Report: Abusive tactics were used to find Iraq-al Qaida link  —  WASHINGTON — The Bush administration put relentless pressure on interrogators to use harsh methods on detainees in part to find evidence of cooperation between al Qaida and the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime …

Acting Freddie Mac CFO commits suicide  —  VIENNA, Va. — David Kellermann, acting chief financial officer of Freddie Mac, committed suicide in his Hunter Mill Estates home Wednesday morning.  He hanged himself.  —  Fairfax County Police spokeswoman Mary Anne Jennings tells WTOP police responded …

Court Debates Strip Search of Student  —  WASHINGTON — The United States Supreme Court spent an hour on Tuesday debating what middle school students are apt to put in their underwear and what should be done about it.  —  Justice Stephen G. Breyer, for instance, said it struck him as …

Israel Puts Iran Issue Ahead of Palestinians  —  JERUSALEM — The new Israeli government will not move ahead on the core issues of peace talks with the Palestinians until it sees progress in U.S. efforts to stop Iran's suspected pursuit of a nuclear weapon and limit Tehran's rising influence in the region …

The Re-Education of Tim Geithner  —  In his worst moments, when the camera lights are ­burning and the doubt, the contempt, in the Capitol Hill hearing rooms become palpable, Tim Geithner has a look in his eye—at once wary and alarmed, even as he speaks quickly, sometimes interrupting, sometimes repeating his talking points.

$%^&*!!: Civility and tolerance in the Age of Obama  —  My syndicated column today looks at the outbreak of Obama-esque discourse across the country.  Couldn't even mention some of the misogynist sleaze prompted by the Tea Party movement because newspapers wouln't print it.  And they call us an “unhinged mob?”

Stopping Dem 60 ‘real hard,’ Cornyn fears  —  The man in charge of electing more Republicans to the Senate said it will be difficult to stop the Democrats from winning a 60-seat majority in 2010.  —  Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the new head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee …

High Unemployment States Have High Income Taxes or High Unionization or Both.  —  As the nation considers increasing marginal tax rates and facilitating greater union membership, I thought it might make sense to look at the states with the highest and lowest unemployment rates to see if there might be any relevant patterns.

Dozens of Prisoners Held by CIA Still Missing, Fates Unknown  —  Last week, we pointed out that one of the newly released Bush-era memos inadvertently confirmed that the CIA held an al-Qaeda suspect named Hassan Ghul in a secret prison and subjected him to what Bush administration lawyers called “enhanced interrogation techniques.”

Fuzzy Math  —  According to an MIT study, cap and trade could cost the average household more than $3,900 per year.  —  It's just another inconvenient truth: If Americans want any of the government remedies that would supposedly save a planet allegedly imperiled by global warming, it's going to cost them.

Obama Blames America  —  Demonizing Harry Truman may not play well with voters.  —  The president of the United States has completed another outing abroad in his now standard form: as the un-Bush.  At one stop after another — the latest in Latin America, where Hugo Chávez expressed wishes …

To Tweet or Not to Tweet  —  Alfred Hitchcock would have loved the Twitter headquarters here.  Birds gathering everywhere, painted on the wall in flocks, perched on the coffee table, stitched on pillows and framed on the wall with a thought bubble asking employees to please tidy up after themselves.

Leahy Will Defy Obama to Pursue Bush-Era Torture Inquiry  —  ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports from Capitol Hill: Sen. Patrick Leahy pledged today that if he cannot get the votes to create a bipartisan commission to investigate U.S. torture policy under former President George W. Bush …

Breaking: Torture Architect John Rizzo Still Working at CIA  —  The ACLU is reporting something that I've suspected. … John Rizzo, the man who worked with both Jay Bybee and Steven Bradbury to pre-authorize torture, is still being paid by you and I to make sure that the CIA follows the law.

‘Deeper’ recession ahead says IMF  —  The global economy is set to decline by 1.3% in 2009, in the first global recession since World War II, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.  —  In January, the IMF had predicted world output would increase by 0.5% in 2009.

Fidel Castro says Obama misinterpreted his brother's remarks  —  The former Cuban president rejects suggestions that the island should free political prisoners or cut taxes on remittances from the U.S.  —  HAVANA — Former Cuban President Fidel Castro said President Obama misinterpreted remarks …

How they lie: a case study  —  Did an Obama judicial nominee really express a preference for Allah over Jesus?  No, not by a long shot  —  From the second I read the sentence, I knew there was something fishy about it.  Many years' experience in reading and then looking into rightwing canards set off …

UK unveils 50% top tax rate  —  Alistair Darling has announced a new top tax rate of 50% for those earning more than £150,000 from next April.  —  The chancellor is trying to save the public finances after announcing bigger than expected borrowing of £175bn.