Breaking: Reid Signals Support For Reconciliation Vote On Public Option  —  In another surprising step forward for the public option, Senator Harry Reid's office says that if a final decision is made to pass health reform via reconciliation, the Majority Leader would support holding a reconciliation vote on the public option.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg is diagnosed with cancer … U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey's 86-year-old senior senator, was diagnosed with treatable stomach cancer in the last 24 hours and will begin chemotherapy today.  —  The Democrat still plans to finish out his current term …

Pawlenty compares administration to Tiger Woods, voters to scorned wife  —  Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) on Friday told voters to follow the lead of Tiger Woods' wife Elin Nordegren and “take a nine-iron and smash the window out of big government.”  —  Pawlenty, who is considered …

A Sensible Response to Terrorism  —  As you probably know, a white guy entranced by an extremely version of Tea Party-style right-populist paranoia deliberately crashed an airplane into an IRS building in Texas yesterday.  I'm not especially interested in debating semantics …

Sestak says federal job was offered to quit race  —  Not so, says White House  —  Rep. Joe Sestak (D., Pa.) said yesterday that the White House offered him a federal job in an effort to dissuade him from challenging Sen. Arlen Specter in the state's Democratic primary.

Rapper Sky Blu says Mitt Romney used ‘Vulcan grip’ on him in plane fiasco  —  Sky Blu, singer of the band LMFAO, says Mitt Romney had him in a ‘Vulcan grip’ while aboard an airplane Monday night in Vancouver.  —  Mitt Romney used a “Vulcan grip” on rapper Sky Blu?  —  Wow.

California Death Spiral  —  Health insurance premiums are surging — and conservatives fear that the spectacle will reinvigorate the push for reform.  On the Fox Business Network, a host chided a vice president of WellPoint, which has told California customers to expect huge rate increases …

Gays, gay marriage foes spar at CPAC  —  The young crowd at CPAC doesn't seem terribly interested in the issue of same-sex marriage, but there's been a bit of shadow boxing between the gay Republican group GOProud, which got a booth over objections from social conservatives …

Ellsworth to run for Indiana Senate  —  Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth announced today that he will seek the seat being vacated by Sen. Evan Bayh.  —  “After many conversations with Hoosiers this week, and with the love and support of my family, I have decided to run for the U.S. Senate,” Ellsworth said in a statement.

Bachmann: Obama ‘intending to fail’  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) urged conservatives on Friday to fight to prevent an American “decline” created by the policies of President Barack Obama.  —  In a long and meandering speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference evoking …

Is the next GOP presidential candidate a CPAC speaker?  —  There's no question that the next GOP presidential nominee will have spoken at this year's CPAC conference, a top Republican lawmaker said Friday.  —  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Oversight …

Frustrated Owner Bulldozes Home Ahead Of Foreclosure  —  Man Says Actions Intended To Send Message To Banks  —  MOSCOW, Ohio — Like many people, Terry Hoskins has had troubles with his bank.  But his solution to foreclosure might be unique.  —  Hoskins said he's been in a struggle …

‘Family Guy’ Voice Actor Says Palin ‘Does Not Have a Sense of Humor’  —  Since it was shown on Sunday, an episode of the Fox animated comedy “Family Guy” has drawn the repeated condemnation of Sarah Palin, the former Republican governor of Alaska and 2008 vice-presidential nominee.

India row over Jesus beer image  —  The government in the Indian state of Meghalaya has confiscated textbooks showing pictures of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette and a can of beer.  —  The book has been used for primary classes and has caused a furore in the north-eastern state, where more than 70% of the population are Christians.

Profit-Seeking Palin Reportedly Rips CPAC As A Profiteering Convention  —  One leading Republican who is conspicuously absent from this year's CPAC is Fox News pundit Sarah Palin.  A source told Politico that Palin declined the invitation because she “does not want to be affiliated” …

Response to Olbermann: ‘People of color’ at Tea Parties  —  So last night that race-peddlin' buffoon over at MSNBC... wait, that's pretty much everyone on that network.  Let me be more specific.  OK, so, last night Keith Olbermann used his self-parodying Special Comment segment to ask …

Suicidal Pilot's Wife Reacts to ‘Tragic’ Attack  —  Authorities Investigating Whether Explosives on Plane When it Crashed  —  The wife of the suicidal Texas pilot who slammed his plane into an Austin office building called the attack today an “unimaginable tragedy.”

CPAC audience boos former GOP Rep. Bob Barr for saying waterboarding is torture.  —  This afternoon, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held a debate titled “Does Security Trump Freedom?” that featured former GOP congressman and Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr …