Porn Sting Nabs Federal Official  —  LAKELAND - When he wasn't sending pornographic movies to and asking for explicit photos from a teenage girl in Polk County, a Maryland man was bragging about his job as a spokesman at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, law enforcement officers said.

Couric Announces Departure From 'Today' Show  —  Katie Couric, the most successful host in the more than 50-year history of NBC's "Today" show, told her audience of more than 6 million viewers this morning that she will step down from the program and leave NBC when her contract concludes at the end of next month.

Found Object: DeLay on Hardball  —  To see just how grateful Chris Matthews was for getting the Tom DeLay scoop, and what DeLay may think of Hillary Clinton, go here.  Thanks to the usual source gods.  —  Player not working?  Download the quicktime video here.

DeLay Says He'll File Ethics Complaint Against McKinney  —  Soon-to-retire Rep. Tom DeLay (R.-Tex.) said today he would file an ethics complaint against Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D.-Ga.) for striking a Capitol Police officer should no other House member do so first.

John McCain on The Daily Show  —  The Daily Show with Jon Stewart had a live interview with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) on Tuesday's program. … Of course, it is crucial to understand the context in which the interview took place.  Bear in mind that The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is above …

Feingold Backs Legalizing Same-Sex Marriages  —  Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), a prospective 2008 presidential candidate, said yesterday that he thinks bans on same-sex marriages have no place in the nation's laws.  —  Feingold said in an interview that he was motivated to state his position …

Apple Allows Windows on Its Machines  —  Turning a decades-long rivalry on its head, Apple Computer introduced software today that it says will easily allow users to install Microsoft's Windows XP operating system on Apple's newest computers.  —  The software, Boot Camp …

Officer Pleads No Contest  —  The man who headed the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Tampa has pleaded no contest to charges he exposed himself to a girl in a mall food court and ran away from security guards.  —  Frank Figueroa, 49, originally said he was not guilty.

Sestak's battles — naval, familial and political  —  Sitting in the oncology ward at Children's National Medical Center on Jan. 19, retired Adm. Joe Sestak and his wife, Susan, awaited the doctors' verdict about the condition of their 5-year-old daughter, Alexandra.

Iran Threat Rhetoric Grows  —  Iran tested a new torpedo!  —  Iran would respond to an attack with terrorist strikes in the United States!  —  Nuclear diplomacy in Iran is beginning to look a lot like the United Nation's inspection work in Iraq before the 2003 war.

Yes, It's Anti-Semitic  —  Academic papers posted on a Harvard Web site don't normally attract enthusiastic praise from prominent white supremacists.  But John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt's "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" has won David Duke's endorsement as "a modern Declaration …

Schools Ban Patriotic Clothes, Flags  —  SAN DIEGO — In the wake of last week's immigration-reform protests, one school district is taking drastic measures, banning all symbols of patriotism, both U.S. and Mexican.  —  Images: Schools Ban Patriotic Clothes, Flags  —  Discuss: District Bans Patriotic Clothes, Flags

Agencies Not Protecting Privacy Rights, GAO Says  —  Government agencies that use private information services for law enforcement, counterterrorism and other investigations often do not follow federal rules to protect Americans' privacy, according to a report yesterday by the Government Accountability Office.

Democracy In Iraq Not A Priority in U.S. Budget  —  While President Bush vows to transform Iraq into a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, his administration has been scaling back funding for the main organizations trying to carry out his vision by building democratic institutions such as political parties and civil society groups.

Numbers  —  What are these numbers?  This week's Powerball winners?  A safe deposit combo?  New numbers to torment those poor b*stards stranded on the island in Lost?  —  No, they're the number of troops that have died in hostile actions in Iraq for each of the past six months.

86 the Anti-527 Action  —  We're old enough to remember when the Republican mainstream was against restricting campaign finance.  That was about four years ago.  Way back then, House leaders were decrying McCain-Feingold as damaging to the GOP's electoral fortunes and probably unconstitutional.

I still want to teach  —  Last month, 500 angry schoolteachers assembled outside my office.  The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) was furious that "Stupid in America," a "20/20" show I did on education, suggested that some union teachers were lazy.  They shouted that I didn't understand …