CBO: Obama stimulus harmful over long haul  —  President Obama's economic recovery package will actually hurt the economy more in the long run than if he were to do nothing, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.  —  CBO, the official scorekeepers for legislation …

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.

Raccoons Invade White House Grounds  —  A small band of masked intruders has broken into the secure White House grounds and has evaded capture by agents of the new Obama administration, officials said today.  —  The National Park Service is in pursuit of one very large raccoon …

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.

Nelson Backing Off Proposed Stimulus Cuts  —  Sen. Ben Nelson, a centrist Democrat from Nebraska, is backing off of cuts he recently proposed to the economic stimulus package.  —  A discussion draft prepared by Nelson's staff has been circulating and became public Thursday.

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 …

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 …

Fla. doctor investigated in badly botched abortion  —  Eighteen and pregnant, Sycloria Williams went to an abortion clinic outside Miami and paid $1,200 for Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique to terminate her 23-week pregnancy.  —  Three days later, she sat in a reclining chair …

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 …

Dean For HHS Gains Momentum  —  I confess I don't know whether there is room in this world for Howard Dean to be in a cabinet that reports to Rahm Emanuel.  I know that Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee is a top candidate.  That said, the former Vermont governor, DNC chair, NGA chair …

Sunni electoral disaster, part 2: Baghdad  —  Preliminary results from the Baghdad provincial council election have begun to filter out into the Iraqi press.  The lead story will probably be that Maliki's Rule of Law list won more than half the seats.  But the more important story …

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 Sen. Debbie Stabenow, and talked about whether there needs to be a balance to right-wing talk on the radio dial.

Senators Go Wild!, Approve House Flipping Subsidy, Media Don't Notice  —  The reporters covering the stimulus have been so busy editorializing against it that they haven't had time to pay attention to what Congress is doing.  Tonight Congress approved the Isakson amendment which gives $15,000 …

Resignations at the RNC  —  A Republican source says newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has requested the resignations of the entire RNC staff and signaled a dramatic turnover at the party organization.  —  Some aides may be retained, though Republicans …

Inmates marched to segregated area of Tent City  —  Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio marched 220 chained illegal immigrant inmates into a segregated enclosure of Tent City Wednesday afternoon, despite protests from some County officials and civil rights groups who thought the procession violated human rights.

Hamas negotiators stopped with suitcases of cash  —  CAIRO - Hamas negotiators left Egypt without a long-term cease-fire with Israel on Thursday — but not before some members of the militant group's delegation were stopped at the Gaza border carrying millions in cash.

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.

GE chief warns on US depression threat  —  The US economy is suffering its steepest downturn since at least the 1970s and could descend into a depression, Jeff Immelt, General Electric's chief executive, warned on Thursday.  —  He said businesses and consumers alike were struggling to contend …

How Village Voice Media Uses Digg to Game Their Traffic Numbers  —  This is the story about a girl that's actually a dude who's brought in 3.8 - 19.4 million visitors* to Village Voice Media websites by gaming Digg.  —  Village Voice Media appears to be running an organized reciprocal Digg …

Blue Dogs push back against stimulus  —  Conservative Democrats in the House are pushing back against their leaders' economic stimulus plan even as President Obama steps up his push for the spending package.  —  The leadership of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative Democrats concerned …

Why Shovel-Ready Infrastructure is Wrong (Right Now)  —  The term “shovel-ready”—as in, infrastructure projects that are ready or almost ready to begin—has become a favorite of policy makers in recent weeks.  As the Senate gets ready to vote on a stimulus bill, it looks like the idea has stuck …