Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., saw her hopes for reelection go down in the Senate vote against the Keystone XL pipeline as some of her liberal colleagues pushed by the environmental lobby denied her the one vote necessary for victory. Republicans will make a new effort next year.

Next year's Congress will contain a new caucus: the "hell no caucus" of liberals. That's the term a writer for politico.com used to describe the group of senators largely responsible for defeat of the pipeline legislation.  Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D- R.I., a member of the unofficial caucus, said: "We will have more tools in the minority than in the majority."
  

Fathers of brides know weddings can be costly, but are taxpayers aware of how much it cost for President Obama's Labor Day weekend trips to attend the wedding of White House chef Sam Kass after fundraising appearances in Wisconsin and New York? The total tab was $1,539,402, including expenses for a round-trip flight to Washington to "sleep in his own bed."