3rd Blast Strikes Japan Nuclear Plant as Workers Struggle to Cool Reactor  —  TOKYO — An explosion early Tuesday morning damaged the No. 2 reactor at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the third in a series of blasts that have now hit each of the three crippled reactors at the plant, plant officials said.

Fox News Signs Former Senator Evan Bayh As A Contributor … UPDATE: Fox News officially announced on Monday afternoon that former Democratic Senator Evan Bayh is becoming a contributor to the network.  —  Michael Clemente, the network's senior vice president for news, announced the move in a statement.

Sadly, the primary process might help Sarah Palin  —  It is difficult to believe, but the first election for the next president of the United States is less than a year away.  —  The New Hampshire primary is alive and well and headed toward a date of Valentine's Day next year …

NPR: O'Keefe ‘Inappropriately Edited’ Video; Exec's Words Still ‘Egregious’  —  An update on our post from Sunday about the questions that have been raised regarding conservative political activist James O'Keefe's editing of his secretly recorded video of then-NPR chief fundraiser Ron Schiller slamming conservatives.

No More Short-Term Budget CR's  —  “Washington politicians of both parties scrambling to put together two and three week plans to keep funding the government, while not fundamentally changing the behavior that has gotten us into this mess to begin with.”  —  Our country faces a brutal reality …

Japan, Reno humor in Barbour's shop  —  Every morning, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour's press secretary sends to Barbour's staff and other allies a list of press clippings, along with a daily compendium of birthdays, historical notes, and jokes — which have recently included humor …

Lugar Says Arab League Should Pay for Libyan No-Fly Zone Obama Administration Must Also Get Congress to Declare War  —  Senator Richard G. Lugar, the Ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement:  —  On Saturday, March 12 …

Kansas legislator suggests using hunters in helicopters to control illegal immigration, likens immigrants to feral hogs  —  TOPEKA — A legislator said Monday it might be a good idea to control illegal immigration the way the feral hog population has been controlled — with hunters shooting from helicopters.

Beck On Japan Earthquake: “There's A Message Being Sent” From God  —  Discussing the devastation in Japan on his radio program this morning, Glenn Beck lamented that we “can't see the connections here.”  —  Beck said that he's “not saying God is causing earthquakes,” then clarified that he is …

Chamber Of Commerce's Top SCOTUS Litigator Admits Justices Give Special Treatment to Chamber  —  A new study co-authored by conservative Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner confirms something that has been obvious to Supreme Court watchers for years — the Roberts Court places a huge thumb on the scale in favor of corporate interests.

Mika On The Brink Of A Domino's Breakdown  —  Is a pizza about to push Mika Brzezinski over the edge?  Seriously.  Her frantic reaction to finding her daughter and friend sharing a Domino's has me worried about Mika's state of mind.  —  Regular Morning Joe viewers know that Mika's dream job would be as Kommissar of the Food Police.

Iowa Woman Jailed for Thinking about an Abortion  —  Sounds far-fetched, right?  Well it isn't.  The anti-choice zealots aren't content to limiting a woman's access to safe and legal abortion, they're now thought police: … Yes, as if Ms. Taylor's existing problems weren't enough …

Fitzgerald: Dem senators won't be allowed to vote in committees  —  Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald wrote this afternoon in an email to his caucus that Senate Dems remain in contempt of the Senate and will not be allowed to vote in committees despite returning from their out-of-state boycott of the budget repair bill vote.

Michele Bachmann's Historical Blunder  —  ABC New's Amy Walter and Amy Bingham report:  —  A blunder of historical fact - not proportions - tainted Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's first visit to New Hampshire this weekend.  Speaking to students and conservative activists in Manchester …

Jobless Rate at 2012 Presidential Vote Forecast at 7.7%, Highest Since Carter-Ford, but the Trend May Matter Most  —  The U.S. jobless rate will be 7.7% in November 2012, the highest level for a presidential election month since Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford in 1976 …

Why is there no looting in Japan?  —  The landscape of parts of Japan looks like the aftermath of World War Two; no industrialised country since then has suffered such a death toll.  The one tiny, tiny consolation is the extent to which it shows how humanity can rally round in times of adversity …

Senate GOP plays nominees against trade  —  Senate Republicans accused the Obama administration of dragging its feet on free trade, vowing Monday to block President Barack Obama's pick for commerce secretary until trade deals are completed with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.