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November 24, 2012 Jesse Jackson Jr. has a famous name and fabulous contacts, and had what looked like boundless prospects when he was first on the national stage in 1988. But this week, he resigned from Congress after his self-hospitalization this summer and an ongoing ethics investigation.

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November 23, 2012 Think superPACs were a waste of wealthy donors' money this election season? Consider how New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's superPAC was able to help engineer an upset in one congressional race outside Los Angeles.

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November 23, 2012 WNYCGov. Chris Christie is defending local tax increases and major federal investments, despite his tough talk on spending. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is courting the spotlight as he calls for billions of dollars from Washington to rebuild. The Republican and Democrat will have to find consensus on the plan for rebuilding — together and with a divided Congress.

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November 22, 2012 References to the fiscal cliff, set for Jan. 1, have become ubiquitous in Washington. But many may have forgotten just how and when the looming tax increases and spending cuts were first devised.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

November 21, 2012 The U.S. envoy to the U.N. is seen as a front-runner for the job of secretary of state in President Obama's second term, but her comments in the wake of the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi have made her a focus of criticism. Rice also said she looked forward to discussing Sen. John McCain's concerns over her comments with the Republican.

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November 21, 2012 Election-related lawsuits have more than doubled since 2000. There has been at least one post-election litigation in every general or midterm election since 2000, with the exception of 2002. Legal experts blame the flawed election process and the fact that voters don't like their candidates to concede.

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November 21, 2012 The end of the congressman's career continues a dubious streak, one that residents of Illinois' 2nd District would no doubt gladly see a future lawmaker break.

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November 21, 2012 The election may be over, but the bickering continues, and not just between NPR's Ron Elving and Ken Rudin. As President Obama defends his U.N. ambassador, Republicans continue to lambast her for "misleading" reports about what happened in the aftermath of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.

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November 21, 2012 "People who have any brains" will avoid dredging up politics during the holidays, says one psychologist. But in our highly polarized era, family gatherings offer the chance for rare encounters with people who don't already share our partisan leanings.

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November 20, 2012 Craig Miller has been raising turkeys on his farm near Harrisonburg, Va., for 26 years. On Wednesday, two of Miller's toms will briefly achieve national celebrity at the annual White House turkey pardoning ceremony. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Miller says.

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November 20, 2012 President Obama's campaign operation apparently isn't going to be totally retired just yet. Instead, the Obama team is considering deploying some of its grass-roots elements to push Congress to solve the fiscal cliff problem and help pass the president's agenda.

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