Obama won't endorse raising retirement age or reducing Social Security benefits  —  President Obama has decided not to endorse his deficit commission's recommendation to raise the retirement age, and otherwise reduce Social Security benefits, in Tuesday's State of the Union address …

Rahm Emanuel booted off ballot in 2-1 Appellate Court decision  —  Rahm Emanuel was thrown off the ballot for mayor of Chicago today by an appellate court panel, a stunning blow to the fund-raising leader in the race.  —  An appellate panel ruled 2-1 that Emanuel did not meet the residency standard to run for mayor.

Report: George W. Bush aides violated Hatch Act  —  During the 2006 midterm elections, White House political aides to President George W. Bush engaged in widespread violations of a federal law which limits partisan political activity by government employees, a long-running federal investigation has found.

White House Says Chinese Folk Song Played During State Dinner Was Not An Insult; Experts Divided  —  Ivories that were tickled last Wednesday night at the White House are, to some conservative media, no laughing matter.  —  At the White House State Dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao …

National Archives Discovers Date Change on Lincoln Record  —  Thomas Lowry Confesses to Altering Lincoln Pardon to April 14, 1865  —  Washington, DC...Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero announced today that Thomas Lowry, a long-time Lincoln researcher from Woodbridge, VA …

Liberals lament Obama's move to center  —  President Barack Obama plans to play up a bright future with congressional Republicans by channeling his 2008 campaign message of post-partisanship in his State of the Union address — but the liberal wing of his party isn't quite seeing the light.

NBC: U.S. can't link accused Army private to Assange  —  Military also denies allegations that Bradley Manning is being mistreated  —  Below:  —  U.S. military officials tell NBC News that investigators have been unable to make any direct connection between a jailed army private suspected …

Justice Clarence Thomas Amends 20 Years of Disclosure Forms With Wife's Employers  —  Virginia Thomas' Place of Employment Had Been Omitted From Justice's Reports  —  Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas amended 20 years worth of financial disclosure forms today after a liberal watchdog group questioned …

The War on Demand  —  Something really strange has happened to the debate over economic policy in the face of the Great Recession and its aftermath — or maybe the real point is that events have revealed the true nature of the debate, stripping away some of the illusions.

Scalia: No plans to attend Obama's State of the Union address  —  Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told The Hill on Monday evening that he does not plan on attending the State of the Union address on Tuesday.  —  The conservative-leaning jurist said that he hasn't “gone to the State …

Is it OK to abort a viable fetus?  An answer to pro-choicers on Kermit Gosnell.  —  Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia abortionist, has been charged with butchering viable babies, causing a woman's death, and endangering other patients.  A grand jury report details his alleged crimes.

AZ lawmaker: Roe v. Wade a factor in shootings  —  The aftermath of the Arizona shootings have featured disputes over the role that gun laws or political rhetoric could have played in the violence.  —  But an Arizona lawmaker offered another source of blame: Roe v. Wade.

The people who will really decide whether health-care reform succeeds or fails  —  The New Yorker isn't allowing Atul Gawande's latest article out from behind the paywall, but you can read the abstract here.  The basic point is well worth keeping in mind amid all the arguments over the Affordable Care Act …

Please Don't Be Offended  —  I might be the last person to notice this, but I still sort of wonder what it says about us.  I was over at Dave Weigel's place a few minutes ago, and he linked to a Twitter post by Jim Geraghty, who I don't happen to follow.  When I clicked the link, it included the following message:

Loughner pleads not guilty to attempted murder charges  —  Jared Lee Loughner pleaded not guilty on Monday to three charges of attempted murder for allegedly trying to kill Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and two of her aides.  —  The Associated Press reported that Loughner, 22 …