Obama to Urge Oversight of Insurers' Rate Increases  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama will propose on Monday giving the federal government new power to block excessive rate increases by health insurance companies, as he rolls out comprehensive legislation to revamp the nation's health care system, White House officials said Sunday.

On ‘ask,’ Lieberman answers the call: An exclusive chat about Don't Ask, Don't Tell  —  WASHINGTON - Just when you thought Joe Lieberman couldn't frustrate and perplex liberals any further, he is going off to become chief sponsor of the most significant piece of socially progressive legislation that Congress will deal with this year.

THE DEFLATIONIST  —  How Paul Krugman found politics.  —  When it is cold at home, or he has a couple of weeks with nothing to do but write his Times column, or when something unexpectedly stressful happens, like winning the Nobel Prize, the Princeton economist Paul Krugman and his wife, Robin Wells, go to St. Croix.

Huckabee rips CPAC  —  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee blasted the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Saturday as outdated, nearly corrupt and unrepresentative of the conservative movement.  —  Huckabee, a 2008 Republican presidential contender and potential 2012 candidate …

Scientists withdraw sea level claims  —  Study claimed in 2009 that sea levels would rise by up to 82cm by the end of century - but the report's author now says true estimate is still unknown  —  • Read the full story of the hacked climate emails  —  • Jeffrey Sachs: Sceptics recycle anti-tobacco control arguments

The Bankruptcy Boys  —  O.K., the beast is starving.  Now what?  That's the question confronting Republicans.  But they're refusing to answer, or even to engage in any serious discussion about what to do.  —  For readers who don't know what I'm talking about: ever since Reagan …

EXCLUSIVE: Stack's Daughter Calls Dad a Hero, Plane Attack ‘Inappropriate’  —  Joe Stack's Daughter Samantha Bell: ‘Zero Signs’ to Father's Rage; Victim's Son Said His Dad's the Real Hero  —  The daughter of the man who carried out a suicide plane attack against the IRS in Texas said she considered …

Republicans Voting Against Stimulus Then Asked Obama for Money  —  Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) — Alabama Republicans Jo Bonner and Robert Aderholt took to the U.S. House floor in July, denouncing the Obama administration's stimulus plan for failing to boost employment.  “Where are the jobs?” each of them asked.

White House Accused of Federal Crime in Specter, Bennet Races  —  “Whoever solicits or receives ... any....thing of value, in consideration of the promise of support or use of influence in obtaining for any person any appointive office or place under the United States, shall be fined under …

At Politico , 1 month of working for a Dem outweighs 3 years with a Republican  —  Politico's John Harris has a weird navel-gazing article about Jonathan Allen's return to journalism — and Politico — after a brief stint working for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Scientology Church hires reporters to investigate newspaper  —  After decades of digging into the Church of Scientology, reporters and editors at the St. Petersburg Times are accustomed to being denounced by its leaders.  —  But they find it unsettling that three veteran journalists …

Definition of rich varies by income, place  —  Sharon Poczatek knows many people would call her rich.  Others might say her high income constitutes a just reward for hard work.  —  All she knows for certain is that her successful Boulder dental practice has her contemplating the fairness …