Democrats Wary as Two Senators Decide to Retire  —  WASHINGTON — The sudden decision by two senior Democratic senators to retire shook the party's leaders on Wednesday and signaled that President Obama is facing a perilous political environment that could hold major implications for this year's midterm elections and his own agenda.

White House: We will NOT discuss broken C-Span promise  —  On Tuesday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs declined to answer questions about the president's campaign commitment to hold health-care negotiations on C-Span.  Gibbs said he had not seen a letter from C-Span's Brian Lamb …

National security adviser: Airline bomber report to ‘shock’  —  WASHINGTON — White House national security adviser James Jones says Americans will feel “a certain shock” when they read an account being released Thursday of the missed clues that could have prevented the alleged Christmas Day bomber from ever boarding the plane.

Sarah Palin will headline first-ever Tea Party Convention  —  Sarah Palin's appearance is a coup for a movement now getting grudging respect from mainstream commentators.  But will the feisty Tea Party movement coalesce with the GOP's old guard?  —  Atlanta

White House budget director ditched pregnant girlfriend for ABC News gal  —  President Obama's budget guru has a secret love child — with the woman he jilted for his hot new fiance, The Post has learned.  —  White House budget director Peter Orszag's ex, shipping heiress Claire Milonas …

U.S. learned intelligence on airline attack suspect while he was en route  —  U.S. border enforcement officials discovered alleged extremist links in a database while the suspect was headed to Detroit on Christmas Day, new disclosures show.  —  Reporting from Washington …

Geithner's New York Fed Told AIG to Limit Swaps Disclosure  —  Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, then led by Timothy Geithner, told American International Group Inc. to withhold details from the public about the bailed-out insurer's payments to banks during the depths …

Health bill at issue in Mass. special  —  With the Massachusetts Senate special election less than two weeks away, Scott Brown is framing himself as the GOP's last hope to stop Democratic health care legislation, an approach that could provide both parties with an early glimpse at the political resonance of the issue.

Dick Morris sees two parties.  I see four.  —  I can't remember a more breathtaking 48 hours in politics since Barack Obama's election in November 2008.  Byron Dorgan is out; Chris Dodd is out; Bill Ritter is out.  Who would have thought that just one year into Obama's promising presidency …

Health-care reform bill's proposed tax on high-cost plans raises questions  —  With Congress on the verge of imposing a new tax on high-cost health insurance plans, skeptics continue to raise questions about who would be hit hardest and whether health-care spending would be limited as much as proponents say.

Exclusive: Koppel may return to ABC  —  ABC News is negotiating with “Nightline” founder Ted Koppel, a 42-year veteran of the network, for a potential return to anchor “This Week” three Sundays a month, broadcast industry sources said.  —  ABC News executives said no offers have been made.

After attempted airline bombing, effectiveness of intelligence reforms questioned  —  The failure of U.S. authorities to detect a plot to bomb a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day has reignited long-simmering concerns that intelligence reforms implemented five years ago remain inadequate to prevent terrorist attacks.

Todd Harris, GOP Strategist, DECIMATED By Chris Matthews (VIDEO)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  What have the Republicans done for America lately?  Or in the past couple decades?  —  That's what Chris Matthews pressed Republican strategist Todd Harris about during Hardball on Wednesday.

Nelson: We should have waited on health care  —  Sen. Ben Nelson said Tuesday it was a mistake for the Obama Administration to take on massive health care reforms in 2009, and suggested efforts would have been better spent addressing the economy.  —  Nelson, who provided the crucial 60th vote …

What Does the Detroit Bomber Know?  —  The president's job is not detecting bombs at the airport but neutralizing terrorists before they get there.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  There was much to celebrate in the providential combination of an incompetent terrorist and surpassingly brave passengers …

Republicans put new hold on TSA nominee Erroll Southers  —  The nomination of a former FBI agent to lead the Transportation Security Administration hit a new obstacle Wednesday as several Republican senators expressed “serious reservations” about the nominee and pressed the White House …

9/11 Commission Vice Chair Lee Hamilton: Obama, Other Leaders, Too Complacent About Protecting Nation From Terrorism  —  “I just think what's pervasive through the country, and has been now for a number of years, is the complacency, an inertia, a business-as-usual attitude ... that I think is harmful …

Many Ex-Detainees Said to Be Engaged in Terror  —  WASHINGTON — Administration officials said Wednesday that a classified Pentagon report concludes that of some 560 detainees transferred abroad from the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, about one in five has engaged in …

Rhode Island Legislature Overrides Electoral Reform Vetoes  —  FairVote Catalyst for Major Wins for Youth Pre-registration, Elections for U.S. Senate Vacancies  —  Paul Fidalgo, FairVote communications director - paul@fairvote.org / 301-270-4616  —  The Rhode Island State Senate and House …