Egyptian Government Figures Join Protesters  —  CAIRO — With signs of fracturing within Egypt's ruling elite, hundreds of thousands of people packed Cairo's central Tahrir Square on Friday, chanting slogans, bowing in prayer and waving Egyptian flags to press a largely peaceful campaign for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak.

Attention Fox Nation: There Is More Than One Version Of The Bible  —  Conservatives have spent the last several years trying to cast doubt on President Obama's Christianity, often by suggesting he is a secret Muslim or claiming that he is a non-believer pretending to be Christian for political benefit.

Santelli Slams CNBC Panelists for Spinning Jobs Report  —  CNBC's floor reporter criticizes ‘kool-aid drinkers’ for trying to find good news in the ‘disappointing.’  —  Jobs are heading up and down at the same time.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the morning of Feb. 4 …

Rand Paul: End ‘welfare’ to Israel  —  Tea party-backed Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) isn't sure that congressional Republicans have the guts to make the big budget cuts they've promised and, he said, members of the movement are becoming frustrated.  —  “There's a disconnect between Republicans …

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 …

Kerry's sharp eye on the secretary spot  —  AS EGYPT battles over its future, Senator John Kerry is negotiating his own.  —  The Bay State's senior senator is running an unofficial campaign to become the next secretary of state.  For once, he looks artful, as well as ambitious.

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.

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.

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.

Justice Scalia, Not Kennedy, Eyed As Key Vote In Support Of Health Care … WASHINGTON — Observers of the legal drama surrounding President Obama's health care reform legislation have reached two broad conclusions: that it will ultimately be ruled on by the Supreme Court, and that Justice Anthony Kennedy will be the deciding vote.

A Graphical Overview of the 2012 Republican Field  —  There is almost exactly one year to go until the Iowa caucuses, which are tentatively scheduled to take place on Feb. 6, 2012.  No mainstream Republican candidate has yet declared for the presidency, but that is sure to change soon …

Elizabeth Spiers Taking Over As Editor In Chief of The New York Observer  —  Elizabeth Spiers is taking over as Editor-in-Chief of The Observer today, overseeing both the print and digital content.  —  “I am very excited to be working with Elizabeth to further build on the great progress we have made over the past few years.

Special report: Jamie Dimon wants some R-E-S-P-E-C-T  —  Jamie Dimon, CEO and chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co, answers a question during an interview in his office in New York December 22, 2010.  REUTERS/Lucas Jackson  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - What's eating Jamie Dimon?

McConnell: No deals with Obama on healthcare reform  —  Republicans aren't likely to bury the hatchet with President Obama over the healthcare reform act, their Senate leader said Friday.  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), fresh off an unsuccessful vote on Wednesday …

Justice Thomas's wife Virginia Thomas now a lobbyist  —  She started as a congressional aide in the 1980s, became a midlevel Republican operative, then briefly left politics, reemerging in 2009 as founder of a tea party group, before stepping down amid 'continued questions about whether …

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.

Senators Issue Lobbyist ‘Call to Arms’  —  The Senate Appropriations Labor, Health & Human Services subcommittee organized a meeting last month for lobbyists so they combine efforts to bring money into the committee.

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.

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.

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 …