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 …

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 Interrupts House Reading Of Constitution, Yells ‘Help Us Jesus’ (VIDEO)  —  An apparent member of the birther movement seated in the gallery of the House of Representatives on Thursday interrupted a reading of the Constitution.  The woman yelled out “Except Obama, except Obama …

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 …

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 …

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 …

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Lamar Smith issues first DOJ oversight letter  —  Right Turn has obtained the first oversight letter from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued to the Justice Department.  While he was in the minority, Smith labored, largely unsuccessfully …

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.

Obama threatens to veto healthcare repeal  —  President Obama officially drew a line in the sand Thursday evening, threatening to veto House Republicans' attempt to repeal Obama's landmark healthcare law.  —  In a statement of administration policy released by the Office of Management and Budget …

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 …

MSNBC Flunks Remedial Math on Debt Ceiling  —  Earth to MSNBC executives: your anchor, your reporter, and your editors do not know what they're talking about.  They just badly misinformed your viewers.  —  The “debt ceiling” is a limit on debt, not spending.

Ex-CIA officer charged with leak to Times reporter  —  WASHINGTON - A former CIA officer has been indicted on charges of disclosing national security secrets after being accused of leaking classified information about Iran to a New York Times reporter.  —  Federal prosecutors charged Jeffrey Sterling …

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.