Obama to Push Immigration Bill Despite the Risks  —  While acknowledging that the recession makes the political battle more difficult, President Obama plans to begin addressing the country's immigration system this year, including looking for a path for illegal immigrants to become legal …

The curious case of 200 nearly identical MSM headlines  —  The following headlines have appeared in newspapers within the last 24 hours.  This is not an inclusive list.  —  • Third of Illinoisans went without health insurance in last 2 years: Sun-Times

Bloggers Urge That Organizations To Which They Give “Free Publicity” Advertise on Their Sites: The Plum Line, Greg Sargent's blog on the Washington Post's whorunsgov.com, reports: … The post then goes on to give more details, including this quote from a blogger: “They come to us …

White House: No bow to Saudi  —  The White House is denying that the president bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at a G-20 meeting in London, a scene that drew criticism on the right and praise from some Arab outlets.  —  “It wasn't a bow.  He grasped his hand with two hands …

House rejects Gov. Kaine's unemployment benefits amendments  —  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia's Republican-run House of Delegates rejected a proposed expansion of unemployment benefits Wednesday, along with $125 million in federal stimulus cash to pay for it.

Banks Holding Up in Tests, but May Still Need Aid  —  For the last eight weeks, nearly 200 federal examiners have labored inside some of the nation's biggest banks to determine how those institutions would hold up if the recession deepened.  —  What they are discovering may come as a relief …

Men's Underwear Sales, Greenspan's Economic Metric, Reveal Crisis  —  As chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan was known for using quirky, proletariat metrics to judge the temperature of the economy.  The most famous of these, as recounted by NPR's Robert Krulwich in January 2008, were the sales of men's underwear.

Just 53% Say Capitalism Better Than Socialism  —  Only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 20% disagree and say socialism is better.  Twenty-seven percent (27%) are not sure which is better.

A.P. Exec Doesn't Know It Has A YouTube Channel: Threatens Affiliate For Embedding Videos  —  Here is another great moment in A.P. history.  In its quest to become the RIAA of the newspaper industry, the A.P.'s executives and lawyers are beginning to match their counterparts in the music industry for cluelessness.

Top 3 Conservatives Who Deserve a Biopic  —  One of the most controversial Hollywood films last year was “Milk”.  It was praised by liberals and gay-rights supporters — and simultaneously labeled leftist propaganda by many conservatives.  —  Personally, I am opposed to the brand …

Lawmaker defends comment on Asians  —  Call for voters to simplify their names not racially motivated, Terrell Republican says  —  AUSTIN — A North Texas legislator during House testimony on voter identification legislation said Asian-descent voters should adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.”

Pentagon preps for economic warfare  —  The Pentagon sponsored a first-of-its-kind war game last month focused not on bullets and bombs — but on how hostile nations might seek to cripple the U.S. economy, a scenario made all the more real by the global financial crisis.

Israel Cries Wolf  —  ISTANBUL — “Iran is the center of terrorism, fundamentalism and subversion and is in my view more dangerous than Nazism, because Hitler did not possess a nuclear bomb, whereas the Iranians are trying to perfect a nuclear option.”  —  Benjamin Netanyahu 2009?  Try again.

Congress Ready to Slow Pace, Face Long-Term Issues  —  After approving more than $1.5 trillion to bail out Wall Street and stimulate the economy and nearly passing a $3.5 billion budget blueprint in its initial legislative sprint, Congress will return from a two-week break later this month …

How Bernanke Staged a Revolution  —  This chairman set out to lead as a civil servant rather than a celebrity economist.  Facing a thundering financial collapse, he has reinvented the Federal Reserve.  —  Every six weeks or so, around a giant mahogany table in an ornate room overlooking the National Mall …

Taliban Using U.S. Firms to Host Web Sites  —  Ease and Anonymity Draw Taliban, al-Qaeda  —  On March 25, a Taliban Web site claiming to be the voice of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” boasted of a deadly new attack on coalition forces in that country.

Housing Slump Hits Manhattan  —  While sales have picked up a bit in some suffering housing markets in the West, creating a glimmer of hope that home prices nationwide may be approaching a bottom, the Manhattan real estate market has just begun a steep slide.

Sole Minnesota Senator Has Problems Built for 2  —  As the fight over a United States Senate seat from Minnesota seems certain to drag into a sixth month, forgotten in all the fussing is the senator left behind.  —  Amy Klobuchar, the “other” senator from Minnesota, the one whose election was not contested …

Nancy Pelosi's Balancing Act  —  “I give Republicans credit for this: They vote the way they believe. . . . I think that they vote with more integrity than they get credit for.”  —  That review of Republican motivations and commitments comes not courtesy of a partisan blog but from Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House.

The Future of Marriage  —  One of the great coups of the movement for same-sex marriage has been to plant the premise that it represents the inevitable future.  This sense has inhibited even some who know perfectly well that marriage is by nature the union of a man and a woman.

Why Do Americans Befriending the Castros Ignore Cuba's Pro-Democracy Movement?  —  HALF A DOZEN members of the Congressional Black Caucus spent hours huddling with Fidel and Raúl Castro in Havana this week as part of a swelling campaign to normalize relations with Cuba.

Listening to the Dot-Comments  —  I am writing in defense of the anonymous, unmoderated, often appallingly inaccurate, sometimes profane, frequently off point and occasionally racist reader comments that washingtonpost.com allows to be published at the end of articles and blogs.

More States Look to Raise Taxes  —  A free fall in tax revenue is driving more state lawmakers to turn to broad-based tax increases in a bid to close widening budget gaps.  —  At least 10 states are considering some kind of major increase in sales or income taxes: Arizona, Connecticut …