The Banks Are Not Alright  —  It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  O.K., maybe not literally the worst, but definitely bad.  And the contrast between the immense good fortune of a few and the continuing suffering of all too many boded ill for the future.

GOP Launches Strategy to Trip Up Health Bill  —  Senate Republicans, acknowledging they lack the votes to block a health care reform bill outright, have implemented a comprehensive political strategy to delay, define and derail.  —  With Democratic leaders and White House officials holed …

Doctor pay, and its cost, are part of health reform  —  A test of President Obama's pledge to pay for health care  —  IN THE WORLD according to Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), setting Medicare payment levels for doctors has nothing to do with health reform.  Really.

Decision on Afghan Troops May Wait  —  WASHINGTON — The White House signaled Sunday that President Obama would postpone any decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan until the disputed election there had been settled and resulted in a government that could work with the United States.

Hillary Clinton suffers ‘mis-speaking’ relapse with Belfast bomb claims  —  Hillary Clinton has been caught out “mis-speaking” again in a manner that suggests that she hasn't learnt from past experiences of her globe-trotting, “lily-gilding” speeches.  —  The US Secretary of State …

White House plan: Neuter the Chamber  —  The White House and congressional Democrats are working to marginalize the Chamber of Commerce — the powerful business lobby opposed to many of President Barack Obama's first-year priorities — by going around the group and dealing directly with the CEOs of major U.S. corporations.

In New Jersey, It Was Christie's Race to Lose — and He May Have Lost It  —  NORTH BERGEN, N.J. - Jon Corzine - the bearded, gray-haired, former Wall Street titan running for his second term as New Jersey's Democratic governor - would never be confused with the toothy-smiled, broad-shouldered …

Colorado insurers say health care bill would lead to “system collapse”  —  Executives, who critics say are using scare tactics, contend proposed penalties for opting out are too low.  —  Colorado insurance executives, cautious supporters of health care reform throughout the past year …

White House admits: We ‘control’ news media  —  Communications chief offers shocking confession to foreign government  —  TEL AVIV - President Obama's presidential campaign focused on “making” the news media cover certain issues while rarely communicating anything to the press unless it was …

Foreclosures Force Ex-Homeowners to Turn to Shelters  —  CLEVELAND — The first night after she surrendered her house to foreclosure, Sheri West endured the darkness in her Hyundai sedan.  She parked in her old driveway, with her flower-print dresses and hats piled in boxes on the back seat …

Superfreakingmeta  —  Brad DeLong does the heavy lifting.  Legalistic quibbling about who said what in an email isn't going to help Dubner and Levitt here: in this crucial chapter, there's an average of one statement per page that's either flatly untrue or deeply misleading.

AP Newsbreak: New medical marijuana policy issued  —  AP Newsbreak: New medical marijuana policy issued by Obama administration  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws …

Allies wait and worry over Obama's Afghan plan  —  As the president and his National Security Council privately debate whether to send tens of thousands of troops to war, America's European allies watch with a mixture of anxiety and anguish.  They know that if the deployment goes forward …

Lawmakers Battle on Census Question  —  WASHINGTON — A measure gaining traction in Congress would require the 2010 Census to include a question about citizenship, a change that would cost millions of dollars and possibly derail a full count.  —  Two Republican senators …