Internal Memo To Top Dem Donors Warns Mass Senate Race Is “Very Tight,” “Urgent”  —  In a sign of serious worry about the increasingly tense battle for Ted Kennedy's seat, the Democratic National Committee and the Martha Coakley campaign have blasted a private memo to top national Dem donors …

Harry Reid's Swansong  —  Will Harry Reid retire at the end of this year?  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  In the end, I don't believe Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will run for re-election.  Whether or not the health care bill he muscled through the Senate becomes law, the 70-year-old will bow out of his race for a fifth term.

Conan O'Brien Says He Won't Host ‘Tonight Show’ After Leno  —  Conan O'Brien released a statement Tuesday saying that he no longer wanted to be the host of “The Tonight Show” on NBC if it appeared at 12:05 a.m.  —  Mr. O'Brien's brief run as host at 11:35 p.m. is to be cut short next month …

A new approach to China  —  Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis.  In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google.

Palin, Bachmann Tea Party sessions closed to press  —  It looks like the revolution will not be televised, after all.  —  At least not the Tea Party's revolution.  —  Word from Nashville on Monday was that the First National Tea Party Convention next month will be closed to the press …

Divorce Rates Higher in States with Gay Marriage Bans  —  Over the past decade or so, divorce has gradually become more uncommon in the United States.  Since 2003, however, the decline in divorce rates has been largely confined to states which have not passed a state constitutional ban on gay marriage.

CNN Poll: Americans split on success of Obama presidency  —  Washington (CNN) - Americans are giving Barack Obama a split decision on his first year in office, according to a new national poll.  —  Forty-eight percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday …

Health Insurers Funded Chamber Attack Ads  —  Just as dealings with the Obama administration and congressional Democrats soured last summer, six of the nation's biggest health insurers began quietly pumping big money into third-party television ads aimed at killing or significantly modifying …

Ford: I'm gearing up for Senate race  —  It's true: I am strongly considering running for the United States Senate.  —  I do so because our best as a nation has always come when we test our ideas and ourselves, and when we trust competition to refine the steel of our convictions and the truth of our arguments.

Campbell could switch to Senate race Thursday  —  Former Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Calif.) appears primed to switch from California's governor's race to its Senate race, and it looks like he will make an announcement Thursday morning.  —  In an invitation from the Los Angeles County GOP …

Obama to address House GOP  —  President Barack Obama will address House Republicans next week at their annual retreat in Baltimore, deputy White House press secretary Bill Burton said Tuesday afternoon.  —  It's a show of bi-partisanship after a year rife with tumult in the relationship between …

Tax on Investment Income Is Weighed  —  Health-Bill Negotiators Consider Extending Medicare Levy as They Face Pressure to Ease Proposed Hit on Generous Insurance Plans  —  WASHINGTON — House and Senate negotiators are considering applying for the first time the Medicare payroll tax …

The Tel Aviv Cluster  —  Jews are a famously accomplished group.  They make up 0.2 percent of the world population, but 54 percent of the world chess champions, 27 percent of the Nobel physics laureates and 31 percent of the medicine laureates.  —  Jews make up 2 percent of the U.S. population …

Sick Passenger on “Do Not Board” List Flies Out of Philly  —  An investigation has been launched to find out why a man with an extremely contagious disease was allowed to fly out of Philadelphia International Airport.  —  The man, who's infected with Tuberculosis, boarded a US Airways bound …

Sources: Hickenlooper intends to enter guv's race  —  Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has told top Democrats he intends to run for governor, sources tell The Denver Post.  —  Hickenlooper has been meeting with key advisers since Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter last week unexpectedly announced he was dropping his re-election bid.

Strange reunion  —  Why would a former Guantanamo Bay prison guard track down two of his former captives - two British men - and agree to fly to London to meet them?  —  “You look different without a cap.”  —  “You look different without the jump suits.”  —  With those words, an extraordinary reunion gets under way.

Palin to address alcohol industry event in Las Vegas  —  Washington (CNN) - Las Vegas and alcohol probably aren't the first two things that come to mind at the mention of Sarah Palin, but the former vice presidential candidate is about to change that.  —  At least that's according to Craig Wolf …

We Cannot Wait  —  Almost 32 years ago, in San Francisco's City Hall, having just defeated anti-gay proposition 6, Supervisor Harvey Milk stood in his office debating what the next step in the gay and lesbian movement should be.  Per usual, he found himself in a heated debate with the other …

Iranian officials blame West for bombing that killed top scientist  —  Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, one of the country's leading nuclear scientists, is killed outside his home on his way to work.  Reformists said he had become vocal in his opposition to the government.

McCain: “I Wouldn't Know” About Palin Vetting Process  —  John McCain does not want to talk about the 2008 presidential election, or any of the intrigue that's followed—a fact he made clear in an interview with Matt Lauer this morning on “Today,” in which he said he “wouldn't know” …

Peer-to-Peer Review (Part III): How ‘Climategate’ Marks the Maturing of a New Science Movement  —  PART III - A global warming skeptic receives the leaked files from an anonymous “Deep-Climate” insider.  Release of files exposes gatekeeping and leads to the maturing of a new science movement - that of peer-to-peer review.

7.0 earthquake hits Haiti  —  (CNN) — A major earthquake struck just off the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, sparking a tsunami watch for parts of the Caribbean, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.  —  The Associated Press reported that a hospital had collapsed.

DADT Repeal: Dems Move Forward With Plans  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Congressional negotiators and White House officials are moving forward with plans to add the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell to the upcoming defense authorization bill, Democratic sources tell the Huffington Post.

Exclusive: Afghan President Grateful to U.S. for ‘Little Help’  —  Karzai Tells Diane Sawyer Income, Education and Health Has Improved in His Tenure  —  Afghan President Hamid Karzai disputed President Obama's claim that Afghanistan once had a “blank check” from the U.S., but said he is grateful for the …

Federal Reserve earned $45 billion in 2009  —  Wall Street firms aren't the only banks that had a banner year.  The Federal Reserve made record profits in 2009, as its unconventional efforts to prop up the economy created a windfall for the government.  —  The Fed will return about $45 billion …

Taxing the Banks  —  Apparently, the Obama administration wants to make up for losses in the TARP program by taxing banks.  This seemed eminently fair until I read about where the losses were actually taking place: … So we ought to tax bank profits because . . . GM is losing money just like everyone said it would.