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 …

Rebuilding Something Better  —  Nearly six months ago, my administration took office amid the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression.  At the time, we were losing, on average, 700,000 jobs a month.  And many feared that our financial system was on the verge of collapse.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

She Broke the G.O.P. and Now She Owns It  —  SARAH PALIN and Al Sharpton don't ordinarily have much in common, but they achieved a rare harmonic convergence at Michael Jackson's memorial service.  When Sharpton told the singer's children it was their daddy's adversaries, not their daddy …

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 …