Spanish Court Weighs Inquiry on Torture for 6 Bush-Era Officials  —  LONDON — A high-level Spanish court has taken the first steps toward opening a criminal investigation against six former Bush administration officials, including former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales …

Hillary Clinton leaves flowers for Our Lady of Guadalupe, asks ‘Who painted it?’  —  Mexico City, Mexico, Mar 27, 2009 / 04:59 pm (CNA).- During her recent visit to Mexico, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an unexpected stop at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and left a bouquet …

KRUGMAN OPENS THE OVERTON WINDOW... The upcoming cover of Newsweek, the Village weekly reader, will feature Paul Krugman, or at least 60%-65% of his face, with the headline “OBAMA IS WRONG: The Loyal Opposition of Paul Krugman.” … The full Newsweek article is here.

A NEW BRAND OF STUPID ON CLIMATE CHANGE... Today is the second annual Earth Hour, a worldwide campaign to raise awareness on the issue of climate change.  At 8:30pm local time, major businesses, local and national points of interest, and individual homes will dim their lights for one hour.

‘FRIEND’ OF BIDEN'S DAUGHTER SHOPPING TAPE OF HER ALLEGEDLY DOING COCAINE  —  A “friend” of Vice President Joseph Biden's daughter, Ashley, is attempting to hawk a videotape that he claims shows her snorting cocaine at a house party this month in Delaware.  —  The anonymous male acquaintance …

Brown snubbed over tax  —  Germans wreck ‘global new deal’  —  GORDON BROWN'S carefully laid plans for a G20 deal on worldwide tax cuts have been scuppered by an eve-of-summit ambush by European leaders.  —  Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, last night led the assault on the prime minister's …

Obama Town Hall Questioners Were Campaign Backers  —  President Obama has promised to change the way the government does business, but in at least one respect he is taking a page from the Bush playbook, stocking his town hall Thursday with supporters whose soft — though far from planted …

Stop The O'Reilly Harassment Machine  —  by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Benjamin Armbruster, Ali Frick, and Ryan Powers  —  To receive The Progress Report in your email inbox everyday, click here.  —  Last Saturday, March 21, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly sent …

Do New Bulbs Save Energy if They Don't Work?  —  SAN FRANCISCO — It sounds like such a simple thing to do: buy some new light bulbs, screw them in, save the planet.  —  But a lot of people these days are finding the new compact fluorescent bulbs anything but simple.

Vast Spy System Loots Computers in 103 Countries  —  TORONTO — A vast electronic spying operation has infiltrated computers and has stolen documents from hundreds of government and private offices around the world, including those of the Dalai Lama, Canadian researchers have concluded.

CNN in third place in prime time for first time  —  NEW YORK - CNN is poised to finish March third in the prime-time weeknight ratings behind Fox News Channel and MSNBC, the first time this has ever happened for the channel that pioneered the cable news genre nearly three decades ago.

Obama Will Face a Defiant World on Foreign Visit  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is facing challenges to American power on multiple fronts as he prepares for his first trip overseas since taking office, with the nation's economic woes emboldening allies and adversaries alike.

In Exposing the Identity of Mudflats, Rep. Mike Doogan Exposes Himself.  —  Anonymity is an interesting thing.  Anyone who has read my “About” page knows that Mudflats popped out of my head and on to my keyboard last May.  I, like many of you, get frustrated with my government.

Obama order worries speech groups  —  Free speech advocates from across the political spectrum are accusing President Barack Obama of impinging on First Amendment rights and are gearing up to take their case public.  —  At issue is an unprecedented directive that Obama …

Biden: U.S. ready for ‘collaboration’  —  Vice President Joe Biden and Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner at the Progressive Governance Leaders' Summit today in Vina del Mar, Chile.  (Photo by Martin Bernett / AFP / Getty Images.)  —  by Mark Silva

Free Trade is Common  —  Persons who, fancying themselves observant realists, insist that “free trade doesn't exist” have their visions and brains distorted by political boundaries.  —  It is quite true that national governments almost universally erect barriers that hinder their citizens' freedom …