Obama twice approved force to rescue hostage  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama twice authorized the military to rescue a U.S. captain who was being held by Somali pirates and whose life appeared to be at risk, administration officials said after Sunday's rescue.

Amazon Follies  —  On Amazon.com two days ago, mysteriously, the sales rankings disappeared from two newly-released high profile gay romance books: “Transgressions” by Erastes and “False Colors” by Alex Beecroft.  Everybody was perplexed.  Was it a glitch of some sort?

Warning that Pakistan is in danger of collapse within months  —  PAKISTAN could collapse within months, one of the more influential counter-insurgency voices in Washington says.  —  The warning comes as the US scrambles to redeploy its military forces and diplomats in an attempt …

Obama's Chief of Staff Grants Access, Gets Results  —  Lawmakers Respond to Improved Access to White House  —  As the House and Senate debated the budget earlier this month, Rahm Emanuel's spacious West Wing office took on the feel of a legislative bazaar.

China Slows Purchases of U.S. and Other Bonds  —  HONG KONG — Reversing its role as the world's fastest-growing buyer of U.S. Treasuries and other foreign bonds, the Chinese government actually sold bonds heavily in January and February before resuming purchases in March, according to data released this weekend by China's central bank.

‘Surgical’ Bankruptcy Possible for G.M.  —  By MICHELINE MAYNARD and MICHAEL J. de la MERCED  —  DETROIT — The Treasury Department is directing General Motors to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing by a June 1 deadline, despite G.M.'s public contention that it could still reorganize outside court …