Cheney Is Linked to Concealment of C.I.A. Project  —  The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency's director, Leon E. Panetta …

Nominee Wraps Up Rehearsals  —  WASHINGTON — For a few hours each day for more than a week, Judge Sonia Sotomayor has sat in a small conference room in a building adjacent to the White House, fielding questions from lawyers helping her prepare for the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on her nomination to the Supreme Court.

Gov. Ritter Steered Stimulus Money To Ex-Employer  —  DENVER (AP) ― Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter has awarded some of the state's first stimulus money to his former employer in a no-bid contract.  —  Ritter hired his former law firm, the Washington-based Hogan & Hartson …

Freshman Rep. Grayson Taken to Cleaners in Ponzi Scheme  —  Freshman Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) lost $3 million in a stock swindle between 2000 and 2005, a Florida television station reported this week.  —  According to Orlando's Local 6, Grayson was an investor in a Ponzi scheme run by the company Derivium Capital.

Teen Girl Falls In Open Manhole While Texting  —  Alexa Longueira Suffers Deep Cuts, Bruises After Landing In Raw Sewage, Blames DEP For Leaving Hole Unattended  —  NEW YORK (CBS) ― It was an accident waiting to happen — an open sewer and a 15-year-old girl who was texting while she walked.

EXCLUSIVE: Palin plans to stay in politics  —  Brushing aside the criticisms of pundits and politicos, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she plans to jump immediately back into the national political fray — stumping for conservative issues and even Democrats — after she prematurely vacates her elected post at month's end.

Crackdown or conciliation: China's politburo split over response to Uighur violence  —  The unrest that claimed 184 lives last week has again forced Beijing to question its reaction to calls for regional autonomy  —  The script is jarringly familiar.  Bodies lie on riot-scarred streets …

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE GHANAIAN PARLIAMENT  —  Accra International Conference Center  —  Accra, Ghana  —  THE PRESIDENT: (Trumpet plays.)  I like this.  Thank you.  Thank you.  I think Congress needs one of those horns.  (Laughter.)  That sounds pretty good.  Sounds like Louis Armstrong back there.

Obama Says Economic Stimulus Plan Worked as Intended  —  President Barack Obama said his $787 billion stimulus bill “has worked as intended” as he pushed back against Republican criticism that his recovery program has failed to rescue the economy.  —  “It has already extended unemployment insurance …