Sen. Reid: We've got votes on stimulus  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters Thursday that he has enough votes to pass a more than $900 billion stimulus bill out of the Senate.  —  Reid said he believes at least two Republicans of “good will” would support the Democratic-crafted package.

Husband of Rep. Solis, Labor nominee, settles tax liens  —  WASHINGTON — The husband of President Obama's Labor secretary nominee paid about $6,400 Wednesday to settle tax liens that had been outstanding for as long as 16 years against his business, the Obama administration told USA TODAY this afternoon.

The Action Americans Need  —  By now, it's clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression.  Millions of jobs that Americans relied on just a year ago are gone; millions more of the nest eggs families worked so hard to build have vanished.

Ginsburg is hospitalized with pancreatic cancer … WASHINGTON (AP) - Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had surgery Thursday after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the court said.  —  Ginsburg, 75, had the surgery at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

The Nelson-Collins Cuts  —  Josh Marshall got a hold of the Collins-Nelson group staff paper, outlining almost $80 billion in potential cuts to the stimulus.  Maybe none of it will matter-Reid now seems to think he has the votes.  But I just wanted to highlight a couple that jumped out at me:

Obama losing stimulus message war  —  At this crucial juncture in the push to pass an economic recovery package, President Obama finds himself in the most unlikely of places: He is losing the message war.  —  Despite Obama's sky-high personal approval ratings, polls show support has declined …

Sessions: GOP Insurgency “May Be Required”  —  Frustrated by a lack of bipartisan outreach from House Democratic leaders, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said House Republicans — who voted unanimously last week against the economic plan pushed …

White House to Bypass Commerce on Census  —  The director of the Census Bureau will report directly to the White House and not the secretary of Commerce, according to a senior White House official.  —  The decision came after black and Hispanic leaders raised questions about Commerce Secretary …

Time to Play Hardball  —  The irony of President Obama's Blue Tuesday is that the wall-to-wall television interviews he granted were designed not to apologize for Tom Daschle's fall from grace but to fight back against the Republicans' success in tarnishing his stimulus package.

Bill Gates Unleashes Swarm of Mosquitoes on Crowd  —  Microsoft founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates released a glass full of mosquitoes at an elite technology conference to make a point about the deadly disease malaria.  —  “Malaria is spread by mosquitoes,” Gates said while opening …

Volcker Chafes at Obama Panel Delay, Strains With Summers Rise  —  Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) — Paul Volcker has grown increasingly frustrated over delays in setting up the economic advisory group President Barack Obama picked the former Federal Reserve chairman to lead, people familiar with the matter said.

Sen. Stabenow wants hearings on radio ‘accountability’; talks fairness doctrine  —  This morning, radio host Bill Press brought up the recent closing of liberal station Obama 1260 when speaking with Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, and talked about whether there needs to be a balance to right wing talk on the radio dial.

White House Now Plans Limited Bank Aid Package  —  The Obama administration has decided on a new package of aid measures for the financial services industry, including a bad bank component, and is expected to announce them next Monday, according to a source familiar with the planning