Report: New bin Laden tape emerges  —  (CNN) — A new audio tape allegedly from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden claims responsibility for an attempt to blow up a plane en route to Michigan on Christmas Day and warns the United States of more attacks.  —  The tape, which aired on Al Jazeera on Sunday …

After the Massachusetts Massacre  —  It was not a referendum on Barack Obama, who in every poll remains one of the most popular politicians in America.  It was not a rejection of universal health care, which Massachusetts mandated (with Scott Brown's State Senate vote) in 2006.

Shea-Porter: Send the men home and Congress could pass health care reform  —  In some of her most incendiary comments to date, Democratic Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) claimed on Saturday that female Republican members of Congress have confided in her, in the ladies room, no less …

How to Squander the Presidency in One Year  —  Hey, Conan Obama: How About Now?  Can You Hear Us Now?  —  There's only one political party in the entire world that is so inept, cowardly and bungling that it could manage to simultaneously lick the boots of Wall Street bankers and then get blamed …

70-year gag on Kelly death evidence (Dr. David Kelly)  —  Well this latest news won't fuel any conspiracy theories (cough) or bring even more serious questions about the alleged murder (not suicide) of former UN weapons' inspector Dr. David Kelly (cough).  —  Before we get into the latest …

White House adviser Plouffe fails to mention most of Obama's pre-existing conditions promise right after NYT & CBS report it may be dropped  —  Joe and I saw this coming two days ago.  And unfortunately it's looking increasingly like we were right.  —  A day after former Obama campaign …

Phil Griffin's Memo To MSNBC Talent: Stop Fighting With Each Other  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  On the heels of yet another public incident between his anchors, MSNBC president Phil Griffin reined in his talent in a staff memo Friday afternoon.  —  Griffin sent a memo …

Ellie Light: Obama Astroturfer?  Or Very, Very, Very Energetic But Independent Letter Writer?  With Houses All Over the Nation?  —  A woman has written the same letter defending Obama to dozens of publications across the country, getting them published in at least 42 newspapers in 18 states …

Dulles flight to Las Vegas diverted because of unruly passenger  —  A United Airlines flight from Washington to Las Vegas was diverted to Denver on Saturday night after a passenger became unruly and tried to open a cabin door, authorities said.  —  Other passengers subdued the man …

Obama Turns Up Heat Over Ruling on Campaign Spending  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama took aim at the Supreme Court on Saturday, saying the justices had “handed a huge victory to the special interests and their lobbyists” with last week's 5-to-4 decision to lift restrictions on campaign spending by corporations and unions.

Pachauri: the real story behind the Glaciergate scandal  —  Dr Pachauri has rapidly distanced himself from the IPCC's baseless claim about vanishing glaciers.  But the scientist who made the claim now works for Pachauri, writes Christopher Booker  —  I can report a further dramatic twist …

White House Is Confident Bernanke Will Be Confirmed  —  WASHINGTON — After a full-scale mobilization, White House officials expressed confidence on Saturday that they had contained a populist uprising among Democratic senators that had threatened President Obama's nomination of Ben S. Bernanke …

Bauer: Needy ‘owe something back’ for aid  —  GREENVILLE - Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has compared giving people government assistance to “feeding stray animals.”  —  Bauer, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor, made his remarks during a town hall meeting in Fountain Inn …

Justice Kennedy was key to conservatives' win in campaign finance decision  —  If there was a new boldness from the Supreme Court's conservative majority in last week's landmark ruling on campaign finance laws, there was also an underlying and familiar truth:

Underwater, but Will They Leave the Pool?  —  MUCH has been said about the high rate of home foreclosures, but the most interesting question may be this: Why is the mortgage default rate so low?  —  After all, millions of American homeowners are “underwater,” meaning that they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.

Source says Andrew Cuomo will announce plans to run for New York Governor in March  —  Andrew Cuomo is ready to run for governor.  —  New York's state attorney general is set to take on Gov. Paterson in the Democratic primary, a source close to Cuomo told the Daily News.