Professor accused in Ala. slayings shot her brother in Mass. 24 years ago  —  BRAINTREE — The University of Alabama biology professor accused of slaying three of her colleagues fatally shot her brother in Massachusetts more than two decades ago, a local police chief said today …

Quayle: 51 Votes ‘Not What Our Founding Fathers Had In Mind’ (VIDEO)  —  Former Vice President Dan Quayle appeared on Fox News this afternoon to chip in his two cents on the health care debate.  Namely, he warned that using the reconciliation process would set a “very bad precedent” because a simple majority is just unconstitutional.

The Endless Disappointment  —  TPM Reader JO keeps it real ...

House Republican Leaders Demand Halt to Talks on Compromise Bill  —  House Republican leaders on Friday demanded that House and Senate Democrats halt their ongoing efforts to resolve differences between the versions of major health care legislation adopted by each chamber late last year.

MICHAEL YON SENDS THIS DISPATCH TO INSTAPUNDIT READERS.  I don't usually run things this long on InstaPundit, but although domestic politics have eclipsed war coverage in a lot of places, what's going on in Afghanistan is still important, and Michael is providing the best coverage out there.

Watching China Run  —  It was primarily a symbolic gesture.  Way back in 1979, in the midst of an energy crisis, Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the roof of the White House.  They were used to heat water for some White House staffers.  —  “A generation from now,” said Mr. Carter …

In Black Caucus, a Fund-Raising Powerhouse  —  WASHINGTON — When the Congressional Black Caucus wanted to pay off the mortgage on its foundation's stately 1930s redbrick headquarters on Embassy Row, it turned to a familiar roster of friends: corporate backers like Wal-Mart, AT&T, General Motors …

Troops Take Positions in Taliban Haven  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — American, Afghan and British troops occupied crucial positions across the Taliban stronghold of Marja on Saturday, encountering only sporadic fighting as they began the long and possibly bloody ordeal of house-to-house searches.

Top Obama spokesman joins Twitter  —  In his first tweet, White House Press Secretary sought advice from the Twitterverse.  —  Washington (CNN) - Count White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs among a growing group of Democratic press operatives who have recently joined the microblogging site Twitter.

'We're Socialists, We're Not Marxists' — Lawrence O'Donnell Goes Nuclear on ‘Morning Joe’  —  Is there something in the water at MSNBC that makes everybody there crazy?  Morning Joe, which ought to be the premier political talk show on morning television — but won't be until it expands …

The US-Israel Relationship, Ctd  —  A reader writes:

Lieberman: I'm trying to be less political in 2010  —  Joe Lieberman says he wants to be less “political” in 2010.  —  The independent senator from Connecticut, who infuriated Democrats by backing Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president, told The Hill, “I'm trying to have a more governmental/legislative, less political year.”

What I Saw at the Tea Party Convention  —  The attendees want politicians who will deliver on Obama's promise of clean and open government.  —  There were promises of transparency and of a new kind of collaborative politics where establishment figures listened to ordinary Americans.

Utah condemns ‘climate alarmists’  —  The US's most Republican state passes bill disputing science of climate change, claiming emissions are ‘essentially harmless’  —  Carbon dioxide is “essentially harmless” to human beings and good for plants.  So now will you stop worrying about global warming?