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 …

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 …

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 …

Egypt Leaves the Internet  —  Confirming what a few have reported this evening: in an action unprecedented in Internet history, the Egyptian government appears to have ordered service providers to shut down all international connections to the Internet.  Critical European-Asian fiber-optic …

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 …

PROPAGANDA: Reagan And Obama On The Cover Of TIME  —  TIME Magazine's February 2011 issue has a cover that features Ronald Reagan with his arm around a jovial Barack Obama.  You can see the image below.  This is propaganda.  Plain and simple.  —  Anyone who knows anything about Ronald Reagan knows …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Warrants in WikiLeaks Case  —  WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it had executed more than 40 search warrants in the United States on Thursday as part of an investigation into an international group of computer hackers who attacked corporate Web sites last year in a show of support for WikiLeaks.

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 …

Jim Moran: Racism fueled Democrats' midterm losses  —  A Democratic congressman is attributing his party's losses in the 2010 election cycle to the fact that President Barack Obama is black.  —  Speaking to Arab television network Alhurra, Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) said Republicans made big gains …

Hawaii: Bill Would Open Obama Birth Record  —  The state would charge $100 for a copy of President Obama's birth records under a bill introduced in the Legislature by five Democrats.  It would change a privacy law barring the release of birth records unless the person seeking them has a tangible interest.

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 …

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 …