Majority in Poll Back Employees in Public Sector Unions  —  As labor battles erupt in state capitals around the nation, a majority of Americans say they oppose efforts to weaken the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions and are also against cutting the pay or benefits …

Rep. Holt beats Watson the super-computer at ‘Jeopardy!’  —  There are a lot of smart people on Capitol Hill.  But none of them can claim quite the same brainy bragging rights as Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.).  —  On Monday, Holt beat IBM's super-computer, known as Watson, at a round of “Jeopardy! …

Dem senator: Senate has accepted House GOP spending plan  —  As House and Senate leaders haggle over ways to avoid a government shutdown, a Democratic senator said the Republicans' short-term spending bill - including billions of dollars in cuts - has been largely accepted by upper-chamber Democrats.

Boehner likens state budgets to hostages with machine guns at head  —  House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) likened state budgets to a hostage with a machine gun held at its head by public worker unions.  —  Boehner, in an interview from Sunday, an excerpt of which was released on Tuesday …

Chatter grows over possible John Edwards indictment  —  Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) faces growing chatter about facing a possible indictment on campaign finance charges.  —  The New York Times reported Tuesday that Edwards may soon face charges stemming from his affair during his 2008 presidential campaign.

A Union Education  —  What Wisconsin reveals about public workers and political power.  —  The raucous Wisconsin debate over collective bargaining may be ugly at times, but it has been worth it for the splendid public education.  For the first time in decades, Americans have been asked …

Natalie Portman Condemns Galliano  —  The actress Natalie Portman, who has an endorsement contract with Dior for its Miss Dior Cherie fragrance, has strongly condemned its chief designer, John Galliano, for anti-Semitic remarks after a video surfaced of Mr. Galliano appearing to deliver a tirade in a Paris bar.

The New Normal  —  We're going to be doing a lot of deficit cutting over the next several years.  The country's future greatness will be shaped by whether we cut wisely or stupidly.  So we should probably come up with a few sensible principles to guide us as we cut.

Barbour: ‘RomneyCare’ bad for states  —  Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) on Tuesday piled on the Massachusetts healthcare program critics have dubbed “RomneyCare.”  —  Barbour, a possible Republican candidate for president, said in congressional testimony that while it was the right …

Frank Rich Joins New York Magazine  —  Frank Rich is joining New York Magazine, beginning in June.  Rich will be an essayist for the magazine, writing monthly on politics and culture, and will serve as an editor-at-large, editing a special monthly section anchored by his essay.

Iran threatens London boycott over ‘racist’ Olympic logo  —  Iran is threatening to boycott of the 2012 London Olympics because it claims the official logo for the games resembles the word “Zion,” which is a biblical term for Jerusalem.  —  Bahram Afsharzadeh, the secretary-general …

Consumer Reports: GM's Volt 'doesn't really make a lot of sense'  —  Washington — Consumer Reports offered a harsh initial review of the Chevrolet Volt, questioning whether General Motors Co.'s flagship vehicle makes economic “sense.”  The extended-range plug-in electric vehicle is on the cover …

How Rumsfeld misleads and ducks responsibility in his new book  —  Few people know the ins and outs of the Bush Administration as well as the Washington Post's Bob Woodward, who is flat-out disgusted with the evasions and elisions in Donald Rumsfeld's new book.  Here he explains why:  —  By Bob Woodward

Billions in Bloat Uncovered in Beltway  —  The U.S. government has 15 different agencies overseeing food-safety laws, more than 20 separate programs to help the homeless and 80 programs for economic development.  —  These are a few of the findings in a massive study of overlapping …

Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Minister in Memorial Church, Dies at Age 68  —  Reverend Peter J. Gomes, who oversaw Memorial Church for the past three and a half decades, died Monday evening after suffering a brain aneurysm and heart attack.  He was 68.  —  His death was announced in an e-mail …

Low-flow toilets cause a stink in SF  —  San Francisco's big push for low-flow toilets has turned into a multimillion-dollar plumbing stink.  —  Skimping on toilet water has resulted in more sludge backing up inside the sewer pipes, said Tyrone Jue, spokesman for the city Public Utilities Commission.

ANSWER THIS: ANDREW SULLIVAN  —  Andrew Sullivan has achieved the hat trick of Washington journalism: author, editor, blogger.  And he's adding another item to his long and diverse résumé, announcing this week that he's leaving The Atlantic and taking his blog to the new Daily Beast/Newsweek venture in April.

Darrell Issa probes staff; spokesman Kurt Bardella at center of controversy  —  Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican chairman of the powerful Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has launched an inquiry into whether spokesman Kurt Bardella improperly shared e-mails from other reporters …