Dems will vote on just middle class tax cuts, Hoyer says  —  Steny Hoyer, the number two in the House Dem leadership, told Democrats at a caucus meeting this morning that they would get to vote this year on just extending the Bush tax cuts for the middle class, a senior Dem aide tells me …

Bernanke Takes Aim at China  —  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is firing back amid criticism at home and abroad of the Fed's easy-money policies, arguing that China and others are causing global problems by preventing their currencies from strengthening as their economies boom.

War of military vs. civil terrorism trials  —  If you rely on headlines and partisan politicians for news, you'd be forgiven for believing that the just-concluded civilian trial of former Guantanamo detainee, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, was, as Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) described, “a total miscarriage of justice.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski Tells Local TV She Will Vote For Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal  —  Last night during an appearance on MSNBC, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) refused to say if she would vote for a National Defense Authorization Act that included a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but this afternoon …

Boehner Warns GOP on Debt Ceiling  —  Raising the debt ceiling is shaping up as a difficult early vote for the new House GOP majority.  Many of the new Republican lawmakers harshly criticized their Democratic opponents during the campaign for voting to raise the limit in the past …

Fox's “Nazi” rhetoric also comes straight from the top  —  In a recent interview, Fox News chairman Roger Ailes referred to National Public Radio executives as “Nazis” with a “Nazi attitude,” and claimed “[t]hey are the left wing of Nazism.”  Ailes' employees at Fox News, particularly Glenn Beck …

Public Knows Basic Facts about Politics, Economics, But Struggles with Specifics  —  Few Aware of Inflation Rate or TARP and Deficit Specifics  —  Take the Latest Quiz Online!  —  Before you read the report, we invite you to test your own News IQ by taking the latest interactive knowledge quiz.

House fails to eliminate NPR funding  —  The House on Thursday voted to move forward on legislation without voting on a proposal put forth by Republicans to defund NPR.  —  Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the next majority leader, said the vote demonstrates that Democrats “are still not ready to listen” …

U.S. deploying heavily armored battle tanks for first time in Afghan war  —  The U.S. military is sending a contingent of heavily armored battle tanks to Afghanistan for the first time in the nine-year war, defense officials said, a shift that signals a further escalation in the aggressive tactics …

Don't touch my junk  —  Ah, the airport, where modern folk heroes are made.  The airport, where that inspired flight attendant did what everyone who's ever been in the spam-in-a-can crush of a flying aluminum tube - where we collectively pretend that a clutch of peanuts is a meal and a seat cushion is a …

McConnell Refuses To Throw America Under The Omnibus  —  The federal budget should not be written on Post-It Notes.  —  Trackback Link (Loading. . .)  —  Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky declared today that he would not support an omnibus spending bill to fund the government.

Live Blog: Committee Recommends Censure for Rangel  —  Representative Charles B. Rangel at the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct hearing on Thursday.  —  Update, 6:29 p.m. |  The House ethics committee has recommended censure for Representative Charles B. Rangel for ethics violations.

Midwest gains boost GOP confidence  —  SAN DIEGO - The party's Midwestern resurgence signals serious trouble for President Barack Obama's reelection bid, GOP governors asserted Thursday at the Republican Governors Association meeting in San Diego.  —  Following a string of GOP wins in Senate …

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: NYC Legislators Seek Ban On Full Body Scanners In New York  —  New York — Today on the steps of City Hall, Councilman David G. Greenfield was joined by Council Members Gale Brewer, Fernando Cabrera, Debi Rose, Robert Jackson, Jumaane Williams, and Brad Lander in support …

Sources: Cornyn Jabs at DeMint's Interference in Primaries  —  Sen. John Cornyn said during a closed-door meeting Tuesday that he expects colleagues to bring their concerns to him about candidates he recruits as National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman — and not to help mount challenges …

Afghan Hero Dog Is Euthanized by Mistake in U.S.  —  FLORENCE, Ariz. — When a suicide bomber entered an American military barracks in Afghanistan in February, it was not American soldiers but Afghan stray dogs that confronted him.  Target and two other dogs snarled, barked and snapped at the man …

Is it OK to hope the EU fails?  —  At Power Line, John Hinderaker admits that he “rather hopes” the European Union fails (h/t Instapundit).  I would dismiss this as throw-away snark, but I think it reflects a real undercurrent in conservative foreign-policy thought, and maybe American political thought on a grumpy day.

Obama Forces Showdown With G.O.P. on Arms Pact  —  WASHINGTON — Just two weeks after an election that left him struggling to find his way forward, President Obama has decided to confront Senate Republicans in a make-or-break battle over arms control that could be an early test of his mettle heading into the final two years of his term.