After many billions in federal aid to the banks and two of Detroit's Big Three, it might be time for federal aid to residents who own the home they occupy. But hold the celebration. There are some devils in the details, and President Barack Obama is to release still more details next month. So far, Obama has tried to make the essential distinction between people who have hit an unexpected rough patch and, as he ... [full story]

To shore up a shaky structure, start with the foundation. That's one of the tenets of President Barack Obama's ambitious housing rescue plan, which aims to help 9 million homeowners. If it works, it could help many more people than that. The recession was triggered by the collapse of the housing market, and the economy likely won't revive until that market stabilizes. Obama's plan would provide $75 billion in direct payments as incentives to lenders ... [full story]

Deployment of 17,000 more U.S. combat troops to Afghanistan is "necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation," President Barack Obama said last week. If it works, it would be a first. Afghanistan is not now, and never has been, a stable country — at least not as the word is understood in most of the world. Nor will it be stabilized by the presence of 17,000 more foreign troops. The real challenge for the Obama administration, ... [full story]

Let's make a few things clear. We support law enforcement, crackdowns on illegal immigration and the notion that jail inmates should not be coddled. We're fine with immigration raids, speedy deportations and more cooperation between local cops and federal immigration officials, as long as everyone stays in his lane and doesn't try to do someone else's job. Yet, along with many others, we are very troubled by what has been happening in Phoenix, because it ... [full story]

Describing Energy Secretary Steven Chu's new job is simple: Oversee the transformation of the United States from a carbon-based economy to one based on clean energy. Pulling it off, however, will be a little more challenging. It will be a massive undertaking, if it can be done at all — bigger than the Manhattan Project that split the atom and the Apollo program that put man on the moon. Combined. "We essentially need a second ... [full story]

Detroit's automakers are facing the financial equivalent of Hurricane Katrina. The reports submitted by General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC to justify their federal loans show the extent of the changes they've already made — and what they are prepared to do to survive. They should be given that chance. There are still some hang-ups. Final deals with bondholders and the United Auto Workers are incomplete. They are working diligently to come to agreement. When ... [full story]

President Barack Obama has signed into law the biggest, most sweeping economic stimulus plan to emerge from Congress in many years. The plan isn't perfect — it takes too long to work in some cases, and we might need another one before this wretched recession is over. But it was the right thing to do. The $787 billion stimulus plan provides $111 billion for infrastructure and science projects, $144 billion for state and local fiscal ... [full story]

Anyone who spends time online has at least a vague sense of the "service agreements" to which he routinely consents — dense documents filled with legal fine print that make up the "terms of service" for Web services or online groups. Most people spend zero time reading the fine print. They typically click "accept" and move ahead without a second thought. But last week, denizens of Facebook — one of the world's most popular online ... [full story]

In an example of necessity colliding with common sense, the Pentagon is turning to immigrants to help offset recruitment shortfalls. And not just any immigrants either. The effort is aimed at high-skilled immigrants who came to this country legally on temporary visas and who have lived here for at least two years. Recruits would have the chance to become U.S. citizens in as little as six months following their military service. Illegal immigrants are not ... [full story]

Four months and $350 billion later, the federal government's initial response to the financial sector's meltdown doesn't seem to have worked. Tens of billions of dollars have been funneled to banks beset by "toxic assets" on the assumption that shoring them up would ensure their return to normal lending practices and thus end the credit crunch that is playing havoc with the economy. Instead, nearly all of these banks are as stingy with loans as ... [full story]

Illinois Sen. Roland Burris' attempts to dodge, obfuscate and shift attention away from how he got his job essentially amount to an admission that there's something to hide, that he did something wrong. It's also difficult to see how he can serve effectively, given the controversy and suspicions that still swirl around him. Burris should resign the post now. And Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn should then hold a special election to replace him. Although we ... [full story]

Politicization of the national census has been alleged since our forefathers wrote it into the Constitution as the basis for apportioning states' representatives in Congress. In the first enumeration in 1790, Northern states demanded that each slave count as three-fifths of a person, lest the South's population ensure its domination of the House of Representatives. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution overrode that abomination in 1868 following the abolition of slavery. Today the flap concerns ... [full story]

Airline travelers hardly can be blamed if they are reflexively hostile to the idea of in-flight, wireless Internet service becoming a feature of life in an airplane's cabin. The specter of being trapped hours in a cramped seat next to a Web-based road warrior easily can be seen as just another high-altitude indignity — on a list that already includes delays and cancellations, aging equipment, lost luggage, thin staffing and balky computer reservation systems. But ... [full story]