Congress Approves Budget  —  $3.5 Trillion Spending Plan Paves Way for Obama Goals  —  Congressional Democrats overwhelmingly embraced President Obama's ambitious and expensive agenda for the nation yesterday, endorsing a $3.5 trillion spending plan that sets the stage for the president to pursue his most far-reaching priorities.

Jobless Rate Hits 8.5% After 663,000 Jobs Lost in March  —  The American economy shed another 663,000 jobs in March, the government reported Friday, bringing the toll of job losses during the recession to 5.1 million.  —  The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the national unemployment rate climbed …

On the World Stage, Obama Issues an Overture  —  LONDON — In his debut on the international stage, President Obama presented himself as the leader of an America that can no longer go it alone, and as abiding by the protocol of a global new deal.  —  It was a performance that ranged …

Why is this man bowing?  —  The caption on the photo above reads: … What's wrong with this picture?  Americans do not bow to royalty.  In my view, when the royal is the ruling tyrant of a despotic regime, the wrong is compounded.  Putting aside the breach of American protocol …

Palin calls for Begich's resignation  —  Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) called on Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska ) Thursday to step down from his seat and run in a special election in the wake of the Justice Department's decision to drop corruption charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).

Churchill wins CU suit but awarded just $1  —  Ward Churchill won his case against the University of Colorado today as a Denver jury unanimously decided he was fired in retaliation for his controversial essay about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.  —  The jury gave Churchill $1 for past losses …

As Crisis Loomed, Geithner Pressed But Fell Short  —  Before Timothy Geithner became Treasury chief, he regulated major U.S. banks.  Now he says: “We're having a major financial crisis in part because of failures of supervision.”  —  In September 2005, Timothy Geithner made one of his most visible moves …

Russia's Medvedev hails ‘comrade’ Obama  —  LONDON (AFP) - - Russia's Dmitry Medvedev hailed Barack Obama as “my new comrade” Thursday after their first face-to-face talks, saying the US president “can listen” — even if little progress was made on substance.

China's Dollar Trap  —  Back in the early stages of the financial crisis, wags joked that our trade with China had turned out to be fair and balanced after all: They sold us poison toys and tainted seafood; we sold them fraudulent securities.  —  But these days, both sides of that deal are breaking down.

City of Burleson Tries to Cancel Tea Party  —  BREAKING NEWS: The City of Burleson, Texas is trying to shut down a Tax Day Tea Party planned for April 15th!!  —  According to local organizers, unelected “street supervisor” Ray Gonzales, informed them that he was going to prevent the event from happening.

The American Super-Bower  —  This picture is worth a thousand words.  So let me see if I understand American protocol in the age of Obama: The First Lady hugs Queen Elizabeth as if she's some granny at a seniors' center photo-op, but the President of this republic prostrates himself …

Murdoch says papers should charge on Web  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch, whose media company News Corp owns one of the few U.S. newspapers that makes people pay to read its news on the Web, said more papers will have to start doing the same to survive.

Unemployed Journalists Key to Stimulus Oversight?  —  Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) suggested today that the team tasked with overseeing distribution of economic stimulus funds should consider hiring recently laid-off journalists to help craft the tone and message of the government's Recovery.gov Web site.

Burris adviser slams Dem leadership  —  A senior adviser to Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) slammed Democratic leaders Thursday evening, saying “they have tried their best to discredit” the new senator in the wake of his appointment by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Bailed-out banks eye toxic asset buys  —  By Francesco Guerrera in New York and Krishna Guha in Washington  —  US banks that have received government aid, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, are considering buying toxic assets to be sold by rivals under …

Blagojevich, his brother, top aides indicted  —  Federal prosecutors expanded their case against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich today in an indictment that drew more of his closest aides into the scandal and adds new schemes to the list of charges against him: Pocketing money funneled through his wife through a phony real estate job.

Sources: Google In Talks To Acquire Twitter (Updated)  —  Here's a heck of a rumor that we've sourced from two separate people close to the negotiations: Google is in late stage negotiations to acquire Twitter.  We don't know the price but can assume its well, well north of the $250 million valuation …

FASB Eases Fair-Value Rules Amid Lawmaker Pressure  —  The Financial Accounting Standards Board, pressured by U.S. lawmakers and financial companies, voted to relax fair-value accounting rules that Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. say don't work when markets are inactive.

Dignitas founder plans assisted suicide of healthy woman  —  The founder of the Swiss assistedsuicide clinic Dignitas was criticised yesterday after revealing plans to help a healthy woman to die alongside her terminally ill husband.  —  Ludwig Minelli described suicide as a “marvellous opportunity” …

Why Legalizing Marijuana Makes Sense  —  For the past several years, I've been harboring a fantasy, a last political crusade for the baby-boom generation.  We, who started on the path of righteousness, marching for civil rights and against the war in Vietnam, need to find an appropriately high-minded approach to life's exit ramp.