Senate advances collective bargaining changes; Democrats to return after Assembly vote  —  By Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison — The Senate - without Democrats present - abruptly voted Wednesday to eliminate almost all collective bargaining for most public workers.

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.

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 …

Man charged with attempted MLK Day bombing linked to neo-Nazi group  —  A Stevens County man charged with the attempted bombing along the route of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Spokane has links to a neo-Nazi group, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

As King Targets Muslims, There Have Been Almost Twice As Many Plots Since 9/11 From Non-Muslim Terrorists  —  Tomorrow, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, will hold hearings singling out the Muslim American community for supposedly aiding and abetting domestic radicalization and terrorism.

Protesters are locking the Capitol doors shut from the inside using metal handcuffs, Meade reports from the scene.  —  He told me that just now, by phone.  He got out, and is warning others not to go in.  Obviously, it's a terrible fire hazard to make it so people cannot get out of the building easily.

Gingrich planning May presidential announcement  —  Washington (CNN) - In a conference call Wednesday with former staffers and supporters former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said “we are leaning toward a yes” on a presidential run, CNN has learned.  —  Leaning heavily.

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.

Gov. Pat Quinn signs bill repealing Illinois death penalty  —  SPRINGFIELD — Acting on perhaps the most significant issue he will ever face, Gov. Quinn Wednesday signed landmark legislation to repeal the state's “seriously broken” death penalty and then commuted the death sentences of the 15 men on Death Row.

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.

Like NPR, PBS Met With Fictional Donors  —  NPR was not the only media organization duped by the Republican provocateur James O'Keefe.  —  PBS confirmed Wednesday that like NPR, one of its executives attended a lunch with people who posed as members of the Muslim Education Action Center Trust, a fictional group.

Putting Afghan Plan Into Action Proves Difficult  —  ALAM KHEL, Afghanistan — If the American-led fight against the Taliban was once a contest for influence in well-known and conventionally defined areas — the capital and large cities, main roads, the border with Pakistan …