NPR CEO Vivian Schiller Resigns  —  This follows yesterday's news that then-NPR fundraiser Ron Schiller (no relation) was videotapped slamming conservatives and questioning whether NPR needs federal funding during a lunch with men posing as members of a Muslim organization …

David Broder dies; Pulitzer-winning Washington Post political columnist  —  David S. Broder, 81, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post and one of the most respected writers on national politics for four decades, died Wednesday at Capital Hospice in Arlington of complications from diabetes.

Newt Gingrich Tells Brody File He “felt compelled to seek God's forgiveness”  —  Newt Gingrich, who is expected to run for President tells The Brody File that he “felt compelled to seek God's forgiveness” over his past marital infidelity and now that he's at the grandfather stage he is …

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.

Government Shutdown Opposed by Americans in Poll Faulting Republican Cuts  —  Americans are sending a message to congressional Republicans: Don't shut down the federal government or slash spending on popular programs.  —  Almost 8 in 10 people say Republicans and Democrats should reach …

Targeted civilian killings spiral in Afghan war: U.N.  —  KABUL (Reuters) - Targeted killings of civilians in Afghanistan doubled last year, the United Nations said on Wednesday, as an expanding insurgency strikes at Western efforts to build up the Afghan government and security forces.

Palin would base campaign in Scottsdale  —  The prospect of Sarah Palin running for president is, increasingly, dismissed by a political class that sees her facing weak poll numbers — especially in key early states — and doing nothing to correct them or to buil the infrastructure for a run.

Obama's Weekly Job Approval Retreats to 46%  —  Lowest weekly average since mid-December  —  PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama averaged 46% job approval the week of Feb. 28-March 6, his lowest weekly average since mid-December.  Obama's weekly approval rating had steadily improved …

Arrest in attempted MLK Day bombing in Spokane  —  The FBI has made an arrest in connection with the attempted bombing along the route of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in downtown Spokane.  —  An FBI source in Washington, D.C., said one man was arrested Wednesday northeast of Spokane.

Vicious Assault Shakes Texas Town  —  CLEVELAND, Tex. — The police investigation began shortly after Thanksgiving, when an elementary school student alerted a teacher to a lurid cellphone video that included one of her classmates.  —  The video led the police to an abandoned trailer …

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.

Exclusive: Bill Gross Dumps All Treasuries, Brings Total “Government Related” Holdings To Zero, Flees To Cash - No QE3?  —  Based on still to be publicly reported data by Pimco's flagship Total Return Fund, the world's largest bond fund, in the month of January, has taken its bond holdings to zero …

Battle of the Bike Lanes  —  At the risk of incurring the wrath of the bicycle lobby, a constituency that pursues its agenda with about as much modesty and humor as the Jacobins pursued theirs, and which has found its heroine in transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan …

Republicans introduce bill to give workers a choice on joining unions  —  Eight Republican Senators introduced a bill Tuesday giving workers a choice as to whether to join labor unions, which they argue will boost the nation's economy and provide an increase in wages.

Quinn signs death penalty ban, commutes 15 death row sentences to life  —  SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Pat Quinn today signed into law a historic ban on the death penalty in Illinois and commuted the sentences of 15 death row inmates to life without parole.  —  The governor said he followed his conscience.

On Libya, too many questions  —  In September 1941, Japan's leaders had a question for Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto: Could he cripple the U.S. fleet in Hawaii?  Yes, he said.  Then he had a question for the leaders: But then what?  —  Following an attack, he said, “I shall run wild considerably …

Prison Rape and the Government  —  David Kaiser and Lovisa Stannow … by the United States Department of Justice  —  Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 23 (February 3, 2011), 56 pp., available at federalregister.gov/a/2011-1905  —  Initial Regulatory Impact Analysis for Notice of Proposed Rulemaking …

Private jets  —  My colleagues report:  —  Sen. Claire McCaskill has been aggressive in promoting oversight and transparency for congressional travel, introducing a reform bill that cracks down on overseas travel for lawmakers.  —  But when it comes to her own domestic flights …

Maine gets first state waiver from healthcare law provision  —  Maine health insurers are getting a temporary waiver from the health reform law's requirement that they spend at least 80 percent of premiums on care, federal regulators decided Tuesday.  —  Maine is the first state to get a waiver.