“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 …

Rep. Ryan: GOP won't allow shutdown due to budget impasse  —  Republicans will pass short-term measures to keep funding the government rather than allow a shutdown, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Tuesday.  —  Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, said that if the GOP-held House …

Clinton to announce new ‘AfPak’ envoy  —  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has chosen a new special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, after months of delay and disagreements between the White House and the State Department over the parameters of the job that became vacant …

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 …

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.  —  A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of “justifiable homicide” …

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.

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.

Chaffetz within 10 points of Hatch in new poll  —  SALT LAKE CITY - A new Deseret News-KSL poll shows Rep. Jason Chaffetz is just 10 points behind Sen. Orrin Hatch, even though he isn't in the race — yet.  —  In a GOP primary, 44 percent of the Utahns surveyed statewide said they'd vote …

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.

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 …

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.

More facts emerge about the leaked smear campaigns  —  As I noted on Friday, the parties implicated in the smear campaigns aimed at WikiLeaks supporters and Chamber of Commerce critics have attempted to heap all the blame on HBGary Federal ("HBGary") and its CEO, Aaron Barr.

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.

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 …

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 …

Romney visits Las Vegas, meets with GOP backers, business  —  Mitt Romney spent Valentine's Day in Las Vegas, speaking to business groups and supporters in preparation for his likely White House run.  —  Given the friendly audiences, it was all hearts and flowers on Monday for the former Massachusetts governor.

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 …

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.

Oh Say Can Vee Dee?  —  Well, today's the big day.  VD.  Valentine's Day.  Or, as we say around here, “Viagra Day.”  —  Guido is pretty direct about it.  “Get me flowers,” she says.  “Or get yourself some bandages and a place to spend the night.”  —  Ha!  What a kidder.  But then I read my email.

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.

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.

Poll: Bill Nelson vulnerable to GOP challenger  —  Florida Sen. Bill Nelson falls short of the 50-percent mark against five potential Republican opponents, according to a poll commissioned by Ron Sachs Communications and conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research.