New Speaker Vows to Share Power—a Tricky Proposition  —  When John Boehner takes over one of the most powerful jobs in Washington this week, he says his first order of business is to make himself less powerful.  —  On Wednesday the new speaker of the House of Representatives plans to offer …

Obama weighs major reshuffling of staff  —  As President Obama returns from Hawaii, he is weighing a major reshuffling of his staff that could see as many as eight people playing new key roles in the weeks ahead, Democrats familiar with the process said.  —  Obama has been mulling for months …

A power grab that the GOP avoided  —  When the 112th Congress convenes Wednesday, some of us will be thinking back to a vote that occurred 15 years earlier to the day.  Just two months after securing a congressional majority for the first time in 40 years, Republicans strode into the Senate chamber …

Santorum Takes Aim at Romney, Palin  —  Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., at a Capitol Hill coffee shop, trying to give a jolt to his presidential ambitions.  —  Rick Santorum the senator didn't shy from controversy.  Apparently, neither will Rick Santorum the presidential candidate.

G.O.P. Aims Smaller for Cuts to Budget  —  WASHINGTON — Many people knowledgeable about the federal budget said House Republicans could not keep their campaign promise to cut $100 billion from domestic spending in a single year.  Now it appears that Republicans agree.

Upcoming NewSouth ‘Huck Finn’ Eliminates the ‘N’ Word  —  Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic by most any measure—T.S. Eliot called it a masterpiece, and Ernest Hemingway pronounced it the source of “all modern American literature.”  Yet, for decades …

Speaker Pelosi Leaves With a Whopper  —  At her final press conference as House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, “Deficit reduction has been a high priority for us.  It is our mantra, pay-as-you-go.”  —  The numbers tell a different story.  —  When the Pelosi Democrats took control …

Palin re-tweet raises questions  —  (CNN) - Normally, it's what Sarah Palin tweets that makes news.  This time it's what she has re-tweeted.  —  The former Alaska governor Monday relayed a comment from gay conservative pundit Tammy Bruce, who was expressing her criticism …

Theater Audience Boos Tea Party Billionaire David Koch  —  David Koch masks his role as one of the top financiers of the Tea Party movement and pro-polluter front groups by loudly tacking his name to more laudable charities, like the New York city ballet.  Koch, who has professed his devotion to …

With New Heart Pump, Cheney Resumes Old Life  —  By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN, HELENE COOPER and MICHAEL D. SHEAR  —  WASHINGTON — A few days before Christmas, former Vice President Dick Cheney emerged from several months of a self-imposed political sabbatical to headline a fund-raiser for Maria Cino …

Rep. King blasts critics, defends hearing on homegrown terror  —  The incoming chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee lambasted The New York Times on Tuesday while defending his planned hearings on the radicalization of Muslims living in the U.S.  —  Two days after the Times questioned …

Prop 8: 9th Circuit Appears Ready to Grant Proponents Standing to Appeal  —  The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today issued a “ruling” of sorts on the appeal of Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling that found Prop 8 to be unconstitutional*.  The “ruling” was actually a certification of a question …

Freshman Rep. pledges to forgo federal health insurance  —  Washington (CNN) - As House Republicans prepare to introduce a repeal of the health care reform bill, one new GOP congressman said he is standing by his pledge to forgo federal health insurance despite a potentially expensive personal impact.

Judge rules that Rahm Emanuel is eligible for Chicago mayoral ballot  —  Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel meets Chicago's residency requirement and can stay on the mayoral ballot, a judge ruled Tuesday afternoon.  —  The ruling, by Cook County Circuit Associate Judge Mark Ballard …

Judith Miller responds to criticism over Assange slight  —  Former New York Times reporter Judith Miller riled up some bloggers and Iraq War critics over the weekend by calling WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange a “bad journalist” who “didn't care at all about attempting to verify …

Is Kathy Griffin Going Too Far Targeting 16-Year Old Willow Palin?  —  Kathy Griffin was booed by U.S. troops when she made “fat jokes” about Bristol Palin at a Dec. 4, 2010 VH1 event.  (Reuters)  —  Kathy Griffin announced her New Year's resolution to continue a verbal assault on the Palin family.

Keep Your Laws Off My Body  —  I'm something of a product of my times.  In the 1980s and 1990s I heard a lot of putatively honest liberals insist that the one zone of life that was absolutely sacrosanct was our own bodies.  The state simply had no business getting involved in “our bodies.”

Holly Petraeus To Be Elizabeth Warren's Pick For Top Post In New Consumer Protection Agency (EXCLUSIVE)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … Elizabeth Warren, the Obama administration appointee now establishing a consumer financial protection agency, plans to name the wife of General David Petraeus …

Glenn Beck dropped by New York's WOR radio station over poor ratings, replaced by Mike Gallagher  —  Glenn Beck may be one of the hottest talk show hosts in the country, but he apparently left New York's WOR cold.  —  WOR (710 AM), one of the city's two biggest talk radio stations …

Gerry Rafferty dies aged 63  —  Singer-songwriter behind Stuck in the Middle with You and Baker Street endured battles with music industry and alcohol  —  The singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, whose songs such as Stuck in the Middle with You, Baker Street and Get it Right Next Time soundtracked the 1970s …

Arab kids sing “May our blood be shed” in school in East Jerusalem  —  Arab kids in Sur Baher, Jerusalem  —  taught to sing:  —  “May our blood be shed”  —  by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik  —  A Hamas terrorist arrested last month for planning to shoot a missile at a sports stadium …