Republicans all a-Twitter over the visit  —  Audiences usually treat presidents to a round of polite applause, but when President Obama addressed House Republicans on Tuesday, they started Twittering.  —  Just a week after being inaugurated and becoming the most powerful man in the world …

Democrats Among Stimulus Skeptics  —  Republican criticism of the stimulus package that the House will vote on tonight has focused on its soaring price tag, but some Democrats on Capitol Hill and other administration supporters are voicing a separate critique: that the plan may fall short …

Geithner names ex-lobbyist as Treasury chief of staff  —  WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner picked a former Goldman Sachs lobbyist as a top aide Tuesday, the same day he announced rules aimed at reducing the role of lobbyists in agency decisions.

James Hansen's Former NASA Supervisor Declares Himself a Skeptic - Says Hansen ‘Embarrassed NASA’, ‘Was Never Muzzled’, & Models ‘Useless’  —  This is something I thought I'd never see.  This press release today is from the Senate EPW blog of Jame Inhofe.  The scientist making the claims …

Aides Say Obama's Afghan Aims Elevate War  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama intends to adopt a tougher line toward Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, as part of a new American approach to Afghanistan that will put more emphasis on waging war than on development, senior administration officials said Tuesday.

The case for doing nothing  —  Most of Washington has reached quick consensus: Government must do something big to shock the economy, and it should cost between $800 billion and $900 billion.  —  But dissident economists and investment professionals offer a much different take: Most of Washington is dead wrong.

Backlash Against Bush Apparent in RNC  —  Many Members Seek New Chairman to Steer Party in a Different Direction  —  As they begin meeting in Washington today, many members of the Republican National Committee are focusing their ire against what they considered George W. Bush's anti-conservative policies …

Grassley launches porn inquiry  —  Chuck Grassley knows it when he sees it.  —  The “it,” of course, is pornography.  And Grassley has seen it deep in a demurely titled section of a report from the National Science Foundation — a report that says NSF employees have been spending significant amounts …

Rove subpoena a new hurdle  —  Rep. John Conyers Jr.'s decision to subpoena Karl Rove to testify about the “politicization” of the Bush Justice Department has dumped a thorny legal question in the laps of President Barack Obama's White House lawyers before they've even had time to settle into their new jobs.

A 40-Year Wish List  —  You won't believe what's in that stimulus bill.  —  “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.  What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before.”  —  So said White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in November, and Democrats in Congress are certainly taking his advice to heart.

FBI saw mortgage fraud early  —  Agents say they lacked resources to pursue it  —  The FBI was aware for years of “pervasive and growing” fraud in the mortgage industry that eventually contributed to America's financial meltdown, but did not take definitive action to stop it.

Weasels vs. AIDS Relief  —  Some of the personnel stumbles of the Obama administration — including the abortive nomination of Bill Richardson as commerce secretary — resulted from incompetent vetting.  William Lynn's reception as deputy secretary of defense has been complicated by hypocrisy …

John Updike, a Lyrical Writer of the Middle-Class Man, Dies at 76  —  John Updike, the kaleidoscopically gifted writer whose quartet of Rabbit novels highlighted a body of fiction, verse, essays and criticism so vast, protean and lyrical as to place him in the first rank of American authors …

House Dems Strip Stimulus of $200 Million Provision to Refurbish National Mall  —  On Tuesday evening the House Rules Committee stripped two provisions from the stimulus package: the family planning money that President Obama personally lobbied Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., to remove yesterday …

Taliban: closing Guantanamo ‘a positive step’ but insufficient  —  WASHINGTON (AFP) — The Taliban welcomed President Barack Obama's order to close Guantanamo but said peace would only come if he reverses the “satanic policies” of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Stimulus Bill Near $900 Billion  —  Obama Agrees to Trim Alternative Minimum Tax; Lobbies Rush for Cut of the Pie  —  WASHINGTON — The U.S. economic stimulus package neared $900 billion in the Senate, as President Barack Obama wooed Republicans ahead of an expected House vote Wednesday.

Bill got $2M foreign after State buzz  —  Bill Clinton pulled down $5.7 million in speaking fees last year - almost entirely from foreign sources, including nearly $2.1 million after news circulated that Hillary Clinton was in line for Secretary of State.  —  Former President Clinton's …

Recruiting stand-down ordered  —  Probe of Houston suicides prompts wide-ranging action  —  Army Secretary Pete Geren has ordered a stand-down of the Army's entire recruiting force and a review of almost every aspect of the job is underway in the wake of a wide-ranging investigation …

Troubled Times Bring Mini-Madoffs to Light  —  Their names lack the Dickensian flair of Bernie Madoff, and the money they apparently stole from investors was a small fraction of the $50 billion that Mr. Madoff allegedly lost of his clients' savings.  —  But the number of other people …

New York City fears return to 1970s  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - While many U.S. cities worry that their economies are deteriorating to the level of the 1930s Great Depression, New York City fears reliving a more recent decade that features strongly in city lore.

President Obama leads US drive to topple Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe  —  Tim Reid in Washington and Jonathan Clayton in Johannesburg  —  President Obama wants a fresh approach to toppling Robert Mugabe and is discussing with aides an unprecedented, US-led diplomatic push to get tough …

On Bennet, Colorado GOP takes wait-and-see tactic  —  Michael Bennet is getting an early pass from Colorado Republicans, who say they want to give the new Democratic senator a chance to show his stripes before they officially begin running against him.  —  Gov. Bill Ritter (D) …