Sarah Palin losing more ground among Republicans, Post-ABC poll finds  —  Virginia Postic/ AP - According to a new poll, fewer than six in 10 Republicans and GOP-leaning independents see former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, shown here in December, in a favorable light.

Japan suspends work at stricken nuclear plant  —  FUKUSHIMA, Japan - Japan suspended operations to keep its stricken nuclear plant from melting down Wednesday after surging radiation made it too dangerous to stay.  —  Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the workers dousing the reactors …

World events test ‘No Drama Obama’  —  A dizzying succession of major world events is bombarding a president who insists on controlling his own time, emotions and political message.  —  With Japan's nuclear crisis teetering on the verge of catastrophe, with Libya and Bahrain in violent turmoil …

Last Defense at Troubled Reactors: 50 Japanese Workers  —  A small crew of technicians, braving radiation and fire, became the only people remaining at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on Tuesday — and perhaps Japan's last chance of preventing a broader nuclear catastrophe.

Every Single GOPer On House Energy Cmte Won't Say Climate Change Is Real  —  Thirty-one Republicans on the House Energy And Commerce Committee — the entire Republican contingent on the panel — declined on Tuesday to vote in support of the very idea that climate change exists.

CIA contractor Raymond Davis freed after ‘blood money’ payment by U.S.  —  A CIA security contractor who fatally shot two Pakistani men in January was released on Wednesday after relatives of the victims received “blood money” from the U.S. government and agreed to pardon him, U.S. officials said.

Mayor's Approval Rating At Lowest Point In 8 Years, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Bloomberg's Time Off Is Nobody's Business, Voters Say  —  New York City voters disapprove 51 - 39 percent of the job Mayor Michael Bloomberg is doing, his lowest score since a 51 - 37 percent disapproval November 23 …

Miami-Dade voters fire Mayor Carlos Alvarez over pay hikes, tax increase  —  Miami-Dade recall election draws strong voter turnout  —  Related Content  —  If voters recall Mayor Carlos Alvarez, would you vote to re-elect him?  —  WHAT'S NEXT?  —  • The Miami-Dade County Canvassing …

Anxiety Over Radiation Drives a Sales Surge for a Drug Against Thyroid Cancer  —  As Japan races to avoid a nuclear disaster, some Americans and companies in the United States are scrambling to obtain potassium iodide, a drug that can protect people from radiation-induced thyroid cancer.

Wholesale prices up 1.6 pct. on steep rise in food  —  Wholesale prices rise 1.6 pct. due to biggest jump in food costs in more than 36 years  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale prices jumped last month by the most in nearly two years due to higher energy costs and the steepest rise in food prices in 36 years.

The Incapacitated State  —  I got a chance to talk to some Arizona state legislators from both parties yesterday afternoon and one thing even a very cursory chat drives home is the fairly disastrous consequences of some populist conceits about how a legislature should be organized.

TSA Admits Bungling of Airport Body-Scanner Radiation Tests  —  The Transportation Security Administration is re-analyzing the radiation levels of X-ray body scanners installed in airports nationwide, after testing produced dramatically higher-than-expected results.

Learning to Love the (Shallow, Divisive, Unreliable) New Media  —  Everyone from President Obama to Ted Koppel is bemoaning a decline in journalistic substance, seriousness, and sense of proportion.  But the author, a longtime advocate of these values, takes a journey through the digital-media world …

Cut Pentagon's budget, reduce Afghan forces  —  DAVENPORT, Iowa — America should slash defense spending — and consider shrinking its presence in Afghanistan, Haley Barbour said Monday night.  —  Barbour, a likely candidate for president in 2012, told Iowa county leaders and activists …

Obama Administration Pushing For Banks To Modify Millions Of Mortgages To Settle Foreclosure Claims  —  NEW YORK — The Obama administration is seeking to force the nation's five largest mortgage firms to reduce monthly payments for as many as three million distressed homeowners in as little …

Netflix To Enter Original Programming With Mega Deal For David Fincher-Kevin Spacey Series ‘House Of Cards’  —  EXCLUSIVE: Video streaming juggernaut Netflix is becoming an original series player.  In what is probably the biggest gamble in its 14-year history, I hear Netflix …

Marco Rubio starts building national brand  —  Sen. Marco Rubio is done with the quiet freshman act.  —  With a landmark spending debate engulfing Washington, the Florida Republican has, virtually overnight, launched the national profile the conservative movement has been clamoring for.

Japanese emperor ‘deeply worried’  —  Emperor Akihito thanked those involved in disaster relief and urged an all-out rescue effort  —  Japanese Emperor Akihito has said he is “deeply worried” about the crisis his country is facing following last Friday's earthquake and tsunami.

Some in GOP grow tired of right wing  —  Some veteran Republican House members are pushing back against conservative deficit hawks who are pushing for endlessly deep spending cuts, saying the right wing of the party is creating unnecessary divisions for the GOP majority.

White House to Push Privacy Bill  —  The Obama administration plans to ask Congress Wednesday to pass a “privacy bill of rights” to protect Americans from intrusive data gathering, amid growing concern about the tracking and targeting of Internet users.  —  Lawrence E. Strickling …

Japanese nuclear workers ordered away from posts amid radiation fears  —  / GETTY IMAGES - The Japanese government is telling people living within 20 miles to stay indoors with the windows closed because of the possibility of high levels of radiation being released from the Fukushima Diiachi plant.

Judge: Free speech no defense for urging suicide  —  FARIBAULT, Minn. - Freedom of speech is no defense for a former nurse who engaged in “lethal advocacy” when he encouraged an English man and Canadian woman to kill themselves after searching for depressed people over the Internet …