How the Fed Failed to Tell Obama About The Bonuses  —  Federal Reserve officials knew for months about bonuses at American International Group but failed to tell the Obama administration, according to government and company officials, exposing problems in a relationship that is vital to addressing the financial crisis.

Duke Coach to Obama: Worry About the Economy, Not NCAA Picks  —  Reacting to news Obama picked North Carolina to win the NCAA Championship, Mike Krzyzewski says, “the economy is something that [the president] should focus on, probably more than the brackets.”

EXCLUSIVE: Obama's $500,000 book bonanza  —  Deal reached 5 days before he took office  —  As he empathized with recession-weary Americans, President Obama arranged in the days just before he took office to secure a $500,000 advance for a children's book project, a disclosure report shows.

Our Must-Win War  —  The ‘Minimalist’ Path Is Wrong for Afghanistan  —  Later this month, the Obama administration will unveil a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan.  This comes as most important indicators in Afghanistan are pointing in the wrong direction.

Julia Alasheyeva, Moscow  —  A picture has emerged apparently showing Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in his former days as a KGB officer.  —  The 20-year old photo depicts two world leaders - US President Ronald Reagan and the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev - in Moscow.

Schwarzenegger to help Obama answer GOP critics  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  LOS ANGELES - President Barack Obama is playing a bit of divide and conquer this week, pitting his Republican critics in Washington against GOP governors and mayors eager …

President Obama Compares Big Banks, AIG, to Suicide Bombers  —  At his town hall meeting in Costa Mesa, Calif., Wednesday evening, President Obama compared embattled insurer AIG and other large failing banks to a suicide bomber.  —  “A lot of people say, ‘Well, why not just let the banks fail?’” the president said.

Citigroup Said to Commit $10 Million for New Executive Suite  —  Citigroup Inc. plans to spend about $10 million on new offices for Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit and his lieutenants, after the U.S. government injected $45 billion of cash into the bank.

Detainees May Be Released in U.S.  —  WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder said some detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, may end up being released in the U.S. as the Obama administration works with foreign allies to resettle some of the prisoners.

Top brass disturbed by GOP stalling of Iraq ambassador  —  There's one as yet unremarked constituency increasingly disturbed by some Republican senators' efforts to block the confirmation of former North Korea envoy Christopher Hill to be the next U.S. ambassador to Iraq: the U.S. military.

Leading climate scientist: 'democratic process isn't working'  —  Protest and direct action could be the only way to tackle soaring carbon emissions, a leading climate scientist has said.  —  James Hansen, a climate modeller with Nasa, told the Guardian today that corporate lobbying …

On the Fed's “Shock and Awe”  —  When some deemed the Fed's move today to expand its balance sheet by as much as a trillion dollars plus as “shock and awe”, I recalled that when that term was first used, at the beginning of the US invasion of Iraq.  The notion was a display of superior force would lead to quick capitulation.

What to Do About AIG?  —  Chief executive of AIG from 1967 to 2005  —  CEO Edward Liddy believes that dismantling AIG, once the world's largest and most successful insurance company, is the only way to repay the taxpayer money it has received.  But AIG's history demonstrates that its businesses …

Rethinking The JournoList List  —  A friend emailed to ask me for my thoughts on the “JournoList,” a question prompted by Michael Calderone's short but suggestive report in yesterday's Politico.  Calderone's piece is for the most part a lament about the secrecy maintained by the members of the list …

Specter crosses aisle despite election risks  —  Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) says he will probably cast the decisive vote on legislation that, if passed, would make it easier for workers to organize in labor unions.  —  He does not look forward to that distinction but, he says, “Around here …

RNC to report $5.1M in February fundraising  —  The Republican National Committee (RNC) will report raising $5.1 million during the month of February when reports are filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission.  —  The number is down slightly from the amount the party raised in January …

Murtha defends statement  —  The region's outspoken congressman is in the national lens again - this time CBS News television cameras - in a report Wednesday that calls him “the king of earmarks who wastes a lot of taxpayer money” and implies that the FBI is investigating.