BREAKING: CBO Says Repealing ObamaCare Would Reduce Net Spending by $540 Billion  —  The Congressional Budget Office, in an email to Capitol Hill staffers obtained by the Spectator, has said that repealing the national health care law would reduce net spending by $540 billion in the ten year period from 2012 through 2021.

US tells Twitter to pass on messages  —  Icelandic MP to fight attempts by the US department of justice to access her private information  —  A member of parliament in Iceland who is also a former WikiLeaks volunteer says the US justice department has ordered Twitter to hand over her private messages.

‘Mother,’ ‘Father’ Changing to ‘Parent One,’ ‘Parent Two’ on Passport Applications  —  Section of current passport application asking for “father” and “mother” information.  —  The words “mother” and “father” will be removed from U.S. passport applications and replaced with gender neutral terminology, the State Department says.

Egypt's Muslims attend Coptic Christmas mass, serving as “human shields”  —  Muslims turned up in droves for the Coptic Christmas mass Thursday night, offering their bodies, and lives, as “shields” to Egypt's threatened Christian community  —  Egypt's majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night.

GOP representatives regret skipped oath  —  In a letter to be distributed Friday night, Reps. Pete Sessions and Mike Fitzpatrick apologize to all 433 of their House colleagues for voting after missing out on taking their official oath of office during Wednesday's opening ceremonies of the 112th Congress.

Top GOPer praises Obama picks  —  (CNN) - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is hopeful the staff shake ups at the White House this week that included a new chief of staff and director of the National Economic Council are a sign President Barack Obama is moving toward the political center.

EXCLUSIVE: Sonny Bono's Widow - Rep. Mary Bono - In Lurid Photo Scandal With Woman Investigated By FBI  —  Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack has been caught on camera in a lurid scandal where another woman is apparently licking her breast.  —  RadarOnline.com has exclusively obtained the photo …

Stockholm bomber was trained in Iraq, says official  —  (Reuters) - Iraq informed the United States about a plot to carry out bombings in Sweden two months before an attack in Stockholm by a man trained in Iraq, an Iraqi security official told al Arabiya television on Friday.

On economy, Obama turns to pros  —  'You know, you've got to talk to Austan Goolsbee.  That's his job,' President Obama said.  —  AP Photo  —  After reading his prepared remarks on the economy at a window manufacturer on Friday, President Obama sought to take some photos with workers …

China's New Fighter Jet Could Pose ‘Terrifying’ Challenge to U.S. Fleet  —  While the Pentagon downplays China's rollout this week of what appears to be a jet fighter designed using sophisticated stealth technology, military experts are warning that the aircraft - reportedly capable …

How Conservatives Could Revive the Public Option … Like This Story … - Can Conservatives Outlaw “Anchor Babies” Without Amending the Constitution?  - Dwight Garner, the NYT's New Book Critic, Is Extraordinary and Delightful- Almost No One Carries Cash Anymore.  Is That Why Crime Is Going Down?

Crony capitalism  —  Big Labor and Big Business are teaming up to protect Big Government.  As Greg Sargent put it yesterday, in describing the budding alliance between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce: “The two groups rarely agree on anything, and frequently target each other in the harshest of terms …

The 40 Most Obnoxious Quotes Of 2010  —  40) My fear is that the whole island (of Guam) will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.  39) Imagine if somebody were to really sit down with Osama Bin Ladin and say, 'Listen man,what is it that you're so angry …

Levi's Vindication: The Self-Exposure Of Sarah Palin  —  As a long-standing Palin hysteric, I have to confess a mite less concern in 2011 than at any time since she has been farcically commanding the attention of the political class.  Not much has changed essentially: Palin's favorable ratings remain roughly where they have been.

Village Voice Caught in Jayson Blair-Style Fabrication Scandal (Updated)  —  Rob Sgobbo (pictured), a young writer for the New York Daily News, has had a freelance story he wrote yanked from the Village Voice's website.  He apparently fabricated sources and lied about his reporting.

Elmendorf to GOP: Don't Kill the Messenger!  —  MichaelBindner  —  The reappointment of Elmendorf is the case study the GOP needs to realize the limits of its power.  Of course, they are right to be cynical - their CBO director, Douglas Holtz-Eaken let Medicare Part D go in without telling how much it costs.

Egypt threatens to remove Central Park obelisk  —  Archaeologist concerned about damage to hieroglyphic text on Cleopatra's Needle  —  Below:  —  Since 1881, the obelisk known as Cleopatra's Needle has stood in New York's Central Park, but a letter from the secretary general …

Unemployment Falls to 9.4 Percent, but 260,000 Leave Labor Force  —  The EPOP for Hispanics hit a new low in December.  —  The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent in December, however much of the reason for the decline was a drop of 260,000 in the size of the labor force.