Democrats concede budget fight to Republicans  —  Senate Democrats abruptly abandoned an omnibus budget bill for the coming year, pushing major spending decisions into the next Congress and giving Republicans immense new leverage to confront President Barack Obama priorities.

Congress Sends $801 Billion Tax Cut Bill to Obama  —  WASHINGTON — Congress at midnight Thursday approved an $801 billion package of tax cuts and $57 billion for extended unemployment insurance.  The vote sealed the first major deal between President Obama and Congressional Republicans …

House tax vote could be delayed  —  A final House vote on President Obama's tax proposal could be delayed after Democratic leaders were forced to pull a procedural measure off the House floor Thursday.  —  The House was set to vote on the rule governing debate on the broad tax bill …

Blake Edwards, Prolific Comedy Director, Dies at 88  —  Blake Edwards, a writer and director who became a Hollywood master of screwball farces and rude comedies like “Victor/Victoria” and the “Pink Panther” movies, died Wednesday night in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 88.  —  Enlarge This Image

Government Arguing That Health Insurance Premiums Are Really Taxes?  —  The arguments on the health care mandate in Florida went forward today, with the government trying to clarify how the mandate is a tax, (though not in a way that would mean Barack Obama lied about raising taxes on people …

Visa, MasterCard Plunge as Fed Issues Rules to Cut Debit Fees  —  Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. plunged more than 10 percent in New York trading after the Federal Reserve Board proposed rules that could slash debit-card interchange fees by 90 percent.  —  The new rules, posted today by the Fed …

100,000,000  —  Some time tonight, this site will receive its 100 millionth visit since October 2008.  It seems like an opportune moment for reflection.  —  We have told this story many times, but here it goes again: by 2002, Scott and I had been writing newspaper op-eds, magazine articles and research papers together for a decade.

It Also Was Called The Soviet Union  —  I traveled extensively throughout the Soviet Union during the early 1980s, both with groups and on my own approved itineraries.  I also lived in Moscow, and had a chance to slip out of the ring road with Soviet friends into the countryside …

Olbermann Refuses To Correct Treatment Of Assange Rape Allegations On Twitter - Update  —  Update: Keith Olbermann has announced that he is suspending his Twitter account “until this frenzy is stopped.”  —  Update 2: This is serious.  He has even taken down his profile picture.

NOW goes after Hooters for catering to kids  —  (12-16) 17:51 PST SAN FRANCISCO — The National Organization for Women filed complaints against local Hooters restaurants Thursday, but not for exploiting its scantily clad waitresses by subjecting them to leering and groping customers.

Meeks says minority contracts should only go to blacks  —  Mayoral challenger James Meeks scrambled Thursday to put out a political fire touched off by his suggestion that only African-Americans should be eligible for city contracts set aside for minorities and women.

Wall Street Whitewash  —  When the financial crisis struck, many people — myself included — considered it a teachable moment.  Above all, we expected the crisis to remind everyone why banks need to be effectively regulated.  —  How naïve we were.  We should have realized …

Hollywood's Growing Chorus of Obama Criticism  —  Hollywood's adoration for President Obama has never really been all that shocking, but what may be surprising is how famous singers and actors are increasingly saying they aren't so happy with the commander-in-chief.