Barney Frank: I want to be senator  —  Barney Frank, one day out of Congress, said on Friday that he has asked Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to send him back as an interim senator when Sen. John Kerry becomes secretary of state.  —  “A month ago, or a few weeks ago, I said I wasn't interested,” Frank said on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.”

No, a $1 Trillion Platinum Coin is Not Legal  —  For some reason, the possibility of evading the debt ceiling by minting a $1 trillion platinum coin is getting some blogospheric love again.  This is based on a 2000 revision to the U.S. statute on money and finance that reads:

Gingrich warns Boehner could have ‘disaster on his hands’  —  Newt Gingrich warned Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) that he risks losing control of his conference without a more coherant strategy.  —  “He can't keep thinking the way he's thought the last few months without having a disaster on his hands …

US economy adds 155K jobs, rate stays at 7.8 pct.  —  US economy adds 155,000 jobs in December, unemployment rate stays at 7.8 percent  —  Associated PressBy Christopher s.  Rugaber, AP Economics Writer |  Associated Press - 2013-01-04T14:27:06Z  —  WASHINGTON (AP) …

Workers making $30,000 will take a bigger hit on their pay than those earning $500,000 under new fiscal deal  —  Middle-class workers will take a bigger hit to their income proportionately than those earning between $200,000 and $500,000 under the new fiscal cliff deal, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

New Jersey's Cory Booker Problem  —  The Newark Mayor's decision to run for Senate has offended Lautenberg, and frustrated the state's Democratic party.  “I'm not angry, I'm disappointed.”  —  Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker  —  Image by Max Morse / Getty Images

First Day of 113th Congress Brings More Women to Capitol  —  WASHINGTON — As the 113th Congress opens, the Senate and the House are starting to look a little bit more like the people they represent.  —  The new Congress includes a record number of women (101 across both chambers …

Return of the real Obama  —  The rout was complete, the retreat disorderly.  President Obama got his tax hikes — naked of spending cuts — passed by the ostensibly Republican House of Representatives.  After which, you might expect him to pivot to his self-proclaimed “principle” of fiscal …

The Worst Moments Of The 112th Congress  —  But there are a few things that Congress did — or didn't do — that will stand out as its worst moments:  —  Almost shut down the government and hit the debt ceiling.  —  Back in August of 2011, Congressional Republicans took the United States …

Final Tally Shows Obama First Since '56 to Win 51% Twice  —  Eight weeks after the Nov. 6 presidential election, a revised vote count in New York shows that Barack Obama is the first president in more than five decades to win at least 51 percent of the vote twice.

Eighty-Six Minutes of Joe Biden Being Incredible  —  I only spent a little time today watching Vice President Biden conduct ceremonial (read: photo-op) swearings-in for the 34 senators taking office today.  My mistake: As the viral video wizards quickly proved, it was a movie-length event …

Gore Went to Bat for Al Jazeera, and Himself  —  Al Gore at the Current TV studios in San Francisco in 2005.  He said Al Jazeera's coverage was “thorough, fair and informative.”  —  Al Gore's Current TV was never popular with viewers, but it was a hit where it counted: with cable and satellite providers.

How To Change Pop Culture's Reliance On Violence  —  When the Motion Picture Association of America on December 20 came out in support of President Obama's efforts on gun control in the wake of the Newtown, the organization simultaneously aligned itself with the productive side …

Battles of the Budget  —  The centrist fantasy of a Grand Bargain on the budget never had a chance.  Even if some kind of bargain had supposedly been reached, key players would soon have reneged on the deal — probably the next time a Republican occupied the White House.

Too much leadership at the cliff  —  Bob Woodward (woodwardb@washpost.com) is an associate editor of The Post.  His latest book is “The Price of Politics.”  Evelyn Duffy contributed to this commentary.  —  The agreement on the “fiscal cliff” left the nation's major economic problems …

Chief Justice Roberts to Preside at Obama Swearing-In  —  WASHINGTON - President Obama's inaugural planning committee will announce this morning that - surprise!  - Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will deliver the oath of office to Mr. Obama when he is sworn in for a second term later this month.