CBO's Preliminary Analysis of H.R. 2, the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act  —  The House of Representatives is planning to consider a bill (H.R. 2) to repeal the major health care legislation enacted last March—that is, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) …

‘Birther’ arrested during Constitution reading  —  A woman was arrested in the House gallery Thursday after interrupting a reading of the Constitution by yelling out her belief that President Barack Obama is not a natural born citizen of the United States.  —  When Frank Rep. Pallone …

Two House Republicans Vote Without Being Sworn In, Violating Constitution On Day It Was Read  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … WASHINGTON — Two House Republicans have cast votes as members of the 112th Congress, but were not sworn in on Wednesday, a violation of the Constitution on the same …

Review Of Juan Williams' Firing Done; NPR News Exec Resigns  —  NPR just released two statements — one on the completion of an independent review of the dismissal of news analyst Juan Williams and another on the resignation of Senior Vice President for News Ellen Weiss:

The problem with William Daley as new chief of staff  —  So it now appears to be official: Obama has chosen William Daley as his new chief of staff.  —  There's been a lot written about how this pick is sure to anger the liberal base, because the optics of appointing a banker as chief …

Strange bedfellows: U.S. Chamber and AFL-CIO may team up against House GOP infrastructure cuts  —  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO — two powerful players that are often at each other's throats — are considering teaming up for a campaign against the House GOP's planned cuts …

Pentagon to cut spending by $78 billion, reduce troop strength  —  The Pentagon will have to cut spending by $78 billion over the next five years, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday, forcing the Army and Marine Corps to shrink the number of troops on active duty and eventually imposing …

Florida Professor Arrested for Having a “Suspicious” Bagel on a Plane  —  Passengers claimed man had suspicious package in the overhead compartment  —  A Florida professor was arrested and removed from a plane Monday after his fellow passengers alerted crew members they thought he had a suspicious package in the overhead compartment.

Former CIA officer Jeffrey A. Sterling charged in leak probe  —  A former CIA officer involved in spying efforts against Iran was arrested Thursday on charges of leaking classified information to a reporter, continuing the Obama administration's unprecedented crackdown on the flow of government secrets to the media.

Republicans introduce bill to eliminate presidential ‘czars’  —  A group of House Republicans introduced a bill on Wednesday to rein in the various “czars” in the Obama administration.  —  Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and 28 other House Republicans introduced legislation to do away with the informal …

ObamaCare Rewards Friends, Punishes Enemies  —  The administration waives allies through the health law's onerous restrictions.  —  Aprimary task for the new Republican House majority is to undo as many of the pernicious effects of ObamaCare that it can.  One of these effects is the spectacle …

Senator Nelson's office clarifies position on filibuster reform  —  As you probably noticed, Senator Ben Nelson has taken a bit of a beating in the last 24 hours because he seemed to tell a local media outlet that he opposes filibuster reform.  “The last thing we need to do is start changing rules …

Insiders: Romney Is Top GOP 2012 Contender, Daniels Second  —  Rank the top 5 candidates, 1 through 5, in terms of whom you think is most likely to capture the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.  —  Republicans (107 votes)  —  Jan. 2011 Insiders  —  Index Score  —  Change from

Democrats' defection from Pelosi is historic  —  How divided are Democrats' right now?  —  With 19 Democrats withholding support from Nancy Pelosi for House speaker on Wednesday, it represented the largest defection from a party's speaker nominee in nearly a century.

Why Are Taxpayers Subsidizing Facebook, and the Next Bubble?  —  Simon Johnson, the former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, is the co-author of “13 Bankers.”  —  Goldman Sachs is investing $450 million of its own money in Facebook, at a valuation that implies the social-networking company is now worth $50 billion.

Reports: John Edwards engaged to Rielle Hunter  —  Former presidential candidate John Edwards is engaged to longtime mistress Rielle Hunter, according to a report.  —  The Jan. 17 issue of the National Enquirers says that the ex-North Carolina senator asked the mother of his lovechild …

The New Sophists  —  In classical Athens, public life became dominated by clever and smart-sounding sophists.  These mellifluous “really wise guys” made money and gained influence by their rhetorical boasts to “prove” the most amazing “thinkery” that belied common sense.