Conservative bloggers agree: Haley Barbour is toast  —  I noted here yesterday that the real problem with Haley Barbour's comments about the Citizens Councils is that they show an unwillingness to avoid urinating on the third rail of race.  Today several conservative bloggers came …

Coburn may block 9/11 bill  —  New York Democrats hoping for quick action on a bill to give health care compensation to Ground Zero workers are about to run into Tom Coburn.  —  The Oklahoma Republican and physician — known in the Senate as “Dr. No” for his penchant in blocking bills …

Census Data Show 308 Million People and a Regional Shift  —  WASHINGTON — The Census Bureau rearranged the country's political map on Tuesday, giving more Congressional seats to the South and the West, and taking away from the Northeast and the Midwest, in largely anticipated changes …

That snow is what global warming looks like  —  Unusually cold winters may make you think scientists have got it all wrong.  But the data reveal a chilling truth  —  There were two silent calls, followed by a message left on my voicemail.  She had a soft, gentle voice and a mid-Wales accent.

FCC approves Net neutrality rules  —  The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules that will govern how Internet providers treat Web traffic and services, a move that sets the stage for a heated political battle on Capitol Hill come January.  —  Led by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski …

U.S. Military Seeks to Expand Raids in Pakistan  —  WASHINGTON — Senior American military commanders in Afghanistan are pushing for an expanded campaign of Special Operations ground raids across the border into Pakistan's tribal areas, a risky strategy reflecting the growing frustration …

Reapportionment costs Obama 6, leaves path  —  Tom Bonier, one of the Democratic Party's leading redistricting wizards, e-mails:  —  With seats shifting mostly from the Northeast and Midwest into the South and West, if you apply the new apportionment to the 2008 results, Obama loses 6 electoral votes.

Attorney General's Blunt Warning on Terror Attacks  —  AG Eric Holder Says ‘Terrorists Only Have to Be Successful Once’  —  Attorney General Eric Holder has an urgent message for Americans: While he is confident that the United States will continue to thwart attacks, “the terrorists only have to be successful once.”

HHS reg: Magic number is 10 percent  —  Health insurers will be required to justify double-digit premium increases under a proposed health reform rule the Obama administration released Tuesday.  —  Beginning in 2011, Health and Human Services will require insurers to publicly disclose any rate increases higher than 10 percent.

For Obama, START treaty is ‘personal’  —  President Obama is making a final push to secure the votes for an arms treaty that stands not just as a political goal but a highly personal one.  —  The president needs nine Republican votes to win the two-thirds Senate majority to ratify …

Thanks for the Tax Cut!  —  THERE is a God!  It passed!  The Bush tax cuts have been extended two years for the upper bracketeers, of which I am a proud member, thank you very much.  I'm the last person in the world I'd want to be beside, but I am beside myself!  This is a life changer, I tell you.

Pelosi: No regrets  —  “Every minute is a new minute to me,” says Nancy Pelosi, and, with boxes packed in the hall outside, the soon-to-be former speaker has already jumped ahead to her vision of the “humming, whirling entity” House Democrats can still be in the coming Congress.

The RNC food fight everyone saw coming  —  Jonathan Martin wrote months ago that Republican leaders feared that dumping Michael Steele would lead to a racially charged food fight, and, well, here we go, as former Steele aide and current rival Gentry Collins looks to shake up the race and pick …

Harry Potter actress was beaten and branded a prostitute by her brother after dating man ‘who was not a Muslim’  —  A Harry Potter actress fled her home after her father and brother threatened to kill her for going out with a Hindu man, a court heard yesterday.

Actor Injured in Fall During ‘Spider-Man’ Performance  —  An actor playing Spider-Man was injured during a performance of the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” on Monday night.  Above, an image from a video taken by a New York Times reader.  —  Updated

Transcript: The Assange interview  —  The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has been holed up in a mansion in East Anglia since he was released from prison last week.  —  He is under strict bail conditions while he fights extradition to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning about claims of sexual assault.

A SENATOR SCORNED.... Quick quiz — only one Republican senator has sided with Democrats on DADT repeal, the tax deal, New START cloture, and the DREAM Act in the lame-duck session.  —  The obvious guesses would likely be Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Susan Collins (R-Maine), or Scott Brown (R-Mass.).

Specter issues parting blow to Roberts, Alito  —  (CNN) - Sen. Arlen Specter, the outgoing Pennsylvania Republican-turned-Democrat, directed a parting blow Tuesday to members of the Supreme Court's conservative bloc.  —  In his final speech on the Senate floor, Specter …

U.S. buffets and salad bars ‘threatened with poison attacks’ by Al Qaeda group behind ‘ink cartridge’ bomb plot  —  Al Qaeda terrorists planned to poison food at multiple US hotels and restaurants over a single weekend, it has been revealed this morning.  —  The ‘credible’ plot involved slipping …