Get Off Obama's Back ...second thoughts from Michael Moore  —  Last night my wife asked me if I thought I was a little too hard on Obama in my letter yesterday congratulating him on his Nobel Prize.  “No, I don't think so,” I replied.  I thought it was important to remind him he's now conducting the two wars he's inherited.

Obama Pledges Again to End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama on Saturday renewed his vow to allow gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military, but failed to offer a timetable for doing so — an omission likely to inflame critics who say he is not fighting aggressively enough for gay rights.

In Polanski Case, '70s Culture Collides With Today  —  LOS ANGELES — At the end of “Manhattan,” the celebrated movie romance from 1979, a teenager played by Mariel Hemingway delivers some good news to the 42-year-old television writer, portrayed by Woody Allen, with whom she has had a long-running sexual affair.

Debate Follows Bills to Remove Clotheslines Bans  —  CANTON, Ohio — After taking a class that covered global warming last year, Jill Saylor decided to save energy by drying her laundry on a clothesline at her mobile home.  —  “I figured trailer parks were the one place left where hanging …

Top Judge Calls Calif. Government ‘Dysfunctional’  —  LOS ANGELES — In a rare public rebuke of state government and policies delivered by a sitting judge, the chief justice of the California Supreme Court scathingly criticized the state's reliance on the referendum process, arguing that it has …

Small Banks Fail at Growing Rate, Straining F.D.I.C.  —  A year after Washington rescued the banks considered too big to fail, the ones deemed too small to save are approaching a grim milestone: the 100th bank failure of 2009.  —  In what has become a ritual, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation …

In the Afghan War, Aim for the Middle  —  Why does Afghanistan matter?  —  We generally hear four arguments.  First, if the Taliban returns to power, Afghanistan will again be a haven for terrorist groups.  Second, if the Taliban takes over, Afghanistan will again become a human rights nightmare.

Pakistan Retakes Army Headquarters; Hostages Freed  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistani commandos rescued 42 hostages early Sunday who were held by militants inside the nation's military headquarters, after gunmen dressed in army fatigues stormed the building in a brazen attack 18 hours earlier, according to the chief army spokesman.