NCTC director Michael Leiter remained on ski slopes after Christmas Day airline bombing attempt  —  WASHINGTON - The top official in charge of analyzing terror threats did not cut short his ski vacation after the underwear bomber nearly blew up an airliner on Christmas Day, the Daily News has learned.

GOP Insiders Sour On Palin  —  A poll of GOP insiders suggests that ex-AK Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has little support among the party's professional class — and maybe that's just how she wants it.  —  In a survey of 109 party leaders, political professionals and pundits, Palin finished 5th …

Steele Lashes Out: Critics Should ‘Get a Life,’ ‘Shut Up,’ ‘Fire Me ... or Get out of the Way’  —  ABC News' Aaron Katersky and Rick Klein report: RNC Chairman Michael Steele is lashing out his critics, with a series of blunt messages for prominent Republicans who have blasted him over his leadership for the Republican Party.

N.J. Senate rejects bill legalizing gay marriage … TRENTON — The state Senate rejected a same-sex marriage bill today, a major victory for opponents who contend the measure would infringe on religious freedom and is not needed because the state already permits civil unions.

Former White House lawyer charged with attempting to kill wife in New Canaan  —  NEW CANAAN — A prominent attorney and former White House lawyer was charged with attempting to kill his wife Wednesday night.  —  John Michael Farren, 57, of New Canaan, was charged with attempted murder …

Palin aide warned of ‘epic debacle’  —  Sarah Palin's charming opening debate line for now-Vice President Joe Biden — “Hey, can I call you Joe?”  — was scripted after she repeatedly referred to him as “O'Biden” in preparation sessions, former McCain campaign senior adviser Steve Schmidt told “60 Minutes.”

Nelson in “serious discussions” to extend deal  —  Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) has begun negotiations with Senate Democratic leaders to expand his special Medicaid funding deal to all states or to allow states to opt out of the Medicaid expansion in 2017, his spokesman told POLITICO Thursday.

Conservatives Finish 2009 as No. 1 Ideological Group  —  Uptick owing largely to more independents calling themselves conservative  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The increased conservatism that Gallup first identified among Americans last June persisted throughout the year, so that the final year-end …

Lieberman tanks  —  Want to know how far Joe Lieberman has fallen in the wake of the health care vote last month?  Barack Obama's approval rating with Connecticut Republicans is higher than Lieberman's with the state's Democrats.  —  81% of Democrats now disapprove of Lieberman's job performance …

Reagan grandson arrested in Van Nuys [Updated]  —  Former President Reagan's grandson is in jail this morning after police arrested him at his parents' house in Van Nuys, Los Angeles Police Department officials said.  —  Cameron Reagan, 31, was arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest …

Carlson Launches Right's Answer to HuffPost  —  The offices of The Daily Caller evoke a long-ago era of journalism, circa 2005 or 2006, before the Los Angeles Times closed its big-city bureaus, The Washington Times fired 60 percent of its staff, and magazines from Gourmet to Portfolio shuttered for lack of revenue.

Beck: 'African-American is a bogus, PC, made-up term.  I mean, that's not a race.'  —  Today on his radio show, Glenn Beck wanted to discuss the census.  “Apparently the census has come out,” he said.  Beck's co-host then chimed in, “Yeah and there's a little confusion because there's three boxes …

Election 2010: Colorado Governor  —  With Ritter Stepping Down, Democratic Prospects Improve in Colorado  —  Now that Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has said he will step down rather than run for reelection, Democrats may be more competitive in this year's gubernatorial race.

Is Palin Getting $100,000 to Speak at the Tea Party National Convention?  —  This morning, I asked whether Sarah Palin's decision to speak at the Tea Party National Convention — while (so far) eschewing the much higher-profile Conservative Political Action Conference — had anything to with money.

Cadillac Flip Flop: Obama Was Against Health Plan Tax Before He Was For It  —  In a video that rings so true it hurts, Lee Stranahan-a former Obama supporter-gives us the aspiring president's own speech.  Only a month before the 2008 election, Obama makes it plain just how bad an idea the …

Zeitgeist Patrol  —  Alone in our nation's capital last night, I decided to keep in touch with the culture by going to see Avatar in 3D.  I hadn't read much of the commentary about the movie, but the word of mouth was that it was visually spectacular—and yes, spectacular it was, especially in 3D …

Health Care Reform: State Winners And Losers  —  Back in October, as health care financing options were being hotly debated and proposals changing on an almost daily basis, one of us noticed an editorial on health care reform in West Virginia's Martinsburg Journal.

Geithner's New York Fed Told AIG to Limit Swaps Disclosure  —  Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, then led by Timothy Geithner, told American International Group Inc. to withhold details from the public about the bailed-out insurer's payments to banks during the depths …

Snow covers Britain from head to toe  —  As if dusted with icing sugar, this satellite image of Britain shows the full extent of the snow coverage affecting the country.  —  From head to toe there is barely a patch of land not blanketed by the heaviest snowfall in 50 years.

A defense of Obama  —  I get a lot of unsolicited e-mail and should probably publish more of it; this defense of Obama, sent in by someone named Ellie Light, seemed to crystallize a point his supporters have been trying to make for a while:  —  A year ago, if we had read in the paper …