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Tom Daschle, President Barack Obama's pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, withdrew his nomination Tuesday amid a controversy over his taxes. Also Tuesday, Nancy Killefer withdrew her nomination for the post of chief performance officer after bungling payroll taxes.

Securities executive Harry Markopolos says it took him only about five minutes to spot a giant investment fraud that he says federal regulators couldn't detect. Markopolos testified before Congress Wednesday on an alleged pyramid scam operated by Bernard Madoff that cost investors more than $50 billion.

A Black man now chairs the Republican National Committee (RNC). Last Friday, Michael Steele was elected to the post in the sixth round of voting. And the former Lt. Gov. of Maryland, has already come out swinging against the Democrats. Steele talks about serving as the first African-American to lead the party of Lincoln, and his plans for the GOP.

The Senate is braced for a showdown next week, when the Democrats plan to push through a nearly $900 billion economic stimulus package. The House passed a slightly smaller measure Wednesday. Not a single Republican voted for the plan, which was after President Obama lobbied GOP lawmakers for a bipartisan bill. The question now is how many Senate Republicans will heed his call?

The Commerce Department reports the economy had its worst showing in a quarter-century. U.S. gross domestic product dropped at a 3.8 percent annual rate in the last three months of 2008. The GDP report shows the grim toll of the housing, credit and financial crises.

Congolese Tutsi rebel leader Laurent Nkunda has been arrested by Congolese and Rwandan forces. Nkunda's rebel forces exacerbated the turmoil in eastern Congo late last year, displacing 250,000 people. His actions prompted some of his own commanders to turn against him.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is speaking Thursday at his impeachment trial in Springfield. Blagojevich has not participated in the trial at all until now.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent surgery in New York for the removal of a cancerous tumor from her pancreas. Her cancer was discovered early during a routine exam in January. Ginsburg previously received treatment for colon cancer.

President Barack Obama met with House Republicans Tuesday. Republican Congressman David Camp of Michigan, who was at that meeting, talks about the mood of the meeting, and Obama's proposed stimulus plan.

President Barack Obama asked congressional leaders to provide bipartisan support for the stimulus bill. But yielding to GOP demands for more tax cuts could lead to Obama alienating his liberal base.