Obama Plans $75 Billion Outlay to Fight Foreclosures  —  Seeking to stabilize the foundering housing market, President Obama on Wednesday laid out a plan to help as many as nine million families refinance their mortgages or avoid foreclosure.  —  The proposal, which is more ambitious than expected …

Buy-Buy, Mr. Burris  —  WHEN THEN-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested in December for, among other things, allegedly trying to auction off the U.S. Senate seat left open by Barack Obama's election to the presidency, we feared that whomever Mr. Blagojevich eventually chose would be tainted by the association.

Palin must pay tax on past per diem, state says  —  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.

The White House's missing documents  —  In his first weeks in office, President Barack Obama shut down his predecessor's system for reviewing regulations, realigned and expanded two key White House policymaking bodies and extended economic sanctions against parties to the conflict in the African nation of Cote D'Ivoire.

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.

New York Post Chimp Cartoon Compares Stimulus Author To Dead Primate  —  A cartoon likening the author of the stimulus bill, perhaps President Barack Obama, with a rabid chimpanzee graced the pages of the New York Post on Wednesday.  —  The drawing, from famed cartoonist Sean Delonas …

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 …

Pope lectures Pelosi on abortion stance  —  Pope Benedict XVI made clear to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday that she cannot advocate for abortion rights and still be a good Catholic.  —  After meeting with Pelosi (D-Calif.) at the Vatican, the pontiff stressed that Catholic politicians …

Jindal Signals Louisiana May Not Take Stimulus Money  —  Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate, has suggested his state may not be interested in all of the roughly $4 billion allotted to it in the economic stimulus package to be signed by President Obama today.

Major cache of fossils unearthed in L.A.  —  Volunteer Judy Scharf, left, assistant lab supervisor Trevor Valle and volunteers Pat Simun and Linda Wright carefully brush away dirt surrounding the pelvis of a mammoth at the Page Museum in Rancho La Brea.  The mammoth, which museum researchers …

Court Reverses Ruling Bringing 17 Detainees to U.S.  —  A federal appeals court this morning blocked the transfer to the United States of a small band of Chinese Muslims held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  —  In a decision released this morning, the three-judge panel …

Comrade Greenspan: Seize the economy's commanding heights!  —  Here.  Truly, it's amazing how compelling the logic of temporary nationalization is.  How long will it be before the Obama administration is ready to take the plunge?  —  The WaPo reports that Tim Geithner realized late …

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.

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

Judge's ruling in Kezer case has harsh criticism for Hulshof  —  Joshua C. Kezer listens to testimony in a hearing alleging wrongful conviction at the Cole County Courthouse in Jefferson City Dec. 2.  (ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.com ) [Order this photo]  —  Judge's opinion in the Kezer case

Manhunt: Accused Financier Scammer Stanford Missing  —  Authorities say Investor Losses Could Rival Madoff Scandal  —  Texas financier R. Allen Stanford is accused of cheating 50,000 customers out of $8 billion dollars but despite raids Tuesday of his financial empire in Houston, Memphis …

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.

Ashcroft: Only difference between Bush and Obama is how they spell their names.»  —  In a new article about how the Obama administration will confront the legal challenges of Bush's war on terror, former Attorney General John Ashcroft defends the continued detention of a terror suspect …

Geography professor claims to have found Osama bin Laden  —  A Californian geography professor has used techniques for hunting endangered species to pinpoint three houses in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden could be hiding.  —  Using patterns of how animal species spread …

Obama has new flag frenzy  —  White House embraces a backdrop of red, white and blue  —  Oh, say - can you see?  Look.  It's President Obama, and he's surrounded by American flags.  —  They're on the dais in star-spangled glory.  They're at the town-hall meeting and the news conference, in bold folds of red, white and blue.