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(Newser) - Barack Obama's apparent choice for surgeon general, Sanjay Gupta, is drawing fire from within his own party, ABC News reports. John Conyers of Michigan, the House Judiciary Committee chair, sent a letter to his fellow legislators today encouraging them to join him in protesting the nomination of the CNN fixture as "not in the best interests of the nation"—and spelling the celebrity neurosurgeon's first name "Sunjay." More »

(Newser) - Ann Coulter has resumed her rightful place on the warpath, reports TVNewser, and this time hell hath no fury like the conservative pundit NBC scorned. Bumped from promoting her book on NBC's Today show, Coulter promptly went on Hannity & Colmes to denounce the diss as “a set-up to block me from other TV shows,” and appeared on CBS’ Early Show today. NBC invited her to tomorrow’s show instead—but “I think I'll accept and then cancel at the last minute,” Coulter said. More »

(Newser) - To those who object to Rick Warren delivering the invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration, chief adviser David Axelrod has a message: chill out. On today's Meet the Press , he heralded the choice as political bridge-building: A conservative pastor praying for a progressive president "is a healthy thing and a good thing for our country," he said. More »

(Newser) - Where Bill Clinton’s presidency triggered Rush Limbaugh’s ascent, many see a new boom coming for conservative talk radio under President Obama, the New York Times reports. Limbaugh is touting the “rebirth of principled opposition,” and Sean Hannity claims to lead “conservatism in exile.” Says one radio executive, “the conservative hosts will have more fun. There’s no doubt about that.” More »

(Newser) - MSNBC Morning Joe co-anchor Mika Brzezinski “was very scared” when she was mugged early this morning outside a Washington hotel, the Post reports. As she waited for a car, a man approached her and said, “Give me your money and you won’t get hurt.” Brzezinski gave him the only money she had: $6—though he asked for $20. More »

(Newser) - The View’s Elizabeth Hasselbeck fired back at Rev. Jeremiah Wright from her own pulpit yesterday, saying he’s “archaic” and “sexist” for calling her a “dumb broad” during a rant about the media in his Sunday sermon. Haselbeck's liberal co-hosts came to her defense, though some disagreed with her previous depiction of him as a "hatemonger," the Chicago Sun-Times   reports. More »