A TEA PARTY PROTEST IN PITTSBURGH: Reader Richard Ames sends this photo, and writes: “The crowd was thoroughly exercised, but it had a good time too.”  —  UPDATE: A report from Lincoln, Nebraska: “Hundreds of Nebraskans chanted no taxation without representation in protest …

Talks With Somalis Over U.S. Captain's Release Break Down  —  Negotiations over the American captain taken hostage by Somali pirates broke down on Saturday, according to Somali officials, after American officials insisted that the pirates be arrested and a group of elders representing the pirates refused.

Vatican blocks Caroline Kennedy appointment as US ambassador  —  The Vatican has blocked the appointment of Caroline Kennedy as US ambassador, according to reports.  —  Vatican sources told Il Giornale that their support for abortion disqualified Ms Kennedy and other Roman Catholics President Barack Obama had been seeking to appoint.

President's half-sibling is denied British visa over claims of attempted sex assault on girl in Berkshire  —  AMERICAN president Barack Obama's half brother was REFUSED a visa to enter the UK after being accused of an attempted sex attack on a young British girl.

AP IMPACT: Chinese drywall poses potential risks  —  PARKLAND, Fla. - At the height of the U.S. housing boom, when building materials were in short supply, American construction companies used millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap.

States Slashing Social Programs for Vulnerable  —  PHOENIX — Battered by the recession and the deepest and most widespread budget deficits in several decades, a large majority of states are slicing into their social safety nets — often crippling preventive efforts that officials say would save money over time.

Another judge tees off Justice  —  Another federal judge has issued a sharp reprimand of the Justice Department for prosecutorial misconduct.  —  In a withering 50-page opinion, Judge Alan Gold of Miami publicly reprimanded United States Attorney R. Alexander Acosta, his top aides …

Goldman Sachs hires law firm to shut blogger's site  —  Goldman Sachs is attempting to shut down a dissident blogger who is extremely critical of the investment bank, its board members and its practices.  —  The bank has instructed Wall Street law firm Chadbourne & Parke to pursue blogger Mike Morgan …

Obama and habeas corpus — then and now  —  (updated below)  —  It was once the case under the Bush administration that the U.S. would abduct people from around the world, accuse them of being Terrorists, ship them to Guantanamo, and then keep them there for as long as we wanted without offering …

Fate of Estate Tax Imperils Obama's Ambitions  —  The death tax is the issue that simply will not die.  —  Fifteen years after Republican strategists put Democrats on the defensive by sticking that pejorative label on the federal estate tax, Democrats are still struggling with how to handle …

Dismissal for Stevens, but Question on ‘Innocent’  —  WASHINGTON — When a federal trial judge tossed out the ethics conviction of former Senator Ted Stevens last week, his lawyers promulgated the story of an innocent man victimized by unscrupulous prosecutors.

Ginsburg Shares Views on Influence of Foreign Law on Her Court, and Vice Versa  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio — In wide-ranging remarks here, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg defended the use of foreign law by American judges, suggested that torture should not be used even when it might yield important information …

When A Woman's Right To Choose Results In Fewer Women  —  Talk about the law of unintended consequences.  In countries where a woman has a virtually unfettered right to choose abortion, the result is that women overwhelmingly choose to abort female fetuses.