Obama in Winter  —  They say failure can be a good teacher, but, so far, the Obama administration is opting out of the course.  The post-midterm period has been one of the most bizarre of the Obama presidency.  President Obama has racked up some impressive foreign-policy accomplishments …

FBI Warns Ferguson Decision ‘Will Likely’ Lead to Violence By Extremists Protesters … As the nation waits to hear whether a Missouri police officer will face charges for killing unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., the FBI is warning law enforcement agencies across the country that the decision …

Uber Executive Suggests Digging Up Dirt On Journalists  —  Senior vice president Emil Michael floated making critics' personal lives fair game.  Michael apologized Monday for the remarks.  —  Emil Michael, senior vice president of business for Uber, in July.  —  David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Keystone at Senate tipping point  —  Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and other supporters of the Keystone XL oil pipeline are stuck at 59 votes — one vote shy of the supermajority they need to move their bill forward on Tuesday.  —  Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) …

On Obamacare, the G.O.P. Lays a Trap for Itself  —  A few days after the midterm elections, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear King v. Burwell, a challenge to the Affordable Care Act in which the plaintiffs are arguing that people who live in states which have not set …

Why is Obama ignoring the experts on illegal immigration?  —  There are some important voices that have been starkly absent as President Obama gets ready to issue an executive order that would usurp federal immigration law in the coming days.  —  “We're all pretty much ticked,” …

In Mr. Obama's own words, acting alone is ‘not how our democracy functions’  —  DEMOCRATS URGING President Obama to “go big” in his executive order on immigration might pause to consider the following scenario:  —  It is 2017.  Newly elected President Ted Cruz (R) insists he has won a mandate to repeal Obamacare.

King aims to extend footprint as kingmaker  —  Iowa's Steve King is expanding his footprint as a presidential kingmaker.  —  The conservative congressman with the fitting last name is launching his own annual multicandidate forum for presidential hopefuls.

President Obama Orders Full Review of Hostage Negotiation Policy … President Obama has ordered a comprehensive review of policy dictating how the U.S. government tries to secure the freedom of Americans held hostage by terrorists abroad, a senior Pentagon official revealed in a recent letter to a member of Congress.

The Long Shot  —  Martin O'Malley ought to be a Democrat's dream candidate.  In two terms as the governor of Maryland, he's ushered in a sweeping liberal agenda that includes gay marriage, gun control, an end to the death penalty, and in-state college tuition for undocumented immigrants.

Democrats press Obama to wait on immigration executive action  —  President Obama has a tough decision to make on the timing of an executive order to freeze deportations of illegal immigrants.  —  Senate Democrats want him to wait to give them time to pass an omnibus spending bill …

History Shows That Hillary Clinton Is Unlikely to Win in 2016  —  Republicans did well in the midterm elections, but there is widespread agreement that they face a demographic disadvantage in the 2016 presidential election, when many of the predominately Democratic younger and minority voters …

GOP hires legal scholar to oversee Obama lawsuit  —  House Republicans have hired a noted constitutional lawyer to oversee a lawsuit against President Barack Obama for alleged executive overreach.  —  Jonathan Turley, a professor at The George Washington University, has argued in favor …

AP Exclusive: Charles Manson gets marriage license  —  2 photos  —  CORCORAN, Calif. (AP) — Mass murderer Charles Manson plans to marry a 26-year-old woman who left her Midwestern home and spent the past nine years trying to help exonerate him.  —  Afton Elaine Burton, the raven-haired bride-to-be …

Say it loud: Black, GOP and proud  —  As a black Democrat I have to say: 2014 was a marquee year for black Republicans.  —  But the reaction from the NAACP and black Democrats has been revulsion.  —  Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), a member of the Democratic House leadership …

Ferguson correctional officer faces sex charges, rape lawsuit  —  • By Robert Patrick rpatrick@post-dispatch.com > 314-621-5154  —  FERGUSON  • Prosecutors have accused a Ferguson correctional officer of allowing an inmate to escape in 2013 in exchange for sex, but a civil suit calls it rape.

In GOP, a new voice of immigration dissent  —  He hasn't even taken his first vote in Congress, but incoming freshman Rep. Carlos Curbelo is already breaking with his party on immigration.  —  The Florida Republican is a vocal supporter of actions on immigration reform that many in the GOP have rejected …