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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

Video: Political leader who couldn't pass a budget lectures on fiscal responsibility  —  Chutzpah.  —  If you had to pick the poster child for budgetary irresponsibility over the last few years — and certainly for 2010 — it would have to be former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

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.

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 …

Left seeks to outflank reformers  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and liberal Democrats opposed to cutting Social Security benefits are trying to outflank President Obama and centrists who have signaled a willingness to cut a deal with Republicans.  —  In a move intended to put lawmakers …

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 …

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 …

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.

Arabs Love the Pax Americana  —  Fearing a U.S. retreat, the Saudis move into Bahrain.  —  The Arab League's call this weekend for a no-fly zone over Libya is startling news and has sent diplomats scattering.  We'll now see if the “international community” (to use the Obama Administration's …

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 …