Liveblog: Ft. Myers, FL townhall  —  1:12 p.m.: Wrapping up.  President is shaking some hands and greeting the crowd.  —  1:10 p.m.: Question from an enthusiastic young man named Julio who says he has worked for McDonald's for four years but hasn't seen his benefits improve.

Eight arrested in Michael Phelps case  —  Updated:  —  COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - New details have emerged about a party where Olympic champion Michael Phelps was spotted.  —  On Feb. 2, a British tabloid published a picture of the 14-time Olympic gold medalist using a water pipe to smoke marijuana.

Details Scarce in Rescue Plan  —  WASHINGTON—The Obama administration Tuesday announced a wide-ranging financial sector rescue plan that could send $2 trillion coursing through the financial system.  —  The plan, which is designed to involve a mix of government and private capital …

At His First Prime-Time News Conference, Obama Is Serious and Expansive  —  In a prime-time debut for the new Oval Office occupant and a press corps often accused of being too enamored of him, President Obama faced journalistic skepticism from the opening question.

The Stimulus Bills: House vs. Senate  —  If all goes as expected today, the Senate will pass an $838 billion economic stimulus plan that follows a compromise reached over the weekend.  But before the package can go to President Obama's desk, the Senate will have to resolve differences with the House and its $819 billion version.

Connecticut's Rell Is Queen Of The Hill At Midterm, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Dodd Has Worst Approval Ever  —  Halfway through her first elected term as Connecticut Governor and one week after a grim budget message, Jodi Rell has a 75 - 19 percent approval rating and tops …

How The World Almost Came To An End At 2PM On September 18  —  LiveLeak has caught a scary moment of previously undisclosed insight by Paul Kanjorski where he reveals some facts that have not been captured by the media previously.  At 2 minutes and 20 seconds in the video below …

Administration Officials Met With Laughter At Bailout Briefing  —  Administration officials were greeted with sarcasm and laughter Monday night when they briefed lawmakers and congressional staff on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's new financial-sector bailout project, according to people who were in the room.

Fox passes off GOP press release as its own research — typo and all … During the February 10 edition of Fox News' Happening Now, co-host Jon Scott claimed that “the Senate is expected to pass the $838 billion stimulus plan — its version of it, anyway.  We thought we'd take a look back at the bill …

Why Obama Wants Control of the Census  —  Counting citizens is a powerful political tool.  —  President Obama said in his inaugural address that he planned to “restore science to its rightful place” in government.  That's a worthy goal.  But statisticians at the Commerce Department …

The Rorschach plan (wonkish, or at least hard to read)  —  An old joke from my younger days: What do you get when you cross a Godfather with a deconstructionist?  Someone who makes you an offer you can't understand.  —  I found myself remembering that joke when trying to make sense of the Geithner financial rescue plan.

Exit polls: Livni's Kadima leads in 2009 elections  —  Exit polls by Israel's three main television stations on Tuesday night showed Kadima as the leader in the 2009 general elections, with Likud coming a narrow second.  —  Channel 1, Channel 2 and Channel 10 polling of voters as they left …

GOP Group Threatens to Campaign Against Republican Stimulus Backers  —  The National Republican Trust PAC is threatening to provide financial support for primary challengers to any stimulus-supporting Republican in the next election.  —  FOXNews.com  —  A GOP group is putting Republican lawmakers …

Iranian mob attacks moderate ex-president Mohammed Khatami on anniversary  —  Iran's former president was set upon by an angry stick-wielding mob today amid celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution on the streets of Tehran.  —  The attack on Mohammed Khatami came …

You Might as Well Face It: You're Addicted to Success  —  Forced to take a buyout from the Kansas City Star last summer, Paul Wenske lost his sense of identity.  “I'd been an investigative reporter all my life, and then boom,” says Mr. Wenske, an award-winning journalist of 30 years.

SPECIAL PREVIEW Stimulus: A History of Folly  —  Before he was sworn in as President, Barack Obama began to lay out his plans for reviving an American economy that, it would later be discovered, had declined 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, its worst performance in 26 years.

Busy Sarah Palin Backs Out of CPAC; Rush Limbaugh Is Still Speaking  —  The opening-day headliner for the annual CPAC conservative convention February 26-28, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, has pulled out, citing state business in Juneau.  “We're obviously disappointed,” said a CPAC official.

Obama's Charm Isn't Working Wonders Abroad  —  Policy does matter after all.  —  Barack Obama has now been president for 21 days, following an inauguration that was supposed to have pressed the reset button on America's relations with the wider world and ushered in a new period of global cooperation against common threats.

Ban on sale of St. Louis schools stirs anger  —  LEFT: 6651 Gravois (former Gardenville School): 58,102-square-foot building on a 1.9-acre site.  It was designed by William B. Ittner and built in 1907.  RIGHT: 2730 Eads Avenue (former Hodgen School): Three-story, 46,155-square-foot brick building on a 1.57-acre site.

The Chess Master  —  It was just a week ago that the bad-mouthing of Barack Obama seemed to be reaching a fever pitch.  —  The president was taking heat for the tax problems of Tom Daschle, Timothy Geithner and other appointees and nominees.  Liberal supporters of the president were upset …

Blue Dog nips Obama with a better stimulus idea  —  While President Barack Obama goes on the road to shore up slipping popular support for the $1 trillion stimulus porkfest that he ordered up from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Walt Minnick …

The 180-degree reversal of Obama's State Secrets position  —  (updated below - Update II)  —  From the Obama/Biden campaign website, mybarackobama.com, here was what the Obama campaign was saying — back then — about the State Secrets privilege:  —  Apparently, the operative word …

POLITICS-US: Petraeus Leaked Misleading Story on Pullout Plans  —  The political maneuvering between President Barack Obama and his top field commanders over withdrawal from Iraq has taken a sudden new turn with the leak by CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus - and a firm denial by a White House official …

Schumer: “The American people really don't care” about pork; Obama: “The American people don't need to be convinced;” Final passage vote: 61-37  —  The Senate is about to pass the Turbaconducken stimulus package.  Sen. Schumer took to the floor about 20 minutes ago to fear-monger.

It's Not the Prison, It's the Prisoners  —  Among our illustrious allies in the War on Terror, Yemen ranks right up there with Pakistan, whose government just released nuke-peddler A. Q. Kahn from house arrest.  Yemen's government says it is preparing a major combat operation to drain one of the many swamps where jihad festers.

Fleischer And O'Reilly: Bush Didn't Call On ‘Dot Coms And Other Oddballs’ Like The Huffington Post  —  After President Obama's first prime time press conference last night, Bill O'Reilly asked former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer for his reaction.  O'Reilly noted that Obama had a prepared list …