Newt Strikes Back at Romney  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich may be promising to stay positive amidst the barrage of attacks coming his way from former Governor Mitt Romney and other GOP rivals, but not every utterance out of his mouth is a glowing homage to his opponents.

The reach of the GOP establishment  —  I remain pretty skeptical about Newt Gingrich's chances of winning the Republican presidential nomination, but on the “Why Newt Will Lose” list of arguments, some points are more compelling than others.  —  Ezra Klein makes the case today …

Europe's great divorce  —  WE JOURNALISTS are probably too bleary-eyed after a sleepless night to understand the full significance of what has just happened in Brussels.  What is clear is that after a long, hard and rancorous negotiation, at about 5am this morning the European Union split in a fundamental way.

Oops: Perry Forgets Justice Sotomayor's Name  —  Echoing his devastating “oops” moment in an earlier GOP debate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) forgot the name of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in an interview today with the Des Moines Register editorial board.  He had to be assisted by a reporter who offered the jurist's name.

N.J. man dies from penis enhancing injection, authorities say; woman charged with manslaughter  —  EAST ORANGE — Authorities have filed homicide charges against a woman after she allegedly administered a silicone injection into the penis of a 22-year-old man, who suffered a fatal blood clot.

NLRB Acting General Counsel announces close of Boeing case  —  NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon made the following announcement today:  —  I am very happy to announce that my office has approved the withdrawal of a charge by the Machinists union against the Boeing Co., which brings our case in this matter to an end.

Ron Paul: 9/11 prompted “glee” in Bush administration  —  Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said Thursday evening that Bush administration officials were gleeful after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks because it gave them a pretext to invade Iraq.  —  “Just think of what happened after 9/11.

Internal DOJ Email: Kagan Was Brought Into Loop on Mark Levin's Obamacare Complaint  —  (CNSNews.com) - Internal Justice Department email communications made just days before the House of Representatives passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act show that then-Solicitor General Elena Kagan …

Repeal of sodomy, bestiality ban sparks fight on Defense bill  —  One surprising issue is riling both social conservatives and animal rights activists: the repeal of a ban on sodomy and bestiality.  —  As the final Defense authorization bill gets hammered out in conference committee …

Army slashing 8,700 jobs as budget cuts begin  —  Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has warned that the federal budget cuts could be “devastating” for the Pentagon.  (Jonathan Ernst - Reuters)  —  With deeper budget cuts looming, the Pentagon is starting to cut back by trimming the Defense Department's civilian workforce.

Mitt Romney: Islam is not an inherently violent faith  —  Cedar Rapids, Ia.  - Mitt Romney responded today to a call for a tougher stance against Muslims by saying that most Muslims are peaceful people who deserve respect.  —  The issue came up during a question-and-answer session at a campaign stop here this morning.