Political.com

AP - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates raised the possibility Wednesday that 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.

AFP - President Barack Obama meets Wednesday with Haitian President Rene Preval, renewing his pledge of US support for efforts to rebuild the quake-shattered Caribbean nation.

AP - Israel's new plan to build 1,600 homes for Jews in east Jerusalem is overshadowing Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the West Bank.

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 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. 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."

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — Congressional investigators late Tuesday requested detailed documents from Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and a private contractor that was involved in the testing and cleanup of contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, N.C., over the past two decades.

AP - Three months after it was stolen, the corpse of Cyprus' former president was found reburied in another grave and three men were arrested Tuesday in what officials called a case of bodysnatching for ransom.

AFP - The US Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether vitriolic anti-gay protestors who picket the funerals of US soldiers are protected by free speech laws.

AP - The Obama administration said Monday that Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to indirect peace talks brokered by U.S. special Mideast envoy George Mitchell.

Bloomberg - Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp.’s handling of recalls came under mounting criticism on the eve of the automaker’s U.S. congressional testimony, including charges that the company misled the public on the adequacy of its recalls.