The reinvention of Mitt Romney  —  Former Obama campaign aides mock their 2012 opponent's new anti-poverty crusade.  —  Mitt Romney, sudden champion of Americans trying to make ends meet — it's coming off to progressives and veterans of Obama's winning re-election campaign as a little too rich.

Obama To Propose Tax Hikes On Wealthy, Breaks For Middle Class  —  During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Barack Obama will lay out a plan to extend tax credits to the middle class by hiking taxes on wealthier Americans and big banks, according to senior administration officials.

Police In St. Louis County Admit They Beat Up The Wrong Young Black Man  —  Police in St. Louis County, MO are apologizing for beating up and handcuffing a 22-year-old student who they mistook for a suspect in a car chase Thursday afternoon.  But the college junior, Joseph Swink …

Odd Byproduct of Legal Marijuana: Homes That Blow Up  —  DENVER — When Colorado legalized marijuana two years ago, nobody was quite ready for the problem of exploding houses.  —  But that is exactly what firefighters, courts and lawmakers across the state are confronting these days …

Not Just A Movie  —  WASHINGTON — I WENT Friday morning to see “Selma” and found myself watching it in a theater full of black teenagers.  —  Thanks to donations, D.C. public school kids got free tickets to the first Hollywood movie about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his birthday weekend …

More than half of US public school students live in poverty, report finds  —  Problem is growing, especially among children, as report finds the majority of public school students in nearly half of US states live in poverty  —  Want to know the real state of the US economy?

Cops: 2 dead, 1 injured after shooting at Melbourne Square mall  —  Two people are dead and one is injured after a shooting near the Melbourne Square mall food court this morning, police said.  —  The mall was evacuated and temporarily closed as police investigated.

Ernst: New GOP power player  —  Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is enjoying a meteoric rise.  —  Just weeks removed from being a first-term state senator, she's now preparing to give the GOP's response to President Obama's State of the Union address.  —  It's the first time a newly sworn-in senator …

The Importance of Blasphemy  —  As a deeply religious person, I have no fondness for blasphemy.  My religion and its holy books are sacred to me.  And I understand perfectly well why a Muslim would not relish a cartoon of a naked Mohammed.  —  But the debates over freedom of speech …