Gregg suggests Obama may renege on fixing Senate health bill  —  The White House may renege on passing fixes to the Senate's healthcare bill once the House has passed it, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) claimed Thursday.  —  Gregg, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee …

Stark hands off gavel  —  Rep. Sander Levin will take over as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee after Rep. Pete Stark, who held the gavel for a day, stepped aside.  —  The dominoes fell after Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) resigned the chairmanship of the powerful tax-writing panel Wednesday …

Exclusive: RNC document mocks donors, plays on ‘fear’  —  The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to “save the country from trending toward socialism.”

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.

Obama Now Selling Judgeships for Health Care Votes?  —  Obama names brother of undecided House Dem to Appeals Court.  —  Tonight, Barack Obama will host ten House Democrats who voted against the health care bill in November at the White House; he's obviously trying to persuade them to switch their votes to yes.

Surprised about Blanche Lincoln's fight for survival?  I'm not.  —  Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln is fighting for her political survival.  Republicans are in full attack mode, and polls indicate she's the most vulnerable Senate incumbent in the country.  —  Frankly, I'm not surprised.

Stupak: 12 Dems ready to oppose health care bill  —  WASHINGTON - A congressman who has played a key role in the long-running health care debate says he and 11 other Democrats will vote against the overhaul unless a provision subsidizing abortion is removed.

Hoyer knew of Massa allegations  —  First-term Rep. Eric Massa announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection, saying his doctors have told him that he can't continue to “run at 100 miles an hour.”  —  But several House aides told POLITICO that the House ethics committee has been informed …

Darwin Foes Add Warming to Targets  —  Critics of the teaching of evolution in the nation's classrooms are gaining ground in some states by linking the issue to global warming, arguing that dissenting views on both scientific subjects should be taught in public schools.

Woman charged with killing husband is lobbyist  —  A 45-year-old woman, charged with ending a domestic dispute by killing her 26-year-old husband of five days, is a registered lobbyist for a group fighting domestic violence.  —  Arelisha Bridges was ordered held without bond in the Fulton County Jail.

The fable of Emanuel the Great  —  In the space of 10 days, thanks in no small part to my own newspaper, the president of the United States has been portrayed as a weakling and a chronic screw-up who is wrecking his administration despite everything that his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, can do to make things right.

Eliot Spitzer's Mission Impossible  —  Spitzer has the resources to tackle any challenge — except maybe another campaign  —  Eliot Spitzer was his usual agitated self.  It was a brisk Tuesday evening, and the former governor of New York was bundled in the back of a black sedan …

The Republicans' big lie about reconciliation  —  For those who feared that Barack Obama did not have any Lyndon Johnson in him, the president's determination to press ahead and get health-care reform done in the face of Republican intransigence came as something of a relief.

Palin pitching TV show  —  Palin is pitching a TV show.  —  Washington (CNN) - Will Sarah Palin and her family be starring in a new reality television series?  Not quite, a source close to the former Alaska governor tells CNN.  —  While Palin and famed reality TV producer Mark Burnett …

White House Sends Volcker Rule To Congress  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration waded into negotiations over Wall Street regulations Wednesday, calling for limits on the size of financial institutions and insisting that consumer protections remain …

Mitt Romney Calls Emergency Rooms “Entirely Free Care”  —  Mitt Romney apparently doesn't think anyone is responsible for their bill after they leave an emergency room.  Here's his response after Mike Barnicle asks him if he believes in universal health care coverage on Morning Joe.

Rockefeller pushes to rein in EPA  —  Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-WVa.) will introduce legislation Thursday to impose a two-year moratorium on the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants and other stationary emitters, a move that could undermine …