THROUGH PURGE, NORTH KOREA REIGNS IN ITS 1 %: While the execution of Kim Jong-un’s uncle is about power consolidation by a young ruler, the turmoil is as much about managing the north’s economic elite. Plus, why the purge is just starting. Read more
THE REPUBLICAN WAR ON CHRISTMAS: Conservatives have long complained that a war on Christmas is being waged by enemies of Christianity and traditional America. Whatever the merits of that complaint, it's clear that this year the Republicans are taking aim at Christmas. No, they aren't demanding that public squares be cleared of crèches or that Santa be more representative of multicultural America. And they aren't frowning at those who insist on saying "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays." The GOP war on Christmas comes in a very different form. This year, the Republicans have fallen into the old habit of refusing to play Santa Claus. Read more
MEDICARE FELONS: The doctor is...still OK'd to receive Medicare payments, despite being a felon. More than two years after receiving complaints from US senators that it was routinely failing to bounce criminal doctors from a list of approved Medicare providers as required by law, the federal agency responsible for that list is yet again being criticized by two leading US senators for not quickly booting tainted MDs. And Senators Thomas Carper (D-Del.) and Dr. Tom Coburn (R-OK) pointedly noted in a letter to that agency that their staffers were able to easily identify, through Google and other online searches, at least 16 physicians who remain enrolled in the government-run Medicare. Read more
US STOCKS END SLIGHTLY LOWER AHEAD OF FED TAPER DECISION: Read more