Democrats Say C.I.A. Deceived Congress for Years  —  WASHINGTON — The director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon E. Panetta, has told the House Intelligence Committee in closed-door testimony that the C.I.A. concealed “significant actions” from Congress from 2001 until late last month, seven Democratic committee members said.

Harry Reid opens $320B health plan hole  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tried his best Wednesday to soften some of the toughest talk of the day before on health care - meeting with Republicans in hopes of showing bipartisanship on the issue isn't dead.  —  But taxing health benefits to pay for an overhaul?

White House spells Obama's name wrong  —  Someone might want to look into whether an impostor took President Obama's place during his trip to Russia  —  In a release touting an agreement between Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev over how to craft a follow-up to the START arms reduction treaty …

The Republicans' dwindling options  —  With Sarah Palin and Mark Sanford out of the running, the GOP has to hope that Mitt Romney shows his good side in 2012.  —  Americans adore irresponsible, flashy celebrities.  But they do not vote for them.  Michael Jackson's funeral crashed the Internet.

Brian Kilmeade Would Like Species and ‘Ethnics’ to Remain Pure  —  To stave off dementia!  Yes, today the befuddled screech owls on Fox & Friends were discussing a study that states that those that stay married fend off Alzheimer's and dementia better than lonely divorcees.  Brian Kilmeade took issue with this.

Subprime Returns as Housing Woe  —  In Atlanta, a Foreclosure Dichotomy Threatens Homes Values  —  The U.S. housing market is facing new downward pressure as holders of subprime-mortgage bonds flood the market with foreclosed homes at prices that are much lower than where many banks are willing to sell.

Tom Coburn knew of John Ensign's affair  —  Sen. Tom Coburn knew more than a year ago that his Republican colleague John Ensign was having an affair with a staffer - and he reportedly urged Ensign to end the relationship and pay a substantial sum of money to the staffer and her husband.

Billions in aid go to areas that backed Obama in '08  —  WASHINGTON — Billions of dollars in federal aid delivered directly to the local level to help revive the economy have gone overwhelmingly to places that supported President Obama in last year's presidential election.

Key Reason Palin Gave For Quitting May Be False  —  One of the chief reasons Sarah Palin has given for resigning as Governor of Alaska is that her state's taxpayers are being forced to spend money defending her government against ethics complaints that would otherwise fund teachers, cops, and road repair.

Robert McNamara's and Sarah Palin's Bad Exit Strategies  —  Two vastly different public officials — Robert McNamara and Sarah Palin — shared the spotlight this past week, triggering fresh thoughts about one of the classic dilemmas of governmental careers: When and how do you quit?

Inquiry Begun on Hacking Cases at Murdoch Papers  —  LONDON — Britain's most senior police officer said Thursday he had ordered a preliminary inquiry into reports by The Guardian newspaper that Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper subsidiary paid about $1.6 million to settle court cases involving allegations …

Pool Boots Kids Who Might “Change the Complexion”  —  Campers sent packing after first visit to swim club  —  More than 60 campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club and left to wonder if their race was the reason.  —  “I heard this lady, she was like …

Netanyahu's paranoia extends to ‘self-hating Jews’ Emmanuel and Axelrod  —  At about 3:15 P.M. yesterday, the government's 100th day in office, political correspondents' beepers went off.  In an unprecedented move, the Prime Minister's Bureau was inviting the correspondents to a press conference …

Dozens killed in Iraqi bombings  —  Aftermath of the bomb attacks in Sadr City, Baghdad  —  At least 34 people have been killed in a double suicide bomb attack in northern Iraq, police and medics say.  —  They say about 60 people were injured when two bombers detonated their explosive vests in the town of Talafar, near Mosul.

Glad He Cleared That Up  —  We've gotten an explanation from Rep. Steve King (R-IA) for why he was the lone vote against acknowledging the role of slaves in building the U.S. Capitol.  He did it to protest “a several year effort by liberals in Congress to scrub references to America's Christian heritage from our nation's Capitol”:

White House Ponders Bernanke's Future  —  As the White House begins to ponder whether to reappoint or replace Ben Bernanke when his term expires in January, the Federal Reserve chairman's standing on Wall Street is on the rise while attacks on him from Congress mount.

Cities Lose Out on Road Funds From Federal Stimulus  —  Two-thirds of the country lives in large metropolitan areas, home to the nation's worst traffic jams and some of its oldest roads and bridges.  But cities and their surrounding regions are getting far less than two-thirds of federal transportation stimulus money.

The thirty-five percent solution  —  The Obama administration aspires to restructure large parts of the United States economy.  Because its efforts have been broken into separate initiatives with different justifications, few people other than news junkies have noticed how extraordinary Barack Obama's agenda is.

New York Times Magazine Withdraws Altered Photo Essay  —  UPDATE, 5:57 p.m. ET: The New York Times has published a new editors' note about the altered photo essay that was published in Sunday's Times Magazine.  The newspaper says “most of the images did not wholly reflect the reality they purported to show.”

Miss Obama's peacenik T-shirt sends a message to G8 leaders  —  Her father had just won agreement from the Russians to cut back on the world's stockpiles of nuclear weapons.  —  And Barack Obama's eldest daughter was obviously keen to make her own statement on the issue - even if it was merely a fashion statement.

Mexican Army Using Torture to Battle Drug Traffickers, Rights Groups Say  —  Army Using Brutality To Fight Trafficking, Rights Groups Say  —  PUERTO LAS OLLAS, Mexico — The Mexican army has carried out forced disappearances, acts of torture and illegal raids in pursuit of drug traffickers …