NPR CEO Vivian Schiller Resigns  —  This follows yesterday's news that then-NPR fundraiser Ron Schiller (no relation) was videotapped slamming conservatives and questioning whether NPR needs federal funding during a lunch with men posing as members of a Muslim organization …

David Broder dies; Pulitzer-winning Washington Post political columnist  —  David S. Broder, 81, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post and one of the most respected writers on national politics for four decades, died Wednesday at Capital Hospice in Arlington of complications from diabetes.

Newt Gingrich tells The Brody File he 'felt compelled to seek God's forgiveness'  —  Newt Gingrich, who is expected to run for President tells The Brody File that he “felt compelled to seek God's forgiveness” over his past marital infidelity.  And now that he's at the grandfather stage he is …

For Lawmaker Examining Terror, a Pro-I.R.A. Past  —  WASHINGTON — For Representative Peter T. King, as he seizes the national spotlight this week with a hearing on the radicalization of American Muslims, it is the most awkward of résumé entries.

Stevens County man charged with attempted MLK Day bombing in Spokane  —  A man has been charged with the attempted bombing along the route of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in downtown Spokane.  —  A magistrate clerk at the U.S. District Court in Spokane said that Kevin William Harpham …

Palin would base campaign in Scottsdale  —  The prospect of Sarah Palin running for president is, increasingly, dismissed by a political class that sees her facing weak poll numbers — especially in key early states — and doing nothing to correct them or to buil the infrastructure for a run.

Vicious Assault Shakes Texas Town  —  CLEVELAND, Tex. — The police investigation began shortly after Thanksgiving, when an elementary school student alerted a teacher to a lurid cellphone video that included one of her classmates.  —  The video led the police to an abandoned trailer …

Government Shutdown Opposed by Americans in Poll Faulting Republican Cuts  —  Americans are sending a message to congressional Republicans: Don't shut down the federal government or slash spending on popular programs.  —  Almost 8 in 10 people say Republicans and Democrats should reach …

Senate rejects dueling spending plans, leaves legislative stalemate  —  Senators voted largely along party lines Wednesday to reject two proposals to cut federal spending, leaving a legislative stalemate that will have to be resolved briskly to avert another potential government shutdown.

White House moving to repair troubled relationship with Cabinet  —  News this week of the first departure of a Cabinet secretary from the Obama administration comes amid a wide-ranging effort under the new chief of staff, William M. Daley, to repair badly frayed relations between the White House and the Cabinet.

Exclusive: Bill Gross Dumps All Treasuries, Brings Total “Government Related” Holdings To Zero, Flees To Cash - No QE3?  —  Based on still to be publicly reported data by Pimco's flagship Total Return Fund, the world's largest bond fund, in the month of January, has taken its bond holdings to zero …

Americans see U.S. on wrong track: Reuters/Ipsos poll  —  (Reuters) - Americans, who are suffering from high gasoline prices, believe the United States is on the wrong track by a large margin, presenting a fresh challenge for President Barack Obama, a Reuters/Ipsos poll said on Wednesday.

Quinn signs death penalty ban, commutes 15 death row sentences to life  —  SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Pat Quinn today signed into law a historic ban on the death penalty in Illinois and commuted the sentences of 15 death row inmates to life without parole.  —  The governor said he followed his conscience.

Reid: Republican budget cuts go after ‘little children’  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) once again attacked Republicans' budget proposal on Wednesday, claiming its cuts target “little children” and “poor little boys and girls.”  —  He added that the spending bill …

Common mistakes of left-wing economists?  —  T., a loyal MR reader, asked for a compendium.  This is my off-the-cuff list, but in the interests of fairness I'm doing one on market-oriented economists as well.  What are some of the common views found on the left which I consider …

Palin vs. Christie: GOP rock-star feud  —  Republican Party favorites Chris Christie and Sarah Palin are engaged in a feud of rock-star proportions.  —  The New Jersey governor and former Alaska governor are two of the best-known figures in the GOP, and both have been mentioned as possible 2012 presidential candidates.

Republicans introduce bill to give workers a choice on joining unions  —  Eight Republican Senators introduced a bill Tuesday giving workers a choice as to whether to join labor unions, which they argue will boost the nation's economy and provide an increase in wages.

Battle of the Bike Lanes  —  At the risk of incurring the wrath of the bicycle lobby, a constituency that pursues its agenda with about as much modesty and humor as the Jacobins pursued theirs, and which has found its heroine in transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan …

On Libya, too many questions  —  In September 1941, Japan's leaders had a question for Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto: Could he cripple the U.S. fleet in Hawaii?  Yes, he said.  Then he had a question for the leaders: But then what?  —  Following an attack, he said, “I shall run wild considerably …

Prison Rape and the Government  —  David Kaiser and Lovisa Stannow … by the United States Department of Justice  —  Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 23 (February 3, 2011), 56 pp., available at federalregister.gov/a/2011-1905  —  Initial Regulatory Impact Analysis for Notice of Proposed Rulemaking …