Air Marshals Stop Alleged ‘Shoe Bomb’ Attempt On United Jet to Denver  —  Qatari Diplomat In Custody After Attempting to ‘Light Up’ His Shoes  —  Federal air marshals subdued a man who authorities say attempted to “light his shoes on fire” on a United flight from Washington Reagan to Denver Wednesday night …

Poll: Low Favorability Ratings for Sarah Palin  —  CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin continues to receive unfavorable ratings from the American public overall …

Republicans Lead In Pennsylvania Senate, Governor Races, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Rendell Approval Up, While Obama Approval Is Down  —  Republican Pat Toomey is back on top 46 - 41 percent over Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania's seesaw U.S. Senate race, while Attorney General Tom Corbett …

It's On: CBO Fielding VAT Questions From Congress  —  White House advisor Paul Volcker made news this week by calling a value-added tax (VAT) “not as toxic an idea” as it's been in the past for tackling the nation's deficit problem.  Today, Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf confirmed he's …

Chart of the Day: Cutting the Deficit  —  Ah, the American public.  God love 'em.  The Economist asked if they'd rather tackle the federal deficit by cutting spending or raising taxes, and the runaway winner was cutting spending, by a margin of 62% to 5%.  So what are we willing to cut?

Obama and Medvedev Sign Nuclear Arms Reduction Pact  —  PRAGUE — With flourish and fanfare, President Obama and President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia signed a nuclear arms control treaty on Thursday and opened what they hoped would be a new era in the tumultuous relationship between two former cold war adversaries.

Virginia governor amends Confederate history proclamation to include slavery  —  RICHMOND — After a barrage of nationwide criticism for excluding slavery from his Confederate History Month proclamation, Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) on Wednesday conceded that it was “a major omission” …

Glenn Beck Inc  —  In his empire there's the ideology—and then there's the money machine.  —  Five and a half hours before showtime Glenn Beck still isn't quite sure how he'll provide tonight's entertainment, “The Future of History”—two hours of monologue (and answers to preselected questions) …

Augusta's Chairman Rebukes Woods  —  AUGUSTA, Ga. — The annual Masters address by the chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club is usually a routine, even humdrum, affair.  The principal topic of conversation is often the speed of the greens, and the closest thing to controversy …

The Female Century vs The Hetaerae Century & The John Edwards “Affair”  —  Now, that the slogan “job creation” is being paraded by the democrats in office as an accomplishment of great significance meant to alleviate the serious economic precarious situation facing the country.

Pelosi Celebrates Healthcare in SF  —  SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in San Francisco on Tuesday, celebrating the passage of healthcare reform.  —  She received a standing ovation from the crowd at the Mark Hopkins Hotel, describing the passage of healthcare reform …

Romney: Obamacare is unconstitutional  —  In an interview at the Union Leader this morning, Mitt Romney said President Obama's health care plan was an unconstitutional violation of the 10th Amendment.  —  Romney has been saying that a key difference between his Massachusetts health care reform …

The anti-Stupak Express — and the backlash against Beltway incumbency  —  If Democrat Rep. Bart Stupak, who sold his Obamacare vote and his pro-life principles for a cheap piece of paper, thinks voters in Michigan are willing to forgive and forget, he's sadly mistaken.

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax  —  Recession, new tax credits have nearly half of US households paying no federal income tax  —  FILE - In this April 5, 2010 file photo, Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman gestures while speaking at the National Press Club in Washington.

Chief Justice Roberts on Obama, Justice Stevens, Law Reviews, More  —  Chief Justice John Roberts spoke at the Indiana University law school in Indianapolis on Wednesday.  After an innocuous lecture about the court's makeup a century ago-anyone remember Justice Rufus Peckham?