JUST WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW: North Korea fires artillery barrage on South.  If they start anything, I say nuke 'em.  And not with just a few bombs.  They've caused enough trouble — and it would be a useful lesson for Iran, too.  We can't afford another Korean war, but hey, we're already dismantling warheads. . . .

TSA: Some gov't officials to skip airport security  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Cabinet secretaries, top congressional leaders and an exclusive group of senior U.S. officials are exempt from toughened new airport screening procedures when they fly commercially with government-approved federal security details.

Next step for body scanners could be trains, boats, metro  —  The next step in tightened security could be on U.S. public transportation, trains and boats.  —  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says terrorists will continue to look for U.S. vulnerabilities, making tighter security standards necessary.

CABLE RAT RACE: Palin Drops Big In Week 2; ‘Walking Dead’ Steady  —  Sarah Palin lost almost half of her premiere audience in the second airing of her TLC reality series Sarah Palin's Alaska.  On Sunday, the series executive produced by Mark Burnett, drew 3 million viewers.

New poll undercuts GOP claims of a midterm mandate  —  WASHINGTON — A majority of Americans want the Congress to keep the new health care law or actually expand it, despite Republican claims that they have a mandate from the people to kill it, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll.

House Dem dares GOP on healthcare repeal  —  Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) is daring Republicans to make good on one of their top legislative priorities: repealing the healthcare law.  —  Using a somewhat unusual tactic, Ackerman, a strong advocate for the healthcare reform law …