Winners and losers from Evan Bayh's retirement  —  Indiana Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh's decision not to run for re-election is a massive shock to the political system, the full ramifications of which won't be fully known for weeks or months.  —  But, Bayh's retirement did produce its fair share …

Secret Joint Raid Captures Taliban's Top Commander  —  WASHINGTON — The Taliban's top military commander was captured several days ago in Karachi, Pakistan, in a secret joint operation by Pakistani and American intelligence forces, according to American government officials.

4 Dem Senators Pressure Reid to Use Reconciliation for Public Option  —  Posted by Stephanie Condon Four Democratic senators, including two facing potentially challenging election campaigns this year, are asking Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to use reconciliation, a procedural maneuver requiring …

Tea Party Lights Fuse for Rebellion on Right  —  SANDPOINT, Idaho — Pam Stout has not always lived in fear of her government.  She remembers her years working in federal housing programs, watching government lift struggling families with job training and education.

Most Americans think Congress should start over on healthcare reform, poll says  —  In a brutal assessment of the Democratically authored healthcare reform bills pending in Congress and the party's approach to healthcare, more than half of the respondents to a new Zogby International-University …

Excise Tax Loses Support Amid White House Push  —  WASHINGTON — An agreement to tax high-cost, employer-sponsored health insurance plans, announced with fanfare by the White House and labor unions last month, is losing support from labor leaders, who say the proposal is too high a price …

Oh, Canada for HRC if Pres. Palin?  —  From NBC's Courtney KubeSecretary of State Hillary Clinton could not escape U.S. politics during her trip to Saudi Arabia.  Early this morning during a town hall meeting with students at Dar Al Hekma College, a student asked Clinton if she thinks Sarah Palin …

What's the Deal?  —  One of the most intriguing news stories of the past week is the murder of Hamas terrorist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.  The team that carried out the assassination allegedly included eleven members, ten men and a woman.  They were evidently traveling on fake passports …

IN Dem Misses The Deadline  —  Restaurant owner Tamyra d'Ippolito (D) has enough signatures to make the ballot in the race to replace Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), she told Hotline OnCall in a brief interview, but an official in a key district says she has failed to reach the threshold.

Election 2010: California Governor  —  California Governor: Brown 43%, Whitman 43%  —  Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman now runs dead even with likely Democratic nominee Jerry Brown in California's gubernatorial contest.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely California …

Does Dick Cheney Want to Be Prosecuted?  —  After he was indicted for the murder of Alexander Hamilton, vice president Aaron Burr fled to South Carolina, to hide out with his daughter.  Another vice president, Spiro Agnew, kept completely silent before pleading nolo contendere on corruption charges.

Murtha remembered for House, Marine, family roles  —  JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — John P. Murtha, the gruff and powerful congressman who controlled billions of defense dollars and who became a national lightning rod when he turned against the Iraq War, was remembered today by family, military and the woman he helped make Speaker of the House.

In Bid to Revive Nuclear Power, U.S. Is Backing New Reactors  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama told an enthusiastic audience of union officials on Tuesday that the Energy Department had approved a loan guarantee intended to underwrite construction of two nuclear reactors in Georgia, with taxpayers picking up much of the financial risk.

Lake Erie Frozen over; First Time in 14 Years  —  Following a cold snap in the Northeast, Lake Erie's surface is virtually frozen over for the first time in about 14 years.  —  The ice ranges in thickness between paper thin along the northern shore and several inches along the southern shore, where many people are ice skating.

Hayworth: Birtherism is an ‘identity theft’ issue.  —  Last month former GOP congressman J.D. Hayworth, who is challenging Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in the Arizona Republican primary for U.S. Senate, saddled up with the far right “birthers,” who inaccurately believe President Obama was not born in the U.S. …

Another case of TSA overkill  —  Just when I thought I was out of the Transportation Security Administration business for a few columns, they pull me back in.  —  Did you hear about the Camden cop whose disabled son wasn't allowed to pass through airport security unless he took off his leg braces?

Scalia: “There Is No Right to Secede”  —  The right of a state to secede from the nation is way outside my personal injury wheelhouse.  But it has become a source of conversation on professorial and political blogs, and the concept has generated interest from the Tea Party movement.