The Politics of Evasion  —  If you were a visitor from Mars, watching tonight's State of the Union address and Paul Ryan's Republican response, you would have no reason to think that the looming insolvency of our entitlement system lies at the heart of the economic challenges facing the United States over the next two decades.

Poll: High Marks for Obama's State of the Union Speech  —  An overwhelming majority of Americans approved of President Obama's overall message in his State of the Union on Tuesday night, according to a CBS News Poll of speech watchers.  —  According to the poll, which was conducted online …

Rep. Dennis Kucinich sues cafeteria over olive pit in sandwich  —  Rep. Dennis Kucinich has sued a U.S. House of Representatives cafeteria for selling him a sandwich wrap that caused dental damage when he bit into an olive pit, according to a Jan. 3 lawsuit filed in Superior Court for the District of Columbia.

U.S. Budget Deficit to Pass $1.5 Trillion This Year  —  “Grim” doesn't seem to be a terrifying enough word to describe the budget outlook that the CBO released today.  Oh, sure, we sort of knew this was coming—tax cuts are expensive if you don't find spending cuts to match.

Senate nears approval of filibuster changes  —  The Senate edged closer Tuesday to resolving a standoff over the chamber's arcane rules after leaders presented a set of modest changes designed to satisfy a group of junior Democrats who are pushing to dramatically revamp the filibuster process.