Obama Supports Easing Health Law Mandates for States  —  WASHINGTON — Seeking to appease disgruntled governors, President Obama announced Monday that he supported amending the 2010 health care law to allow states to opt out of its most burdensome requirements three years earlier than currently permitted.

GOP spending plan would cost 700,000 jobs, new report says  —  A Republican plan to sharply cut federal spending this year would destroy 700,000 jobs through 2012, according to an independent economic analysis set for release Monday.  —  The report, by Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi …

Wisconsin's Walker to absent Democrats: 24 hours to return  —  (Reuters) - Wisconsin's Republican Gov. Scott Walker said on Monday that absent senate Democrats have 24 hours to return and vote on a measure to reduce the power of public sector unions or the state will miss out on opportunity to refinance its debt.

GORDON HINTZ: “YOU ARE F'N DEAD!”  —  Last week, we heard thatState Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) had been busted in a prostitution sting. … Last Friday.... after the Assembly voted to engross the Budget Repair Bill, Hintz turned to a female colleague, Rep. Michelle Litjens and said: “You are F***king dead!”

New York Times Punk'd By Anti-Union Plant (Updated)  —  Few news stories better spoke to the destruction of union solidarity and the realization that even those public employees collectively bargaining in Wisconsin were going to have to give something back, than the New York Times' piece …

Sen. Hatch says USU receives most federal dollars per capita  —  Young people will face a bleak future without Social Security benefits if Democrats continue to “overreach” their constitutional boundaries, said U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, Friday, in the Education Building.

Last U.S. World War I veteran Frank W. Buckles dies at 110  —  Frank W. Buckles died early Sunday, sadly yet not unexpectedly at age 110, having achieved a singular feat of longevity that left him proud and a bit bemused.  —  In 1917 and 1918, close to 5 million Americans served in World War I …

Revealing the Man Behind @MayorEmanuel  —  It was the best fake Twitter account ever, deftly satirizing Rahm Emanuel, and elevating the Tweet and the f-word to the level of literature.  But the mystery writer was never revealed - until now.  —  There were many storylines in Rahm Emanuel's romp …

GOP reality check: Obama looking tougher to beat in 2012  —  Just four months after posting historic election gains, Republicans are experiencing a reality check about 2012: President Barack Obama is going to be a lot tougher to defeat than he looked late last year.

‘My People Love Me’: Moammar Gadhafi Denies Demonstrations Against Him Anywhere in Libya  —  U.S. Exclusive: Christiane Amanpour Sits Down for an Interview With Libya's Embattled Leader  —  REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK BY CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR  —  I interviewed Col. Moammar Gadhafi this evening …

Wisconsin GOPers angered by Republican official's efforts to reach compromise with labor, Dems  —  Here's a pretty good indicator of just how resistant Republicans allied with Governor Scott Walker have become to reaching a compromise of any kind with labor and Dems to end the standoff …

Unions vs. the Right to Work  —  Collective bargaining on a broad scale is more similar to an antitrust violation than to a civil liberty.  —  How ironic that Wisconsin has become ground zero for the battle between taxpayers and public- employee labor unions.

Farrakhan: Mideast uprisings will come to US  —  Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan predicted on Sunday that America faces imminent uprisings that mirror those in the Middle East.  —  “What you are looking at in Tunisia, in Egypt ... Libya, in Bahrain ... what you see happening there …

The Madoff Tapes  —  One evening, my home phone rang.  “You have a collect call from Bernard Madoff, an inmate at a federal prison,” a recording announced.  And there he was.  —  Bernard L. Madoff is in therapy.  Each week, he waits for the signal that prisoners are allowed to leave their housing units …

Limit Pay, Not Unions  —  IN Ohio, Wisconsin and other states facing budget deficits, some elected officials assert that closing those gaps requires achieving labor savings and weakening labor unions.  They are half-right.  —  Across the country, taxpayers are providing pensions …

THE HILL POLL: On shutdown, more voters would blame Dems  —  Twenty-nine percent of likely voters would blame Democrats for a government shutdown, compared to 23 percent who would hold Republicans responsible, according to a new poll conducted for The Hill.  —  The results are surprising …

Goddangit, Baby, We're Making Good Time  —  With a new master plan for the GOP, Karl Rove is revving up for a comeback.  —  Karl Rove is driving through Central Texas with his girlfriend, on the way to a weekend quail hunt.  —  “I've been called up by my emergency Texas militia unit …

Former GOP Sen. Bennett: Reagan Held Views That Were ‘Absolutely Anathema’ To The Tea Party  —  Former GOP Sen. Bob Bennett (UT), who lost his seat to a far-right primary challenger after holding it for over a decade, slammed the tea party in an interview with Fox News host Greta Van Susteren Friday.

Quote of the Day  —  “I hope today, all of you feel free to make yourselves at home.  For those of you with a particular interest in the next election, I don't mean that literally.”  — President Barack Obama, welcoming governors to the White House.  A moment later, he gestured toward Mississippi's GOP …

Pelosi splits with Reid, dismisses GOP plan to avoid a shutdown  —  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is showing no enthusiasm for the new proposal from Republicans to avoid a government shutdown, putting her at odds with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Salon.com Sale Talks Collapse  —  Merger talks between Salon.com, a pioneer in online news and opinion, and Newser.com, a news aggregation Web site founded by journalist Michael Wolff, have collapsed, according to people involved in the talks.  —  Salon.com, which had quietly put itself …

Speaker Boehner tells Brody File President Obama's DOMA Decision is “Raw Politics”  —  Speaker of the House John Boehner says President Obama's decision to no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court strikes him as “raw politics” and says Obama is “pandering to the other side on this issue.”