CHICAGO (AP) -- As Americans watch yet another political drama play out on Capitol Hill - this time over whether to extend the payroll tax cut and jobless benefits - they have a question for Congress: Can't you all just get along? For once?

WASHINGTON (AP) -- John Shoemaker visited six doctors in his quest to find the best treatment for his early stage prostate cancer - and only the last one offered what made the most sense to the California man: Keep a close watch on the tumor and treat only if it starts to grow.

These days, mommy bloggers don't just gab about spilled milk and poopy diapers. In fact, they've become so influential in the $22 billion toy market that toy makers go to great lengths to get their seal of approval. Their thumbs-up is particularly important during the holiday shopping season when toy makers hope to create the next hit toy.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress lurched toward Grinch-like gridlock on Tuesday as the Republican-controlled House rejected a two-month extension of Social Security tax cuts that President Barack Obama said was "the only viable way" to prevent a drop in take-home pay for 160 million workers on Jan. 1.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida A&M's president will keep his job after the university board of trustees Monday rejected a call from Gov. Rick Scott that James Ammons be suspended while the hazing death of a band member is investigated.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With neither side showing signs of yielding, a bitterly divided House debated a Republican effort Tuesday to force the Senate to negotiate a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits due to expire on New Year's Day.

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) The growing scrutiny of the rich dominated this year's best quotes in the United States, according to a Yale University librarian who anointed the Occupy Wall Street protesters' slogan -- ``We are the 99 percent'' -- as the year's best.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- Just a year ago, tea party activists came roaring out of the congressional elections eager to shape the looming race for the White House. Things have not gone as planned.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congressional investigators said Monday that four House members received VIP discounted loans from the former Countrywide Financial Corp., the lender whose subprime mortgages was largely responsible for the nation's foreclosure crisis.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House intends to vote down a bipartisan two-month extension of the payroll tax cut that has cleared the Senate and is backed by President Barack Obama, and request immediate negotiations on a full-year renewal, Speaker John Boehner said Monday.