The West Wing, Season II  —  Almost overnight, Barack Obama overhauled his White House and rewrote much of the script.  Now all he needs is a happy ending.  —  David Axelrod awoke at three in the morning and checked his BlackBerry.  It was January 12, a few hours before Barack Obama …

Domodedovo blast: Explosion rocks Moscow's main airport  —  Moscow's Domodedovo airport - the busiest in the Russian capital - has been rocked by an explosion that has reportedly killed 31 people.  —  More than 100 more are thought to have been injured in the blast, which reports suggest may have been the work of a suicide bomber.

Tea time for Antonin Scalia  —  Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will speak on Monday on the separation of powers at an event organized by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and her Tea Party Caucus.  —  Though the Tea Party Caucus is a conservative group, Bachmann's office confirmed …

Secret papers reveal slow death of Middle East peace process  —  • Massive new leak lifts lid on negotiations  —  • PLO offered up key settlements in East Jerusalem  —  • Concessions made on refugees and Holy sites  —  The biggest leak of confidential documents in the history …

The Competition Myth  —  Meet the new buzzword, same as the old buzzword.  In advance of the State of the Union, President Obama has telegraphed his main theme: competitiveness.  The President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board has been renamed the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

Three SEIU Locals—Including Chicago Chapter—Waived From Obamacare Requirement  —  (CNSNews.com) - Three local chapters of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), whose political action committee spent $27 million supporting Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election …

Jack LaLanne, Founder of Modern Fitness Movement, Dies at 96  —  Jack LaLanne, whose obsession with grueling workouts and good nutrition, complemented by a salesman's gift, brought him recognition as the founder of the modern physical fitness movement, died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, Calif. He was 96.

GOP SCRAMBLES FOR CREDIT ON ECONOMY.... A couple of news items this morning suggest Americans should see meaningful economic progress in 2011.  USA Today reported this morning, “Economists are more optimistic about the recovery than they were just a few months ago, significantly upgrading …

The World from The Hill: U.N. funding an early target for House Republicans  —  A key House Republican is quickly pressing forward with her goals to scale back U.S. funding for the United Nations.  —  Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee …

'America's lifeguard'  —  I had the privilege of coming of age during the era of Ronald Reagan.  I like to think of him as America's lifeguard.  As a teenager, Ronald Reagan saved 77 lives as a lifeguard on the Rock River, which ran through his hometown of Dixon, Ill. The day he was inaugurated in 1981 …

Olbermann Split Came After Years of Tension  —  MSNBC never had any doubt about what it was getting when it made Keith Olbermann the face of the network in 2003: a highly talented broadcaster, a distinctive and outspoken voice and a mercurial personality with a track record of attacking his superiors and making early exits.

Mortgage Giants Leave Legal Bills to the Taxpayers  —  Since the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending the mortgage finance companies and their former top executives in civil lawsuits accusing them of fraud.

Interviewing Thomas Sowell On Basic Economics  —  Interviewing Thomas Sowell On Basic Economics  —  Late last year, I wrote a column for Townhall called, 10 Life Changing Books To Give This Christmas.  One of those book was Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics 4th Ed: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy.