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 …

Rand Paul sole GOP holdout on laser pointer bill  —  In his first few weeks in office, newly elected Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) could quickly be stealing his colleagues' reputation as “Dr. No.”  —  Paul, an ophthalmologist, was the sole vote Thursday against an amendment supported by 96 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

Obama Administration Scores Legal Victory On Health Care … WASHINGTON — The Obama administration won a victory Thursday in the winding legal debate surrounding the president's signature health care law, as a federal judge in Mississippi threw out a suit challenging the constitutionality of the bill.

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.

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 …

The Bad Faith of Mandate Critics, Part 2  —  Read part 1 of this argument here.  —  The conservative legal brief against the Affordable Care Act rests heavily on a simple proposition.  Government can't make us obtain private insurance because, as the argument goes, that would be forcing us to buy a private product.

Dan Snyder, Owner of a Team Named After an Ethnic Slur, Sues Over Perceived Anti-Semitism  —  This is rich.  The owner of the Washington Redskins, Dan Snyder, has sued the Washington City Paper for a column he claims defamed him and used anti-Semitic imagery.

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.