Election 2010: Massachusetts Special Senate Election  —  2010 Massachusetts Senate: Coakley 50%, Brown 41%  —  State Attorney General Martha Coakley holds a nine-point lead over her Republican rival, state Senator Scott Brown, in Massachusetts' special U.S. Senate election to fill the seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy.

The Tea Party Teens  —  The United States opens this decade in a sour mood.  First, Americans are anxious about the future.  Sixty-one percent of Americans believe the country is in decline, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey.  Only 27 percent feel confident …

Sources: Greer to quit, Thrasher to head GOP  —  Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer will resign his post Tuesday, according to two sources who have closely followed the party boss' stunning fall from grace.  The sources say Greer will step down and will be replaced by state Sen. John Thrasher …

Press Pool, C-SPAN Join Criticism of Conference Process on Health-Care  —  Yesterday, several outlets reported that the Democrats would “almost certainly” forgo the official conference process to get a health-care bill passed, opting instead to negotiate largely behind closed doors.

Joan Rivers bumped off flight in Costa Rica when Continental gate agent finds passport suspicious  —  Above, Rivers celebrates the New Year with family and friends in Costa Rica last week.  On her return, though, she had a tough time leaving the country because of her ‘suspicious’ passport.

How Visa, Using Card Fees, Dominates a Market  —  Every day, millions of Americans stand at store checkout counters and make a seemingly random decision: after swiping their debit card, they choose whether to punch in a code, or to sign their name.  —  It is a pointless distinction to most consumers …

BRIT HUME SPEAKS, AGAIN.... I didn't intend to return to the subject, but Fox News' Brit Hume spoke to Bill O'Reilly last night about his calls for Tiger Woods to change his religion.  At this point, Hume now wants to debate the meaning of the word “proselytize.”

What the Dems know that we don't: Universal Voter Registration  —  Many are puzzled that Democrats persist in ramming unpopular and destructive legislation down our collective throats while seemingly unconcerned by their plummeting poll numbers.  A widespread belief is that the Democrats …

Democrats Considering Health Care-Immigration Deal To Overcome Key Sticking Point  —  Lawmakers who want to extend health coverage to illegal immigrants will not block the passage of the final health care reform bill so long as the White House offers a substantive promise to start pushing comprehensive immigration legislation this year.

Matthews Bites The Politico That Feeds Him Cheney  —  It's delightful to see someone in the media go after Politico for their stenography.  J-Mart looked like the cat who ate the canary having to dodge the question about how Dick Cheney was using Politico as his conduit.  And there's simply no excuse for it.

Glenn Beck on birther issue: 'Dumbest thing I've ever heard'  —  Claims controversy is political ‘dream come true’ for Obama  —  On the air today, popular radio host Glenn Beck mocked “birthers” and claimed there is a concerted campaign to get those questioning Barack Obama's constitutional eligibility onto …

Secret Service confirms third crasher at White House state dinner  —  Another uninvited guest made it into the White House state dinner made famous by gate-crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the Secret Service announced Monday — exposing more holes in the security perimeter around President Obama.

Personal Bankruptcy Filings Rising Fast  —  The number of Americans filing for personal bankruptcy rose by nearly a third in 2009, a surge largely driven by foreclosures and job losses.  —  And more people are filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which liquidates assets to pay off some debts and absolves the filers of others.

What Liberal Revolt?  —  Claims That Obama's Base Have Turned On Him Are Based On Scant Evidence  —  Does President Obama have a problem with his political base?  That conclusion seems inescapable in recent weeks, as prominent liberal voices have expressed their unhappiness with the president …

MI5 told US about Detroit bomber's terror links ‘a year ago’  —  Britain told American intelligence agents more than a year ago that the Detroit bomber had links to extremists, according to Downing Street.  —  The prime minister's spokesman indicated that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was named …

11 pp.  of House-Senate health differences - Panetta meets CIA fallen at Dover — POTUS, VPOTUS to hold 90-min. Sit Room meeting on air security — Edsall: outside chance GOP takes House  —  BREAKING - -L.A. Times A1: “Northrop headquarters moving to Washington”: “Northrop Grumman Corp …

New scanners break child porn laws  —  The rapid introduction of full body scanners at British airports threatens to breach child protection laws which ban the creation of indecent images of children, the Guardian has learned.  —  Privacy campaigners claim the images created by the machines …

Apple to Ship Tablet Device in March  —  Looking to build on the momentum of its iPhone and iPod, Apple Inc. will unveil a new multimedia tablet device later this month, but isn't planning to ship the product until March, say people briefed by the company.  —  While the device's ship date …

Hollywood's Liberal Heartbreak  — Home - Cheat sheet - Buzz board - Big Fat Story - Blogs & stories - Videos - Galleries - Crossword  —  Blogs and Stories  —  I hope and trust that Robbins has since calmed down.  —  When it came to politics, Robbins and Sarandon tended to espouse and admonish rather than try to persuade.

Republicans keeping pressure on Obama over detainee transfers  —  Republicans are trying to keep the heat on President Barack Obama over his policy of transferring detainees overseas in the wake of the Christmas Day bombing attempt.  —  Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the ranking member …