Obama Tells Liberals Public Option Doesn't Have Votes  —  * In a private meeting at the White House this afternoon, Obama told a roomful of House Dems he doesn't think the votes are there to pass the public option, and urged them to take the long view and to support the Senate bill as merely …

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Considering Stepping Down  —  Update: RadarOnline.com has obtained new information that Justice Roberts will NOT resign.  The justice will be staying on the bench.  —  John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court …

Delahunt will not seek reelection  —  William Delahunt in his Quincy office.  (Bill Greene / Globe Staff)  —  By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff  —  WASHINGTON — Representative William Delahunt will not seek re-election to Congress, the seven-term Democrat will announce tomorrow …

Keep'n It Foxy  —  Proud day for CNN.  See the chyron about right-wing complaints about the Obama Department of Justice ...

MANUFACTURED CONTROVERSY OF THE DAY.... Oh please. … Rep. Matheson's spokesperson called the question “patently ridiculous.”  A White House official called the question “absurd.”  There's no reason in the world to think the Scott Matheson nomination is based on anything …

Obama advisers set to recommend military tribunals for alleged 9/11 plotters  —  President Obama's advisers are nearing a recommendation that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, be prosecuted in a military tribunal, administration officials said …

‘I will take our troops out of the war zone and put them into space’  —  Introduction Video from Kesha for Congress on Vimeo.  —  Kesha Rogers is a Larouchie who just won the Democratic nomination in Texas's 22nd district.  Her triumphant statement is pretty sweet:

Bush Official Defends Lawyers Under Attack for Detainee Work  —  A former Justice Department official who led the Bush administration's courtroom defense against lawsuits filed by Guantanamo detainees is denouncing attacks on Obama administration appointees who previously helped …

Suspect, Police Hurt in Pentagon Shootout  —  Badly Injured Suspect in Custody; Police Suffer Graze Wounds  —  Two police officers were injured by a suspect who opened fire outside the Pentagon tonight after the officers asked him for an access pass, police said.

Howard Dean: Health bill hangs Dem incumbents and Obama out to dry in elections  —  Passing the healthcare proposals before Congress will “hang out to dry” every Democratic incumbent running for reelection this fall, Howard Dean said Thursday.  —  Dean, a physician by training who's …

Pelosi annoyed on abortion  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi got exasperated when asked at her weekly news conference about the unwillingness of some Democrats - including Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) - to support the health bill because of abortion language.  —  “Let me say this: This is not about abortion!

Steele: Leaked RNC presentation ‘unfortunate’  —  Congressional GOP aides expressed their frustration over their perception that Michael Steele is using his book tour to undermine the party's political message.  —  Washington (CNN) - Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele …

Study: Arctic seabed methane stores destabilizing, venting  —  A section of the Arctic Ocean seafloor that holds vast stores of frozen methane is showing signs of instability and widespread venting of the powerful greenhouse gas, according to the findings of an international research team led …

Who are the actual “crazy” people in American politics?  —  My Salon colleague, Mark Benjamin, writes about last night's Larry King Show — featuring a debate between Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson and GOP Rep. Michelle Bachmann — and does so by repeatedly branding Grayson as being every bit as “crazy” as Bachmann.

Anti-Gay Lawmaker At Gay Club Before DUI Arrest  —  SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ― Sources tell CBS13 a state senator from Southern California was arrested for allegedly driving drunk after leaving Faces, a gay nightclub in midtown Sacramento, early Wednesday morning.

Exclusive: ‘Wellpoint would be a primary beneficiary’ if reform fails, investment firm says  —  “Of course, healthcare reform is a double-edged sword for Wellpoint shares.  Should reform fail, Wellpoint would be a primary beneficiary.”  —  That comes from the first page of the Cowen and Co.'s assessment …

Byrd defends reconciliation to finish reform  —  Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.V.), an architect of the reconciliation process and a guardian of Senate procedure, has quietly defended the Democratic plan to use the fast-track parliamentary tactic to finish the health care reform bill.

Transcript reveals anger of AIG employees toward politicians, public  —  During the national furor that erupted last year after American International Group paid more than $165 million in bonuses, the voices of those vilified for receiving the payments remained silent, at least in public.

3 held in alleged anti-gay BB shooting in S.F.  —  (03-03) 17:42 PST SAN FRANCISCO — Three cousins from Hayward have been charged in San Francisco with a hate crime and assault for allegedly firing a BB rifle at the face of a man they believed was gay, an attack the men videotaped, authorities said Wednesday.

For Movie Stars, the Big Money Is Now Deferred  —  LOS ANGELES — When Wolfgang Puck lays out the annual post-Oscar banquet in Hollywood on Sunday, he might want to think about doggie bags.  —  Movie stars, who not so long ago vied to make $20 million or even $25 million a picture …