Pelosi's office says she has no new dirt on Newt Gingrich  —  Rep. Nancy Pelosi's office on Wednesday said the minority leader doesn't have any dirt on Newt Gingrich.  —  Pelosi has suggested in two interviews that she knows something that could prevent Gingrich from becoming president …

Rubio scolds Gingrich camp, says ad bashing ‘anti-immigrant’ Romney is ‘inaccurate, inflammatory’  —  Sen. Marco Rubio scolded Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign over a Spanish-language radio ad that accuses rival Mitt Romney of being “anti-immigrant”  —  “This kind of language is more than just unfortunate.

“My Message is Simple”: Obama's SOTU Written at 8th Grade Level for Third Straight Year  —  Obama's SOTU addresses have the lowest average Flesch-Kincaid score of any modern president; Obama owns three of the six lowest-scoring addresses since FDR  —  For the third consecutive State of the Union Address …

Romney blasts Gingrich over attacks on debate moderators, news media  —  Mitt Romney attacked his GOP presidential rival Newt Gingrich over what has to date been one Gingrich's most effective debate methods - going after the moderators and the media for questions he deems inappropriate.

Right blogs credit Obama on ‘insider’ bill  —  Conservatives in the blogosphere found one small aspect of the president's State of the Union address that they could praise: a bill banning insider trading by members of Congress.  —  “Send me a bill that bans insider trading by members …

American hostage in Somalia rescued by US Navy SEALs in overnight raid  —  WASHINGTON — In a daring nighttime raid Tuesday, U.S. Navy SEALs rescued two hostages, including one American, who were being held by kidnappers in Somalia, U.S. officials tell NBC News.

Awkward Family Photos: Mitt Laundry  —  Mitt Romney's hurdle in winning the love/respect/admiration/fear of his party can be summed up in one photo: It was taken by his son, Tagg (doesn't Sarah Palin have a kid with that name?) and put on Twitter this week.  It's of Romney and his wife Ann …

Obama's Schneiderman Gambit: Financial Fraud Unit Appears Designed to Fail, Grease Skids for Foreclosure Fraud Settlement  —  I'll pepper in my thoughts on the State of the Union Address throughout the day, but I would be remiss if I didn't start with the announcement of a Unit on Mortgage Origination …

When Fact Checkers Go Bad...Very Bad  —  OMG...this is beyond preposterous.  —  Politifact—the self-anointed fact checkers—grade this statement from the President speech tonight as “half-true:” … This is not half true or two-thirds true.  It is just true.  —  So why, I ask you, why do they go where they go?

Female driver who defied Saudi motoring ban dies in fatal road accident  —  A woman who defied a driving ban on female motorists in Saudi Arabia has died in a car crash.  —  Another was hurt in the crash in the only country in the world where females are banned from getting behind the wheel.

House Democrats spell Keystone ‘K-O-C-H’  —  House Democrats are using the billionaire Koch brothers to score political points in their fight against the Keystone XL oil pipeline.  —  Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) suggested at a hearing Wednesday that Koch Industries …

Will Israel Attack Iran?  —  As the Sabbath evening approached on Jan. 13, Ehud Barak paced the wide living-room floor of his home high above a street in north Tel Aviv, its walls lined with thousands of books on subjects ranging from philosophy and poetry to military strategy.

When Gingrich Tried, and Failed, to Intimidate Tom Coburn  —  On Twitter today, I've noted that Romney's seeming squeamishness might make him less likely to sell out conservatives as president than Newt Gingrich.  It's far from the most inspiring rallying cry, but I conclude …

The Daniels Response  —  It was that rare event when the GOP response surpassed the actual State of the Union.  It was what a sane Republican critique of this presidency would be.  It began with a grace note on Obama's courageous assault on bin Laden and the quiet dignity of his family life …