Can Palin ever come back?  —  A closer look at the words of Obama, Depeche Mode and U2.  Plus: Why do straight actresses make the best lesbo porn?  —  Dear Camille,  —  Just wondering.  Do you still think Sarah Palin is ready for the big stage?  —  James L. Somers  —  Good question!

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 girls take Russia by storm  —  MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) — An unexpected visitor wandered into the bedroom of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in the wee hours of Tuesday morning — but the Secret Service wasn't worried about a security breach.

Introducing the Google Chrome OS  —  It's been an exciting nine months since we launched the Google Chrome browser.  Already, over 30 million people use it regularly.  We designed Google Chrome for people who live on the web — searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news …

Madigan Declines Senate, Gov Bids  —  Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) will run for re-election to her current post in 2010, according to a Democratic source aware of the decision, ending months of speculation about whether she might make the leap to a Senate or gubernatorial bid.

I Still Hate You, Sarah Palin  —  One of the most terrifying moments of my political life came last summer at the Republican convention in St. Paul.  No, I don't mean seeing John McCain careering around the Xcel Energy Center like Eyegore in Young Frankenstein, his face frozen …

Henry Waxman: GOP ‘rooting against’ USA  —  Waxman: GOP ‘rooting against’ USA  —  Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who has had an eventful couple of weeks to say the least, believes House Republican opposition to climate change legislation and the stimulus indicates they're cheering against the good ol' US of A.

It's official: Franken makes 60 for Dems  —  Former comedian Al Franken officially became Minnesota's junior senator on Tuesday, continuing his policy of silence and seriousness but giving the Democratic Party a critical 60-seat Senate majority.  —  Franken was sworn in twice by Vice President Joe Biden …

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 …

Lights, Camera, Lots of Action.  Forget the Script.  —  The actress known as Savanna Samson once relished preparing for a role.  “I couldn't wait to get my next script,” she said.  —  There's no reason to look at them anymore, she said, because her movies now call almost exclusively for action.

Does Obama Want to Own the Airlines?  —  Welcome to government for the benefit of government officials and their hangers-on.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Only luck and falling oil prices saved Washington from having to face mass bankruptcy of the airline industry last year.  Now the specter is rising again.

What happened to those bad bank assets?  So far, nothing  —  WASHINGTON — In March, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled a Public-Private Investment Program in which the government and private firms would bid together to purchase toxic assets from banks, freeing them to increase lending and help revive the economy.

GOP war-games Sotomayor hearings  —  Senate Republicans are finalizing their line of attack against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, casting the nominee as a biased, closed-minded judge who's on the wrong side of gun rights and affirmative action cases.

Obama makes pointed quip on Russian sale of Alaska  —  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Visiting U.S. President Barack Obama made a pointed quip Tuesday about Russia's sale of Alaska to the United States in the 19th century.  —  Referring to the long history of Russia-U.S. trade stretching back more than two centuries …

In Retooled Health-Care System, Who Will Set Limits?  —  The question came from a Colorado neurologist.  “Mr. President,” he said at a recent forum, “what can you do to convince the American public that there actually are limits to what we can pay for with our American health-care system?

‘Shocking’ Security Breaches at Federal Buildings  —  Government Investigators Smuggle in Bomb Parts, Find Guards Sleeping on the Job  —  It only took 27 seconds for him to smuggle live bomb components through security detail in a federal building.  Later, he assembled a bomb in the restroom …

GOP Ad Paints Franken As Angry Maniac — Using Footage Of Him Talking About Paul Wellstone  —  The National Republican Senatorial Committee has just released a new Web ad featuring footage of Senator Al Franken that makes him look like an out-of-control, Red Bull-guzzling cross between Jim Carrey and the Hulk.

Unpersons  —  One of the mysteries of the way issues are covered in much of the news media is how certain views get ruled “out of the mainstream” and just don't get covered — even when many well-informed people hold those views.  —  The most notorious example was during the buildup to the Iraq war …

Without Health Care, My Patients Will Die: Please Don't Sacrifice Them for Single Payer  —  Over the last six years I've evaluated and treated hundreds of patients who have very little access to health care.  These patients qualified for mental health care, but a great many didn't qualify …

£6m drive to cut teen pregnancies sees them DOUBLE  —  A multi-million pound initiative to reduce teenage pregnancies more than doubled the number of girls conceiving.  —  The Government-backed scheme tried to persuade teenage girls not to get pregnant by handing out condoms and teaching them about sex.