Report: Abusive tactics were used to find Iraq-al Qaida link  —  WASHINGTON — The Bush administration put relentless pressure on interrogators to use harsh methods on detainees in part to find evidence of cooperation between al Qaida and the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime …

Acting Freddie Mac CFO commits suicide  —  VIENNA, Va. — David Kellermann, acting chief financial officer of Freddie Mac, committed suicide in his Hunter Mill Estates home Wednesday morning.  He hanged himself.  —  Fairfax County Police spokeswoman Mary Anne Jennings tells WTOP police responded …

Court Debates Strip Search of Student  —  WASHINGTON — The United States Supreme Court spent an hour on Tuesday debating what middle school students are apt to put in their underwear and what should be done about it.  —  Justice Stephen G. Breyer, for instance, said it struck him as …

Israel Puts Iran Issue Ahead of Palestinians  —  JERUSALEM — The new Israeli government will not move ahead on the core issues of peace talks with the Palestinians until it sees progress in U.S. efforts to stop Iran's suspected pursuit of a nuclear weapon and limit Tehran's rising influence in the region …

‘Deeper’ recession ahead says IMF  —  The global economy is set to decline by 1.3% in 2009, in the first global recession since World War II, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.  —  In January, the IMF had predicted world output would increase by 0.5% in 2009.

The Re-Education of Tim Geithner  —  In his worst moments, when the camera lights are ­burning and the doubt, the contempt, in the Capitol Hill hearing rooms become palpable, Tim Geithner has a look in his eye—at once wary and alarmed, even as he speaks quickly, sometimes interrupting, sometimes repeating his talking points.

A Pentagon Cyber-Command Is in the Works  —  The Obama administration is finalizing plans for a new Pentagon command to coordinate the security of military computer networks and to develop new offensive cyber-weapons, sources said last night.  —  Planning for the reorganization of Defense Department …

How they lie: a case study  —  Did an Obama judicial nominee really express a preference for Allah over Jesus?  No, not by a long shot  —  From the second I read the sentence, I knew there was something fishy about it.  Many years' experience in reading and then looking into rightwing canards set off …

Quadrangle Facing Questions Over Pension Funds  —  Two months after Steven Rattner left Wall Street for Washington, his private investment company is facing a widening investigation into corruption in public pension funds — and fighting for its future.  —  As state and federal authorities examine …

$%^&*!!: Civility and tolerance in the Age of Obama  —  My syndicated column today looks at the outbreak of Obama-esque discourse across the country.  Couldn't even mention some of the misogynist sleaze prompted by the Tea Party movement because newspapers wouln't print it.  And they call us an “unhinged mob?”

Fuzzy Math  —  According to an MIT study, cap and trade could cost the average household more than $3,900 per year.  —  It's just another inconvenient truth: If Americans want any of the government remedies that would supposedly save a planet allegedly imperiled by global warming, it's going to cost them.

Getting It Right  —  Trade: Hugo Chavez may have gotten a grinning handshake from President Obama in Trinidad.  But it was our authentic friend and ally, Colombia, that got substance.  The president got one right.  —  Read More: Budget & Tax Policy  —  There was quite a media din …

Pataki Heads to Iowa to Slam Obama's First 100 Days  —  Former New York Governor's Wednesday Speech Stokes 2012 Speculation  —  Former Republican New York Gov. George Pataki heads to Iowa Wednesday to deliver a scathing critique of President Obama's first 100 days in office.