Sources: Checketts to drop Limbaugh  —  Rush Limbaugh is expected to be dropped from a group bidding to buy the St. Louis Rams, according to three NFL sources.  —  Dave Checketts, chairman of the NHL's St. Louis Blues and the point man in the Limbaugh group attempting to buy the Rams …

GOP senator's protest grinds Senate to a halt  —  Oklahoma's Coburn tries a filibuster after pet idea dropped from bill  —  WASHINGTON - The Senate ground to a halt Wednesday in a display of what an individual senator can do to protest his treatment by some of Capitol Hill's most powerful barons.

Why Joe Biden Should Resign  —  Joe Biden met with CENTCOM chief Gen. David Petraeus this morning to talk about Afghanistan — an issue that has pushed the vice president into the spotlight, landing him on the cover of the latest Newsweek.  —  I have an idea for how he can capitalize on all the attention …

Tentative Inspection Program Would Allow Russia to Visit U.S. Nuclear Sites  —  The plan, which Fox News has learned was agreed to in principle during negotiations, would constitute the most intrusive weapons inspection program the U.S. has ever accepted.  —  FOXNews.com

President Obama's Crucial Afghanistan Decision  —  Afghanistan could be the most important decision of Barack Obama's presidency.  Maybe that's why he is, in effect, making it twice.  —  What's odd about the administration's review of Afghanistan policy is that it is revisiting issues …

When Your Neighbor Loses His Job It's A Recession.  When You Screw AWhore Behind Your Wife's Back, Get Caught, And Lose Your Job, It'sA Catastrophic Economic Meltdown  —  Disgraced criminal Eliot Spitzer has for reasons unknown been occupying a columnist spot at Slate.com for some period of time.

French troops were killed after Italy hushed up ‘bribes’ to Taleban  —  When ten French soldiers were killed last year in an ambush by Afghan insurgents in what had seemed a relatively peaceful area, the French public were horrified.  —  Their revulsion increased with the news …

Election 2010: Pennsylvania Senate Election  —  2010 Pennsylvania Senate: Toomey Leads Specter, Runs Even With Sestak  —  Republican-turned-Democratic Senator Arlen Specter trails potential GOP challenger Pat Toomey by five points in an early look at Pennsylvania's 2010 Senate race.

Third-party pooper: GOP's N.J. dilemma  —  The surging campaign of third-party candidate Chris Daggett has turned the New Jersey governor's race into a dead-heat and left Republicans divided over the seriousness of the threat he poses to GOP nominee Chris Christie.

Maverick fallout: GOP won't retaliate  —  Mitch McConnell and his deputies in the Senate Republican leadership are responding very cautiously to Olympia Snowe's decision to become the first GOP vote for a Democratic health care reform bill.  —  That's about all they can do.

Stagnant Prices Prevent Social Security Increase  —  President Obama on Wednesday attempted to preempt the announcement that Social Security recipients will not get an increase in their benefit checks for the first time in three decades, encouraging Congress to provide a one-time payment …

Report Card Due on Stimulus  —  Data to Provide Clues on Job Creation, Though Few Details  —  The public will get its first granular look Thursday at how the $787 billion stimulus package is being spent — but the information may leave armchair auditors dissatisfied, and the data on job-creation data will be less than definitive.

Free Perks With Medicare Advantage Plans Aren't Really Free  —  Plans' Free Perks Are Subsidized By Government  —  TUCSON — Patrick Higney, 66, doesn't want to give up the freebies that come with his zero-premium Medicare Advantage plan: free aspirin and free Band-Aids, a free blood pressure machine and a free ear thermometer.

House Republicans may face a ‘civil war’ over Scozzafava bid  —  The House GOP conference is bitterly divided over a centrist New York Republican's run for the House seat vacated by Army Secretary John McHugh.  —  Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, who backs abortion rights and has voiced support …

NOW MUSLIMS DEMAND: GIVE US FULL SHARIA LAW  —  A RADICAL Muslim group sparked outrage last night as it launched a massive campaign to impose sharia law on Britain.  —  The fanatical group Islam4UK has ­announced plans to hold a potentially ­incendiary rally in London later this month.

Photos of Military Deaths in Afghanistan Banned  —  NEW YORK The U.S. military in eastern Afghanistan recently changed its media embed rules to ban pictures of troops killed in the war.  —  “Media will not be allowed to photograph or record video of U.S. personnel killed in action,” …

Job Lock  —  I just got off a conference call with Arlen Specter where I asked him why the Democrats don't talk about the wave of entrepreneurship that would be unleashed if people knew they could leave their jobs, start a business and still get affordable health coverage for themselves and their families.

Contrarian Double-X hires sociopath as friendship expert  —  Double-X shrewdly hired noted sociopath Lucinda Rosenfeld to write its friendship column.  This is precisely the kind of fresh, contrarian perspective we've come to expect from the Slate/Double-X brand.

Bolton suggests nuclear attack on Iran  —  This Friday, the American Enterprise Institute will host an event addressing the question “Should Israel attack Iran?”  The event includes, among others, Iran uberhawk Michael Rubin and infamous “torture lawyer” John Yoo, but the real star is likely …

Sean Hannity on Nobel Peace Prize: 'Frankly, I would've given it to George Bush.'  —  Last night, Fox News host Sean Hannity hosted a panel that debated the merits of President Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize.  After complaining about Obama's goal of eliminating nuclear weapons and claiming …

Palin Plans New Political Group  —  Michael M. Phillips reports on the doings of conservative favorite Sarah Palin.  —  Sarah Palin fans can expect to see a new Palin political organization surface as her memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life,” hits the shelves next month.