Romney keeps away from Tea Party  —  Possible presidential contender isn't courting activists  —  Tea Party activists in New Hampshire say the former Massachusetts governor has been largely inaccessible to them.  (Mary Schwalm/Associated Press)  —  WASHINGTON — New Hampshire Tea Party …

Glenn Beck in June 2010: 'You're Gonna Have to Shoot Them in the Head'  —  But, of course, “both sides do it!”...  sigh...  [via Stephen Webster at RAW STORY]...  The video above was from June 10, 2010.  —  “You need to go back to June —  June of this year, 2010,” …

White House reboots on economic advice  —  Signaling a shift to a new phase of the administration's response to the nation's economic woes, President Barack Obama will sign an executive order Friday establishing a new Council on Jobs and Competitiveness that will be lead by General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt.

A Path Is Sought for States to Escape Their Debt Burdens  —  Policy makers are working behind the scenes to come up with a way to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under crushing debts, including the pensions they have promised to retired public workers.

Sen. Murkowski questions approach to health repeal  —  Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Thursday cast doubt on the manner in which Republicans have attempted to repeal the healthcare law.  —  Murkowski (Alaska) said that she would vote to repeal the law if a vote was held in the Senate …

Are We In Bill Clinton's Third Term?  —  Jacob Lew was tapped by Barack Obama last July to lead the Office of Management & Budget.  Most recently, William Daley accepted a request to serve as BHO's chief of staff.  —  Both Lew and Daley also had prominent positions within the Clinton administration …

Everything starts with repeal  —  Suppose someone - say, the president of United States - proposed the following: We are drowning in debt.  More than $14 trillion right now.  I've got a great idea for deficit reduction.  It will yield a savings of $230 billion over the next 10 years …

Rep. Broun: Mixed Seating At SOTU Is “A Trap” To “Silence Republicans” When “Barack Obama Spews Out All His Venom”  —  1 hour and 16 minutes ago — Matt Finkelstein  —  The tragic shootings in Tucson prompted calls for civility from politicians on both sides of the aisle, including Sen. Mark Udall's …

Eight Somali pirates killed as South Korea rescues freighter crew  —  Navy commandos storm ship hijacked in Arabian Sea, and officials say all 21 crewmembers safe after operation  —  South Korean navy commandos today rescued the crew of a freighter hijacked in the Arabian Sea last week …

Poll Finds Wariness About Cutting Entitlements  —  As President Obama and Congress brace to battle over how to reduce chronic annual budget deficits, Americans overwhelmingly say that in general they prefer cutting government spending to paying higher taxes, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

At Houston hospital, Giffords faces arduous rehabilitation  —  HOUSTON - She will get a bed in the most private wing of the hospital, and U.S. Capitol Police will provide added security.  But when Rep. Gabrielle Giffords arrives at TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital here Friday afternoon …

Giuliani ‘absolutely’ open to 2012 presidential run  —  Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) said he is “absolutely” open to a run for president in 2012.  —  Giuliani, the mayor of New York during the 9/11 terrorist attacks who ran for president in 2008, hinted more strongly …

Woman who fell into fountain faces theft charges, has criminal record  —  The Reading woman who became an Internet sensation by falling into a fountain while sending a text on her cell phone was in Berks County Court on Thursday for a status hearing on theft-by-deception and related charges.

I'm declaring February a Palin-free month.  Join me!  —  Though it is embarrassing to admit this in public, I can no longer hide the truth.  I have a Sarah Palin problem.  —  I have written about her in 42 columns since Sen. John McCain picked her as his presidential running mate in 2008.

Next up for Obama: Marriage equality for gay Americans  —  Less than a month after President Obama repealed “don't ask, don't tell,” his Justice Department filed its latest brief defending the so-called Defense of Marriage Act - the law that makes gay Americans second-class citizens …

Nick Summers Out at New York Observer, Returning to Newsweek For Tina Brown  —  ​Just one big, local item on this slushy Friday for the reincarnated Press Clips column: New York Observer media reporter Nick Summers, on the job less than three months after the departure of John Koblin …

Outspoken Tucson sheriff faces recall bid  —  Tea party group wants Dupnik out  —  Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik has never lost an election, but that was before his remarks assigning blame for the deadly Tucson, Ariz., shooting to political “vitriol” and calling Arizona “a mecca for prejudice and bigotry.”

Ron Reagan Tells Joy Behar “Dick Cheney Is An Unindicted War Criminal”  —  Ron Reagan, man with a book to promote, isn't content to sit back and wonder why brother Michael Reagan isn't responding to his evites after writing that dad Ronald Reagan's bout with Alzheimer's Disease may have begun while he was still in the White House.