First Muslim in Congress breaks into tears during radicalization hearing  —  The first Muslim elected to Congress broke into tears Thursday as he delivered his opening remarks at a hearing on radicalization in the Muslim American community.  —  Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) …

Was what Scott Walker did legal?  —  Assuming Scott Walker's procedural maneuvering last night was legal — and, as I'll explain in a moment, there are some questions about that — then it was also legitimate.  Certainly as legitimate as the Democrats fleeing the state to deny the Republicans quorum.

DEATH THREATS  —  Since the MSM appears intent on downplaying the growing intimidation and escalating threats of violence around the union power issue, I am reprinting verbatim an email that was sent to Republican senators.  The email was signed, but I have deleted the name pending what I hope will be a thorough police investigation.

Christie's Talk Is Blunt, but Not Always Straight  —  New Jersey's public-sector unions routinely pressure the State Legislature to give them what they fail to win in contract talks.  Most government workers pay nothing for health insurance.  Concessions by school employees would have prevented any cuts in school programs last year.

Poll: Majorities support recall of two Wisconsin GOP senators  —  Here's something that could give some momentum to efforts to recall Wisconsin GOP state senators in the wake of last night's end-run passage of Scott Walker's measure to roll back public employee bargaining rights.

Spending plan vote backfires as Democrats suffer defections  —  Senate Democrats suffered a wave of defections Wednesday as their proposal to cut just over $6 billion from federal spending this year went down to defeat.  —  The Democratic bill attracted two fewer votes than the rival GOP measure …

Justice Scalia Objects  —  One rough measure of how any Supreme Court term is going is to track the decibel level of Justice Antonin Scalia's dissenting opinions.  In a case last week, the question was whether statements made to the police by a shooting victim as he lay bleeding to death …

Guest writer John Phillips: For Republicans in 2012, it's Sarah Palin or another big fat L  —  Palin for Prez?  —  Somebody asked me the other day who the Republicans should plop atop their presidential ticket next year.  And I said, Sarah Palin.  —  Before you look at your computer …

The quiet after the Capitol storm  —  Madison - After a wild and raucous night at the State Capitol, the scene inside the building Thursday morning looks just like it was a few weeks ago when protesters camped out overnight.  —  At 6:30 a.m., there were dozens of people who stayed the night …

GOP: Full speed ahead on defunding NPR  — TAGS: - Corporation for Public Broadcasting - House Republicans - National Public Radio - npr - vivian schiller  —  Chief Political Correspondent Follow Him @ByronYork  —  After the release of the James O'Keefe sting video Tuesday …

Liberal groups raise $200,000 overnight  —  In the aftermath of Wisconsin Republicans using a procedural move to pass an anti-collective bargaining bill last night, two liberal groups reported a fundraising bump of $200,000 alone since the bill passed.  —  Combined with last night's take …

The Chorus for War  —  I sit at my desk every morning listening to the sounds of cable television in the air.  Now a lot of it is about Libya.  And I'm just blown away by the constant, almost unanimous chorus in favor of some sort of active, military involvement in the country.

Pimco's Gross Eliminates Government Debt From Total Return Fund  —  Bill Gross, who runs the world's biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., eliminated government-related debt from his flagship fund last month as the U.S. projected record budget deficits.

US Senator: Mideast unrest not causing gas price surge  —  WASHINGTON (AFP) - A senior US senator on Thursday ruled out violent unrest across the Middle East as a main cause of surging oil and gasoline prices, placing the blame instead on plans to curb greenhouse gases.

Interrogator in the Assange case friend with woman accusing Wikileaks founder  —  The police interrogator in the Julian Assange-investigation is a friend of one of the two women who is accusing the Wikileaks founder och sexual assault, Expressen can now reveal.

Two Dems break with White House on Medicare board  —  Two House Democrats have signed onto a Republican bill to repeal a health reform provision that the Obama administration has touted as a central tool to keep health costs under control.  —  Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) …

The Case for a No-Fly Zone  —  “This is a pretty easy problem, for crying out loud.”  —  For all the hand-wringing in Washington about a no-fly zone over Libya, that's the verdict of Gen. Merrill McPeak, a former Air Force chief of staff.  He flew more than 6,000 hours, half in fighter aircraft …