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Mubarak out? World waits for president's speech — NBC News learns Egyptian leader to step down; opposition fears military coup — Below: — on msnbc.com -
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Mubarak to Speak; Army Takes New Role — CAIRO — President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt prepared to address the nation Thursday, with government officials indicating that they expected him to step aside, and Egypt's military announcing that it is intervening in state affairs in an attempt to stop a three-week-old uprising.


Egypt protests: Hosni Mubarak ‘may be stepping down’ — Protests against Mubarak's 30-year rule began on 25 January — A senior member of Egypt's governing party has told the BBC he “hopes” that President Hosni Mubarak will transfer power to Vice-President Omar Suleiman.
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News Desk, New York Times, POWIP, Guardian, News Hounds, AOL News and Babalú Blog


Egyptian Official: Mubarak to Step Down, Transfer Authority to Armed Forces — President Hosni Mubarak will step down shortly and transfer authority to the Egyptian Higher Council of the Armed Forces, a senior Egyptian official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday.
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Alan Colmes' Liberaland, USA Today, Raw Story, Hot Air and Washington Post


Mubarak to address nation amid reports he will cede power
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Politics Daily, YID With LID, Sky Dancing, AOL News, PostPartisan and Atlas Shrugs


Jon Kyl announces retirement — Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) photo by Linda Davidson for The Washington Post — Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl (R) announced his retirement at a press conference in Phoenix Thursday morning. — “I will not seek reelection the United States Senate but will retire from public service in January 2013,” Kyl said.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Online NewsHour, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and The Daily Caller
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BREAKING: Kyl to announce 2012 plans at surprise 10 a.m. news conference — Amid speculation that he may retire, U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl will announce at 10 a.m. Thursday whether he will seek a fourth term in 2012. — Kyl, R-Ariz., will reveal his intentions at a quickly convened news conference at a Phoenix hotel.
Discussion:
SENATUS, TPMDC, msnbc.com and Politics Daily


Arizona Senator Jon Kyl to Retire
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Outside the Beltway, Hot Air and Maggie's Notebook

Trump Will Speak at CPAC — Donald Trump is telling friends and advisers that he is seriously considering jumping into the Republican presidential race in 2012. To make his point, he has accepted an invitation to appear with other potential candidates at a gathering of conservative activists in Washington.
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Cubachi, CNN, The Other McCain, Wake up America, Liberty Pundits Blog, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, AMERICAblog Elections and Politics
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Palin: No ‘problem’ with gay group at CPAC — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) said Wednesday evening she has no objection to the participation of gay Republicans at this weekend's gathering of conservatives in Washington. — Palin said she didn't see anything wrong with the participation of GOProud …
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CNN, Pirate's Cove, Outside the Beltway and Pam's House Blend

This is Too Much For Me — I have, for me, shown an amazing amount of restraint in keeping my mouth shut on an issue about which I can stay silent no longer — GOProud and CPAC. — RedState's parent company, Eagle Publishing, Inc., is a long time sponsor of CPAC.
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Firedoglake, msnbc.com, AmSpecBlog, Balloon Juice, The Other McCain and Commentary

GOP gay-rights group brings Donald Trump to conservative gathering
Discussion:
The Note

FOX NEWS INSIDER: “Stuff Is Just Made Up” — Asked what most viewers and observers of Fox News would be surprised to learn about the controversial cable channel, a former insider from the world of Rupert Murdoch was quick with a response: “I don't think people would believe it's as concocted as it is; that stuff is just made up.”
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Prairie Weather and Mother Jones
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‘STUFF IS JUST MADE UP’.... We generally don't hear much in the way of criticism of Fox News from the Republican network's own employees. That's largely due to the non-disclosure agreements staffers are forced to sign, and I've long assumed it has something to do with a self-selected sample …


Democrats Can't Filibuster ObamaCare Repeal — The GOP needs 51 Senate votes, and a new president, to get it done. — Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin likes to taunt his Republican colleagues, arguing that ObamaCare can't be repealed because 60 votes are required to end debate in the Senate on any measure.
Discussion:
TPMDC, The Politico, The New Republic, Taegan Goddard's …, Ezra Klein, The Hill, Wonk Room and National Review

DNI Clapper: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood ‘largely secular’ — During a House Intelligence Committee hearing Thursday, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper called Egypt's branch of the Muslim Brotherhood movement “largely secular.” — In response to questioning from Rep. Sue Myrick …
Discussion:
Commentary, The Jawa Report, Washington Post, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and RubinReports


License To Beg — Montgomery County's not run by neoliberal sellouts, that's for sure. They're true friends of the working man: … This business about where the beggars stand is a microcosm of one of the most prominent conceptual problems here. If the issue is people violating traffic laws …
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Gazette.net Maryland … and Eschaton
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Santorum: I've watched every episode of Palin's reality show — Rick Santorum did damage control on Greta Van Susteren's show last night, claiming his recent, apparently critical comments of Sarah Palin were taken out of context and that he has nothing against the ex-governor's decision to skip CPAC.
Discussion:
The Other McCain and Politics
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Did Sarah Palin Just Call Rick Santorum A Knuckle Dragging Neanderthal?
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Politics Daily, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Politico and The Right Scoop

Santorum's Twe-eating his Palin words
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CNN, TPMDC, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, sisu, The Note, The Moderate Voice, News Hounds, NewsBusters.org blogs, GOP 12, Hot Air, Wonkette, Sheya and The Reaction


House Republicans Battle Turmoil in Their Ranks — WASHINGTON — Under pressure to make deeper spending cuts and blindsided by embarrassing floor defeats, House Republican leaders are quickly discovering the limits of control over their ideologically driven and independent-minded new majority.
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Politics Daily, Washington Post, Bloomberg, CNN, Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog, NationalJournal.com, ThinkProgress, Yglesias, Left Coast Rebel, Balloon Juice, The Impolitic, AOL News, DownWithTyranny!, Prairie Weather, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, The Page, Gawker and The Politico, more at Mediagazer »
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Republicans Splintering on Size of Cuts
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protein wisdom, Ezra Klein and Washington Monthly

GOP lawmaker makes birther joke at CPAC — A Republican lawmaker made a subtle “birther” jab at President Obama during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). — Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho), a freshman member of Congress who was born in Puerto Rico …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers


Mitt Rewrites Himself — A new Apology — When Mitt Romney's second book, No Apology, came out a year ago, it looked like he was moving away from the far-right demagoguery of his 2008 bid for the presidency, and toward a more moderate centrism for the 2012 election cycle.
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The Fix, Washington Monthly, Wonkette, Mediaite, Ezra Klein, Hot Air and Oliver Willis


Live blog Feb 10 - Egypt protests — on February 10th, 2011. — From our headquarters in Doha, we keep you updated on all things Egypt, with reporting from Al Jazeera staff in Cairo and Alexandria. — The Battle for Egypt - AJE Live Stream - Timeline - Photo Gallery - AJE Tweets - AJE Audio Blogs
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Firedoglake, BBC, EA WorldView, War in Context, msnbc.com, Online NewsHour, Boing Boing, Foreign Policy, Guardian and National Review, more at Mediagazer »
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Egyptian army ‘tortures protesters’
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EA WorldView, Firedoglake, The Daily Dish, Arabist.net, Newshoggers.com, AOL News, Raw Story, The Nation, AMERICAblog News, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Hot Air


Daniels: I'd have cash, support to win — INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels boasts that he would turn heads with his fundraising firepower and roster of big- name GOP supporters if he jumps into the 2012 presidential race. — “If I were to decide to do this …
Discussion:
CNN, Online NewsHour, GOP 12 and Politics