Terror trials: Civilian courts more independent; military tribunals easier on evidence. The federal courts and military tribunals that will prosecute suspected terrorists vary sharply in their independence, public stature and use of evidence. But the Obama administration has so far offered no clear-cut rationale for how it chooses which system will try a detainee.

Frank floats plan to give TARP-related loans to unemployed homeowners who can't pay mortgage. Rep. Barney Frank said Monday he is pushing a proposal to use some of the interest the government collects from the financial industry bailout to give loans to unemployed homeowners struggling to pay the mortgage.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some of the world's largest financial firms on Monday urged a top U.S. lawmaker not to pursue big bank break-up legislation, an idea attracting interest in Congress and causing alarm on Wall Street.

And then there was the time he threatened to kill a dog. On a Sunday morning in the spring of 1993, Michael E. Capuano, then the mayor of Somerville, was tossing fly balls to his 9-year-old son in a Tufts University field while a trio of unleashed dogs - two rottweilers and a golden retriever - romped nearby. After asking the owners to keep a closer eye on the dogs, Capuano returned to his son. The dogs edged closer. Capuano tossed another fly ball. And when his son became so distracted that the ball hit him in the face, Capuano had had enough. Seizing a baseball bat, he stalked off toward the animals, only to be intercepted by Tracey M. Brown, a lifelong Somerville resident and the owner of one of the rottweilers. ``Nice lesson you're teaching your son,'' Brown recalled saying. ``The way you solve a problem is to pick up a bat. Why don't you try solving your problem with words?'' In fact, numerous words were exchanged but they were all of the heated variety. And in the end, Brown file

Stephen Pagliuca, a Democratic candidate for Senate, is blitzing the television airwaves with ads declaring he will be immune to the powerful influence that special interests and their well-connected lobbyists wield over Congress because he won't take their donations. But Bain Capital Partners, where he has been a senior managing partner and made his huge fortune, has spent millions to hire high-powered Washington lobbyists to protect its special interests on Capitol Hill. Church members demand action from Senate candidates. B4 It's an aspect of his professional background that is in sharp contrast to his effort to portray himself to voters as a progressive populist Democrat and reformer. A campaign spokesman said Pagliuca's tough talk about the flow of lobbyist donations to politicians should not be seen as an attack on lobbyists participating in the legislative process. ``Steve appreciates the role lobbyists play in educating policy makers on the impact of legislation under considera

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a forum on job creation with U.S. business leaders on December 3 and then embark on a cross-country tour to discuss economic recovery, the White House said on Monday.

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has quietly distanced itself from former Miss California Carrie Prejean. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has quietly distanced itself from former Miss California Carrie Prejean. Over the weekend, the group altered the front page of its website, removing a prominent reference to a video the group created that features Prejean. Prejean's quick ascent into Christian celebrity came after the 22-year-old denounced gay marriage because of her religious upbringing during the Miss USA contest in April. She said she lost the contest because of her answer, giving fodder to the conservative argument that supporters of gay marriage punish Christian opponents. In its opposition to gay marriage, NOM has vehemently argued that gay marriage has consequences, including teaching young schoolchildren about being gay and silencing Christian voices. The video 'No Offense' makes the case for the second point. It claims Prejean was denied the Miss USA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a forum on job creation with U.S. business leaders on December 3 and then embark on a cross-country tour to discuss economic recovery, the White House said on Monday.

AP POLL: How can we pay for the health care overhaul? Americans say tax upper-income people. Americans don't want to shoulder the cost of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul themselves. They think the rich should pay for it.

WASHINGTON - Despite early pleas for bipartisanship, President Obama is forging ahead with his domestic agenda with a largely single-party strategy, unable to corral more than a handful of Republicans on a wide range of major legislation before Congress. Vowing to bring change to Washington, Obama had hoped to draw Republicans into the development of sweeping proposals on the environment, health care, the economy, and the workplace. Publicly, Obama and his team continue to insist they welcome GOP input on controversial legislation. Democrats facing tough reelection campaigns next year are eager for bipartisan votes that could help inoculate them from partisan attacks on their records. But lawmakers in both parties say the relationship between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill has reached a new low that has all but killed any chance for broad bipartisan collaboration. Democrats, with majorities in both the House and Senate, plan to try to pass their proposals with the votes they

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A key U.S. congressional panel moved toward toughening a plan for dealing with "too big to fail" financial firms on Tuesday, while rejecting a Republican alternative that is expected to reappear later.

FACT CHECK: Critics overstate significance of stimulus to phantom congressional districts. Did the Obama administration really pump billions of dollars into phantom congressional districts?

The Senate Democratic leader says Congress is closer than ever to overhauling the nation's health care system.

Senate Dem leader says Congress closer than ever to major remake of US health care system. The Senate Democratic leader says Congress is closer than ever to overhauling the nation's health care system.

Geithner says bailout will end 'as soon as we can,' some funds will be used to reduce debt. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday the government's $700 billion bailout program will end "as soon as we can," and that part of it will be used to lower the soaring federal debt.

Senate confirms controversial Obama nominee for Chicago appeals court. The Senate on Thursday confirmed U.S. District Judge David Hamilton for the Chicago-based federal appeals court, approving a nominee targeted by conservatives as a liberal activist.

They call it the "Botax."

And now the Botax? Once-shelved tax on face lifts, tummy tucks could help fund health bill. They call it the "Botax." The White House and Senate Democrats have turned to a proposal to tax breast implants, tummy tucks, wrinkle-smoothing injections and other procedures as they search for ways to pay for costly health care overhaul plans.

Jeff Santos is on an ambitious mission: For the past year, he has been building Boston's only progressive radio talk show station. It may sound easy for the former Capitol Hill reporter and political consultant to lure liberal listeners to WWZN-1510 AM. After all, Massachusetts is a blue state. The governor and Boston's mayor are Democrats. And some left-leaning heavyweights - including Governor Deval Patrick, US Representative Barney Frank, and former governor and presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis - are in radio promos for the show. But establishing a local liberal foothold on radio is no small feat in a sea of red. While a number of blogs, websites, and TV shows represent both liberal and conservative viewpoints, right-leaning shock jocks like Rush Limbaugh have dominated the national and local radio waves for decades. ``The fact that we don't have a progressive talk radio show in New England is pretty astonishing, given the political inclinations of this state,'' Dukakis said.

Somewhere in Massachusetts this week, the state's millionth dose of swine flu vaccine should arrive. Public health authorities said yesterday that, with the latest allotment of shots and spray Tuesday, the state had received or ordered 1,020,000 doses of vaccine to slow the march of the H1N1 virus. Orders usually take a few days to be delivered. Dr. Lauren Smith, medical director of the Department of Public Health, cautiously forecast that by December, 1.5 million doses will be in the state or headed here. Still, that's about 300,000 doses fewer than state authorities originally expected to have. Production of the vaccine has not met the projections of drug companies or the expectations of federal health authorities, who have been criticized in some quarters, including on Capitol Hill, for overly optimistic predictions about how much vaccine would be available and when. Vaccination efforts in Massachusetts are being targeted at 1.6 million patients at greatest risk of complications fro