Boehner to GOP: Vote against stimulus  —  President Barack Obama is coming to the Capitol later today in a bid to curry favor with congressional Republicans.  But it appears GOP leaders have already made up their minds to oppose his $825 billion stimulus plan.

PALIN'S GOT PAC AND VIP STATUS  —  ASK not what Sarah Palin can do for your country, ask only what you can do for Sarah Palin.  And the answer is, pay attention.  Trust me, Alaska's governor is moving faster than those glaciers.  —  Traveling with one of her ladies-in-waiting and invited by a rich GOPnik …

OBAMA AL-ARABIYA INTERVIEW: FULL TEXT  —  Here is the full text of President Obama's interview with Al-Arabiya Arab TV Network:  —  INTERVIEW OF THE PRESIDENT BY HISHAM MELHEM, AL ARABIYA  —  Map Room  —  Q Mr. President, thank you for this opportunity, we really appreciate it.

‘Che’ spurs debate, Del Toro walkout  —  UPDATED:  —  A controversial new biopic about Cuban revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara is awakening old passions and provoking vigorous defenses and denunciations of the iconic revolutionary and - in the case of an interview with The Washington Times - a dramatic walkout.

Congressional Budget Office compares downturn to Great Depression  —  The nation's current recession is likely to be the longest since World War II, and by some measures could be the worst since the Great Depression, a new Congressional Budget Office forecast said Tuesday.

High-Flying Citigroup Grounds Plans for $50M Jet  —  Obama Aide Called Citigroup to Complain About Jet  —  The high-flying execs at Citigroup caved under pressure from President Obama and decided today to abandon plans for a luxurious new $50 million corporate jet from France.

Bailout Recipients Hosted Call To Defeat Key Labor Bill  —  Three days after receiving $25 billion in federal bailout funds, Bank of America Corp. hosted a conference call with conservative activists and business officials to organize opposition to the U.S. labor community's top legislative priority.

STATING THE OBVIOUS  —  I hear a lot of talk about whether Obama's governing approach can be ‘bipartisan’ if a good number of Republicans don't vote for his Stimulus Bill.  But that dubious point seems to be obscuring a more obvious and telling reality: the Republican leadership in both houses …

US official: Intelligence director resigns  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell resigned his post effective Tuesday.  —  Spokesman Ross Feinstein said Lt. Gen. Ronald L. Burgess, Jr. is temporarily serving as acting national intelligence director.

Dear President Obama: in Talking to China, Remember its People  —  Welcome to U.S.-China relations!  You didn't even mention China in your inaugural address, but the Chinese censors still took it personally.  Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's remarks in his confirmation hearing about currency manipulation have got everyone in a tizzy.

Kristol Severs Ties With the N.Y. Times  —  Bill Kristol and the New York Times parted company yesterday, one year after he began writing a weekly opinion column that became a high-profile target for his detractors on the left.  —  But the conservative commentator, who edits the Weekly Standard …

INSIDE OBAMA'S MEETING WITH HOUSE GOP  —  From NBC's Mike Viqueira  —  This is a sort of a live blog from a member and aide inside the room with President Obama, via e-mail:  —  Obama speaking now.... Talking about how bad the economy is and that it is deteriorating rapidly

Bunning takes aim at McConnell  —  U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., lashed out at the Bluegrass State's senior senator, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, in a teleconference with reporters Tuesday morning.  —  Bunning expressed frustration that McConnell hasn't publicly backed …

Afghan Guards Confound U.S. Forces  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — A contingent of Army Rangers was moving toward a target in late October when it came under fire from machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.  Fearful the team would be wiped out, U.S. officers called in air strikes.

The Same Old Song  —  What's up with the Republicans?  Have they no sense that their policies have sent the country hurtling down the road to ruin?  Are they so divorced from reality that in their delusionary state they honestly believe we need more of their tax cuts for the rich …

Clinton says world “exhaling” with Obama at top  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested on Tuesday the world was breathing a sigh of relief that President Barack Obama had replaced George W. Bush and was working to fix the damage he had caused.

Swedish city cancels Holocaust event  —  A northern Swedish city has decided to cancel a planned Holocaust Memorial Day torchlight procession due to the recent IDF offensive in Gaza, it was reported Tuesday.  —  The official reason given for the decision, made by the municipal board …

10 Reasons to Whack Obama's Stimulus Plan  —  Some people are going to oppose President Obama's ginormous stimulus package just because they're on a different political team.  But when you look at the economic evidence, it sure seems like an economic recovery package that's heavy …

Smoking Ban Hits Home.  Truly.  —  BELMONT, Calif. — During her 50 years of smoking, Edith Frederickson says, she has lit up in restaurants and bars, airplanes and trains, and indoors and out, all as part of a two-pack-a-day habit that she regrets not a bit.

Ten Things You Can Do To Save The Planet  —  A Go-Green Guide for the Hollywood Community  —  More than ten years after the Kyoto accords, our planet continues to careen helplessly toward certain environmental destruction.  The skies are choked with pollutants.  Adorable helpless polar bears plunge through thinning ice caps.

CELEBRITY  —  A GOP source to TIME's Jay Newton-Small: Nearly as many House Republicans sought to get their photos taken with Obama as questioned him about the stimulus during their meeting.

Trying to Bulldoze Free Speech  —  In the late 18th century, Edmund Burke referred to the newspaper reporters seated in the press gallery of the House of Commons as the “Fourth Estate.”  It was a remarkable acknowledgment of the importance of the press in a society still bound by the feudal orders of clergy, nobles and peasantry.