Obama Urges C.I.A. Not to Be Discouraged by Memos  —  WASHINGTON — Pressure mounted on President Obama on Monday for more thorough investigation into harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects under the Bush administration, even as he tried to reassure the Central Intelligence Agency …

Lawmaker Is Said to Have Agreed to Aid Lobbyists  —  WASHINGTON — One of the leading House Democrats on intelligence matters was overheard on telephone calls intercepted by the National Security Agency agreeing to seek lenient treatment from the Bush administration for two pro-Israel lobbyists …

Sources: Wiretap Recorded Rep. Harman Promising to Intervene for AIPAC  —  Rep. Jane Harman , the California Democrat with a longtime involvement in intelligence issues, was overheard on an NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby the Justice Department reduce espionage …

Cheney v. Obama on torture  —  Former Vice President Cheney last month formally asked the Central Intelligence Agency to de-classify top secret documents he believes show harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding helped prevent terrorist attacks against U.S. targets, according to a source familiar with the effort.

SPIN METER: Saving federal money the easy way  —  SPIN METER: Obama's latest budget-tightening effort hardly makes a dime's worth of difference  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Cut a latte or two out of your annual budget and you've just done as much belt-tightening as President Barack Obama asked of his Cabinet on Monday.

Miss California: My Sister Is A Gay Rights Activist  —  Pageants,LGBT,Billy Bush,Celebrities  —  Her opinions on same-sex marriage may have cost Miss California the Miss USA crown on Sunday night - but in an interview with Billy Bush for “The Billy Bush Show” and Access Hollywood on Monday morning …