Political Times Daily .org

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 - Former Rep. Eric Massa, who resigned from Congress amid sexual harassment allegations, acknowledged Tuesday groping a staffer but described it as tickling, not sexual behavior.

AP - Major business groups Tuesday announced a multimillion-dollar ad campaign to stop President Barack Obama's health care overhaul as it approaches a make-or-break vote in the House.

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 - 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.

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.

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.

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.

CQPolitics.com - Former Rep. Eric Massa, who resigned from the House Monday night as he battled allegations that he sexually harassed his aides, acknowledged on a Fox News program Tuesday that he touched a male staffer.

Politico - Robin Carnahan will not greet President Obama at the pitch for his health care overhaul in Missouri.

Politico - Shelby proposes yet another protections structure.

AP - An emotional Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid tribute Tuesday to "the 101 heroes" working for the United Nations who were killed in the Haiti earthquake, the single greatest loss for the world body in its 64-year history.

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.

AP - The U.S. government is preparing a safety warning about baby slings — those popular and fashionable infant carriers that parents can sling around their chests to carry their baby.

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.