Poll Finds Support Lacking for Entitlement Reductions  —  WASHINGTON— Less than a quarter of Americans support making significant cuts to Social Security or Medicare to tackle the country's mounting deficit, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, illustrating the challenge facing lawmakers …

Sarah Palin's bizarre view of the First Amendment  —  Sarah Palin, who has more than once invoked the First Amendment when she or her allies faced criticism, today denounced the Supreme Court's 8-1 ruling allowing the Westboro Baptist Church to protest outside soldiers' funerals with signs reading ""God Hates Fags" and the like.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.”

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 …

Ohio Senate Approves Union Bill  —  COLUMBUS — Ohio took its first step Wednesday toward passing sweeping legislation that would curtail collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, banning strikes and putting the power of breaking labor impasses into the hands of town councils. .

Live from Apple's iPad 2 event (update: it's over!)  —  11:14AM Thanks for reading!  —  11:14AM Okay, hands-on time!  —  11:13AM “I'd like the teams that worked on this to stand up — give them a round of applause.  And as always, I'd like to thank everyone's families.

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 …

Nine Afghan Boys Collecting Firewood Killed by NATO Helicopters  —  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.

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 …

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 …

Dems support Biden's budget role  —  Senate Democrats moved Wednesday to forestall any spending debate and votes on the floor in favor of what they hope will be immediate budget negotiations between themselves, Republicans and a White House team led by Vice President Joe Biden.

Climate Camp disbanded  —  Climate activists decide to end annual camp and focus on tackling broader ecological, social and economic issues  —  After five years of camps, composting toilets, vegan curry and run-ins with the police, Climate Camp is calling it a day.