For Lawmaker Examining Terror, a Pro-I.R.A. Past  —  WASHINGTON — For Representative Peter T. King, as he seizes the national spotlight this week with a hearing on the radicalization of American Muslims, it is the most awkward of résumé entries.

Activist says he targeted NPR because of Juan Williams firing  —  (CNN) - The conservative activist responsible for producing an undercover video showing a National Public Radio senior executive slamming the Tea Party as “racist” and “scary” is speaking out about why he went after the organization.

Welfare State: Handouts Make Up One-Third of U.S. Wages  —  Government payouts—including Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance—make up more than a third of total wages and salaries of the U.S. population, a record figure that will only increase if action isn't taken before the majority of Baby Boomers enter retirement.

E-mails reveal possible Walker concessions on union bill  —  By Jason Stein and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison — Gov. Scott Walker's office released documents Tuesday showing he's willing to give on some points of his union bargaining bill to break the Capitol standoff …

White House moving to repair troubled relationship with Cabinet  —  News this week of the first departure of a Cabinet secretary from the Obama administration comes amid a wide-ranging effort under the new chief of staff, William M. Daley, to repair badly frayed relations between the White House and the Cabinet.

Obama's new executive order on Guantanamo  —  (updated below)  —  President Obama yesterday signed an Executive Order which, as The Washington Post described it, “will create a formal system of indefinite detention for those held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay” and …

Searching for Marizela: An update  —  SEATTLE — The photo above from Marizela's friends/family shows the tattoo on her left inner arm that reads “lahat ay magiging maayos” — a Tagalog saying for “all will be well.”  —  Thanks so much to all of you for your prayers and for helping to spread the word across the Internet.

TRENDING: ‘Birther’ debate alive and well in New Hampshire  —  (CNN) - The New Hampshire state legislature is attempting to take politics out of the equation when a House committee considers an amendment that would require presidential candidates to present birth certificates when filing …

Blagojevich wants trial called off  —  Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is asking a federal judge to cancel his upcoming retrial and to sentence him on his one conviction from his previous trial.  —  In a motion filed early Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago …

Charlie Sheen is not filial  —  Actor Charlie Sheen is a classic example of the difference in Western and Eastern values and norms.  —  Ignoring public pleas from his father, Sheen has continued a weeklong media blitz, exhibiting obvious signs of mania.  With no firm hand to guide them …

Vilsack: ‘I took it as a slam on rural America’  —  Yesterday afternoon, I got an e-mail from a “usda.gov” address.  “Secretary Vilsack read your blog post ‘Why we still need cities’ over the weekend, and he has some thoughts and reflections, particularly about the importance of rural America,” it said.

NPR sting also nets ... Pamela Geller?  —  Conservative activist James O'Keefe today released a sting video showing an NPR fundraising official saying impolitic things to a couple of (fake) potential Muslim donors.  A key part of the sting was the creation of a hoax website for the fake group …

Opposition in Libya Struggles to Form a United Front  —  BENGHAZI, Libya — In less than three weeks, an inchoate opposition in Libya, one of the world's most isolated countries, has cobbled together the semblance of a transitional government, fielded a ragtag rebel army and portrayed itself …

GOP steps up attacks on Obama energy policy  —  Republicans are tapping into Americans' growing anxiety over rising oil and gas prices to step up attacks on President Barack Obama's energy policies.  —  This week, they're taking to the Senate floor, issuing news releases and chatting …

Can Any One Of These People Beat President Obama?  —  To do so, one of these candidates has to win the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.  What follows is a cheat sheet of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the GOP presidential candidates and a quick assessment of where they stand now.

BofA Segregates Almost Half of its Mortgages Into ‘Bad Bank’  —  Bank of America Corp. (BAC), the biggest U.S. lender by assets, is segregating almost half its 13.9 million mortgages into a “bad” bank comprised of its riskiest and worst-performing “legacy” loans, said Terry Laughlin, who is running the new unit.

Maine gets break in federal health care overhaul  —  PORTLAND, Maine - The federal government Tuesday granted Maine a waiver of a key provision in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, citing the likelihood that enforcement could destabilize the state's market for individual health insurance.

Israel Considers Military ‘Upgrade’  —  JERUSALEM—Israel will need to boost military spending and may seek an additional $20 billion in U.S. security assistance to help it manage potential threats stemming from popular upheavals in the Arab world, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday.

Why hasn't the Internet helped the American economy grow as much as economists thought it would?  —  If you have attended any economists' cocktail parties in the past month or so—lucky you!—then you have probably heard chatter about Tyler Cowen's e-book, The Great Stagnation.

Crossroads GPS airs anti-union ad  —  An arm of American Crossroads, the well-financed Republican super PAC, is going up on the air Wednesday with an ad taking aim at public employee unions and highlighting the aid President Obama got in his campaign from organized labor.

In a Wealthy Suburb, Concern Over School Taxes  —  BRONXVILLE, N.Y. — This wealthy New York suburb prides itself on its public schools.  Class sizes are small.  Students can choose from an array of subjects not offered everywhere.  Teacher pay ranks among the nation's highest.

Petraeus Sees Military Progress in Afghanistan  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Besides well-reported advances in southern provinces, American and NATO forces have also been able to halt or reverse Taliban gains around the capital, Kabul, and even in the north and west of the country, Gen. David H. Petraeus …

Joe Manchin goes rogue  —  Several weeks ago, freshman Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) strolled through the Hart Senate Office Building and ended up in what should be enemy territory: a face-to-face meeting with the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Prisoners Help Build Patriot Missiles  —  This spring, the United Arab Emirates is expected to close a deal for $7 billion dollars' worth of American arms.  Nearly half of the cash will be spent on Patriot missiles, which cost as much as $5.9 million apiece.