Cheat Sheet

Did a driver cut off Vice President Joe Biden's motorcade en route to his taping for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart? That's what one witness is claiming after two cars collided at 49th Street and 10th Avenue in New York City. Biden was being escorted by an entourage of police escorts and security detail when an unmarked cab reportedly cut through the motorcade. Three people were injured, including two members of Biden's team, though initial reports indicate the injuries are minor. The vice president was not harmed. This is the third injury accident involving Biden's team in the last week.

Maulana Fazlullah, founder of the Swat region's Taliban, has fled Pakistan for Afghanistan, despite earlier reports that he had been wounded, killed, or captured by the Pakistani military. Fazlullah told the BBC via phone, allegedly from Afghanistan, that his group would soon "launch full-fledged punitive raids against the army in Swat." He also sent an ominous threat to a Pakistani official, and told the BBC there was no need for the U.S. to send more troops to Afghanistan. "Hundreds of thousands of Pakistani soldiers are already involved in furthering the U.S. agenda in the region," he said. BBC reporter Hai Kakar, who has met with Fazlullah twice, confirmed that the voice sounded like the Taliban leader.

Susan Walsh / AP Photo

Barack Obama's first White House state dinner will be one guest short: House Minority Leader John Boehner has already turned down his much-sought-after invite, citing Thanksgiving commitments. The event will honor Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Politico notes that Boehner—who complained this month that Obama's White House has been snubbing Republicans—attended a Bush-hosted state dinner in 2007. Though the White House hasn't released a guest list, some invitations are known: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Senators John Kerry (D-MS), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Dick Lugar (R-IN). Obama advisers Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod will be there, as will Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke.

Ron Edmonds / AP Photo

Rumors flew last week, but now it’s official: President Obama will sit down with Fox News. The president has scheduled an interview with the conservative TV network’s White House correspondent Major Garrett in China on Wednesday. Previously, outgoing White House Communications Director Anita Dunn said Garrett is the one Fox News employee whom the administration considers a “legitimate reporter.”

In a small victory for Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home in March 2002, one of her abductors was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison. Wanda Barzee admitted to helping her husband, self-proclaimed prophet Brian Mitchell, hold Smart captive for nine months, during which Smart was chained up and repeatedly raped. In court, Barzee agreed to testify against her husband, while asking for Smart's forgiveness. Smart, who was 14 at the time of her kidnapping, was not present at the sentencing. Barzee, who has spent time in a mental hospital, and Mitchell were both determined to be mentally competent to face charges, though Mitchell's attorney's claim that he is not.

To get the health-care bill through, will the left have to let go of abortion? Following Rep. Bart Stupak's (D-MI) controversial amendment to the House health-care bill restricting abortion funding, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) plans to introduce a similar amendment to the Senate's version of the bill. Hatch told Politics Daily that his version will mirror Stupak's language, but notes "It will be much more difficult in the Senate" where "there are so few [Democrats] you can really turn to." This is Hatch's third attempt to restrict federal funding for abortion services.

Another nail in Middle East peace’s coffin? White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that the administration is “dismayed” over Israel’s decision to expand the Gilo settlement in Jerusalem. "At a time when we are working to relaunch negotiations, these actions make it more difficult for our efforts to succeed," Gibbs said. On Tuesday, Israel approved the building of 900 new homes in the West Bank. Obama’s special envoy, George Mitchell, had asked an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to block the construction.

The White House is being blasted for reports that Recovery.gov, which tracks stimulus spending and job creation, shows figures for jobs and spending in nonexistent congressional districts. The revelation of errors on the site comes after the administration dropped 60,000 from its previous figures on jobs created by stimulus spending thanks to "unrealistic data." For one, Wisconsin Democrat and House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey is demanding fixes to the "ludicrous mistakes" plaguing the site: "The administration owes itself, the Congress and every American a commitment to work night and day to correct [the errors].”

