Official Says Terrorism Suspect Is Cooperating  —  WASHINGTON — Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a jetliner bound for Detroit on Dec. 25, started talking to investigators after two of his family members arrived in the United States and helped earn his cooperation …

Why I'm speaking at Tea Party convention  —  Later this week I'll head to Nashville, where I'll have the honor of speaking with members of the Tea Party movement.  I look forward to meeting many Americans who share a commitment to limited government, common sense and personal responsibility.

Obama responds to Reid about Las Vegas remarks  —  President Barack Obama on Tuesday responded to criticism from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) regarding comments he made that Reid deemed derisive of Las Vegas.  —  In a letter to addressed “Dear Harry,” Obama said he …

Giannoulias declares victory in Democratic Senate race  —  Says Kirk's days in Washington are over  —  State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias beat back a strong challenge from former City Inspector General David Hoffman for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate from Illinois — the former seat of President Obama.

Obama Acts to Engage G.O.P., Testing Party's Intentions  —  WASHINGTON — Emboldened by the response to President Obama's face-off with House Republicans last week, the White House is intensifying its push to engage Congressional Republicans in policy negotiations as a way to share the burden …

Illinois primary election continues with vote counting, possible recounts  —  Turns out Illinois' fast-moving primary isn't over yet.  —  While Chicago Ald.  Toni Preckwinkle won decisively over Cook County Board President Todd Stroger Tuesday night, things were much tighter in both races for governor.

D-Day at CBS News  —  On the evening of Monday, Feb. 1, Katie Couric, anchor of the CBS Evening News, was wearing red.  For the next half-hour, she tore through the headlines.  There were allegations of bigotry among the federal air marshals in the U.S., an American church group accused …

Former Sen. Coats to Challenge Sen. Bayh  —  INDIANAPOLIS - Informed and reliable sources are telling Howey Politics Indiana that former U.S. Sen. Dan Coats will announce Wednesday he will challenge U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh.  —  The source, former aide Curt Smith of the Indiana Family Institute …

Conservative Blogger Faces Criticism Over Protege … text sizeAAA  —  The conservative online news entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart is, for the moment, doing little to dispel stereotypes about bloggers.  During a recent visit to his home on the west side of Los Angeles, Breitbart, 41, is working from his own basement.

Traitors to the Cause — By: Mark Steyn  —  Twenty-four hours ago, I wrote here that the Warmergate scandal is also a media scandal.  Chris Wood, of something called “the Canadian Journalism Project,” agrees: … But, in his case, the journalistic scandal is that I and a tiny proportion …

Left-right want Obama ‘question time’  —  A politically diverse group of bloggers, commentators, techies and politicos on Wednesday will launch an online campaign, Demand Question Time, urging President Barack Obama and GOP congressional leaders to hold regular, televised conversations …

No Help in Sight, More Homeowners Walk Away  —  In 2006, Benjamin Koellmann bought a condominium in Miami Beach.  By his calculation, it will be about the year 2025 before he can sell his modest home for what he paid.  Or maybe 2040.  —  “People like me are beginning to feel like suckers,” Mr. Koellmann said.

Our licence fees pay for climate denial  —  The BBC spouts rightwing bias while ignoring environmental science.  So why not give other conspiracies a platform too?  —  After watching last night's Newsnight, I can only come to one conclusion: the BBC has become this country's …

How scientists kept the sceptics out  —  A close reading of the hacked emails exposes the real process of science, its jealousies and tribalism  —  No apology from IPCC chief Pachauri for glacier fallacy  —  Scientists sometimes like to portray what they do as divorced from the everyday jealousies …

Warning sign in Illinois  —  I think last night's Illinois primary results indicate some difficulties ahead in the state for Democrats that have nothing to do with who the winners and losers were.  —  Based on the current numbers 885,268 voters were cast in the Democratic primary for Senate compared to 736,137 on the Republican side.

Interpreting Ford, with extra quotation marks  —  Harold Ford is getting no end of heat for having said in 2006, as in the Gillibrand campaign video above, that he's “not pro-choice.”  —  But I think he's got a point when he tries to explain — with the same success that greeted Bill Clinton's efforts …

Cross found at Air Force Academy's Wicca center  —  The opening of the worship area at the Colorado Springs academy had been hailed as a step for religious tolerance.  —  Reporting from Denver - The Air Force Academy, stung several years ago by accusations of Christian bias …

3 American Soldiers Die in Attack by Pakistan Militants  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Three American soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb attack Wednesday morning in an area known as a Taliban stronghold but which the Pakistani military had declared cleared of the militants, two Pakistani government officials said.

AIG plans to pay $100 million in another round of bonuses  —  American International Group plans Wednesday to pay another round of employee bonuses, worth about $100 million, said several people familiar with the matter, a year after similar payments at the bailed-out insurance giant infuriated many Americans and inflamed Washington.

Iran Says It Sent Animals Into Space  —  PARIS — In what seemed designed as a display of advancing missile technology, Iran said on Wednesday that it had test-fired a rocket into space carrying living organisms — a rat, two turtles and worms, according to the official Press TV broadcaster.

Iraq reverses Baath election bans  —  Iraq has lifted a ban on nearly 500 election candidates barred from the March election for alleged links to the late Saddam Hussein's Baathist party.  —  The ban was lifted by an appeals panel on candidates listed by the post-Saddam Justice and Accountability Committee, election officials said.

The Case Against Gays in the Military  —  Open homosexuality would threaten unit cohesion and military effectiveness.  —  As expected, President Obama pledged during his State of the Union address to “work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans …