Cheney warns of new attacks  —  Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned that there is a “high probability” that terrorists will attempt a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in coming years, and said he fears the Obama administration's policies will make it more likely the attempt will succeed.

Senate Lacks Votes to Pass Stimulus  —  Democrats Trying to Trim $900 Billion Plan to Gain GOP Support  —  Senate Democratic leaders conceded yesterday that they do not have the votes to pass the stimulus bill as currently written and said that to gain bipartisan support …

Well, That Certainly Didn't Take Long  —  On 9/11, President Bush learned of disaster while reading “The Pet Goat” to grade-school kids.  On Tuesday, President Obama escaped from disaster by reading “The Moon Over Star” to grade-school kids.  —  “We were just tired of being in the White House …

The Impending Obama Meltdown  —  Some of us have been warning that it was not healthy for the U.S. media to have deified rather than questioned Obama, especially given that they tore apart Bush, ridiculed Palin, and caricatured Hillary.  And now we can see the results of their two years of advocacy rather than scrutiny.

Support for Stimulus Package Falls to 37%  —  Support for the economic recovery plan working its way through Congress has fallen again this week.  For the first time, a plurality of voters nationwide oppose the $800-billion-plus plan.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found …

U.S. Plans $500,000 Cap on Executive Pay in Bailouts  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is expected to impose a cap of $500,000 for top executives at companies that receive large amounts of bailout money, according to people familiar with the plan.  —  Executives would also be prohibited …

EXCLUSIVE: Obama backs out on Iraq appointment  —  The Obama administration asked retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni to be U.S. ambassador to Iraq but abruptly withdrew the appointment without explanation, Gen. Zinni said Tuesday.  —  Gen. Zinni, a former commander of Central Command …

WHAT CHANGE LOOKS LIKE.  —  My reporting has been similar to that of Jon Cohn.  Everyone I've spoken to in the administration has expressed total shock over Daschle's withdrawal.  As recently as last night, they were counting votes and felt certain the nomination was on track for a bumpy but comfortable confirmation.

California farms, vineyards in peril from warming, U.S. energy secretary warns  —  'We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California,' Steven Chu says.  He sees education as a means to combat threat.  —  Reporting from Washington — California's farms and vineyards …

Afghanistan May See Surge in Troops  —  By CHIP CUMMINS in Dubai, ROSHANAK TAGHAVI in Tehran and JAY SOLOMON in Washington  —  WASHINGTON — Senior U.S. commanders are finalizing plans to send tens of thousands of reinforcements to Afghanistan's main opium-producing region and its porous border …

In Attack on Kennedy, Echo of a Spitzer Tactic  —  ALBANY — An administration leaks damaging information about a political figure.  The leak is denounced by the governor, who says that he had nothing to do with it.  —  This is what happened during the tenure of Gov. Eliot Spitzer …

RON SIMS IS AN IRONIC CHOICE FOR THE “TRANSPARENCY ADMINISTRATION”  —  President Obama wants to be the Transparency President: … So it's somewhat ironic that Obama has nominated King County Executive Ron Sims to be No. 2 at HUD.  —  After all, Sims is culpable for what may well become …

Rahm Emanuel's Illegal D.C. Basement Rental  —  He's the cheapskate of staff.  Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's right-hand man, lives in a basement apartment on Capitol Hill rented to him by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro.  Just one problem: He's not allowed to live there.

Vatican: Holocaust denier must recant  —  VATICAN CITY - The Vatican on Wednesday demanded that a prelate who denied the Holocaust recant his positions before being fully admitted as a bishop into the Roman Catholic Church.  —  It also said Pope Benedict XVI had not known …

TARP Recipients Paid Out $114 Million for Politicking Last Year  —  The companies that have been awarded taxpayers' money from Congress's bailout bill spent $77 million on lobbying and $37 million on federal campaign contributions, Center finds.  The return on investment: 267,208 percent.

A Barack Too Far?  New Rochelle Public Schools Assign Seven Year Olds to Obama Campaign  —  Students at an elementary school in New Rochelle, NY, a largely Democratic suburb of New York City with a City Council and School Board dominated by Democrats, were recently assigned an in-class assignment …

India warns Obama over Kashmir  —  India has warned US President Barack Obama that he risks “barking up the wrong tree” if he seeks to broker a settlement between Pakistan and India over the disputed territory of Kashmir.  —  MK Narayanan, India's national security advisor …

Joe the Plumber in 2015?  —  You'd think Joe the Plumber's 15 minutes would be up by now.  But , no, after a stint as a correspondent in Israel, he took his act to Capitol Hill today.  —  The first order of business: giving political advice to conservative Republican staffers at breakfast …

Obama warns of catastrophe if stimulus delayed  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says the recession will turn into a “catastrophe” if the economic stimulus is not passed quickly.  —  Obama rejected several criticisms of the plan …

Mark Halperin, Chris Matthews and Anderson Cooper Skew Obama Ratings … It all started with Mark Halperin's brief note in Time Magazine, http://thepage.time.com/2009/02/03/ poll-obama-approval-rating-drops/ , which stated “Poll: Obama Approval Rating Drops”.

Phelps Takes a Hit  —  It's hell being a celebrity, especially if you're young and find yourself at a party, where marijuana and cameras should never mix.  —  And it's not exactly heaven being sheriff of a county with escalating drug crimes and pressure to treat all offenders equally.

Border-Fence Project Hits a Snag  —  Opposition From Environmentalists, Property Owners Slows Construction of Final Leg  —  Construction of the final stretch of a 670-mile security fence along the southern U.S. border has hit a series of legal, political and engineering obstacles that are slowing completion of the yearlong project.