Democrats to End Union Standoff  —  Playing a game of political chicken, Democratic senators who fled Wisconsin to stymie restrictions on public-employee unions said Sunday they planned to come back from exile soon, betting that even though their return will allow the bill to pass …

Will Sarah Palin run for president and can she win?  —  Ms Palin outlines factors that will influence whether she enters the running  —  Sarah Palin, one of the best known and most controversial figures in American politics, told BBC Newsnight she was weighing up whether the US was ready for an …

Obama's hard line on leaks  —  The Obama administration, which famously pledged to be the most transparent in American history, is pursuing an unexpectedly aggressive legal offensive against federal workers who leak secret information to expose wrongdoing, highlight national security threats or pursue a personal agenda.

The Fading Power of Beck's Alarms  —  Almost every time I flipped on television last week, there was a deeply angry guy on a running tirade about the conspiracies afoot, the enemies around all corners, and how he alone seemed to understand what was under way.

Ensign to Announce Retirement  —  Sen. John Ensign is expected to announce at an afternoon news conference in Las Vegas that he will retire rather than face a brutal 2012 re-election campaign, according to knowledgeable sources.  —  The Nevada Republican, who has been embattled since revealing …

Holding Firm on the Budget  —  After letting a highly destructive budget fight fester far too long, the White House finally stepped in late last week to negotiate with the House, which wants to eviscerate nondefense spending.  Senate leaders still seem shell-shocked by that breathtaking ruthlessness …

Homeless children: the hard times generation  —  Scott Pelley reports on the growing number of children who are falling victim to the financial crisis  —  Unemployment improved a bit last month but it is still nearly nine percent and the trouble is job creation is so slow …

Government posts biggest monthly deficit ever  —  Glen Perkins delivers copies of the Fiscal Year 2012 Budget to the Senate Budget Committee hearing room in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Feb. 14, 2011.  President Barack Obama will send Congress a $3.7 trillion budget that would reduce deficits …

Degrees and Dollars  —  It is a truth universally acknowledged that education is the key to economic success.  Everyone knows that the jobs of the future will require ever higher levels of skill.  That's why, in an appearance Friday with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, President Obama declared that …

Brawl Mars DMV Music Awards Outside Washington  —  ARLINGTON, Va. - Arlington police say a brawl broke out during the DMV music awards ceremony, sending one person to a local hospital.  —  Police say five people were treated Saturday night at the scene of the awards ceremony, which honors local rap, hip-hop and R&B performers.

Why Monogamy Matters  —  Social conservatives can seem like the perennial pessimists of American politics — more comfortable with resignation than with hope, perpetually touting evidence of family breakdown, social disintegration and civilizational decline.  —  But even doomsayers get the occasional dose of good news.

Liberal group pushes for $382 billion stimulus  —  Liberals have come up with a counterpoint to House Republicans' “cut and grow” austerity plan: have the government spend billions to hire millions of the unemployed.  —  With conservatives clamoring to cut federal spending and public sector jobs …

Democrats attack Republican candidate's children  —  In an effort to do my part in rescuing our country from the out-of-control Obama administration, last year I ran for Congress in Oregon's 4th District against 12-term incumbent, far-left Democrat Peter DeFazio, co-founder of the House Progressive Caucus.

Egypt Quietly Invades Libya  —  The rebellion against the Kadaffi dictatorship in Libya has not produced any official outside help, but Egypt has apparently sent some of its commandos in to help out the largely amateur rebel force.  Wearing civilian clothes, the hundred or so Egyptian commandos …

Lack of GOP Front-Runner for 2012 Is Atypical  —  John McCain and Barry Goldwater the only GOP presidential nominees to emerge late  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The wide-open battle for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination — with nearly a three-way tie among Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin …

Bonds Show Why Boehner Saying We're Broke Is Figure of Speech  —  House Speaker John Boehner routinely offers this diagnosis of the U.S.'s fiscal condition: “We're broke; Broke going on bankrupt,” he said in a Feb. 28 speech in Nashville.  —  Boehner's assessment dominates a debate …

Recall drives could make history  —  Rarely have multiple lawmakers faced such action  —  By Craig Gilbert of the Journal Sentinel  —  As improbable as the last three weeks have been in state politics, Wisconsin is about to embark on another wild ride into the political unknown …

John McCain claims iPad, iPhone made in U.S.A.  —  During a discussion of free trade Sunday on ABC's “This Week” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) touted Apple iPads and iPhones as products made in America.  There's just one problem, though: Both products are made in China.

The conservatives' case for campaign finance reform  —  I've been listening to the conservative arguments against public-employee unions for the last few weeks, and it's left me with one big question: Why aren't more conservatives ferocious supporters of serious campaign-finance reform?

First Thoughts: Romney 3.0  —  In New Hampshire on Saturday, Romney unveiled Romney 3. (a presidential candidate who focuses more on the economy than on social issues)... How that compares with Romney 1. (the socially moderate Massachusetts governor) and Romney 2. (the 2008 presidential candidate …

Mitch Daniels wins straw presidential poll at Seaside Dorchester Conference  —  Republicans Chris Dudley and Vic Atiyeh among Sunday's speakers  —  SEASIDE - If those attending the Dorchester Conference in Seaside this weekend had a chance to vote for a Republican presidential candidate …