Egypt's Mubarak to step down  —  Sources tell NBC News that Vice President Suleiman to take over as leader  —  Below:  —  on msnbc.com -

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.

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.

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.”

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  —  Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin likes to taunt his Republican colleagues, arguing that ObamaCare can't be repealed because 60 votes are required to end debate in the Senate on any measure.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

Egyptian army ‘tortures protesters’  —  Military accused by human rights campaigners of targeting hundreds of anti-government protesters  —  The Egyptian military has secretly detained hundreds and possibly thousands of suspected government opponents since mass protests against President Hosni Mubarak began …

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 …

Rumsfeld knifes Condi - Obama lunches with top 3 House Rs — Google girds for antitrust war — Jim Wilkinson to Dallas - New Keith Olbermann show — POLITICO Pro: new sites for energy, health, tech  —  EXCLUSIVE: Former senator Chris Dodd is in negotiations to be named president …

Postal Service warns of default as losses mount  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The U.S. Postal Service warned Wednesday that it may default on some of its financial obligations later this year after reporting yet another quarterly loss.  —  The USPS, a self-supporting government agency that receives …

What Did Bank CEOs Know And When Did They Know It?  —  One view of executives at our largest banks in the run-up to the crisis of 2008 is that they were hapless fools.  Not aware of how financial innovation had created toxic products and made the system fundamentally unstable …