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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

Boehner the budget hawk shifts his course  —  “So be it.”  —  That was House Speaker John Boehner's cold answer when asked Tuesday about job losses that would come from his new Republican majority's plans to cut tens of billions of dollars in government spending this year.

Ryan's claims of trillions in new spending in the 2012 federal budget  —  “What we have is $1.6 trillion in new tax increases, $8.7 trillion in new spending.  He's going to be adding $13 trillion to the debt over the course of his budget.”  —  It's budget season in Washington again …

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.

Alvin Greene soundly defeated in bid for state legislature seat  —  Washington (CNN) - Surprise candidate Alvin Greene was soundly defeated in his second bid for elective office on Tuesday.  He captured only 37 votes or just about .01% of the 3,892 cast in a Democratic primary to fill …

You Don't Need A Balanced Budget To Shrink The Debt Level  —  One of the ironies of Washington is that the people who spend the most time talking about the budget deficit often have very little practical understanding of it.  One example comes from my friend Dave Weigel's interview …

Cutting Government Spending May Be Popular But There Is Little Appetite For Cutting Specific Government Programs  —  Much less support for cutting programs now than in 1980 when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated  —  Cutting government spending often sounds like a good idea to many people …

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.

Egypt Leaders Found ‘Off’ Switch for Internet  —  Epitaphs for the Mubarak government all note that the mobilizing power of the Internet was one of the Egyptian opposition's most potent weapons.  But quickly lost in the swirl of revolution was the government's ferocious counterattack …

The Political Failure of Keynesian Economics  —  Last August I asked a question: “What if Keynesian stimulus works, but no one can ever actually afford to do it, short of something like World War II, where the government can tap into a patriotic outpouring of national savings by issuing bonds with negative real yields.”

Davie paying officer to not work — for 7 years  —  Kevin Kilpatrick was put on paid leave after rift with department's top brass, his attorney says  —  The Davie Police Department hasn't let Officer Kevin Kilpatrick report to duty for seven years — but still pays him $80,275 annually.

Killers frontman eats with Romney  —  Is Brandon Flowers of The Killers following the lead of U2's Bono as a champion of political causes?  —  Or was Tuesday's lunch with Mitt Romney more a case of Romney, a Republican presidential candidate in 2008, courting the youth vote?

Utah Death Threats Against Officials  —  Discovered at Lady Logician's place, a story of new threats against elected officials in the state of Utah.  As usual, somebody seems to be upset over immigration. … Certainly sounds like those nasty tea baggers are at it again.

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 …

Newt Gingrich's financial empire shows his fundraising prowess  —  Dallas businesswoman Dawn Rizos received the unexpected invitation by fax: Come to a “private dinner” with Newt Gingrich in Washington, where you will be named an “entrepreneur of the year.”  —  The catch: Rizos had to pay …

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 …

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.

Poll: Most Oppose Cutting Funding for Health Care Reforms  —  CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.  —  A majority of the public disapproves of the Republican idea to cut off funding for health care reform …

Cartoon aardvark (with House Democrats) lobbies for federal funding of PBS and NPR  —  House Democrats will make their case for continuing taxpayer funding of public media outlets like NPR and PBS with a little help from Arthur the PBS cartoon character, who will visit the Capitol Wednesday morning.