Out with the old, in with the new: Minutes after the New York Times reported an unconfirmed rumor that chairman and chief execeutive of General Motors Rick Wagoner might resign, Politico and the Wall Street Journal confirmed it with a report that Wagoner's resignation is at "the government's behest," according to Politico. According to WSJ, it's all "part of an agreement to get a new package of federal aid," the second auto-industry bailout that Obama will announce in a speech tomorrow. Wagoner has been GM's chief for eight years, and there has been no indication of who will take over in Wagoner's stead. Together, GM and Chrysler have run through the $17.4 billion in federal loans they received from their first bailout; GM has asked for $16.6 billion more, and Chrysler for another $5 billion. Obama's auto task force seems inclined to grant a significant portion of Detroit's wishes, but with tight strings attached—one of which seems to be dispensing of Wagoner.

Is Obama secretly a neo-con? In today's Face the Nation interview, the president reiterated his commitment to strong, steady action in Afghanistan and Iraq. Asked by interviewer Bob Schieffer whether Afghanistan has "become your war," Obama replied, "I think it's America's war," and said securing Afghan stability would be the conclusion of America's post-9/11 anti-terror work. In the lengthy interview, Obama also rejected the suggestion that he would speed troop withdrawal from Iraq—"We still have a lot of work to do"—and compared Mexico's drug problem to Prohibition-era America. Describing the current unrest in Mexico, Obama said Mexican President Felipe Calderon's anti-drug work is comparable to "when Eliot Ness took on Al Capone back during Prohibition. Oftentimes that causes even more violence. And we're seeing that flare up." As for domestic issues, Obama expressed cautious optimism on the economy (though the auto industry is "not there yet" with its bailout goals) and said Wall Street is working on its humility: "Show some restraint," he said he advised them.

The Red River is slowly receding in North Dakota, but not before it breached a dike today in Fargo, sending water gushing into buildings at a school campus. “The campus is basically devastated. They fought the good fight. They lost and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Mayor Dennis Walaker said. “Those things will continue to happen. I guarantee it.” City officials, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Guard unsuccessfully tried to contain the water to one building, but at least managed to prevent it from spreading to nearby areas. The breach, said the city commissioner, occurred at a place where the river is especially fast, and the water was so powerful it shot 3 to 4 feet into the air at times. The water dropped early today to 40.15—more than 22 feet above flood stage—but may fluctuate over the next week.

Nothing like a vice-presidential scandal to separate friends from foes: The New York Post writes that a "friend" of VP Joe Biden's daughter Ashley "is attemping to hawk a videotape that he claims shows her snorting cocaine at a house party this month in Delaware." Through his lawyer, the man told the Post that Ashley knew she was being taped, waving at the camera and swearing at one point. About 90 seconds of his 43-minute video, he says, depict the vice president's daughter snorting a powdery white substance through a straw. Ashley, 27, is a social worker for a Delaware child protection agency and was a staple on her father's campaign trail; for his part, Biden has long been outspoken in his fight against drugs, and even coined the term "drug czar" in 1982. The seller—who says he dated Ashley for several years—wanted to sell the tape for $2 million, but later scaled back to $400,000, though he has yet to get a bid over $250K. Blame the recession?

Unleashed to the Sunday shows for the first time since his disastrous rescue rollout weeks ago, the treasury secretary came out strong. Speaking with George Stephanopoulos on This Week, Geithner said the treasury still has $135 billion in TARP money available to help get the economy rolling again. News outlets had estimated that as little as $32 billion of the financial rescue plan remained unallocated, but Geithner—who has been experiencing a revival lately, along with the stock market—placed the number at roughly $135 billion. Geithner said he came up with the number by making a conservative estimate of how much money will be coming from banks that now say they are ready to weather the storm. Of course, the flipside of having so much more TARP money than previously thought is that another round of spending could be around the corner. "If we come to that point, we'll go to the Congress and give them the strongest case possible...why this'll be cheaper over the long run to move aggressively," Geithner said.

Strong on unity, weak on details: A draft of a document to be released by the Group of 20 industrialized nations at this week's summit in London pledges "to avoid protectionism...but appears short on detail on a global approach to the fiscal stimulus package" the Financial Times reports. The draft delivers a unified message, but there is little doubt that there are major points of debate to be discussed at the summit Thursday. The 24-point communiqué states that many of the actions already taken by the global alliance will create more than 2 million jobs. It also addresses many of the major concerns going into the summit: Hedge funds will be more closely monitored, "tax havens" will be "named and shamed," and executive bonuses should reflect competence. As is par for the course at global summits, there is also a call for greater representation and participation of poor and developing nations.

