Fox News pulls Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum off the air because of their interest in running for president  —  Fox News suspends the contracts of political contributors Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum because both have demonstrated that they are seriously considering running for president.

Justices Rule for Protesters at Military Funerals  —  WASHINGTON — The First Amendment protects hateful protests at military funerals, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in an 8-1 decision.  —  “Speech is powerful,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the majority.

No, it's not okay to traffic in pure fiction about Obama's heritage  —  Ben Smith writes that my criticism of Mike Huckabee is unfair: … Right, but Huckabee didn't “look at his personal education.”  Huckabee created an entirely fictional one.  It's one thing to tie Obama's politics …

Breaking: Wisconsin Dems throw their weight behind drive to recall GOP Senators  —  The Wisconsin Democratic Party has decided to throw its weight behind a nascent grassroots drive to recall a number of GOP state senators, a move that will considerably increase the pressure on them to break …

Gunman Shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ Kills 2 US Airmen in Germany  —  Obama Says U.S. Will Spare No Efforts in Investigating Killings  —  A gunman shouting “Allahu Akbar” opened fire on a bus carrying U.S. airmen in Frankfurt, Germany, killing two and wounding two others before his gun jammed and he was subdued, officials said.

WSJ/NBC Poll: Strong Support for Bargaining Rights  —  Americans strongly oppose efforts to strip unionized government workers of their rights to collectively bargain, even as they want public employees to contribute more money to their retirement and health-care benefits, the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows.

Conceding defeat this time, Senate Dems pledge to win next round  —  Senate Democrats conceded Tuesday that House Republicans won round one of the budget fight, but they are vowing a bigger battle later this month.  —  Anticipating that showdown, Senate Democratic leaders are scrambling …

Congressional bosses from Hell: Sheila Jackson Lee  —  A lot of politicians give nicknames to their aides.  George W. Bush famously referred to his attorney general, Alberto Gonzalez, as “Fredo.”  Mitch Daniels, then head of the Office of Management and Budget, was known as “The Blade.”

Buddy Roemer sees glimmer of White House hope  —  The GOP's white-bread presidential primary is about to get a dash of Tabasco.  —  Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer will announce Thursday in Baton Rouge that he is forming an exploratory committee, he told POLITICO.

AKAKA WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION IN 2012  —  U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka announced today that he will not run for re-election in 2012.  —  Akaka, 86, has served in the Senate since 1990.  He previously served 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.  —  “After months of thinking …

Capitol Chaos: Resolution Passed To Fine ‘Wisconsin 14’  —  MADISON - The 14 Wisconsin state Senate Democrats who left the state two weeks ago will now face fines of $100 for each day they miss, if they miss two or more days.  —  Republicans remaining in the Senate approved the daily fine …

No, Fox News Did Not Lie With “Wisconsin Palm Tree” Violent Protest Video  —  The Internet is abuzz this morning with a story that Fox News has “lied” in showing a video of an angry union protester from California while claiming its from Wisconsin.  The “Palm Tree lie” (described …

Just Balancing The Budget  —  In Ohio's legislation to curtail public sector union collective bargaining rights - just passed by the Senate - the following passage exists: … So a blanket and total ban on any form of legal protections for gay couples, including any semblance …

Niehaus ripped for removing Seitz  —  Cincinnnati Fire Department Lt. Mark Sanders, president of the Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters, ripped Senate President Tom Niehaus of New Richmond today for abruptly removing Sen. Bill Seitz of Green Township from a committee …

Lt. Gen. John Kelly, who lost son to war, says U.S. largely unaware of sacrifice  —  Before he addressed the crowd that had assembled in the St. Louis Hyatt Regency ballroom last November, Lt. Gen. John F. Kelly had one request.  “Please don't mention my son,” he asked the Marine Corps officer introducing him.

The tedious, annoying complaints of public radio listeners.  —  On Valentine's Day, NPR's All Things Considered ran a two-and-a-half-minute segment about Justin Bieber fans gone wild.  When the teen star lost at the Grammys to Esperanza Spalding, a few of Bieber's aggrieved minions defaced …

Obama's 'Where's Waldo?' presidency  —  For a man who won office talking about change we can believe in, Barack Obama can be a strangely passive president.  There are a startling number of occasions in which the president has been missing in action - unwilling, reluctant or late to weigh in on the issue of the moment.

Waste, Fraud, and Sen. Coburn  —  I'll get back to highlighting a few of the results from the GAO's report on streamlining government later today, but first I want to highlight this nugget from Reuters columnist James Pethokoukis: … Let's settle down a bit here.

Manning faces new charges, possible death penalty  —  ‘Aiding the enemy’ is most serious of 22 new counts filed against private in WikiLeaks case  —  Below:  —  WASHINGTON — Following an intensive seven-month investigation, the Army on Wednesday filed 22 additional charges against Pfc. Bradley Manning …

Petraeus Apologizes for Deaths of 9 Afghan Boys  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Nine boys collecting firewood to heat their homes in the eastern Afghanistan mountains were killed by NATO helicopter gunners who mistook them for insurgents, according to a statement on Wednesday by NATO, which apologized for the mistake.

They Know Their Audience  —  ... isn't that bright.  —  What's wrong with this picture?  —  If you guessed the snowless ground and palm trees in Wisconsin you win a big prize.  Your sanity.  —  h/t to @JoshuaHolland  —  .

Snooki Discusses Smushing and the Stress of ‘Jersey Shore’ in Rolling Stone Cover Story  —  'We can't have cellphones, TV, radio or the Internet.  There's no normalcy.  It's just like prison, with cameras'  —  By  —  Watch video of Snooki's Rolling Stone cover shoot with Mark Seliger below.

'Europe's Banks Are in Far Greater Danger Than People Realize'  —  The European Union is hoping that aid to Greece and Ireland combined with closer economic policy coordination will be enough to put an end to the euro crisis.  But that's not likely, warns US economist Barry Eichengreen.