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 …

Tax snafus add up for Obama team  —  WASHINGTON — The confirmation of another Cabinet member stalled Thursday because of unpaid taxes after USA TODAY disclosed that the husband of Labor secretary nominee Hilda Solis paid about $6,400 this week to settle numerous tax liens against his business dating to 1993.

Military Commission Charges Dropped Against Terrorist Suspect Al-Nashiri  —  As President Obama prepared to order the Department of Defense's Military Commission to withdraw charges against terrorist suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri on Friday afternoon, the convening authority for the Commission …

At retreat, Obama goes on the offensive  —  WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — A fired-up Barack Obama ditched his TelePrompter to rally House Democrats and rip Republican opponents of his recovery package Thursday night - at one point openly mocking the GOP for failing to follow through on promises of bipartisanship.

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 …

'There's no reason only poor people should get malaria': The moment Bill Gates released jar of mosquitoes at packed conference … It was a show-stopping move by any standards.  —  Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of Microsoft and a renowned philanthropist, let loose a swarm of mosquitoes …

Rope jumping reporter ID'd  —  A reporter who was escorted out of a White House event by Secret Service agents on Wednesday afternoon after he approached . . .  . . . President Obama to seek an autograph has been identified, officials and witnesses said.  —  At the end of an East Room signing ceremony …

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 …

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 …

ABC: Obama Is Hypocritical For Limiting Wall Street Pay While Having A ‘Lavish Lifestyle’  —  Yesterday, President Obama instituted a pay cap on bailed out businesses after it was revealed that Wall Street doled out an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses last year.

You'll Never Get This 21 Minutes Of Your Life Back  —  Instapundit, Malkin, and Joe the Plumber discuss politics for PJTV.  —  There is so much to love about this, I don't know where to start, but certainly Joe the Plumber bemoaning the lack of spending cuts and general program cuts in the stimulus bill was a highlight.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Exclusive: Gates Delays Troop Decision  —  ABC News' Luis Martinez reports: ABC News has learned that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has deferred a much-anticipated decision on sending additional troops into Afghanistan until President Obama decides what force levels he wants.

Sen. Harkin Backs Dean For HHS Secretary  —  The idea of nominating Howard Dean to head up the Department of Health and Human Services has the backing of at least one prominent national Democrat.  —  Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, who endorsed Dean's presidential campaign in 2004 and is rumored …

Frigid temperatures take WNY by surprise  —  Talk about great timing.  —  Buffalo State College hosts the national teach-in on Global Warming Situations today — a day the local temperature bottomed out at minus 6 degrees.  —  No evidence of global warming here, at least not this morning …

Watchdog: Treasury overpaid for bank stocks  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - A government watchdog group says the federal government overpaid for stocks and other assets from financial institutions under its $700 billion rescue program.  —  The chairwoman of the Congressional Oversight Panel …

Dallas hardware store wants George W. Bush to be its door greeter  —  Former presidents get a pretty good retirement package, but there's nothing wrong with getting out of the house and earning a little extra scratch.  If George W. Bush wants some useful occupation for those long …

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 …

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 …