AP - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday the scene at President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address was "very troubling" and that the annual speech to Congress has "degenerated into a political pep rally."
AP - Americans and their lawmakers are dramatically out of sync on health care, with large majorities of people looking for bipartisan cooperation that's nowhere in sight.
AP - Former Rep. Eric Massa, who resigned from Congress amid sexual harassment allegations, offered contradictory explanations for his behavior Tuesday, acknowledging he groped a male staffer in a non-sexual way but later denying any groping.
AP - President Barack Obama made a renewed push for a long-stalled climate and energy bill Tuesday, urging lawmakers at a White House meeting to pass a comprehensive bill this year.
Lights, camera, reconcile! (Politico)
Politico - The yearlong debate over health care reform — a titanic contest involving big ideas, passionate convictions and lofty principles — is headed toward a highly unlikely endgame: a clash between parliamentary procedure attorneys.
AP - President Barack Obama said Tuesday he'll bring in high-tech bounty hunters to help root out health care fraud, grabbing a populist idea with bipartisan backing in his final push to overhaul the system.
AP - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says some of the U.S. forces involved in the Afghanistan surge could leave the country before President Barack Obama's announced July 2011 date to begin withdrawal.
AP - President Barack Obama stood with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Tuesday and pledged that the United States would work with its ally, even as Greece's enormous debts sparked frenzied trading.
AP - New York congressman Eric Massa resigned his House seat this week under a sexual harassment cloud, claiming fellow Democrats forced his ouster to keep him from voting against their health care bill.
Reuters - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sees risks to the economic recovery and says it is not the moment to change course as he prepares for an election by June.
AFP - Myanmar's new election laws mean the opposition National League for Democracy must expel detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi from its ranks ahead of polls this year, a spokesman said Wednesday.
AP - President Barack Obama's health care bill would change federal policy on abortion, but it would not open the spigot of taxpayer dollars as some abortion opponents fear.
AFP - The commander of US forces in Iraq on Tuesday predicted it would take "a couple of months" for leaders to form a post-election government but downplayed fears of instability.
Opponent files ethics complaint on La. Sen. Vitter (AP)
AP - A challenger to Louisiana Sen. David Vitter filed an ethics complaint Tuesday, claiming a fundraising letter for the Republican incumbent's campaign makes illegal use of a government emblem.
AP - The government is preparing a safety warning about baby slings — those popular and fashionable infant carriers that parents strap around their chests to give the little ones a cuddle on the move.
AP - Legislation to give additional months of unemployment benefits to people who have been out of a job for more than half a year cleared a key hurdle Tuesday that guarantees it will soon pass the Senate.
AP - A moderate Democrat insisted Tuesday she remained opposed to pushing a health care bill through the Senate with a simple majority vote, despite saying she wanted to see what was in the legislation.
AP - Michelle Obama said Tuesday that she'll always cherish the moment she slipped into her inaugural ball gown, a one-shouldered, white chiffon design she wore for her first Cinderella-like spins on the dance floor as first lady.
AP - Vice President Joe Biden is condemning Israel's approval of 1,600 new settlement homes in disputed East Jerusalem and says the timing undermines the peace process the United States is attempting to revive.
