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Something that couldn’t fit into my piece yesterday but bears mentioning: Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East and South Asia,

Gov. Sarah Palin sat for an interview with The Anchorage Daily News in her Wasilla home, where moose chili was simmering in a crock pot. The whole interview

The 10 members of the panel named by Congress to investigate the causes of last year’s economic implosion appear to be wrestling with their role in this year’s

CHICAGO, Ill. -- Barack Obama is presumably enjoying his first day as president-elect, but he also got right to work. After an hour at Regents Park this

The New York Times has a thorough overview of the Obama administration’s forthcoming nuclear-weapons policy. Anonymous administration officials tell the paper

In a little more than a year, Colorado may become the first state to legalize marijuana. Between now and then, prepare to meet petition waving enthusiasts. In fact, prepare to meet competing petition wavers as it is quite likely that at least two different pro-marijuana groups will propose at least two different legalization schemes

Nice catch by Greg Sargent: the sort-of-ballyhooed Center for Republican Renewal, a think tank launched in December by ousted Republican National Committee

A new study shows that a community that has a high rate of uninsured members affects the health care access and quality of those who actually have insurance. Modern Healthcare reports that the study , which was published in the journal Medical Care , found that there are “indirect, or spillover, health care effects” on people with health care insurance, when the community they live in has a high rate of uninsured. One of the key findings of the study was that “working-age adults with private insurance residing in areas with a high rate of uninsurance were less likely than their peer in areas with a low rate of uninsurance to have a usual source of care, an office-based visit, and any medical care expenditures.” According to Modern Healthcare: found that insured residents living in communities with high uninsurance rates were more likely to have unmet medical needs and encounter problems obtaining specialist referrals than those who lived in communities where the percentage of uninsured residents was lower.

In June, new home sales rebounded from their record-low rate to ... the second-lowest rate ever recorded. The Commerce Department announced that home sales

State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey (Pic via Facebook) State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, has filed a bill for the upcoming session that would make January 2012 ”Pregnancy Resource Center Month.” Pregnancy resource centers are also referred to as crisis pregnancy centers. Crisis pregnancy centers, or CPCs, are mostly religious centers aimed at dissuading women from having an abortion.

The Brooklyn body of the National Labor Relations Board has gathered more evidence that Target intimidated workers by threatening to close a store if a union was approved in a vote this summer. The new charges could be enough evidence for an administrative law judge to recommend that the election results be overturned, Alvin Blyer of the regional NLRB told the Minnesota Independent. The union lost the June election at Valley Stream, N.Y., 137-85, but has filed a number of objections with the NLRB for intimidation and illegal firing of a union supporter, according to the National Labor Relations Board.

Here’s more history on Sen. John McCain’s mortgage plan, this time from The Wall Street Journal’s blog. Apparently, the idea has an interesting history: It

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (Pic by World Economic Forum, via Flickr ) The tea party has added another item to its list of reasons to fear the United Nations: Some in the movement say the U.N. is planning to intervene in the United States’ upcoming elections. This week, when Attorney General Eric Holder announced his speech on voting rights , the Texas group True the Vote called for a protest of the event because “Holder is for NAACP Plans to involve the United Nations in US Elections.” True the Vote, a voter integrity initiative launched by the Houston tea party group King Street Patriots , held a national summit this year featuring some of the right’s most incendiary speakers, such as Andrew Breitbart, The Texas Independent reported.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Here is what happened at the press conference Sen. John McCain just held -- accompanied by his wife, Cindy, and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist

Here’s the list of elected Republicans on the statewide and federal levels who spoke or appeared at Tea Parties. – Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Rep.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said that a bill to end tax subsidies for large oil companies will likely fail next week. Bingaman is the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

When asked for her reaction to Tina Fey’s portrayal of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live, McCain campaign adviser Carly Fiorina told MSNBC’s

Two months after filing suit over allegations of questionable contributions made to the 2006 and 2008 campaigns of Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, the Federal Election Commission has released three letters it sent to the Buchanan campaign asking for more details on the matter. # Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (aka CREW), which twice named Buchanan to its list of the most corrupt members of Congress, spoke out about the letters in a Wednesday press release

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) sent a letter to presumptive House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) today outlining his priorities for the House Energy & Commerce

In less than eight minutes, the Florida House of Representatives cut back decades of environmental regulations. # Friday was the deadline for bills to get heard so they could be available for final votes next week, before the end of the legislative session. As the House sped through dozens of bills, Speaker Dean Cannon repeatedly urged members to keep questions brief, reminding them, as the axiom goes, “Bills are dying.” # The bills only needed to be discussed and amended so they could be debated next week, but House Bill 991, an industry wish-list that streamlines environmental regulations, was immediately rolled over and passed in a 95-16 vote, without questions or debate from members of either party

The Atlantic Wire, in one of those Ouroboros moments that crop up whenever the media covers itself, is reporting that AP correspondents have filed a Freedom of