CBO's Preliminary Analysis of H.R. 2, the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act  —  The House of Representatives is planning to consider a bill (H.R. 2) to repeal the major health care legislation enacted last March—that is, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) …

‘Birther’ arrested during Constitution reading  —  A woman was arrested in the House gallery Thursday after interrupting a reading of the Constitution by yelling out her belief that President Barack Obama is not a natural born citizen of the United States.  —  When Frank Rep. Pallone …

The mystery of Bill Daley  —  Imagine I told you that one of the candidates President Obama is considering for chief of staff opposed the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, opposed doing health-care reform and led the Chamber of Commerce's effort to loosen the post-Enron regulations …

Source: Explosions Reported At 2 State Buildings  —  Fire Crews, Hazmat Sent To MDOT, Jeffrey Building  —  HANOVER, Md. — Officials are investigating explosions at the Maryland Department of Transportation's headquarters in Hanover and a state government building in Annapolis that have injured a few people.

Review Of Juan Williams' Firing Done; NPR News Exec Resigns  —  NPR just released two statements — one on the completion of an independent review of the dismissal of news analyst Juan Williams and another on the resignation of Senior Vice President for News Ellen Weiss:

Democrats' defection from Pelosi is historic  —  How divided are Democrats' right now?  —  With 19 Democrats withholding support from Nancy Pelosi for House speaker on Wednesday, it represented the largest defection from a party's speaker nominee in nearly a century.

Privatizing Social Security Again?  —  This year, 2011, marks the beginning of baby boomers receiving Social Security checks and they should be alerted of past perennial Republican attempts to partially privatize the program.  —  Heaven forbid that plans prevail to invest a certain amount …

No Pity for Robert Gibbs and His ‘Modest’ Salary  —  Perhaps it was the long flight back from Hawaii.  But President Obama's first full day back on the job suggested a slight case of tone deafness.  —  In bidding a sort-of farewell to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, he noted the …

Retracted autism study an ‘elaborate fraud,’ British journal finds  —  Editor's note: Watch Anderson Cooper's interview with the author of the discredited study, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, on “AC360°” at 10 p.m. ET tonight.  —  (CNN) — A now-retracted British study that linked autism …

The Man Who Spilled the Secrets  —  The collaboration between WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the Web's notorious information anarchist, and some of the world's most respected news organizations began at The Guardian, a nearly 200-year-old British paper.  What followed was a clash of civilizations …

Florida Professor Arrested for Having a “Suspicious” Bagel on a Plane  —  Passengers claimed man had suspicious package in the overhead compartment  —  A Florida professor was arrested and removed from a plane Monday after his fellow passengers alerted crew members they thought he had a suspicious package in the overhead compartment.

McCain says he'll make 'Don't ask' repeal work  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Thursday he would work to help implement the repeal of the military's “Don't ask, don't tell” policy, despite his opposition to that legislation.  —  McCain signaled he had made peace with the lame-duck bill …

O'Reilly: God Causes The Tides, Not The Moon (VIDEO)  —  What's Your Reaction: … David Silverman, president of the American Atheist Group, went on The O'Reilly Factor last night to defend the billboard ads his group has put up around the country calling religion a scam.

Gates surprises lawmakers with plan to cut $78 billion from defense budget  —  Defense Secretary Robert Gates Thursday told Congress the administration is seeking $78 billion in cuts to the Defense budget over the next five years on top of $100 billion in efficiencies.

U.S. teenager tortured in Kuwait and barred re-entry into the U.S.  —  Gulet Mohamed is an 18-year-old American citizen whose family is Somalian.  His parents moved with him to the U.S. when he was 2 or 3 years old, and he has lived in the U.S. ever since.  In March, 2009, he went to study Arabic …

Journal's Paper on ESP Expected to Prompt Outrage  —  One of psychology's most respected journals has agreed to publish a paper presenting what its author describes as strong evidence for extrasensory perception, the ability to sense future events.  —  The decision may delight believers …

Crist plans to join Morgan and Morgan on Friday  —  TALLAHASSEE — Former Gov. Charlie Crist will make the courtship official Friday and join the trial law powerhouse Morgan & Morgan firm.  —  The governor has had a standing offer to join the law firm for some time.

The New Sophists  —  In classical Athens, public life became dominated by clever and smart-sounding sophists.  These mellifluous “really wise guys” made money and gained influence by their rhetorical boasts to “prove” the most amazing “thinkery” that belied common sense.