President Obama is shelving a plan announced in the final days of the Bush presidency to open much of the U.S. coast to oil and gas drilling, including 130 million acres off California's shores from Mendocino to San Diego. Zachary Coile

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• Senate panel gives Panetta OK for CIA post
• Senate confirms former lobbyist as Pentagon No. 2

Moving with lightning speed, key lawmakers announced agreement on a $790 billion economic stimulus measure designed to create millions of jobs in a nation reeling from recession.

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• Bankers challenged to reform system -- quickly
•  Politics Blog: GOP's profane parody of union struggles

House Democrats voted down an attempt Tuesday to remove Rep. Charles Rangel as chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee during an ongoing ethics investigation.

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Gov. Schwarzenegger will send layoff warnings to 20,000 state workers at the end of the week if the Legislature has not approved a deal to close $42 billion budget deficit. Matthew Yi

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When Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa kicked off his re-election campaign, he said he wanted to make the campaign about "the next four years." That should make for interesting speeches because he really intends to run for governor. John Wildermuth

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