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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

The $4-Per-Gallon President  —  Is it really any surprise that oil and gas prices are surging toward the record highs we saw in 2008 just prior to the economic collapse?  Despite the President's strange assertions in his press conference last week, his Administration is not a passive observer …

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.

RNC considers selling TV rights of presidential primary debates  —  Washington (CNN) — The Republican National Committee is considering sanctioning the GOP presidential primary debates and then selling the broadcast rights to news outlets, two Republicans with knowledge of the idea tell CNN.

NPR Boardmembers and Fundraisers Give Overwhelmingly to Democrats  —  Of nearly $2.2 million in political contributions, most goes to the left  —  The ongoing budget crisis and accusations of liberal bias have fueled renewed calls by conservative politicians for an end to NPR's public funding.