Sarah Palin: Why She Resigned  —  Sarah Palin Talks to ABC News About Why She Resigned  —  After her bombshell announcement Friday that she was resigning as governor of Alaska 18 months before the end of her first term, and questions about her political future ricocheting from Alaska to Washington D.C. …

White House Open to Deal on Health  —  WASHINGTON — It is more important that health-care legislation inject stiff competition among insurance plans than it is for Congress to create a pure government-run option, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said.

Dan Froomkin hired by The Huffington Post  —  (updated below)  —  In yet another sign of how online media outlets are strengthening as their older establishment predecessors are struggling to survive, The Huffington Post has hired Dan Froomkin to be its Washington Bureau Chief and regular columnist/blogger.

In Russia, President Obama Explains His Support for Ousted President of Honduras  —  MOSCOW - Facing criticism for having backed the “wrong” side in the recent coup in Honduras, President Obama Tuesday tried to explain his advocacy on behalf of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

Putin praises Bush hospitality during Obama visit  —  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin praised the hospitality and openness of U.S. former President George W. Bush in a telegramme sent hours before meeting his successor Barack Obama.

Pope Urges New World Economic Order  —  VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday called for a radical rethinking of the global economy, criticizing a growing divide between rich and poor and urging the establishment of a “world political authority” to oversee the economy and work for the “common good.”

Reid to Baucus: Stop Chasing GOP Votes on Health Care  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday ordered Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to drop a proposal to tax health benefits and stop chasing Republican votes on a massive health care reform bill.

Obama's Approval Drops In Ohio - Critical Swing State, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; 2010 Senate Race Tips Slightly To Democrats  —  President Barack Obama gets a lackluster 49 - 44 percent approval rating in Ohio, considered by many to be the most important swing state in a presidential election …

Al Gore likens fight against climate change to battle with Nazis  —  Al Gore today compared the battle against climate change with the struggle against the Nazis.  —  The former US Vice President said the world lacked the political will to act and invoked the spirit of Winston Churchill …

Big Banks Don't Want California's IOUs  —  A group of the biggest U.S. banks said they would stop accepting California's IOUs on Friday, adding pressure on the state to close its $26.3 billion annual budget gap.  —  The development is the latest twist in California's struggle to deal with the effects of the recession.

Obama Adviser Says U.S. Should Mull Second Stimulus  —  The U.S. should consider drafting a second stimulus package focusing on infrastructure projects because the $787 billion approved in February was “a bit too small,” said Laura Tyson, an outside adviser to President Barack Obama.

Former Gitmo Inmate Leading Fight Against U.S. in Helmand  —  As U.S. forces are pushing ahead with the massive Operation Khanjar in the southern Afghanistan province of Helmand, Mullah Zakir is leading the Taliban fight against them.  —  FOXNews.com  —  A former Guantanamo Bay inmate …

The Man Who Crashed the World  —  Almost a year after A.I.G.'s collapse, despite a tidal wave of outrage, there still has been no clear explanation of what toppled the insurance giant.  The author decides to ask the people involved—the silent, shell-shocked traders of the A.I.G. Financial Products unit …

UPDATED: Alberto Gonzales, former U.S. attorney general, expected to teach at Texas Tech University  —  Alberto Gonzales, who resigned as the Bush administration's embattled attorney general nearly two years ago, has lined up a fall-semester teaching spot at Texas Tech University, the university confirmed today.

U.S. House May Include Surtax on Wealthy in Health-Care Package  —  House Ways and Means Committee members are likely to propose a surtax on high-income Americans to help pay for an overhaul of the health-care system, according to people familiar with the plan.

In Search of Dignity  —  When George Washington was a young man, he copied out a list of 110 “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.”  Some of the rules in his list dealt with the niceties of going to a dinner party or meeting somebody on the street.

George Allen's road back?  —  A book is often a start on that road, and Regnery announced today that they're publishing one by the former Virginia senator:  —  The book, due out next year, will be called, “The Triumph of Character: What Washington Can Learn from the World of Sports.”