Did Reid roll Pelosi?  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid played a little high-stakes chicken with each other at the tail end of Wednesday's shotgun stimulus talks.  —  It's not clear who won - or who blinked.  —  According to a half dozen Congressional aides and members …

Stimulus Support Edges Higher, Now 59%  —  Support up mainly among Democrats; flat among independents  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Public support for an $800 billion economic stimulus package has increased to 59% in a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Tuesday night, up from 52% in Gallup polling a week ago, as well as in late January.

Remember This Catchphrase: “Maybe Too Little, Always Too Late”  —  Now that the stimulus package is about to become law (likely signed by Barack Obama on President's Day next Monday no less!), here's something to keep in mind.  And on file.  —  And if this chart is correct …

69 computers missing from nuclear weapons lab  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - The Los Alamos nuclear weapons laboratory in New Mexico is missing 69 computers, including at least a dozen that were stolen last year, a lab spokesman said.

Bank Test May Expand U.S. Regulators' Role  —  Nearly 100 federal banking regulators descended on Citigroup in New York on Wednesday morning.  Dozens more fanned out through Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and other big banks across the nation.  —  It was just another workday.

Murtha May Be In Hot Water  —  This week might bring another ethical embarrassment to the Democrats, who have been stung in recent weeks by revelations of misconduct by some of President Obama's nominees for key positions.  The FBI is investigating Representative John P. Murtha's relationship …

Meltdown 101: Highlights of economic stimulus plan  —  WASHINGTON - Now that there's a tentative agreement on the economic stimulus plan that President Barack Obama and other supporters hope will provide a considerable jolt to the economy, how long will it take to get infrastructure and other projects moving?

Panel Calls U.S. Drug War a Failure  —  MEXICO CITY — As drug violence spirals out of control in Mexico, a commission led by three former Latin American heads of state blasted the U.S.-led drug war as a failure that is pushing Latin American societies to the breaking point.

‘Let them arrest me’: Dutch MP vows to defy Home Office ban and fly to Britain to show anti-Islam film … A diplomatic row threatened to escalate into a religious and racial confrontation last night, after Jacqui Smith banned an extremist Dutch politician from entering Britain.

Obama's Battle on Stimulus Shows Threats to His Agenda  —  WASHINGTON — It is a quick, sweet victory for the new president, and potentially a historic one.  The question now is whether the $789 billion economic stimulus plan agreed to by Congressional leaders on Wednesday is the opening act …

Angry survivors blame council ‘green’ policy  —  ANGRY residents last night accused local authorities of contributing to the bushfire toll by failing to let residents chop down trees and clear up bushland that posed a fire risk.  —  During question time at a packed community meeting …

Prosecutor to Interview Key Witnesses About U.S. Attorney Firings  —  A federal prosecutor investigating the dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys during the Bush administration has issued a subpoena to former senator Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) and is preparing to interview key witnesses, lawyers following the case say.

Key GOP Senator in Stimulus Deal Is Known for Centrist Approach  —  Six years ago, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was working to broker a deal with a Democratic colleague that would steer $20 billion in relief to struggling state governments when she was abruptly called into the office of House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R).

A Stunning Israeli Election  —  As I noted, I'm pretty far from Israel (geographically, that is), but my cell phone works in the western desert, and I've been talking to friends in Tel Aviv.  A number of quick observations:  —  1. The stunner, for me at least: The Labor Party is dead.

Change: Triangulation Becomes 11 Dimensional Chess  —  I watched with inappropriate amusement as Obama DOJ spokesman reporter Marc Ambinder relayed Glenn Greenwald's queries to anonymous Justice Dept officials.  The upshot? … (Emphasis supplied.)  As I wrote earlier in a comment …

Female FBI officer ‘tortured Mumbai terror attacks suspect with sex’  —  A female FBI officer tortured a suspect in the Mumbai terrorist attacks by performing a sex act on him during interrogation, it has been claimed.  —  Fahim Ansari is accused of helping to plan the attacks in which 173 people were killed in November.

AP Duped By Atlantic Swimmer Hoax  —  It's a good thing they have those layers of editors and fact checkers in order to prevent embarrassing episodes like this. … Typical journalistic laziness that's been on display far too long.  —  Finally they ran a correction.

Schwarzenegger, legislative leaders settle on budget framework  —  State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) arrives at a Sacramento Press Club luncheon Wednesday.  The package to be voted on this week would balance the state budget for 17 months, Steinberg said.

Senate Committee Approves Solis as Labor Secretary  —  One week after postponing a confirmation vote on Hilda Soli as secretary of labor, the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today approved on a voice vote President's Obama's choice to lead the Labor Department and sent …

Opportunites pour in for Cape teen who captured Obama's attention  —  Julio Osegueda's 15 minutes of fame is starting to bring in opportunity.  —  Since the 19-year-old Cape Coral resident had the opportunity to ask the president about receiving better benefits at his McDonald's job Tuesday during …

‘Network management’ meets child porn  —  US Senator Dianne Feinstein hopes to update President Barack Obama's $838bn economic stimulus package so that American ISPs can deter child pornography, copyright infringement, and other unlawful activity by way of “reasonable network management.”

Jared Bernstein Explains the Connection Between Stimulus and Banking Rescue  —  Politically speaking, both the idea of a fiscal stimulus package in general and the specific stimulus plan working its way through the legislative process are quite possible.  Rescuing—or “bailing out”—the financial system is another matter.