Gupta Steps Aside  —  Updated 7: 24 p.m.  —  Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, has told network officials will not leave his television career to become the U.S. Surgeon General, according to sources familiar with his decision.  —  Gupta, who had been described …

When Obamatons Respond  —  On Tuesday, I wrote that the Obama budget is a liberal, big government document that should make moderates nervous.  The column generated a large positive response from moderate Obama supporters who are anxious about where the administration is headed.

Top Treasury Candidates Pull Out  —  Nazareth, Atkinson Decline to Endure Vetting Process, Adding to Geithner's Strain  —  WASHINGTON — Two candidates for top jobs at the Treasury have withdrawn their names from consideration, complicating already troubled efforts by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner …

California Supreme Court signals mixed response to Proposition 8  —  As foes and supporters of the gay-marriage ban argue before the court, the justices appear ready to uphold the ban, but they also sound reluctant to invalidate same-sex marriages already performed.

Bank Charges May Surge as Mortgages Marked to Market  —  Patricia Greenberg's townhouse in Irvine, California, was losing about $10,000 a month in value when she received a letter in February 2008 that looked too good to be true: An investor was offering to cut her $472,000 mortgage by 26 percent and her monthly payment by a third.

Obama's safety net: the TelePrompter  —  President Barack Obama doesn't go anywhere without his TelePrompter.  —  The textbook-sized panes of glass holding the president's prepared remarks follow him wherever he speaks.  —  Resting on top of a tall, narrow pole, they flank his podium during speeches …

How the Health Care Crisis Hit Home for My Family  —  And how it might hit yours, too:  —  Like most journalists, I do my best to operate in a comfort zone of detachment.  But the subject of my cover story in the upcoming edition of TIME is one about which I won't claim the slightest bit of objectivity.

Bachmann: GOP Must ‘Do Everything We Can To Thwart’ Obama From Securing ‘A Power Base...For All Time’  —  Conservative talker Bill Bennett interviewed Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) on his radio show this morning.  During the interview, Bennett asked, “Why [is Obama siding] …

Toomey to challenge Specter again  —  Former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) will challenge Sen. Arlen Specter in a primary for the second straight cycle, according to Pennsylvania GOP sources.  —  The Allentown Morning Call reported Thursday that two friends of Toomey's have said the Club for Growth chief has decided to enter the race.

RNC-YA  —  Washington, DC — Two years ago I left a prominent technology company in Silicon Valley to join the Republican National Committee as e-campaign director to elect the next Republican president.  We lost, but there was more than a software glitch that contributed to our November 2008 defeat.

PLEASE GROW UP  —  There's often a lot of game-playing in getting appointees approved by the senate.  But this requires more attention.  The senate Republicans are refusing to give a vote to two of President Obama's key (hopefully soon to be) economic advisors — Austan Goolsbee and Cecilia Rouse.

Obama the Cheapskate: 25 DVDs for Gordon Brown?  —  The British have begun to worry about the “special relationship” in the Anglosphere since the election of Barack Obama.  First, the visit from Gordon Brown failed to get the usual Rose Garden joint-presser treatment from the White House this week.

Thanks to All of Our Defenders  —  BEGIN TRANSCRIPT  —  RUSH: Rush Limbaugh, on a roll.  The Last Man Standing.  Defending conservatism against the onslaught — happily, by the way.  —  I want to take a moment here and thank some people who this week have come to my defense …

Rape row sparks excommunications  —  A Brazilian archbishop says all those who helped a child rape victim secure an abortion are to be excommunicated from the Catholic Church.  —  The girl, aged nine, who lives in the north-eastern state of Pernambuco, became pregnant with twins.

Christie has the poll position in governor's race  —  tgraber@sjnewsco.com  —  TRENTON - Gov. Jon S. Corzine could face a tough re-election bid, according to the results of a new poll showing his approval ratings slipping and the Democrat trailing his likely Republican challenger.

The Big Dither  —  Last month, in his big speech to Congress, President Obama argued for bold steps to fix America's dysfunctional banks.  “While the cost of action will be great,” he declared, “I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economy …

Report condemns Afghan coalition  —  • Leaked analysis condemns US for lack of co-operation  —  • Senior officers' criticisms also cover Iraq campaign  —  A highly critical analysis of the US-led coalition's counterinsurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan has raised serious questions …

Republicans Look for a Reliever in Kentucky  —  WASHINGTON — One of the entrenched narratives in American politics is the case of the guy who refuses to quit, even though a lot of people on his own team want him gone.  —  While the Democrats are preoccupied with Senator Roland W. Burris …