DreamWorks and Paramount are sure to be gloating at today’s ShoWest gathering in Las Vegas—their 3-D flick Monsters vs. Aliens took in $58.2 million this weekend, the best opening of the year. The figure is a signal of “the financial advantage of being able to charge several dollars for more a 3-D ticket,” Variety reports—and it was enough to beat horror film The Haunting in Connecticut, which made $23 million, and the wrestling movie 12 Rounds, with $5.1 million. Monsters vs. Aliens is the first in a bunch of 3-D films opening this year, and expect a lot more from DreamWorks: Jeffrey Katzenberg has promised to make every one of his future films in 3-D.

Despite the recent war in Gaza, high-level peace talks are in advanced stages between Israel and Syria. In yet another remarkable story rife with sources at the top of international affairs, Sy Hersh details how the negotiations, if successful, could begin a new era in the Middle East. If Syria shows that dealing with Israel is not only possible but beneficial, Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah would be forced to reexamine their hard-line stance against the West. The talks center on the disputed Golan Heights—rich in religious significance and, perhaps more important, water—which Israel took from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967. Syria's president says President Obama himself must play a role in the discussions, and Hersh presents the moment as a legitimate opportunity for Obama to claim the legacy of "the President who facilitated peace in the Middle East."

What goes around comes around. In Spain, prosecutors are taking steps toward opening criminal investigations into six Bush-era officials to determine whether they violated international law by authorizing torture at Guantanamo Bay, reports The New York Times. The Spanish prosecutors' case is strong, say the paper's sources—especially with "crusading investigative judge" Baltasar Garzon (claim to fame: issuing an order for the arrest of Chilean tyrant Augusto Pinochet) on the case. Bushies under review include former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former Justice Dept. lawyer John Yoo, and former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith. Spain's claim of jurisdiction arises from five Spanish Gitmo prisoners who say they were tortured there. Legal experts note, however, that even if Judge Garzon issues the warrant, it would likely end up purely symbolic, as the alleged criminals would merely have to remain in the US to avoid arrest. Nevertheless, Judge Garzon's reputation as a high-profile human rights crusader carries on.

Amid a storm of criticism, the Madonna machine has touched down in Malawi and is now camped out in a posh luxury lodge in the AIDS-ravaged, impoverished country, awaiting court procedures that will allow the star to add 4-year-old Mercy James to her clan. It is likely that Madonna, with the aid of a crack legal team, will achieve her objective and depart with a new sister for her Malawian son, David Banda. Early reports had said Mercy, the child Madonna had selected, was an orphan with no parents. Now relatives have come out of the woodwork. James' grandmother told tabloids, "It is stealing, I won't let her go." Also, Mercy's father is now said to be alive and has agreed to the adoption, along with other relatives. Adoption agencies have criticized the move, saying that taking an orphan from his or her home country should be the last resort. "The best place for a child is in his or her family in their home community," a spokesman for Save the Children said.

Never mind talking to Iran, it's Europe that's the more immediate problem: While President Obama was elected in part because of his appeal as a fresh new start for America's damaged reputation abroad, most of that goodwill has quickly been eclipsed by the economic crisis, which many blame on America. As a result, expectations are low for this week's trip abroad on a variety of fronts, from securing commitments for greater stimulus spending at the G-20 to convincing NATO to expand its role in Afghanistan."There's an anger in the world...about how people think our country has helped create these problems," Senator John Kerry tells The Washington Post. "The president has to lift heavily to get us over the Bush hurdle."

If there's one thing the famously long-winded Joe Biden knows how to do well, it's talk, and a New York Times report today indicates that his White House responsibilities match his talents. According to White House officials, Biden has taken on an influential role as one of Obama's closest advisers, lending an independent voice on a variety of issues, from foreign policy to the budget. Obama tells The New York Times that Biden “does a bunch of things that don’t show up in the stat sheet,” referring to the VP's limited set of formal responsibilities. Biden's influence was on display last week when Obama revealed a new strategy for Afghanistan reportedly guided heavily by the vice president's advice. He doesn't always get his way, however—after Biden pleaded for the White House to drop health care reform from this year's budget, Obama chose to make it a centerpiece instead.

