Burris confirms request for Blagojevich donation  —  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Raising fresh questions about his appointment to Congress, Sen. Roland Burris admitted in a document released Saturday that former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's brother asked him for campaign fundraising help before the governor named Burris as Illinois' junior senator.

Barack Obama sends bust of Winston Churchill on its way back to Britain  —  Barack Obama has sent Sir Winston Churchill packing and pulse rates soaring among anxious British diplomats.  —  A bust of the former prime minister once voted the greatest Briton in history, which was loaned …

A Torture Report Could Spell Big Trouble For Bush Lawyers  —  From the magazine issue dated Feb 23, 2009  —  An internal Justice Department report on the conduct of senior lawyers who approved waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics is causing anxiety among former Bush administration officials.

'Lieberman weakens Israel's cause in US'  —  Former administration officials and American Jewish leaders are warning that the rise of Avigdor Lieberman could hurt Israel's image in the US, particularly if he is given a top portfolio or his positions on Israeli Arabs become government policy.

They Sure Showed That Obama  —  AM I crazy, or wasn't the Obama presidency pronounced dead just days ago?  Obama had “all but lost control of the agenda in Washington,” declared Newsweek on Feb. 4 as it wondered whether he might even get a stimulus package through Congress.

Obama warned over ‘welfare spendathon’  —  The new administration's economic stimulus plan may undo reforms that cut the dole queues, critics say  —  RONALD REAGAN started it, Bill Clinton finished it and last week Barack Obama was accused of engineering its destruction.

Federal obligations exceed world GDP  —  Does $65.5 trillion terrify anyone yet?  —  As the Obama administration pushes through Congress its $800 billion deficit-spending economic stimulus plan, the American public is largely unaware that the true deficit of the federal government already …

China Is at the Heart of Clinton's First Trip  —  Bush Solidified Relations; Now the Obama White House Will Push for Broader Cooperation  —  When Hillary Rodham Clinton was running for president last year, she raised eyebrows in foreign policy circles — especially in Japan …

Case May Alter Judge Elections Across Country  —  MATEWAN, W.Va. — Don L. Blankenship, the chief executive of the nation's fourth-biggest coal mining company, is not shy about putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to West Virginia politics.  —  In 2004, he spent $3 million …

U.S. Military Will Offer Path to Citizenship  —  Stretched thin in Afghanistan and Iraq, the American military will begin recruiting skilled immigrants who are living in this country with temporary visas, offering them the chance to become United States citizens in as little as six months.

Contemplating a Sequel to the Stimulus  —  Thousands lined up last week for a chance at jobs at a new resort outside Charlotte.  Some worry the economy fell so fast at the end of 2008 that the $787 billion stimulus won't be enough..  (By James Nix — Associated Press)