Winners and Losers of 2013  —  Chris Christie, Bill de Blasio, and an Arkansas House member head the list of political winners in 2013.  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, now seen as a formidable presidential contender, is one of the biggest political winners of 2013.

The NY Times Looks In the Wrong Place for Corrupt Academics  —  Academic research of all kinds receives funding from a variety of sources.  Does the money taint the research?  That is a complicated question that sometimes deserves to be asked.  But this hit piece by David Kocieniewski …

State Dept. whistleblower has email hacked, deleted  —  WASHINGTON — The personal e-mail account of a State Department whis­tle­­blower was hacked, and four years worth of messages — some detailing alleged wrongdoing at the agency — were deleted, The Post has learned.

Republicans React to Benghazi News  —  The article The Times published on Benghazi this weekend infuriated many Republicans, who ran screaming to television studios.  —  Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, who has made a special crusade out of the attack on the American diplomatic …

SEC Network Hires Tim Tebow for Pregame Show SEC Nation, Additional ESPN Duties  —  Will Make Analyst Debut During ESPN's VIZIO BCS National Championship Coverage January 6 from Pasadena  —  Former Florida quarterback and Heisman winner, Tim Tebow, has been hired as a college football analyst …

ACLU sues for details of U.S. surveillance under executive order  —  (Reuters) - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to force the U.S. government to disclose details of its foreign electronic surveillance program and what protections it provides to Americans whose communications are swept up.

Overdue reforms boost Mexico — and the United States  —  Most Americans have an image of Mexico as a nation convulsed by violent drug wars and enervated by the exodus of hundreds of thousands of desperate immigrants across our southern border.  —  That image is out of date.

7M ObamaCare enrollment target a tall order despite recent surge  —  Experts say the Obama administration faces a tall order in hitting the 7 million enrollees the Congressional Budget Office projected would sign up for ObamaCare in 2014.  —  After a surge of enrollees in December …

You can't parody Islam, says Palin: Monty Python star believes religious sensitivities have increased so much it would be impossible to make Life of Brian today  —  During his Monty Python days he poked fun at everyone from the Establishment to Christianity.

Murders or Houses: Kerry's V.A.T. on Peace  —  The release of unrepentant Jew-killers from Israeli prisons to keep the engine of the peace process running has left many, even those sympathetic with the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria, angrily wondering why Prime Minister Netanyahu did not accept a settlement freeze instead.

Kenneth C. Edelin, Doctor at Center of Landmark Abortion Case, Dies at 74  —  Dr. Kenneth C. Edelin, a Boston physician whose 1975 manslaughter conviction for performing a legal abortion was overturned on appeal in a landmark test of medical, legal, religious and political questions surrounding abortion …

Home Depot shopper hurt by own gun  —  Man's concealed pistol misfires  —  A Green Oak Township man was injured Thursday evening when he accidentally shot himself in the buttocks at a Home Depot store in Brighton.  —  Brighton Police Chief Tom Wightman said the 32-year-old man …

Out of jobs, out of benefits, out of luck  —  Job seekers attend a job fair in Chicago in 2012.  When the doors opened at 9 a.m., the line was half a mile long. … (CNN) — The old deal made rough sense.  —  The United States would provide only a very thin social-insurance cushion …

F.A.A. Picks Diverse Sites to Carry Out Drone Tests  —  WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration will authorize test sites for drone aircraft in upstate New York, New Jersey and at least eight other states, the agency said on Monday, preparing for a time when unmanned aircraft …