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.

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.) …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

My Love Affair With America  —  “There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate.”  — Newt Gingrich  —  I didn't want it to happen, of course.

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.

Gaddafi forces beat up BBC team  —  Goktay Koraltan and Feras Killani said other detainees had been badly beaten  —  Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's security forces detained and beat up a BBC news team who were trying to reach the strife-torn western city of Zawiya.

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.

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 death of a girl and the sadness of John Thrasher  —  A tough-as-nails vet and political heavy-weight like John Thrasher isn't the type of Republican you'd expect to challenge the NRA and get misty-eyed about limiting some gun rights.  —  But all that changed Jan. 9 when 20-year-old Ashley Cowie died …