In major reversal, U.S. agrees to rebuke Israel in Security Council  —  The U.S. has informed Arab governments that it will support a U.N. Security Council statement reaffirming that the 15-nation body “does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity,” …

Apologies From Dubai.  Nir Rosen: ‘I Feel Like Shrinking Now’  —  Somehow left-wing journalist Nir Rosen didn't realize how serious it was when he shot off those tasteless tweets about CBS News Chief Foreign Correspondent Lara Logan, who was sexually assaulted in Egypt.  Strangers are now lambasting him.

Gov. Christie chides Republicans over entitlement reform  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) urged Congress to address the solvency of programs like Social Security and Medicare and warned Republicans they could face primaries for failing to cut government spending.

Madison schools close for the day to allow teachers to protest Gov. Scott Walker's union-busting budget plan.  —  Kids have the day off because the district knew that the teachers would be calling in sick in order to participate in a political demonstration. … Okay, now, everybody go to the demonstration!

Rick Scott rejects money for Orlando-Tampa high-speed rail  —  TALLAHASSEE — Republican Gov. Rick Scott rejected $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money to build a high-speed train between Orlando and Tampa Wednesday, baffling supporters who already had spent $66 million getting ready for the project.

California high court to rule on key Prop. 8 issue  —  (02-16) 17:32 PST SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court has rejoined the battle over same-sex marriage, agreeing to decide the crucial question of whether sponsors of an initiative can defend it in court when state officials refuse to do so.

Let's Be Clear  —  I've said this before, and I will say it again.  Unless your proposal includes a substantial increase in taxes and a substantial amount of cuts to the military budget as well as ending the farm subsidies and giveaways to big oil and big energy and big business …

No more Bushes  —  There's been a lot of talk in the last few weeks pushing Jeb Bush as a candidate in 2012 but there's just one problem: a plurality of Americans say they would definitely not vote for another Bush for President in the future.  —  44% of voters in the country say there's no way they'd support another Bush Presidency.

House Votes to End Alternate Jet Engine Program  —  In a sign that more than half the Republican freshmen are 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.

Businesses are refusing to hire the unemployed, commission told  —  Being unemployed is, for many, not fun.  There are no co-workers to mock at the water cooler, no expense accounts on which to wine and dine associates and no impressive title to drop when you're trying to pick up the ladies (or men, for that matter).

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 …

Powell demands answers over WMD  —  Former US secretary of state asks why CIA failed to warn him over Iraqi defector who has admitted fabricating WMD evidence  —  Colin Powell, the US secretary of state at the time of the Iraq invasion, has called on the CIA and Pentagon to explain …

On Chauncey DeVega's Herman Cain Post  —  Editor's Note: Yesterday, Chauncey DeVega, an African-American writer, published a post on AlterNet assessing the CPAC performance of Herman Cain, a right-wing potential presidential candidate, in strong and provocative language.  Like DeVega, Cain is African American.

Is Seasteading the Future?  —  Here's a novel idea: Escape the suffocating chains of intrusive government by starting your own country!  —  That's Patri Friedman's idea.  He comes from an impressive line of libertarian thinkers.  Milton Friedman, the Nobel-prize-winning free-market economist, was his grandfather.

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.

55% Say Obama's Budget Doesn't Cut Enough  —  Most voters don't think President Obama's proposed $3.7 trillion federal budget includes enough spending cuts, and despite House Republican plans to cut substantially more, a plurality of voters don't think the GOP goes far enough either.

Japan halts whale hunt after chase by protesters  —  The Sea Shepherd group's vessel (r) blocked the main Japanese ship's loading bay  —  Japan has suspended its annual Antarctic whale hunt following protests from a campaign group.  —  Activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society …

By now you may have heard of the outrage spawned by a proposed Mississippi license plate that honors Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.  (For those searching for a pop culture reference, he was Forrest Gump's namesake).  —  As Tom Diemer noted earlier, Forrest “is regarded by admirers …

Darrell Issa's first subpoena targets Countrywide VIP Program  —  House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa's first subpoena takes aim at Countrywide Financial's VIP program, launching a probe that seeks to out lawmakers who got sweetheart terms on home loans.

How to Control (and Cash In On) the Sarah Palin Brand  —  Adding Sarah Palin to any event makes it bigger, more high profile and, for one restaurant owner in Manhattan, more litigious.  —  Padriac Sheridan wanted to draw customers into his restaurant, Murphy & Gonzalez, on Waverly Place near NYU …

As U.S. Agencies Put More Value on a Life, Businesses Fret  —  WASHINGTON — As the players here remake the nation's vast regulatory system, they have been grappling with a subject that is more the province of poets and philosophers than bureaucrats: what is the value of a human life?

South Dakota Shelves Bill Aimed at Defending Unborn  —  A state bill to expand the definition of justifiable homicide in South Dakota to include killing someone in the defense of an unborn child was postponed indefinitely Wednesday after an uproar over whether the legislation would put abortion providers at greater risk.

The Voice of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood  —  He is a hypermarket of dogma, dispensing advice on subjects ranging from mother's milk to suicide bombing.  But few have as much influence on Sunni Muslims as the Muslim televangelist Youssef al-Qaradawi.  He says what the Muslim Brotherhood in Egpyt thinks …

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 …