Senate Democrats Deny Specter Committee Seniority  —  The Senate dealt a blow tonight to Sen. Arlen Specter's hold on seniority in several key committees, a week after the Pennsylvanian's party switch placed Democrats on the precipice of a 60-seat majority.  —  In a unanimous voice vote …

EXCLUSIVE: Secret U.S.-Israel nuclear accord in jeopardy  —  President Obama's efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons threaten to expose and derail a 40-year-old secret U.S. agreement to shield Israel's nuclear weapons from international scrutiny, former and current U.S. and Israeli officials and nuclear specialists say.

A Complicated Question  —  I had dinner once with John and Elizabeth Edwards, when he first burst onto the national scene.  —  Looking across the booth at her grinning, boyish husband, she told me that it was irritating to be married to someone so comely who looked so much younger.

College Student Shoots, Kills Home Invader  —  COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — A group of college students said they are lucky to be alive and they're thanking the quick-thinking of one of their own.  Police said a fellow student shot and killed one of two masked me who burst into an apartment.

Should we be banning this US ‘shock jock’?  —  The Home Office has issued the latest list of people it believes should not come to the country because they hold extremist opinions.  —  It is a state's prerogative to decide who it wants to come to its country.  That is, after all, what a visa system is for.

Palin to hit East Coast event — or not  —  DINNER: Blogs say she'll attend; governor's spokeswoman says she “may” be in the area this weekend.  —  Daily News staff and wire reports  —  Is Gov. Sarah Palin going to New York City and Washington, D.C., this weekend?

Obama Relies on Inner Circle in Looking for Souter's Supreme Court Successor  —  President Obama's first selection of a Supreme Court justice is being managed by a small group of senior advisers, and the process will last at least into next week before producing a candidate who the administration hopes …

U.S. Says Bank of America Needs Cushion of $33.9 Billion  —  The government has told Bank of America it needs $33.9 billion in capital to withstand any worsening of the economic downturn, according to an executive at the bank.  —  If the bank is unable to raise the capital cushion …

OBAMA'S TAX DODGERS . . .  Here's a tip for President Obama: Next time you excoriate tax cheats, try to keep Rep. Charles Rangel's name out of the discussion.  —  Somehow, it doesn't further your case.  —  Yet that's precisely what Obama did Monday, singling out the powerful Harlem congressman …

EXCLUSIVE: Steele yields powers to foes in RNC  —  Accepts limits on spending  —  Capitulating to critics on the Republican National Committee, embattled Republican Party Chairman Michael S. Steele has signed a secret pact agreeing to controls and restraints on how he spends hundreds …

Plan to Sell Chrysler to Fiat Clears Bar  —  By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED and JONATHAN D. GLATER  —  The judge overseeing the bankruptcy of Chrysler on Tuesday took a significant step toward allowing the sale of most of the automaker to Fiat, approving the bidding procedures advocated …

Corzine Allies Plan Attack in G.O.P. Primary  —  Allies of New Jersey's Democratic governor, Jon S. Corzine, are so worried about his re-election prospects that they are going to start spending and advertising heavily — in the Republican primary.  —  Mr. Corzine's allies plan to attack …

Tortured Logic  —  Hit me Bybee, one more time.  —  Remember the Rule of Law?  In the late 1990s, it was all the rage in conservative circles.  Having maneuvered Bill Clinton into a position where he could either lie under oath or suffer massive personal and political embarrassment …

The Confederate Legacy  —  Ed Kilgore has a very interesting post on a new trend sweeping conservative politics in Dixie—"sovereignty resolutions" that appear to assert states' rights to unilaterally invalidate federal action, a doctrine last seen in the hands of John C. Calhoun, the great antebellum theorist of white supremacy.

Inspector at Pentagon Says Report Was Flawed  —  In a highly unusual reversal, the Defense Department's inspector general's office has withdrawn a report it issued in January exonerating a Pentagon public relations program that made extensive use of retired officers who worked as military analysts for television and radio networks.

White House puts UAW ahead of property rights  —  Last Friday, the day after Chrysler filed for bankruptcy, I drove past the company's headquarters on Interstate 75 in Auburn Hills, Mich.  —  As I glanced at the pentagram logo I felt myself tearing up a little bit.

Skeptical Administration Keeping Karzai at Arm's Length  —  Skepticism of Afghan Leader Shapes Policy  —  Afghan President Hamid Karzai began talking as soon as his luncheon guests had taken their seats in his wood-paneled dining room at the presidential palace in Kabul …

Key Findings  —  The top subprime lenders whose loans are largely blamed for triggering the global economic meltdown were owned or backed by giant banks now collecting billions of dollars in bailout money — including several that have paid huge fines to settle predatory lending charges.