CBS reporter's Cairo nightmare  —  “60 Minutes” correspondent Lara Logan was repeatedly sexually assaulted by thugs yelling, “Jew!  Jew!” as she covered the chaotic fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo's main square Friday, CBS and sources said yesterday.

House Votes to Cancel F-35 Jet Engine Program  —  WASHINGTON — In a sign that some freshman Republicans were willing to cut military spending, the House voted 233-198 on Wednesday to cancel an alternate fighter jet engine that the Bush and Obama administrations had tried to kill for the last five years.

Chris Christie lays out a national vision  —  Gov. Chris Christie today delivered a broadside against the broken politics of Washington and the need for straight talk to solve the country's problems in a speech that will stoke talk of a 2012 presidential bid by the New Jersey Republican.

Sen. Scott Brown Speaks Out on Childhood Abuse  —  Tells “60 Minutes” Writing About Abuse Was An Act Of Catharsis For Him  —  Sen. Scott Brown reveals he was sexually abused as a child several times by a camp counselor in a “60 Minutes” interview with Lesley Stahl.

Florida Governor Rick Scott Rejects Federal High Speed Rail  —  Feb 16th 2011; Tallahassee, Fla. - After thoughtful consideration, Governor Rick Scott informed U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood of the state's decision to reject President Obama's Tampa to Orlando high-speed rail project.

Justin Bieber Talks Sex, Politics, Music and Puberty In New ‘Rolling Stone’ Cover Story  —  'I don't think you should have sex with anyone unless you love them,' Bieber tells Vanessa Grigoriadis  —  In the new issue of Rolling Stone - on stands and online in the digital archives on February 18th …

Santorum Talks About Longtime Google Problem  —  Rick Santorum has a Google problem.  —  The former Pennsylvania Senator might be well-known on Capitol Hill, but his name more regularly produces blank stares in places like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, if recent polling is any guide.

Panetta: If captured, bin Laden would be held at Guantanamo  —  The head of the CIA told senators on Wednesday that Osama bin Laden would be held at Guantanamo Bay prison if he were captured.  —  CIA Director Leon Panetta was asked by the ranking Republican on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence …

PBS stars fight for funding  —  Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) rarely holds press conferences with animated aardvarks, but he went for it on Wednesday, coaxing the shy Arthur the Aardvark up to the podium.  —  “Come over here Arthur,” Markey beckoned to the human-sized title character in the PBS series …

From Prison, Madoff Says Banks ‘Had to Know’ of Fraud  —  BUTNER, N.C. — Bernard L. Madoff said he never thought the collapse of his Ponzi scheme would cause the sort of destruction that has befallen his family.  —  In his first interview for publication since his arrest in December 2008 …

The Two Faces Of National Review  —  Once again, Adam Serwer is calling out Rich Lowry for criticizing Glenn Beck's loony ideas even as he publishes similar stuff: … That goes a bit too far, but it's true that Lowry has published lots of indefensible work by Andy McCarthy.

UC-Davis Backs Away from ‘Christian Oppressors’ Policy  —  The University of California at Davis has backed away from a policy that defined religious discrimination as Christians oppressing non-Christians after more than two dozen Christian students filed a formal complaint.

Alternatives to Inefficient Ticket Pricing  —  As history's greatest monster, I've long been disturbed by good bands' aversion to efficient demand-based pricing for their shows.  Annie Lowrey's article about LCD Soundsystem's anti-scalper efforts is confirming my priors:

Bill Clinton in Surprise Talk on Tech: It's the Institutions, Stupid  —  The former president made a surprise visit to the Wired for Change conference in New York today to speak on the use—and overuse—of technology in developing and developed nations.  —  Though he joked he was too much of a dinosaur …

New press secretary makes debut at White House  —  New White House press secretary Jay Carney stuck to most of the same tricks as his predecessor in his inaugural briefing.  —  Like the departed Robert Gibbs, Carney stuck to calling on the same reporters in the same order …

Chicago Population Sinks to 1920 Level  —  CHICAGO—A larger-than-expected exodus over the past 10 years reduced the population of Chicago to a level not seen in nearly a century.  —  The U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday that during the decade ended in 2010, Chicago's population fell 6.9% …

Obama vulnerable...  Despite his recent popularity spike there should be no mistaking it- Barack Obama is vulnerable for reelection.  The problem for the GOP is that he's a lot more vulnerable against generic Republicans than the actual Republicans looking at the race.

Bachmann targets Michelle Obama  —  Washington (CNN) - Rep. Michele Bachmann, a potential Republican presidential candidate, is taking issue with Michelle Obama over the first lady's recent promotion of breast-feeding.  —  Speaking to conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham Tuesday …

Major Hasan, ‘Star Officer’  —  Every branch of the military issued a final report on the Fort Hood massacre.  Not a single one mentioned radical Islam.  —  In a month of momentous change, it was easy to overlook the significance of another revolutionary event.

Gabrielle Giffords Knows Little About Shooting  —  Congresswoman's Chief of Staff: Word of Deaths, Others' Injuries Will Be Unknown to Her Until She Can Communicate Better  —  (CBS) It's been nearly six weeks since Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was seriously injured in a shooting rampage in Tucson …

Somali Pirate Muse Gets 34-Year Prison Sentence for Indian Ocean Hijacking  —  Somali pirate Abduwali Muse was sentenced to 33 years and nine months in prison for hijacking the container ship Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean in 2009.  —  U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in New York handed down the sentence today.