CBO numbers  —  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) just released the first set of Congressional Budget Office numbers to reporters this morning.  —  The bill would cost $940 billion, and reduce the deficit by $130 billion over the first 10 years and $1.2 trillion in the second 10 years.

Stupak: Health fight has been ‘a living hell’  —  Leading a revolt against President Barack Obama's healthcare legislation over abortion has been a “living hell” for Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.).  —  The telephone lines in his Washington and district offices have been “jammed” …

Don't Be Morose!  Get Even!  —  David Brooks says he's out on the ledge, morose, and about to have a “Howard Beale” moment.  Just last week he was telling us that Obama was a misunderstood moderate.  Now he confesses that Obama is aiding and abetting unlawfulness of the worst kind.  He explains:

Steve Levy Plans Switch to G.O.P., Stirring Governor's Race  —  ALBANY — A governor's race that seemed all but settled is about to be upended again, by a popular Democrat from Long Island who is set to announce that he is switching parties.  The move is certain to excite Republican leaders pessimistic …

Rules Panel Dem To Vote Against Bill  —  A key House Dem has begun informing party leaders he plans to vote against health care legislation both on the House floor and in the rules committee, on which he sits.  —  Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY), a sophomore Dem who had a tougher …

I-Team: DOJ Serves Subpoenas in Senator Ensign Investigation  —  LAS VEGAS — Nevada Senator John Ensign is in the crosshairs of a Department of Justice criminal investigation.  —  The criminal probe stems from a romantic affair Ensign had with the wife of his key staffer and close friend …

Five Questions With: The Uncaucus  —  With the race for mayor of Providence wide open thanks to incumbent David N. Cicilline's decision to run for Congress instead, a group of seven familiar faces from the local technology and design community - Andy Cutler, Owen Johnson, Clay Rockefeller …

Gloomy Americans Bash Congress, Are Divided on Obama  —  Health Care Reform - Can't Live With It, or Without It  —  As the day of reckoning for health care reform approaches, Americans have little to cheer about.  Nearly everyone (92%) gives the national economy a negative rating.

Access, Access, Access  —  First, a question: When in American history did life expectancy improve the most?  —  Was it the late 1800s, when anesthesia made surgery easier and far more common?  Was it the 1930s, when antibacterial medicines became available?  Or recent decades, when CAT scans and heart bypasses proliferated?

Obama surrenders gulf oil to Moscow  —  The Russians are coming - to drill in our own backyard  —  The Obama administration is poised to ban offshore oil drilling on the outer continental shelf until 2012 or beyond.  Meanwhile, Russia is making a bold strategic leap to begin drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

Madoff Was Beaten in Prison  —  Ponzi Schemer Was Assaulted by Another Inmate in December; Officials Deny Incident  —  The Butner federal prison in July.  A man who served time with Bernard Madoff there says the financier gave him investment advice.  —  Bernard Madoff, who is serving …

Connecticut Voters Say No To Keno, Highway Tolls, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Bysiewicz Only Clear Leader In Gov, A.G. Primaries  —  By a 70 - 27 percent margin, Connecticut voters oppose allowing keno gambling in restaurants, bars and convenience stores, with strong opposition among …

Field Poll: Campbell leads GOP Senate field; Boxer fades  —  WASHINGTON - Former Rep. Tom Campbell has a six-point lead over his closest challenger in the three-way Republican primary to face Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, whose popularity has significantly eroded in the past two months, according to a Field Poll released today.