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.

Retracted autism study an ‘elaborate fraud,’ British journal finds  —  Editor's note: Watch Anderson Cooper's interview with the author of the discredited study, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, on “AC360°” at 10 p.m. ET tonight.  —  (CNN) — A now-retracted British study that linked autism …

The Constitution (as amended), The Schumer Model, Fast Break on GOP Backtracking, Crown Shots at Andy's Bar, Pelosi's Historic Loss of Support, Trivia  —  By Jonathan Allen (with an assist from Jake “Fast Break” Sherman)  —  THE READING OF THE CONSTITUTION, AS AMENDED …

Obama Turning to Experienced Hands as He Remakes Staff  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama closed in Wednesday on a decision to fill two top positions and recharge his administration, stopping just short of naming a new chief of staff and a top economic adviser to guide the White House through a new period of divided government.

Blue Shield of California seeks rate hikes of as much as 59% for individuals  —  Insurer says the increases result from fast-rising healthcare costs and other expenses resulting from new healthcare laws.  The move comes less than a year after Anthem Blue Cross tried and failed to raise rates as much as 39%.

A Goldman Unit Is Said to Have Rejected Facebook  —  Before Goldman Sachs bought a stake in Facebook and started offering shares to wealthy clients, a powerful investment group within the firm turned down the chance to buy a piece of the social networking site, according to several people briefed on the internal discussions.

Elizabeth Edwards leaves John Edwards out of her will  —  Elizabeth Edwards left everything to her children and made not a single mention of her philandering husband John in the will she signed just days before her death.  —  Edwards lost her six-year battle with breast cancer on Dec. 7 and …

Journal's Paper on ESP Expected to Prompt Outrage  —  One of psychology's most respected journals has agreed to publish a paper presenting what its author describes as strong evidence for extrasensory perception, the ability to sense future events.  —  The decision may delight believers …

President Obama's motorcade: A seatbelt-free zone?  —  Does President Obama wear a seatbelt in his presidential limo?  He is supposed to, but there are indications that he doesn't.  —  After then-New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) was seriously injured in a car accident in 2007 …

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) …

The Man Who Spilled the Secrets  —  The collaboration between WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the Web's notorious information anarchist, and some of the world's most respected news organizations began at The Guardian, a nearly 200-year-old British paper.  What followed was a clash of civilizations …

Steve King unveils birthright bill  —  Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) isn't wasting any time with his immigration agenda, dropping a bill on the first day of Congress that goes after birthright citizenship.  —  King's measure would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, ending automatic citizenship for anyone born in the country.

No Pity for Robert Gibbs and His ‘Modest’ Salary  —  Perhaps it was the long flight back from Hawaii.  But President Obama's first full day back on the job suggested a slight case of tone deafness.  —  In bidding a sort-of farewell to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, he noted the …

Why Progressives Find It Difficult to Take the “Fiscal Responsibility” Movement Seriously  —  Portrait of the Deficit Hawk as a Liberal Democrat from Massachusetts  —  Yesterday was the presentation of the “Fiscy Awards,” which go to politicians that the fiscal responsibility movement likes:

U.S. Boosts Afghan Surge  —  Pentagon Plans to Send 1,400 Extra Marines to Supplement Spring Campaign  —  U.S. and Afghan soldiers prepared for patrol in Kandahar province on Wednesday.  —  WASHINGTON—Defense Secretary Robert Gates has decided to send an additional 1,400 Marine combat forces …

Original U.S. Constitution will not be read in entirety on House floor  —  If you plan to follow along with your own copy during Thursday's House floor reading of the U.S. Constitution, you might notice that some members reading aloud are skipping parts of the original document.

Republicans to Spend $1.1 Million Reciting Constitution on House Floor  —  As we reported this morning, House Republicans will kick-start the 112th Congress tomorrow with a spirited recitation of the Constitution, a document whose recent relevance is due largely to the ideological and sartorial interests of the Tea Party.

New GOP House can't govern with rhetoric alone  —  Edmund Burke, one of history's greatest conservatives, warned that abstractions are the enemy of responsible government.  —  “I never govern myself, no rational man ever did govern himself, by abstractions and universals,” Burke wrote.