“Steep Cuts?”  Even the Left Is Starting to Notice  —  Liberal press outlets are reporting, generally without criticism, the Obama administration's claim that its FY 2012 budget embodies “steep cuts” in federal spending over the coming decade.  Since a picture is worth a thousand words …

THE PROSPECTS OF A ‘GRAND BARGAIN’.... Rumors occasionally make the rounds about a “grand bargain” between Democrats and Republicans.  The idea is based on the notion of an all-inclusive compromise that would encompass deficit reduction, tax reform, the debt ceiling, and giving entitlements some sort of haircut.

South Dakota Moves To Legalize Killing Abortion Providers  —  A bill under consideration in the Mount Rushmore State would make preventing harm to a fetus a “justifiable homicide” in many cases.  —  Post Comment  —  A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of …

House Votes to Extend Patriot Act Provisions  —  WASHINGTON — The House on Monday voted to reauthorize and extend through Dec. 8 three ways in which Congress expanded the Federal Bureau of Investigation's counterterrorism powers after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Truth or Consequences  —  What if Justice Scalia sued the New York Times for libel?  —  The following letter to the editor appeared in the New York Times Friday: … If this is true, Scalia's misconduct is even worse than Fein suggests.  Not only has Congress considered legislation to repeal ObamaCare …

‘Punisher’ gets its first battlefield tests  —  XM25 ‘performs flawlessly’ in Afghanistan  —  The XM25 has changed the battlefield with only 55 rounds, and earned a new name among soldiers.  They call it “the Punisher.”  —  Since its first contact Dec. 3, the XM25 has been in nine engagements …

Closed captioning of: Prosecutors gear up to charge Edwards in criminal case  —  >> for two years a federal grand jury has been in fact investigating john edwards and whether he break campaign finance laws to try to cover up an affair with rielle hunter.  now the investigation reached a decisive point.

Standard Washington cowardice  —  In late 2008, former federal prosecutor Neil Barofsky was appointed to oversee the Treasury Department's administration of the $700 billion Wall Street/TARP bailout, and in that position, he has easily been one of the most impressive and courageous political officials in Washington.

KS GOP Rep. Connie O'Brien Says She Can Tell Who Is ‘Illegal’ Because They Have ‘The Olive Complexion’  —  One week ago, the Kansas House Federal and State Committee held a hearing about in-state tuition being granted to the children of undocumented immigrants, which has been the policy in the state since 2004.

Should Republicans Fret Over Their Presidential Field?  —  Republican insiders, reports the Washington Post's plugged-in Jennifer Rubin, are worried about the quality of their slate of presidential candidates for 2012.  Indeed, it has become the conventional wisdom to assert that the Republican field is a fairly weak one.

New York and German Exchanges Seal Deal  —  NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse agreed on Tuesday to a $10 billion all-stock merger, combining two of the world's biggest stock exchanges into a trans-Atlantic powerhouse.  —  The union of the operators of the New York Stock Exchange …

The Experience Economy  —  Tyler Cowen's e-book, “The Great Stagnation,” has become the most debated nonfiction book so far this year.  Cowen's core point is that up until sometime around 1974, the American economy was able to experience awesome growth by harvesting low-hanging fruit.

Ethics Board Eyes Schmidt  —  The Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating Rep. Jean Schmidt's receipt of legal assistance from a Turkish-American interest group that has represented her in a host of proceedings in Ohio, one of the Republican's counsels confirmed Friday.

Apple to expand iPhone screen size to 4-inches  —  Apple reportedly will change the screen size of iPhone to 4-inch for its fifth generation iPhone to compete with the Google Android platform in the 4- to 7-inch smartphone market, according to upstream component suppliers.

Liberals launch anti-Darrell Issa crusade  —  Democrats are understandably obsessed with Darrell Issa — he's built himself up as a one-man investigative machine aimed straight at the Obama presidency.  —  But a handful of liberal political operatives in California — including …

Critics and supporters turned out for event featuring Huckabee  —  Former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee was a guest at a fundraiser held at the Knoxville Convention Center.  —  The event benefits an anti-abortion group called the Center for Bioethical Reform.

Vanishing Act: ‘Advisers’ Seek Distance From a Report  —  A new study backed by pro-business groups takes a harsh stance on rules intended to bring transparency to the $600 billion derivatives market.  The report, published on Monday, claims that proposed regulation could cost 130,000 jobs …

Common Cause Asks Court About Thomas Speech  —  WASHINGTON — Discrepancies in reports about an appearance by Justice Clarence Thomas at a political retreat for wealthy conservatives three years ago have prompted new questions to the Supreme Court from a group that advocates changing campaign finance laws.

Key 2012 early states cool to Palin  —  A new poll of New Hampshire voters is the latest in a string of surveys suggesting that if Sarah Palin chooses to run for president, she'll struggle in the crucial early states.  —  The WMUR Granite State Poll released late Monday afternoon puts Palin close …

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood seeks political party status  —  Cairo, Egypt (CNN) — Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood will apply to become a political party, it announced Tuesday.  —  The Brotherhood “envisions the establishment of a democratic, civil state that draws on universal measures …

Trump: Gays yes, gay marriage no  —  Donald Trump may have some New Yorkers doing a double-take, after he expressed his opposition to same-sex marriage while also saying he digs the city's robust gay population.  —  “New York is a place with lots of gays, and I think it's great.

Defector admits to WMD lies that triggered Iraq war  —  • Man codenamed Curveball ‘invented’ tales of bioweapons  —  • Iraqi told lies to try to bring down Saddam Hussein regime  —  • Fabrications used by US as justification for invasion  —  Live Q&A with our reporter Martin Chulov

Companies Warn That Higher Prices Are Looming  —  A package of Oscar Mayer cold cuts.  A pair of Nine West boots.  A Whirlpool washing machine.  —  By the fall, people will most likely be paying more for each of them, as rising prices hit most consumer goods, say retailers, food companies and manufacturers of consumer products.

Iran unrest: MPs call for death of Mousavi and Karroubi  —  Inside Iranian Parliament as a group of conservative MPs called for the execution of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi  —  Members of Iran's parliament have called for opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi to be tried and executed.

Obama to defend budget at first press conference of year  —  President Obama will hold his first solo news conference of the new year on Tuesday.  —  Obama is holding the press conference to discuss the budget he unveiled Monday.  The event is scheduled for 11 a.m. in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

'America's toughest sheriff' considering Arizona Senate run  —  Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Monday he is open to the possibility of running for the seat of retiring Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) in 2012.  —  Arpaio, the conservative sheriff famous for his hard-line anti-immigration stances …

New WH spokesman ready to brief the press, colleague says  —  New White House press secretary Jay Carney has yet to hold a formal press briefing, but one of his colleagues says he is certainly ready to do so.  —  White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer took to Twitter on Tuesday …