Michigan GOP race tightens  —  The Republican race for President in Michigan has tightened considerably over the last week, with what was a 15 point lead for Rick Santorum down to 4.  He leads with 37% to 33% for Mitt Romney, 15% for Ron Paul, and 10% for Newt Gingrich.

Pain Without Gain  —  Last week the European Commission confirmed what everyone suspected: the economies it surveys are shrinking, not growing.  It's not an official recession yet, but the only real question is how deep the downturn will be.  —  And this downturn is hitting nations that have never recovered from the last recession.

Pakistan Can't Seem to Figure Out Why Bin Laden Was Hiding There  —  The Pakistani commission appointed to investigate just how Osama bin Laden came to be living in Abbottabad, in a large house adjacent to Pakistan's military academy (a house built by an architect regularly employed …

H'wood snubs Muslim Stone  —  Sean Stone, son of controversial director Oliver Stone, converted to Islam in Iran last week and says he's already experiencing a Hollywood backlash.  —  The ceremony was held in Isfahan, where he is researching a documentary.  He now goes by the name of Sean Christopher Ali Stone.

Muslims stone Christians on Temple Mount  —  A mob of some 50 Palestinian Muslims stoned a group of Christian tourists atop Jerusalem's Temple Mount on Sunday morning.  Three of the Israeli police officers who acted to protect the Christian group were wounded by the stone-throwers.

Domestic production eyed as gas prices head toward record-breaking height  —  President Obama's re-elect team defended White House energy policy on Sunday as gas prices shoot toward the $4 mark and beyond, a level that could devastate voters' pocketbooks as well as Obama's chances for a second term.

Notes on an Unfinished Letter of Apology (Or, Does Ed Morrissey Torture Cats?) … When the draft of the e-mail passed the 3,000-word mark, and was still clearly not half-finished, I gave it up.  What had begun as a mea culpa had metamorphosed into a treatise explaining the entire history …

Iran Raid Seen as a Huge Task for Israeli Jets  —  WASHINGTON — Should Israel decide to launch a strike on Iran, its pilots would have to fly more than 1,000 miles across unfriendly airspace, refuel in the air en route, fight off Iran's air defenses, attack multiple underground sites simultaneously — and use at least 100 planes.

House Republicans plot repeal of Obama education regulations  —  House Republicans are looking to move legislation as early as next week that would repeal two Education Department regulations that the GOP say intrude on the authority of states to set education policy.

Americans Still Rate Iran Top U.S. Enemy  —  China is second on the “greatest enemy” list  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans most frequently mention Iran when asked to name the country they consider to be the United States' greatest enemy, and the 32% who do so is up from 25% in 2011.

Plouffe, Obama Aide, Lends Firm Hand to Campaign  —  WASHINGTON — David Plouffe is not a hugger, crier or someone who gets all gaga every time he walks into his West Wing office, just a few feet from that of the president.  He disdains doomsayers as “bed-wetters,” press hordes as “jackals” …

Gingrich archives show his public praise, private criticism of Reagan  —  CARROLLTON, Ga. — In an unnoticed 1992 speech, Newt Gingrich in a single utterance took aim not only at a beloved conservative icon but also at a core tenet of the conservative movement: that government must be limited.

Jobless disability claims soar to record $200B as of January  —  Standing too many months on the unemployment line is driving Americans crazy — literally — and it's costing taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.  —  With their unemployment-insurance checks running out …