Short Takes

Hamid Karzai has been sworn in for his second term as president in Afghanistan.

Knock it off -- President Obama is stern to North Korea and Iran about nukes.

Drumroll, please -- The Senate unveils its healthcare bill: it's under $900 billion, it covers 94%, it cuts the deficit, it has the opt-out public option, it slices, it dices.... and still has some Blue Dogs worried.

At a Senate hearing, Attorney General Holder defended his decision to hold the KSM trial in New York in civil court. Several GOP senators wet themselves.

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) sets the record for the longest-serving member of Congress. (Yes, I know he was once in the Klan. That was during the first Cleveland administration, I believe.)

The broken deadline at Gitmo is not a surprise.

Raúl Castro is just as bad as his brother. This surprises you?

The price of the recession in Florida: the jobless tax is going up.

Miami is getting a new police chief.

Oops -- Banning gay marriage in Texas may have banned all marriages there.