Palin: ‘Dumb arses’ in media ‘overplayed their hand’ with Gingrich  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has now weighed in on the controversy surrounding an ABC interview with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's ex-wife, and Palin had some tough words for the media.

Romney: I Won't Release My Tax Returns Because 'I Don't Want To Give The Democrats A Nice Little Present'  —  GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney endured a hail of boos during the CNN debate last night when he refused to commit to releasing his 2011 tax returns.

Rejecting the Keystone pipeline is an act of insanity  —  President Obama's rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico is an act of national insanity.  It isn't often that a president makes a decision that has no redeeming virtues and — beyond the symbolism …

SOPA and PIPA dead ? for now  —  House and Senate leaders abandoned plans to move on SOPA and PIPA on Friday — the surest sign yet that a wave of online protests have killed the controversial anti-piracy legislation for now and maybe forever.  —  SOPA sponsor Lamar Smith …

Taxes at the Top  —  Call me peculiar, but I'm actually enjoying the spectacle of Mitt Romney doing the Dance of the Seven Veils — partly out of voyeurism, of course, but also because it's about time that we had this discussion.  —  The theme of his dance, for those who haven't been paying attention, is taxes — his own taxes.

Supreme Court Rejects Judge-Drawn Maps in Texas Redistricting Case  —  The Supreme Court on Friday instructed a lower court in Texas to take a fresh look at election maps it had drawn in place of a competing set of maps from the Texas Legislature.  The justices said the lower court …

Why the feds smashed Megaupload  —  The US government dropped a nuclear bomb on “cyberlocker” site Megaupload today, seizing its domain names, grabbing $50 million in assets, and getting New Zealand police to arrest four of the site's key employees, including enigmatic founder Kim Dotcom.

Obama Administration Approves Rule That Guarantees Near-Universal Contraceptive Coverage  —  Our guest blogger is Jessica Arons, Director of the Women's Health and Rights Program at American Progress.  —  Today, in a huge victory for women's health, Health and Human Services Secretary …

Singing legend Etta James dies at 73  —  Etta James, here performing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2009, died Friday, January 20, due to complications from leukeimia, said her longtime friend and manager, Lupe De Leon.  The singer was 73.  —  HIDE CAPTION  —  Etta James through the years

Love online: 100,000 Grindr users exposed in hack attack  —  The Grindr app, left, and founder Joel Simkhai's profile.  —  A popular “meat-market” smartphone app that spawned a sexual revolution in Australia's gay community has been compromised by a Sydney hacker, potentially exposing …

The GOP's suicide march  —  “Are you better off today than you were $4 trillion ago?”  — former presidential candidate Rick Perry  —  It's the campaign line of the year, and while the author won't be carrying it into the general election, the eventual nominee will.

Afghanistan's Soldiers Step Up Killings of Allied Forces  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — American and other coalition forces here are being killed in increasing numbers by the very Afghan soldiers they fight alongside and train, in attacks motivated by deep-seated animosity between the supposedly allied forces …