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!

Health Deals Could Harbor Hidden Costs  —  WASHINGTON — The deals, trumpeted loudly by the White House, would each help pay for a sweeping overhaul of the health care system.  —  First, it was a broad consortium of health industry groups — doctors, hospitals, drug makers and insurers …

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 …

U.S. May Not Free Acquitted Detainees  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Tuesday it may continue to imprison non-U.S. citizens indefinitely even if they have been acquitted of terrorism charges by a U.S. military commission.  —  Jeh Johnson, the Defense Department's chief lawyer …

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.

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.

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.

Family Night for Obamas Miffs Some in Moscow  —  MOSCOW — If Paris is for lovers, it looks like Moscow is for families.  —  After passing on dinner with the French president to go on a date in the City of Light with his wife last month, President Obama took leave of his Russian hosts …

Virginia Politician Approvals  —  A day after Quinnipiac found Barack Obama's approval rating in Ohio at 49%, we find it at 48% in Virginia.  —  The caveat here is that we are measuring his numbers among likely general election voters for this year- in the context of the race for Governor- rather …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

G-8 Nations Fail to Agree on Climate Change Plan  —  L'AQUILA, Italy — The world's major industrial nations and emerging powers failed to agree Wednesday on significant cuts in heat-trapping gases by 2050, unraveling an effort to build a global consensus to fight climate change, according to people following the talks.

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?

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.

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.

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.