8.8-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Chile  —  RIO DE JANEIRO — A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, shaking the capital of Santiago for 90 seconds and sending tsunami warnings along much of the Pacific basin.  —  Enlarge This Image  —  A woman sat in front a quake-damaged house in Talca, Chile.

Transformation — By: Andy McCarthy  —  On Sean's panel last night, when the conversation turned to how nervous Democrats supposedly are over what for now is teeing up like a very bad November, I felt like I was channeling Mark Steyn, Mark Levin and Rush.  That is, I think our side is analyzing …

Liberalism, atheism linked to IQ  —  (CNN) — Political, religious and sexual behaviors may be reflections of intelligence, a new study finds.  —  Evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa at the the London School of Economics and Political Science correlated data on these behaviors with IQ …

Coburn warns against majority-vote tactic in weekly Republican address  —  Should Democrats use the budget reconciliation process to pass healthcare reform, it would fly in the face of public opinion, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said in the Republicans' weekly address.

Rep. Trent Franks: African-Americans were better off under slavery.  —  Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) — one of the most conservative member of Congress, according to a new National Journal ranking — decried the strained state of political discourse in an interview today with blogger-activist Mike Stark.

DoD Official Policy on New/Social Media  —  The Department of Defense released its official policy on new/social media today.  The policy (Directive-Type Memorandum 09-026), which is effective immediately, states that the default for the DoD non-classified network (the NIPRNET) is for open access so that all of DoD can use new media.

Senators to propose abandoning cap-and-trade  —  Three key senators are engaged in a radical behind-the-scenes overhaul of climate legislation, preparing to jettison the broad “cap-and-trade” approach that has defined the legislative debate for close to a decade.

Man who broke the Bank of England, George Soros, ‘at centre of hedge funds plot to cash in on fall of the euro’  —  A secretive group of Wall Street hedge fund bosses are said to be behind a plot to cash in on the decline of the euro.  —  Representatives of George Soros's investment business …

Rep. Tom Perriello Tells ‘Spineless’ Senate To Get ‘Its Head Out Of Its Rear End’ And Confront Climate Crisis  —  Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) is “sick” of the “insider baseball crap” dominating the Senate debate over global warming and energy reform.  In an interview with Grist …

Unemployment Extension Fails in Senate  —  GOP Sen. Jim Bunning Blocks Action over Concerns About Swelling Deficit  —  (AP) The Senate failed late Thursday to extend programs for laid-off workers, jeopardizing unemployment benefits scheduled to expire over the weekend.