Darrell Issa reveals list of investigations  —  Rep. Darrell Issa is aiming to launch investigations on everything from WikiLeaks to Fannie Mae to corruption in Afghanistan in the first few months of what promises to be a high profile chairmanship of the top oversight committee in Congress.

Austerity is first order for Boehner's installation as House speaker  —  Nancy Pelosi brought camera crews and dignitaries into her childhood Baltimore neighborhood where a street was being renamed in her honor, while John Boehner is bringing his 11 siblings from working-class Ohio to Washington for a private reunion.

Majority of RNC against Michael Steele  —  Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele faces an all-but-impossible path to reelection this month, as a majority of the RNC's 168 members indicate that they will not support the controversial chairman for another term.

DeMint wants ‘big showdown’ with Dems over debt ceiling  —  Republicans should prepare for a “showdown” with President Obama and congressional Democrats over raising the debt ceiling, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said Monday.  —  DeMint, a de-facto leader of Senate conservatives and many Tea Party senators …

Deep Hole Economics  —  If there's one piece of economic wisdom I hope people will grasp this year, it's this: Even though we may finally have stopped digging, we're still near the bottom of a very deep hole.  —  Why do I need to point this out?  Because I've noticed many people overreacting to recent good economic news.

He Entered Congress Swinging, and Exits That Way  —  ORLANDO, Fla. — He has zero faith in the incoming speaker of the House, John A. Boehner, whom he calls a “tool of special interest.”  —  He derides the Tea Party's successes as “bought and paid for by the enormously rich and the selfish.”

Mossad behind Egypt church blast  —  The explosion at a church in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, which left 21 people killed and another 80 Muslims and Christians wounded, raises one question: Who was behind the blast?  —  Although, at first glance, the finger is pointed at extremist Wahabi …

Senate should let majority rule  —  Editor's note: Julian E. Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.  He is the author of “Jimmy Carter,” published by Times Books, and editor of a book assessing former President George W. Bush's administration, published by Princeton University Press.

European nations begin seizing private pensions  —  Hungary, Poland, and three other nations take over citizens' pension money to make up government budget shortfalls.  —  People's retirement savings are a convenient source of revenue for governments that don't want to reduce spending or make privatizations.

Is Charlie Crist a potential VP Pick...for Obama?  —  In spite of assertions made to the contrary by Vice President Joe Biden, speculation continues to swirl around the possibility that President Obama will replace Biden on the 2012 Presidential ticket for someone with less of a propensity …

Female Navy Flier: Videos Taken Out of Context  —  Raunchy Videos Made Aboard the USS Enterprise Could Cost Commander His Job  —  A series of raunchy videos created and distributed aboard an aircraft carrier have been taken out of context, a former female Navy pilot said today.

Inclusionary Zoning  —  On the requests thread, Erik M wrote: … I'd like to say this as clearly and unequivocally as possible: I strongly support the idea of mixed-income neighborhoods.  I live in a mixed-income neighborhood now, I lived in a mixed-income neighborhood before I moved to this one …

Moving Beyond Fannie and Freddie  —  The experiences of other countries show there's no need for a government role in housing finance.  —  The new Congress, with a Republican House and a much narrower Democratic majority in the Senate, offers an opportunity for real reform of the housing-finance system.

Russian Duma to link missile defense to START limitations  —  The Russian Duma delivered two embarrassing blows to the Obama administration over the holidays on the START treaty, one of which may end up scotching the deal altogether.  First, the Russian legislature refused to do what Barack Obama insisted …

Garbage pile saves Vangelis (Angelo) Kapatos, 26, who tried to commit suicide in midtown  —  A suicidal man plummeted nine stories and survived in midtown Sunday when he landed on a mountain of trash that had piled up since last week's blizzard, officials said.