Romney leads, Paul rises in N.H. poll  —  Gingrich's surge muted as 1st US primary nears  —  Mitt Romney (with his wife, Ann) has a clear lead in New Hampshire over Newt Gingrich, who could find himself eclipsed by Ron Paul, while Jon Huntsman appears to be carving out a niche by appealing to independent voters.

Explosion Rips Through Catholic Church in Nigeria  —  An explosion ripped through a Catholic church Sunday during Christmas Mass near Nigeria's capital, killing at least 25 people, officials said.  A radical Muslim sect waging an increasingly sophisticated sectarian fight claimed the attack …

GOP senator says Tea Party challenges ‘killed off’ efforts at Republican majority  —  Sen. Dick Lugar (Ind.) facing a primary contest from the right in his reelection bid said past Tea Party-backed challenges had “killed off” Republican efforts to take the Senate in the past and could undermine a GOP majority again in 2012.

Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner Insults Michelle Obama's ‘Big Butt’! … We know we're in a nasty political climate but partisanship has gone way, way too far when a Republican Congressman attacks the First Lady for having a ‘large posterior.’  —  Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner you are a rude dude.

Go Daddy loses over 37,000 domains due to SOPA stance  —  Hosting and domain registrar company Go Daddy has lost more than 37,000 domains in the past two days due to the company's wishy-washy stance on the Stop Online Piracy Act.  —  The fleeing domains comes as a result of the intense backlash …

Goldwater Institute an Aggressive Conservative Watchdog  —  PHOENIX — Clint Bolick looks like any other high-powered lawyer, for the most part.  But glance down at his index finger, which sports a scorpion tattoo, for first-hand evidence of his unconventional streak.

How Did We Get Here?  Or, Why Do 20 Year Old Newsletters Matter So Damn Much?  —  As some of you might know, I've been stirring up quite a bit of trouble on Facebook the last few days discussing the Ron Paul newsletters story.  Matt suggested I write up some of what I've been saying for the audience here at BHL, which I'm happy to do.

Nun's remains miraculously healed New York woman, Vatican says  —  Mother Marianne Cope is elevated to sainthood after the Vatican authenticates a second miracle that was a result of her intercession — the use of her bone fragments to cure a woman with acute pancreatitis.

University of Illinois College of Law Mourns the Loss of Professor Larry Ribstein  —  The University of Illinois College of Law community mourns the loss of Professor Larry E. Ribstein, the Mildred Van Voorhis Jones Chair, Associate Dean for Research, and Co-Director of the Illinois Business Law …

Silent Night  —  On this Christmas Eve, one of the great unreported stories throughout what we used to call Christendom is the persecution of Christians around the world.  In Egypt, the “Arab Spring” is going so swimmingly that Copts are already fleeing Egypt and, for those Christians that remain …

The Cratchit Tax Credit  —  AT Christmastime, we like to tell stories about resilient families.  The Cratchits of “A Christmas Carol,” for instance, who subsist on love, hope and 15 shillings a week.  The Baileys of Bedford Falls, who survive wars, bank runs and bankruptcies because they have friends …