Palin Ties Miss California to Obama & Clinton  —  ABC News' Teddy Davis reports:  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) issued a statement Wednesday ginning up conservatives — and creating discomfort for liberals — by pointing out that Miss California Carrie Prejean, President Barack Obama …

Obama Moves to Bar Release of Detainee Abuse Photos  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama said Wednesday that he would fight to prevent the release of photographs documenting abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan by United States military personnel, reversing his position on the issue …

As Cheney Seizes the Spotlight, Many Republicans Wince  —  As vice president, Richard B. Cheney famously spent much of the past eight years in undisclosed locations and offering private advice to President George W. Bush.  But past was not prologue.  —  Today Cheney is the most visible …

White House Czar Calls for End to ‘War on Drugs’  —  Kerlikowske Says Analogy Is Counterproductive; Shift Aligns With Administration Preference for Treatment Over Incarceration  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration's new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting …

Ancient man sculpts a grotesque vision of the female form  —  A grotesque carving in mammoth ivory is arguably the world's oldest depiction of a human figure, scientists say.  —  The distorted sculpture, which portrays a woman with huge breasts, big buttocks and exaggerated genitals, is thought to be at least 35,000 years old.

Obama to Review Supreme Court Candidates Over the Weekend  —  President Obama told senators at a White House meeting yesterday that he would review names of potential Supreme Court nominees over the weekend, leading participants to believe an announcement could come within days …

Senate Rejects a 15% Ceiling on Credit Card Interest Rates  —  Despite complaints that banks and credit card companies are gouging customers by charging outrageous interest rates, the Senate on Wednesday turned back an effort to cap interest rates at 15 percent.

Rep. Shadegg Dismisses Rush Limbaugh As Just ‘A Television Personality’  —  This morning, Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) received enthusiastic praise during an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe.  (Host Joe Scarborough called him “the wind beneath my wings.")  Scarborough and Shadegg began by agreeing …

FACT CHECK: Data belie Biden stimulus anecdotes  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — In his first quarterly report on the nation's stimulus package, Vice President Joe Biden uses anecdotes to paint a glowing picture of an economy on the rebound.  In reality, the picture is incomplete and the colors far more muted.

Elizabeth Edwards's Interview Rules: Don't Mention Rielle Hunter by Name  —  Elizabeth Edwards has been willing to talk about most anything in interviews about her new memoir that details her husband John's affair, but only under one condition: Interviewers must agree not to mention the name …

White House Cheat Sheet: Tea Party, Part Deux  —  (AP Photo/Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Todd Yates)  —  Two prominent GOP governors will host a telephonic anti-tax tea party today, an effort organized by the Republican Governors Association to capitalize politically on the outrage expressed in last month's nationwide protests.

Bill Clinton: Cheney should stick to target practice  —  HERNDON, Virginia (CNN) - Bill Clinton jokingly laughed off a question Wednesday about former Vice President Dick Cheney and his recent claims that the country is less safe under the Obama administration.

A Big Thaw for Climate Change  —  Cap-and-Trade Moving Ahead  —  After Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) unseated Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) atop the Energy and Commerce Committee last year, conservative Democrats worried that Waxman and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would try to ram through a politically toxic climate change bill.

Obama puts Israel at risk  —  As he and Netanyahu prepare to meet, US-Israeli relations are sinking toward an all-time low.  —  The May 18 meeting between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is critical for both nations.  US-Israeli relations are in danger …

Congress and Waterboarding  —  Nancy Pelosi was an accomplice to ‘torture.’  —  Someone important appears not to be telling the truth about her knowledge of the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs).  That someone is Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Scouts Train to Fight Terrorists, and More  —  IMPERIAL, Calif. — Ten minutes into arrant mayhem in this town near the Mexican border, and the gunman, a disgruntled Iraq war veteran, has already taken out two people, one slumped in his desk, the other covered in blood on the floor.

The Almighty Renminbi?  —  THE 19th century was dominated by the British Empire, the 20th century by the United States.  We may now be entering the Asian century, dominated by a rising China and its currency.  While the dollar's status as the major reserve currency will not vanish overnight, we can no longer take it for granted.

Paulson Told Bankers to Take U.S. Taxpayer Aid or Be ‘Exposed’  —  Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, saying nine U.S. banks were “central to any solution” of the credit crisis, told their leaders to take government aid or be forced to by regulators, according to a memo prepared for an October meeting.

Chinese imports could bring GM political troubles  —  DETROIT (AP) - As thousands of General Motors workers await word on more U.S. plant closures, reports that the company plans to import Chinese-made vehicles to the U.S. have created a political problem for the automaker and the White House.