Vogue finally nabbed that coveted interview with Hillary Clinton, who had avoided the high-fashion magazine during her presidential campaign for "fear of looking too feminine." The feature is sprinkled with telling details, such how the Democratic runner-up is impervious to jet lag, watches Mad Men, and had the furniture rearranged in one of the rooms in the State Department so she could lunch with one of the best views in Washington. Most revealing, though, is how Clinton decided to accept her position in Obama's Cabinet. The former first lady admits she was "stunned" when Obama tapped her for secretary of State, and wasn't sure accepting was the right thing to do. The campaign had left her $10 million in debt, and taking on the role would mean that Bill would have to cut back on his foundation work to avoid accusations of conflict of interest. The two camps had also exchanged harsh words during the campaign. After talking with Obama about subtleties in their foreign-policy views, the differences that seemed vast during the campaign rapidly shrunk. In the end, Obama, who staffers maintain had always wanted to keep Clinton near, wouldn't take "no" for an answer.

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In the wake of the Fort Hood shooting, the Pentagon is planning a full review of its procedures for keeping a watch on potential problems in their ranks. The investigation would look beyond the particulars of Nidal Malik Hasan, with Defense Secretary Robert Gates wanting a complete review. “This is shaping up to be a DoD effort,” said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell. “This is larger than the Army. There are issues that need to be looked at department-wide.”

They may not have had a winning season in six years, but the Kansas City Royals aren’t completely without hope: Royals pitcher Zack Greinke won the American League Cy Young Award on Tuesday. During the 2009 season, Greinke was 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA. Second place went to Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners, who was 19-5 with a 2.49 ERA. Detroit’s Justin Verlander finished third; the Yankees’ C.C. Sabathia finished fourth; and Toronto’s Roy Halladay finished 5th.

Even as the industry buzzes about the female frontrunners for Oscar's Best Director category (Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Campion and Lone Scherfig), the pool for Best Actress nominees is looking rather shallow. Barring bravura performances in yet-to-be-widely-seen films like The Lovely Bones, only veteran nominee Meryl Streep (for Julie & Julia) and virtual unknowns Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) seem to be likely nominees. Some even think unusual choices like Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side could fill out the rest of the slate. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the "shallow pool" may be the result of a changing culture that makes it harder for women—especially older women—to get the kinds of meaty roles that result in Oscar nominations: only one woman in her 50s—Helen Mirren—has one the award in the last two decades.

Move over, Sarah Palin: The Republican party may have a new great white hope. The Fix writer Chris Cillizza pegs Senator John Thune of South Dakota as "2012's Dark Horse." Cillizza cites David Brooks' most recent New York Times column describing Thune as a "gracious and ecumenical legislator, not a combative one," continuing that "Republican pros are attracted to Thune because he could rally the hard-core conservatives without scaring away the suburbanites." Thune has been making the rounds of cable-news shows to talk about the economy, calling the health-care bill a "monstrosity." He seems to be quietly gearing up for 2012 while focusing on his 2010 reelection campaign first-he's a fundraising whiz on his own, and has now hired an all-star campaign manager and consulting team.

Could Glenn Beck be next? Three highly respected conservative figures—Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, American Conservative Union founder David Keene, and former representative Bob Barr—have endorsed a plan to move terror detainees from Gitmo to a maximum-security prison in Illinois. In a joint statement, the men say “the scaremongering about these issues should stop,” and then say the transfer is necessary to “preserve national security” while avoiding “sweeping and radical departures from an American constitutional tradition.” The plan, they argue, “makes good sense,” since taxpayers have already invested in the “little used” $145 million facility.

Thanks largely to the economic crisis, some 50 million Americans had trouble obtaining enough food in 2008, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture—the highest figure since the government began following that statistic and a 4 percent increase over the previous year. The number of children living in households with low or very low food security (meaning that the household struggles to maintain access to food) rose by 4 million to 17 million (22.5 percent), with 1.1 million in the "very low" category. Experts and advocates were amazed by the jump: "It's like we are living in a Third World country," said Vicki Escarra, president of Feeding America. President Obama, meanwhile, reiterated his goal of eliminating childhood hunger by 2015, while Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack called the report "a wake-up call." One interesting wrinkle of the study: most families with low food security have at least one adult working full-time, meaning that low wages are at least partly to blame.

