Roland Burris, resign  —  The benefit of the doubt had already been stretched thin and taut by the time Roland Burris offered his third version of the events leading to his appointment to the U.S. Senate.  It finally snapped like a rubber band, popping him on that long Pinocchio nose of his, when he came out with version four.

Help for homeowners  —  The President's strategy for economic recovery is a stool with several legs, as he's said, and one of them is solving the foreclosure crisis.  —  “We must stem the spread of foreclosures and falling home values for all Americans, and do everything …

Nutroots suddenly hypersensitive about Nazi/president comparisons  —  For eight years, we've heard “Bushitler” invoked endlessly.  —  Again:  —  And again.  —  And again.  —  And again.  —  And again:  —  Now, the tables have been turned.  Some folks are invoking Nazi allusions against Barack Obama.

GOP ousts Senate leader, budget deal in question  —  (02-18) 02:28 PST Sacramento — A state budget deal to close a $41 billion shortfall has been put further into question early this morning after Senate Republicans ousted their leader who had helped negotiate the long-awaited plan with other top lawmakers in California.

Dem exclusive?  Reporters jump ship  —  In three months since Election Day, at least a half-dozen prominent journalists have taken jobs working for the federal government.  —  Journalists, including some of those who've jumped ship, say it's better to have a solid job in government than a shaky job …

Obama Team Has Billions to Spend, but Few Ready to Do It  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama blasted through all sorts of speed records pushing a $787 billion economic plan through Congress, arguing it was too urgent to wait.  But even after signing it into law Tuesday, he faces another problem …

Palin to pay tax on past per diem  —  EXPENSES: Governor received meal money while living in Wasilla.  —  ldemer@adn.com  —  Gov. Sarah Palin must pay income taxes on thousands of dollars in expense money she received while living at her Wasilla home, under a new determination by state officials.

Cheney and the Goat Devil  —  I was dubious about Will Ferrell doing his Bush impersonation one more time on Broadway.  —  As we lurch through the disasters bequeathed by W. — the economy tanking, 17,000 more troops going to Afghanistan, Chrysler pleading for a total of $9 billion …

Islamic subversion alleged by speaker  —  A former FBI special agent told law enforcement and Homeland Security personnel that a network of Islamic organizations are working to incrementally implement Islamic law in the United States.  —  During a presentation at the Bedford County Emergency …

Charlie Savage on Obama's embrace of Bush/Cheney “terrorism policies”  —  During the Bush presidency, there were few reporters, if there were any, who were better on issues of civil liberties and executive power abuses than Charlie Savage, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his work exposing …

Bank nationalisation gains ground with Republicans  —  Long regarded in the US as a folly of Europeans, nationalisation is gaining rapid acceptance among Washington opinion-formers - and not just with Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve chairman.  Perhaps stranger still …

How Would Modern Americans React to a ‘Great Depression’?  —  Megan McArdle and Jonah Goldberg are both asking an interesting question — whether or not WWII ended The Great Depression.  —  As they point out, despite its nearly universal acceptance as a historical fact, even this “fact” is disputable.

GM to End Brands, Cut 47,000 More Jobs  —  Saturn, Hummer Could Be History by 2011 as GM Plans to Slash Dealers; Chrysler Mentions Bankruptcy Option for First Time  —  General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC on Tuesday told the federal government they need at least $21.6 billion more combined …

Howard Jacobson: Let's see the ‘criticism’ of Israel for what it really is  —  Emotions have run high over recent events in Gaza.  And in this impassioned and searching essay, our writer argues that just below the surface runs a vicious strain of ancient prejudice

Obama in Valley to unveil foreclosure plan  —  President to outline foreclosure strategy during stop at Mesa's Dobson High School  —  President Barack Obama will unveil a plan today to combat the nation's foreclosure crisis, a plan expected to offer assistance to struggling homeowners …

US privately backs Pakistan's ‘Sharia law for peace’ deal with Taliban  —  American officials have privately backed Pakistan's “Sharia law for peace” deal with Taliban militants in the Swat Valley despite publicly criticising it as a “negative development”.  —  By Dean Nelson, Javed Siddiq in Islamabad and Emal Khan in Peshawar

Back Home in Alaska, Palin Faces Scrutiny and Second-Guessing From All Sides  —  Scrutiny Has Been Intense Since Election  —  JUNEAU, Alaska — A couple of weeks before the Alaska legislature began this year's session, a bipartisan group of state senators on a retreat a few hours from here invited Gov. Sarah Palin to join them.