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:

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 …

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 …

Business Background Defines Chief of Staff  —  WASHINGTON — He is a top executive at JPMorgan Chase, where he is paid as much as $5 million a year and supervises the Washington lobbying efforts for the nation's second-largest bank.  William M. Daley also serves on the board of directors at Boeing …

Read it again, John  —  I thought it was a good idea for the Constitution to be read aloud on the floor of the House of Representatives as that body kicked off its new session.  The reading reminded those present of the contents of our fundamental law and symbolized a commitment to adhere to that law.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

The Texas Omen  —  These are tough times for state governments.  Huge deficits loom almost everywhere, from California to New York, from New Jersey to Texas.  —  Wait — Texas?  Wasn't Texas supposed to be thriving even as the rest of America suffered?  Didn't its governor declare …

Nearly 50 House Republicans offer bill to block EPA climate rules  —  Dozens of Republicans used the opening day of the new Congress on Wednesday to introduce legislation that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse-gas emissions.

Junior Senate Dems want chairmen to face election by secret ballot  —  Senate Democrats elected in 2006 and 2008 are challenging the internal caucus procedures that have allowed veteran lawmakers to lock up committee chairmanships for years on end.  —  A group of junior Democratic senators …

Pentagon to cut spending by $78 billion, reduce troop strength  —  For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the Pentagon is confronting the reality that inexorable increases in defense spending are no longer a sure thing and that cuts that actually shrink the military's bottom line could be on the horizon.

Republicans Are Given a Price Tag for Health Law Repeal, but Reject It  —  WASHINGTON — The nonpartisan budget scorekeepers in Congress said on Thursday that the Republican plan to repeal President Obama's health care law would add $230 billion to federal budget deficits over the next decade …

U.S. Sends Warning to People Named in Cable Leaks  —  WASHINGTON — The State Department is warning hundreds of human rights activists, foreign government officials and businesspeople identified in leaked diplomatic cables of potential threats to their safety and has moved a handful …