Egypt Protests Turn Violent  —  Pro- and Anti-Mubarak Crowds Collide in the Worst Clashes Since Friday  —  We just got back to the hotel after trying to film on the bridge into Tahrir Square.  —  An angry mob surrounded us and chased us into the car shouting that they hate America.

Senate rejects healthcare repeal  —  The Senate on Wednesday voted down a repeal of President Obama's healthcare law in a 47-51 party-line vote.  —  The vote came two weeks to the day the Republican House voted 245-189 to repeal the law, and just days after a federal judge ruled Obama's …

Senate votes to repeal healthcare law's ‘1099’ tax reporting language  —  The Senate tonight voted to repeal controversial language in last year's healthcare bill that requires companies to report goods and services transactions worth $600 or more to the IRS.

White House reporters complain Obama is shutting them out  —  White House reporters criticized President Obama on Wednesday for providing too little information and access to the media during the crisis in Egypt.  —  In a letter to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs …

SEIU fights healthcare repeal after obtaining waivers from law  —  The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is lobbying hard against the amendment offered by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) to repeal the healthcare reform law.  —  SEIU has sent e-mails …

Kirk Cites Al Gore's Personal Life As Impetus For Climate Flip-Flop  —  Back when he was a member of the House, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) was one of a few Republicans who voted for a far-reaching climate change bill.  That legislation quickly fueled Tea Party rage, and conservatives went on the attack against the plan's backers.

Democrats reach for the shiny object  —  Look At the Shiny Object  —  Yesterday Debbie Wasserman-Shultz came out swinging against the latest GOP assault on women, calling the new requirement that only those who are the victims of “forcible” rape be entitled to government funded abortion, “violence against women” and she's right.

Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps?  (MIchael Fletcher of the Washington Post Edition)  —  Fresno, CA—along with much of the rest of the great Central Valley—has long had a structural unemployment problem.  Back at the start of the 1990s when the unemployment rate in the country …

WikiLeaks: US and China in military standoff over space missiles  —  The United States threatened to take military action against China during a secret “star wars” arms race within the past few years, according to leaked documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph.

Egypt Is A Very Large Proportion of the Arab World  —  I knew Egypt was the largest population of the Arab countries, but until I looked up the numbers I didn't realize how dramatically the demographics of the Arab world are weighted toward Egypt:  —  What's more, a healthy share of Iraqis …

Reagan's Solicitor General Charles Fried: ‘I Am Quite Sure That The Health Care Mandate Is Constitutional’  —  In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today on “The Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act,” President Ronald Reagan's former Solicitor General — Harvard Law Professor Charles Fried …

We're All Terrorists Now  —  The Tennessee ACLU sent a letter to public schools warning them not to celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday.  The Tennessee Fusion Center (H/T Uncle) put the communication on its map of “terrorism events and other suspicious activity”:

Paul: Should the Tea Party compromise?  —  Washington (CNN) - During his first speech on the Senate floor, Tea Party champion Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, brought up what may be a dirty word for some of his constituents: compromise.  —  “Many ask will the Tea Party compromise?

In Book, Rumsfeld Recalls Bush's Early Iraq Focus  —  WASHINGTON — Just 15 days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush invited his defense secretary, Donald H. Rumsfeld, to meet with him alone in the Oval Office.  According to Mr. Rumsfeld's new memoir …

A Toast to Your Health  —  Warning: Alcohol may increase your life expectancy and reduce dementia.  —  The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans on Monday.  There weren't many surprises in its recommendations to reduce fat and salt, eat whole grains, and cut the overall amount we eat.

John Thune faces tough choice on 2012  —  South Dakota Sen. John Thune just landed two plum posts in the Senate — seats on the influential Finance and Budget committees — that crystallize the decision he now faces: Stay in the Senate to climb the leadership ladder, or jump into the 2012 presidential contest.