Jay Carney named White House press secretary  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Vice President Joe Biden's communications director, Jay Carney, was named the new White House press secretary Thursday as part of a series of other big staff moves announced by new Chief of Staff Bill Daley.

Supreme Court: Emanuel on Chicago mayor ballot  —  UPDATED at 7:15 p.m. by Liam Ford, Jeff Coen and David Heinzmann with more detail from Supreme Court opinion; election authority comment; ruling a topic in tonight's mayoral debate.  —  The Illinois Supreme Court ruled today that Rahm Emanuel …

Mike Pence's Mom Says He'll Announce Tomorrow  —  Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., is trying to decide whether to run for president or governor of his home state.  —  Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., is set to announce a decision on his political future on Friday, according to his mother …

Reid, McConnell Reach Rules Reform Agreement … WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have reached agreement on a set of relatively small changes to the upper chamber's rules, including an informal pact to reduce the number …

Rand Paul: End foreign aid, including Israel  —  WASHINGTON (JTA) — U.S. Sen. Rand Paul wants to end all foreign assistance, including aid to Israel.  —  Paul, a Republican newly elected in Kentucky, was on CNN Wednesday outlining where he would cut the $500 billion in government spending …

Joe Biden says Egypt's Mubarak no dictator, he shouldn't step down...  ... and wonders what the Egyptian protesters want.  —  Vice President Joe Biden spoke to the PBS NewsHour tonight with the most direct US governent comments yet about the gathering Egypt protests against President Hosni Mubarak's 29-year reign.

Palin completely misunderstands what “Sputnik Moment” means  —  So Sarah Palin went on Greta Van Susteren's show last night and one of the “questions” was about what she thought of President Obama's reference to America's “Sputnik moment” during his State of the Union address.

O, Mark Salter!!  —  McCain wordsmith revealed as “anonymous” author of “O” the novel.  —  Confirmed by sources, but there were lots of in-plain-sight clues that led to Salter's Maine door.  —Simon and Schuster topper Jonathan Karp was Salter's editor on books he did with Senator McCain.

Himalayan glaciers not melting because of climate change, report finds  —  Himalayan glaciers are actually advancing rather than retreating, claims the first major study since a controversial UN report said they would be melted within quarter of a century.  —  The key factor affecting …

Brooksley Born of the FCIC: “We May Well Still Be in a Financial Crisis”  —  In a sometimes contentious call, Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission representatives Phil Angelides and Brooksley Born acknowledged that we might still be in a financial crisis, and that their report should not be seen …

Palin to speak at Reagan Ranch Center  —  ABC News' John Berman reports: Sarah Palin will deliver a speech at Ronald Reagan's former ranch to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth.  On February 4th the former Alaska Governor will be the keynote speaker at the “Reagan 100 Opening Banquet” …

Snow gridlock traps commuters for up to 13 hours  —  Stuck.  —  On the George Washington Parkway.  On 16th Street NW.  Interstate 66, too.  —  Buses, cars, people - just plain stuck as snow, sleet and ice covered roadways and knocked down trees across the region, turning the evening commute into a seemingly endless nightmare.

Schumer steps up Social Security assault on House Republicans  —  Senate Democrats led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are gearing up for a battle with House Republicans over Medicare and Social Security benefits.  —  Schumer and other Democratic strategists …

4th senator joins Tea Party Caucus  —  The three founding members of the Senate Tea Party Caucus told a crowd of 120 activists at their first meeting Thursday that their efforts will outsize their short roster.  —  In all, four Republican senators have joined the caucus, including one freshman …

SOTU not exceptionalist enough?  —  If there's one thing President Obama did go on about a bit about in the State of the Union, it was American exceptionalism — as the National Journal's Ron Fournier noted at some length.  —  Two who didn't entirely notice were Speaker John Boehner and Kathleen Parker.

Jon Huntsman's Inner Circle  —  Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is seriously considering a run for president in 2012.  —  U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman (R) appears to be leaning toward a run for president in 2012 and a team of political operatives and fundraisers have begun informal talks …

Sens. Paul, Vitter introduce citizenship resolution  —  Two Republican senators are introducing a resolution that would end the constitutional right to citizenship that comes with being born on U.S. soil.  —  Rand Paul (Ky.) and David Vitter (La.) are introducing a resolution this week …

Iranian Book Celebrating Suicide Bombers Found in Arizona Desert  —  EXCLUSIVE: A book celebrating suicide bombers has been found in the Arizona desert just north of the U.S.- Mexican border, authorities tell Fox News.  —  The book, “In Memory of Our Martyrs,” was spotted Tuesday …

CNN exclusive: FBI misconduct reveals sex, lies and videotape  —  Editor's note: Some content in this report may be offensive to readers.  For more on this CNN exclusive story, watch Kyra Phillips' full report on “The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer” tonight starting at 5 p.m. ET.

Proposed Arizona law targets “birthright” citizenship  —  PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona Republicans are to introduce legislation on Thursday seeking to challenge the right to U.S. citizenship for the children of legal and illegal immigrants born in the state.  —  State Rep. John Kavanagh …