Gary Ginsberg, a close adviser to Rupert Murdoch for 11 years and a liaison to the Democratic Party, is leaving News Corp. Over the summer, Peter Chernin, News Corp.'s president and another close associate of the Democratic Party, also stepped down. A trend, perhaps? Ginsberg served as a lawyer to the Clinton White House and was hired as News Corp.'s director of communications in 1999. In the good graces of both Murdoch and the Clintons, Ginsberg arranged previously arranged meetings between them. He also brokered a meeting between Murdoch and Obama before the election.

As health-care reform comes closer to passing, businesses and their lobbies are increasing their efforts to fight it. Opponents like the Chamber of Commerce have spent some $24 million on TV ads campaigning against the bill, versus $12 million from labor unions and other pro-reform groups—a turnaround from the advantage in spending once held by the overhaul's backers. Business coalitions like the Start Over Coalition and Employers for a Healthy Economy are broadcasting ads arguing that the Democrats' plan would further hurt the economy and raise unemployment.

Two men were granted a marriage license for what will probably be the first gay marriage in Latin America. “On December 1st we will become man and man,” said José María Di Bello, an executive with the Argentine Red Cross. He and his partner, Alex Freyre, the executive director of the Buenos Aires AIDS Foundation, sued after being denied a marriage license in April. A judge ruled a ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitution, and the mayor Buenos Aires said the city would not appeal: “We have to live with and accept this reality: the world is moving in this direction.”

Looks like there’s no love lost between Lou Dobbs and CNN. Dobbs gave his first post-CNN interview on Monday night to Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, where the cantankerous newsman described himself as “recently emancipated” and toyed with the idea of running for office in New Jersey. O’Reilly lobbed the biggest bombs during the segment, and Dobbs gamely agreed to characterizations of being “demonized by the left.” CNN dropped him, he says, because he didn’t fit in with the Obama era: “I discern more of a difference between then, which was under the Bush administration whom I was criticizing, and now, when it is the Obama administration and an entirely different tone was taken,” Dobbs said. The pair ended the segment with a promise to keep Dobbs around as a “semi-regular guest” on O’Reilly’s show.

Never, since the age of Julius Caesar's gladiatorial thumbs, has a finger made such a difference. Bud Adams, owner of football team the Tennessee Titans, has been ordered to pay a quarter of a million dollars for waving his middle fingers at a game. Adams displayed his middle fingers—first on one hand, then the other, then both in unison—at a game against the Buffalo Bills last weekend. The Titans won the day 41-17, but Adams lost out for "conduct detrimental to the league." For his unsporting behavior, Adams apologized "to the Bills, their fans, our fans, and the NFL." He has agreed to pay his fine.

"Seeking 500 attractive girls between 18 and 35 years old, at least 1.70 meters (5 foot, 7 inches) tall, well-dressed but not in mini-skirts or low cut dresses," the ad read. There were promises of 60 Euros and “Libyan gifts.” 200 women in Rome turned up for Libyan Leader Muammar Qaddafi’s party. Or so they thought. Instead, they had to wait in a large hall until Qaddafi arrived. Then he began lecturing them on the role of women in Islam. At the end, Qaddafi told them to “convert to Islam” and gave them each a Quran and a book of his wisdom. "It was anything but the VIP party we were expecting, they didn't even give us a glass of water," one woman said.

Susan Walsh / AP Photo

What does Nancy Pelosi want most for Christmas? A jobs bill. After passing health-care reform, Pelosi and House Democratic leaders are hoping for a legislative solution to rising unemployment by the New Year. They are still debating, however, whether to do one package or a series of smaller bills. The main idea for job creation is to find a compromise on a highway-construction bill whose long-term expansion the Senate and White House have been resisting. The main hang-up is how to cover its $500 billion cost.

Who knew you could do this? Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman "unconceded" in New York's closely watched special election, where the Republican candidate dropped out and threw her endorsement to Democrat Bill Owens, who was declared the winner and has already been sworn in. Hoffman—who won support from far-right leaders like Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh—nonetheless demanded recanvassing and a careful absentee ballot count. His original trail of 5,335 votes has shrunk to 3,026, prompting him to "unconcede" on Glenn Beck's radio show on Monday afternoon.