White House and Egypt Discuss Plan for Mubarak's Exit  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for President Hosni Mubarak to resign immediately and turn over power to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman …

Obama's Approval Ratings More Polarized in Year 2 Than Year 1  —  Ranks as fourth-most-polarized year for a president since 1953  —  PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama's job approval ratings were even more polarized during his second year in office than during his first …

Rand Paul: GOP Not ‘Brave Enough’ to Hit Deficit  —  ‘True Believer’ Paul Wants All Foreign Aid Eliminated — Including Aid to Israel  —  In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., took aim at the newly released House GOP budget, saying it falls far short of what needs to be done to deal with the federal deficit.

Finger-pointing begins on Egypt  —  The debate over who “lost” Egypt seems to have begun.  —  Critics are openly questioning the quality of information and analysis given to President Barack Obama by U.S. intelligence agencies in the days leading up to the dramatic uprising against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Citizen activist grates on state over traffic signals  —  RALEIGH — David N. Cox says he was merely exercising his right to petition the government, but a state Department of Transportation official has raised allegations that Cox committed a misdemeanor: practicing engineering without a license.

Christie won't rule out running — in 2016  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said Thursday evening that he hadn't ruled out running for president — in 2016.  —  Christie, the Garden State governor who's popular with Republicans but denied interest in running for president in 2012 …

Report: Political Correctness Prevented FBI, DoD from Stopping Maj. Hasan  —  Today the Senate Homeland Security Committee released an independent report on the Ft. Hood shootings.  The 91 page report is titled A Ticking Time Bomb: Counterterrorism Lessons from the US Government's Failure to Prevent the Fort Hood Attack.

Gabrielle Giffords's husband Mark Kelly will command final shuttle flight  —  Mark Kelly, husband of wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, will fly the space shuttle Endeavour's final mission in April, according to a source familiar with the decision.  —  Kelly and NASA are expected to make an announcement at a press conference Friday.

Perdue hires defense lawyers  —  Gov. Bev Perdue has hired two of the state's most prominent criminal defense lawyers as scrutiny of her 2008 campaign activity continues.  —  Raleigh lawyers Joseph B. Cheshire V and Wade Smith are both assisting Perdue, whose office declined to comment.

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum Hints At Future Plans  —  HH: I begin with an old, old friend, former United States Senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum.  Senator, welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt Show.  —  RS: It's been a long time, Hugh.  It's great to be with you again.

ObamaCare's Repeal Has Begun  —  This week's Senate vote to scrap an IRS reporting requirement is the start of a piece by piece approach.  —  Mark this date: On Feb. 2, 2011, a Democratic Senate killed the first piece of the health-care law it passed less than a year ago.

Unemployment falls to 9.0 pct., only 36K new jobs  —  Economy adds 36K jobs in January, unemployment rate falls to 9 pct., lowest since April 2009  —  Companies:  —  Related Quotes  —  SymbolPriceChange  —  BAC  —  14.43  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The unemployment rate dropped sharply …

Gallup Finds U.S. Unemployment Up Slightly in January to 9.8%  —  Underemployment at 18.9%, compared with 19.0% at the end of December  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, increased to 9.8% at the end of January — up from 9.6% at the end of December, but down from 10.9% a year ago.

‘String Him Up’  —  Racist and eliminationist rhetoric at a Common Cause rally.  —  The website of Common Cause describes the group as “a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to restoring the core values of American democracy, reinventing an open, honest and accountable government …

Open Left is closing  —  I have some sad news.  After nearly four years in operation, today will be the final day Open Left publishes new content.  —  The site will not disappear, and all published content will remain online, but after today we will cease producing new content.

Report rips U.S. envoy who resigned  —  An Obama bundler picked for a choice ambassadorship brought the U.S. embassy she led to “a state of dysfunction” in a year on the job, a State Department probe has found.  —  Cynthia Stroum, who last month left her post as U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg …

Learning To Walk: Fear, Shame And Your Underwater Mortgage … WASHINGTON — Nearly one in every four homeowners across the country owe more on their home than it's worth.  Once a month, those 10.8 million are faced with a question that cuts to the core of the American Dream and offers …

Ex-U.S. Rep. Foley returns to GOP scene, four years after grounding in scandal  —  Former Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, a pariah with many in the GOP after he abruptly resigned in a 2006 Internet sex scandal, is slowly regaining acceptance with some local Republicans.

Fox News Team Severely Beaten, Hospitalized In Cairo  —  FOX News Channel's veteran foreign correspondent Greg Palkot and his camerman Olaf Wiig have suffered severe injuries in Cairo while covering the unrest in the Egypt capital.  Palkot was badly beaten and Wiig has a possible broken jaw …