Mubarak Steps Down, Ceding Power to Military  —  CAIRO — President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt turned over all power to the military and left the Egyptian capital for his resort home in Sharm el-Sheik, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced on state television on Friday.

Crisis Flummoxes White House  —  President Mubarak's Refusal to Step Down Signals a Loss of Western Influence; Sense of ‘Disbelief’ After Speech  —  WASHINGTON—The defiant tone taken by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak—and widespread confusion about the meaning of his speech …

Utah Sen. Mike Lee says he won't back Orrin Hatch in GOP Senate primary  —  Sen. Mike Lee (R) said Friday that he wouldn't endorse fellow Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) for reelection in the 2012 GOP Senate primary.  —  Lee, a freshman senator allied with the conservative Tea Party movement …

Paul Supporters Hijack Cheney-Rumsfeld Reunion (Video)  —  ***LIVE UPDATES FROM CPAC ON TPM's CPAC 2011 WIRE***  —  Dick Cheney just popped up here at CPAC to introduce his old pal and Bush administration colleague Donald Rumsfeld.  Fans of Ron Paul turned what should have been a friendly moment …

Paul Ryan's Limited Imagination  —  Everyone knows that Ron Paul has some crank notions about monetary economics, but Paul Ryan's own crankitude on this score is badly underrated.  Will Wilkinson, for example, flags this alarming quote from Ryan's participation in a recent committee hearing with Ben Bernanke:

Oprah wants ‘respect’ for Obama  —  Oprah Winfrey (left) and Barack Obama attend a campaign event in Dec. 2007.  AP Photo  —  Oprah called on President Obama's critics on Friday to “show some level of respect.”  —  “I feel that everybody has a learning curve, and I feel that the reason …

Do straw polls matter?  —  Washington (CNN) - OK.  We admit it.  We, along with the rest of the national political press corps, will be fixated Saturday on the results of the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference.  —  Balloting will be open …

Sen. Cornyn running for No. 2 spot in GOP leadership, aide says  —  Sen. John Cornyn (Texas) will run to become the next Senate GOP whip, a senior aide to the senator said Friday.  —  Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has begun reaching out to colleagues …

New mobile food rules ensnare man who pushed for changes  —  Snappy Snacks trucks struggle to pass fire department inspections.  —  In 2009 Tom Ramsey pressed the City of Austin to add teeth to the city's mobile food vending ordinance.  —  Ramsey might have seemed an unlikely advocate …

From freedom agenda to freedom doctrine  —  Today, everyone and his cousin supports the “freedom agenda.”  Of course, yesterday it was just George W. Bush, Tony Blair and a band of neocons with unusual hypnotic powers who dared challenge the received wisdom of Arab exceptionalism …

Susan Rice kicks off U.N. series  —  Susan Rice, President Barack Obama's ambassador to the United Nations, will argue in a major address Friday evening that the U.S. should “strengthen” — not “starve” — the world body.  —  The address is the first in a series of speeches …

Relaxed, Rested, Ready  —  Strong Romney appearance at CPAC.  —  Includes glib gibes at Obama, focus on the economy, and polished/relaxed stump-speech feel.  —  Current odds that Romney leaves CPAC as the '12 frontrunner (still): 7-5.  —  Tweet  — FAN - FOLLOW - FEED … Politics

Banned hate preacher still broadcasting after ‘Jews are enemy of Islam’ claim  —  A radical preacher banned from entering the country may now lose the platform to broadcast messages of hate to British television screens.  —  Zakir Naik - who has claimed that “every Muslim should be a terrorist” …