HEADLINES

1. Moderate Democrats revolt on taxes

   Senate Democrats are squabbling on whether the party risks going overboard in its embrace of tax increases — a perilous proposition for lawmakers who must face re-election.
   » Read full article

2. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) to retire

   Wisconsin Democratic Senator calls its quits, sets up a very competitive open seat race in 2012.
   » Read full article

3. Peace envoy George Mitchell to resign

   The White House's chief envoy on Middle East peace resigned his post Friday after two years of unsuccessful efforts to restart a reconciliation process between Israelis and Palestinians, administration officials confirmed.
   » Read full article

4. The tea party's new mission

   Dick Armey is working to breathe new life into the grassroots movement at the state level.
   » Read full article

5. The Fix: The GOP's most eventful 2012 week

   The Republican presidential contest has begun to pick up steam. By next month the race will be almost fully-formed.
   » Read full article

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BEHIND THE GOVERNMENT SHOWDOWN

Sign up for daily e-mail updates on the federal budget showdown

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) commenting on the ongoing federal budget talks:

"There are folks in both caucuses who have drawn lines in the sand. Getting them to agree to get past that and to move forward with proposals that have everything on the table is quite challenging."

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COMMENT OF THE DAY

mpaulfl, on Chris Cillizza's "The most eventful week of the 2012 Republican primary race" story:

Put the pieces together and Ron Paul has a very good chance of winning the Republican nomination. The GOP is suffering from an enthusiasm gap with the rest of their 2012 possibilities. no one excites the base like Ron Paul. and he is a proven commodity in terms of raising funds and knowing the ropes of running for president. Paul should be taken seriously as a candidate, even if his ridiculous policy ideas should not/

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Q&A DISCUSSIONS

Author and Washingtonian editor-in-chief Garrett Graff was online at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the FBI's generation-long battle against terrorism — and just how unprepared the FBI was on the day the nation was attacked:

Q: What's Mueller's position on the U.S. using torture (euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation") in interrogating war prisoners/detainees, and on the use of GITMO to house terror war prisoners/detainees?

Garrett Graff:

This was one of the issues that most fascinated me as I researched my book: The FBI actually chose a very different path from the CIA and DOD in the wake of 9/11, refusing both at the agent level and the director's level to participate in "enhanced interrogations."

» View full Q&A session

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MULTIMEDIA

Video: Ron Paul kicks off third presidential campaign

Texas Rep. Ron Paul officially kicked off his presidential campaign with a stop in New Hampshire, where he was greeted with cheers and loud applause, particularly when he called for abolishing the Federal Reserve.