Scott Brown to be sworn in as Massachusetts senator Thursday  —  Sen.-elect Scott Brown, the successor to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), will be sworn in to office Thursday afternoon, giving Republicans 41 seats in the upper chamber.  —  “Once we get his certificate we expect to swear …

Senators Warned of Terror Attack on U.S. by July  —  WASHINGTON — America's top intelligence official told lawmakers on Tuesday that Al Qaeda and its affiliates had made it a high priority to attempt a large-scale attack on American soil within the next six months.

D-Day at CBS News  —  On the evening of Monday, Feb. 1, Katie Couric, anchor of the CBS Evening News, was wearing red.  For the next half-hour, she tore through the headlines.  There were allegations of bigotry among the federal air marshals in the U.S., an American church group accused …

Lincoln presses Obama on party ‘extremes’ at Q and A  —  Centrist Sen. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) on Wednesday asked arguably the most contentious question during a discussion between Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama, hitting at conservatives and liberals.

Is the Senate majority now in play?  —  The victories in Illinois by Rep. Mark Kirk (R) and state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (D) coupled with former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats' (R) decision to challenge Evan Bayh (D) in the fall is likely to stir chatter about the possibility that Republicans …

Powell Favors Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'  —  Gen. Colin L. Powell, who as the nation's top military officer in the 1990s opposed allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, switched gears today and threw his support behind efforts to end the “don't ask, don't tell” law he helped shepherd in.

Countdown begins for end of Keith Olbermann's ‘Countdown’?  —  Remember Keith Olbermann?  —  He was the one-time must-see anti-Bush ranter who helped rescue MSNBC (yes, it's still on at night) from even worse oblivion years ago.  —  Well, quietly last month while no one was looking …

Obama Continues Policy Outreach to Republicans  —  WASHINGTON — Emboldened by the response to President Obama's face-off with House Republicans last week, the White House is intensifying its push to engage Congressional Republicans in policy negotiations as a way to share the burden of governing …

Eric Holder Joins Administration Pushback On Abdulmutallab.  —  Attorney General Eric Holder has just sent a letter responding to the concerns of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been critical of the administration's handling of the alleged underwear bomber, Umar Abulmutallab.

The Case Against Gays in the Military  —  Open homosexuality would threaten unit cohesion and military effectiveness.  —  As expected, President Obama pledged during his State of the Union address to “work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans …

Palin, Emanuel.  Pot, Kettle  —  Did she really just call for Rahm Emanuel to be fired because he allegedly used the term “f**king retarded” to refer to fellow Democrats in a private meeting?  Last summer?  Did she really?  —  I don't like the term myself.  I think it is offensive.

Muslim chaplain ‘smuggled’ box cutters into jail  —  A Muslim chaplain for the city Department of Correction was arrested this morning for allegedly trying to smuggle in three box-cutters to a lower Manhattan jail.  —  The imam, Imam Zul-Qarnain Shahid, has worked as a DOC jail chaplain for three years …

Warning sign in Illinois  —  I think last night's Illinois primary results indicate some difficulties ahead in the state for Democrats that have nothing to do with who the winners and losers were.  —  Based on the current numbers 885,268 voters were cast in the Democratic primary for Senate compared to 736,137 on the Republican side.

James O'Keefe's race problem  —  A photo of the righty stuntman at a white-nationalist confab illustrates a career marked by racial resentment  —  Many of the conservatives who gleefully promoted James O'Keefe's past political stunts are feigning shock at his arrest on charges …

Rush Limbaugh: 'I love the women's movement — especially when walking behind it.'  —  Last week, hate radio host Rush Limbaugh judged the Miss America pageant.  Today he went on Fox and Friends and spoke to host — and former Miss America winner — Gretchen Carlson to respond to the criticism he has been receiving.

U.S. May Lose 824,000 Jobs as Employment Data Revised: Analysis  —  Feb. 3 (Bloomberg Multimedia) — The U.S. may lose 824,000 jobs when the government releases its annual revision to employment data on Feb. 5, showing the labor market was in worse shape during the recession than known at the time.

A good message is not nearly as important as a fast process  —  “Democrats were too busy dealing [on the health-care bill] to come up with a counter story,” sighs Harold Pollack.  “Not just once, in a complicated speech, but every day and in ways that connect.”

Cross found at Air Force Academy's Wicca center  —  The opening of the worship area at the Colorado Springs academy had been hailed as a step for religious tolerance.  —  Reporting from Denver - The Air Force Academy, stung several years ago by accusations of Christian bias …

Shorting reserves  —  Michael Pettis does a good job of systematically dismantling this idiotic line from Tom Friedman: … In fact, if you decided to short only countries whose foreign exchange reserves reached some large proportion of gross world product, you'd be batting 2 for 2 right now as you started shorting China.