AP NewsBreak: Richardson Ends Bid  —  MERRIMACK, N.H. (AP) - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson ended his campaign for the presidency Wednesday after twin fourth-place finishes that showed his impressive credentials could not compete with his rivals' star power.

It's a Fake  —  The Pentagon's version of the encounter in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday morning, involving U.S. Navy warships and Iranian Revolutionary Guard patrol boats is, at the very least highly suspicious.  On Tuesday, the Navy released video footage and an audiotape to back its claims …

McCain, Romney, and the pro-life, Catholic vote in Michigan  —  Pro-life entrepreneur and Catholic philanthropist Tom Monaghan-who founded Domino's Pizza in Michigan in 1960-endorsed Mitt Romney today: … As the GOP candidates move to Michigan, they'll be attempting to out-pro-life each other.

CIA whistle-blower Philip Agee dies in Cuba  —  HAVANA (Reuters) - Philip Agee, a former CIA spy who exposed its undercover operations in Latin America in a 1975 book, died in Havana, the Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma said on Wednesday.  —  Agee, 72, died on Monday night …

Obama Campaign Co-Chair Questions Hillary's Tears  —  The Tears are now officially an issue in Campaign 2008.  —  Obama's national campaign co-chair, Jesse Jackson, Jr., just went on MSNBC and appeared to question Hillary's tears, which he called “tears that melted the Granite State,” adding that those tears “moved voters.”

Voter cited by opponents of Indiana's ID law registered in two states  —  WASHINGTON - On the eve of a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Indiana Voter ID law has become a story with a twist: One of the individuals used by opponents to the law as an example of how the law hurts older Hoosiers is registered to vote in two states.

Fox News: We Report — Even if We Know It's False  —  I've been dealing with the media and politics for 25 years, but I've never had a more surrealistic day than January 8.  Several times that day Fox News reported that I was joining Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Study: 151,000 Iraqis died in 3 years after U.S. invasion  —  About 151,000 Iraqis died from violence in the three years after the United States invaded, concludes the best effort yet to count deaths — one that still may not settle the fierce debate over the war's true toll on civilians and others.

Against The “Buddy System”  —  “I was laughing because you know in that debate, obviously Sen. Edwards and Sen. Obama were kind of in the buddy system on the stage.  And I was thinking whoever's up against the Republican nominee in the election debates come the fall is not gonna have a buddy to fall back on.

The Libertarian Turnip Truck, Cont'd  —  In response to my post below about Ron Paul, reader Bill Sullivan writes: … Bill makes a good point.  Someone should have told him.  There are plenty of people who get paid to do that sort of thing.  I did not mean to criticize …

AT&T and Other ISPs May Be Getting Ready to Filter  —  For the past fifteen years, Internet service providers have acted - to use an old cliche - as wide-open information super-highways, letting data flow uninterrupted and unimpeded between users and the Internet.  —  But ISPs may be about to embrace a new metaphor: traffic cop.