Pirates Seize Ship With U.S. Crew Off Coast of Somalia  —  Pirates commandeered a United States-flagged container ship with 20 American crew members off the coast of Somalia on Wednesday, the first time an American-crewed ship was seized by pirates in the area.

Obama and Gates Gut the Military  —  The secretary's new budget will leave us weaker to pay for the president's domestic programs.  —  On Monday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced a significant reordering of U.S. defense programs.  His recommendations should not go unchallenged.

Web ‘echo chamber’ going strong as Coleman and Franken camps prepare for Tuesday vote count  —  For the past week, to the outside world, it may have appeared as if the Norm Coleman-Al Franken U.S. Senate election contest were on hiatus.  —  The three-judge panel last Monday delivered …

Thoughts on Bill O'Reilly and Squeaky the Chicago Mouse  —  Dear Bill: Thanks for including the Chicago Sun-Times on your exclusive list of newspapers on your “Hall of Shame.”  To be in an O'Reilly Hall of Fame would be a cruel blow to any newspaper.  It would place us in the favor of a man …

Obama to host Seder Thursday night  —  Article's topics: Barack Obama, Pessah, Seder,  —  US President Barack Obama will celebrate Passover Thursday night with staff and friends in what is believed to be the first White House Seder attended by an American president.

Electricity Grid in U.S. Penetrated By Spies  —  Robert Moran monitors an electric grid in Dallas.  Such infrastructure grids across the country are vulnerable to cyberattacks.  —  WASHINGTON — Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs …

U.S. to Offer Aid to Life Insurers  —  Firms Face Capital Crunch; How Much They Will Get From TARP Remains Unclear  —  The Treasury Department has decided to extend bailout funds to a number of struggling life-insurance companies, helping an industry that is a lynchpin of the U.S. financial system …

Obama team readying for confrontation with Netanyahu  —  In an unprecedented move, the Obama administration is readying for a possible confrontation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by briefing Democratic congressmen on the peace process and the positions of the new government in Israel regarding a two-state solution.

Palin Legal Defense Fund Launched, Supporters Drawn To Her Maternal Instinct  —  Defenders of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin have created a defense fund to help pay for her legal fees, including those stemming from the now-famous Troopergate probe.  —  Clayton Paslay, director …

ACORN DIRECTOR: WHAT ARE TEA PARTIES?  —  I'm sort of fascinated by the latest ACORN conspiracy theory, that ACORN activists are crashing right wing “tea parties” in order to sabotage them.  I'm fascinated, because like Steve Benen, I don't know anyone who actually cares about these things.

Bow-ow-ow: Obama's painful missteps  —  Let the new president grow into the job — but he'd better do it fast!  Plus: Readers ask about everything from talk radio, morality and Mary McCarthy, to that big movie about a sinking ship.  —  Dear Camille,  —  In your column, you say …

Why We Need the New York Times  —  For many years, I was a devoted reader of the New York Times.  An unusually devoted one.  —  I picked up the habit from David O'Brien, an actor who played my father on a soap opera I appeared on over 25 years ago.  It was my first professional job …

Ten principles for a Black Swan-proof world  —  1. What is fragile should break early while it is still small.  Nothing should ever become too big to fail.  Evolution in economic life helps those with the maximum amount of hidden risks - and hence the most fragile - become the biggest.

Keith Olbermann's scathing criticism of Obama's secrecy/immunity claims  —  (updated below)  —  Several weeks ago, I noted that unlike the Right — which turned itself into a virtual cult of uncritical reverence for George W. Bush especially during the first several years of his administration …

Want to Join Marcy and Me to Protest Banks on Saturday, April 11?  —  I'll be on Nancy Skinner's show at 3:00 PM ET today to talk about this.  If you don't have a local affiliate, you can listen live at http://www.nancyskinnerlive.com.  —  On Saturday, April 11, there are going to be demonstrations …

Levi Johnston: My Family's Not White Trash  —  Tells Maggie Rodriguez Palins Spreading Lies About Him; He Seeks To Set Record Straight  —  Page 1 of 2  —  (CBS) Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate in last year's presidential race, is a new grandmother.

“I am under a lot of pressure to not diagnose PTSD”  —  A secret recording reveals the Army may be pushing its medical staff not to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder.  The Army and Senate have ignored the implications. … Listen to a segment of the recording of an Army psychologist at Fort Carson …