For all of Dick Cheney's grumblings about the importance of "enhanced interrogation techniques," there have been few, if any, indications that it's actually produced any decent intelligence. Many intelligence experts and torture victims claim that harsh interrogations leads to false confessions and, according to a report in The Washington Post, their criticisms were accurate in the case of Abu Zubaida, an Al Qaeda member whom the Bush administration ordered waterboarded. While officials say the detainee produced useful, though mostly already known, intelligence before being tortured, after harsher interrogations he detailed a variety of terrorist plots that investigations failed to corroborate. In one case, his testimony led to the arrest of Jose Padilla, an American citizen held for more than three years by the military, accused plotting to detonate a WMD. He was never charged over the allegations, which proved dubious despite the spectacle surrounding his arrest.

Iraqi security forces, with the help of US troops, have arrested Adil Mashadani, one of the leaders of the so-called Sunni Awakening—essentially a program that pays former insurgents to stop terrorizing their country. The arrest immediately sparked gunfights in Baghdad that lasted several hours and ended with five Iraqi soldiers being taken hostage, highlighting the delicate balance in the war-torn country, which is slowly beginning to recover. In recent days Iraqi authorities have been arresting many of those involved in the Sunni Awakening for past crimes, and local law enforcement and military officials have expressed unease at the possibility that the Sunni leaders will begin terrorizing Iraq once again as American troops withdraw.

They didn't show, but did they really avoid getting slimed? Rihanna and Chris Brown skipped an appearance before their key demographic last night at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Despite being far from the gala, Hollywood's most strained relationship was a hot topic on the red carpet. Soulja Boy—who is probably happy to get his name in the news anyway he can—said he had spoken with Brown and that the singer "was doing OK," adding, "it's a delicate time." Brown withdrew himself from the list of award nominees several weeks ago after facing a barrage of criticism over his alleged assault of his pop star girlfriend. Rihanna was nominated for her song "Don't Stop the Music."

In the final minute of Villanova vs. Pitt, it appeared the game would be going to overtime after a poor pass gave Pitt the chance to tie the game at 76-76. But with only five seconds remaining in regulation, Nova guard Scottie Reynolds sprinted down court after catching a quick touch pass, juking four of Pitt's players and making a layup with only a half-second left on the clock. Pittsburgh's point guard collapsed to the floor in heartbreak, and the first No. 1 seed of the tourney had been eliminated. In yesterday's other game, UConn defeated Missouri through a solid team effort, especially at the free throw line. Today's matchups include one of the most hotly anticipated games thus far, as UNC senior Tyler Hansbrough goes up against the freshman phenom Blake Griffin of Oklahoma.

In what is becoming one of the most disturbing trends in memory, yet another "dungeon dad" was discovered, this time in Colombia. Arcedio Alvarez, branded the "monster of Mariquita" (his hometown), is accused of raping and imprisoning his daughter, who is now in her 30s. Alvarez is said to have fathered 11 children with his daughter, three of whom died. The 59-year-old man claims that his daughter is adopted and that they had a consensual romantic relationship, though he his daughter says he raped her when she was only nine years old. Alvarez joins another alleged "dungeon dad" discovered yesterday in Italy.

Who would have thought that President Obama's most dangerous critic at this point would be a left-leaning college professor? With the Republicans struggling to craft a coherent message on the economy, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has filled the void as the voice of the opposition, leading an assault on Timothy Geithner's economic plan and deriding Obama's stimulus efforts as insufficiently small. As one of the few prominent economists who warned ahead of time of the impending economic crisis, his words carry far greater weight that most commentators. "No one has as big a megaphone as I have," Krugman told Newsweek in a front-page profile this week. "Aside from the world going to hell, it's great."

International espionage has gone digital. New reports from two independent research centers find that a massive network of Chinese computers infiltrated and stole documents from 103 world governments, embassies, and foreign ministries. The New York Times says that the espionage ring—known as GhostNet—cannot conclusively be linked to the Chinese government, but the network's interest in the Dalai Lama and Tibetan exile centers suggest a tie to Beijing or some "patriotic hackers." GhostNet focused on Asian governments, but also infiltrated a NATO computer and the Indian embassy in Washington, D.C. The malware it used was powerful: GhostNet had the ability to manipulate cameras and recording devices on affected computers, which means the spy network could listen to and watch activities occurring in the same rooms as infiltrated PCs. Researchers say they found real-world implications from GhostNet's stolen data, including intervention by the Chinese government following an email correspondence between the Dalai Lama and a foreign dignitary. GhostNet is believed to be the biggest computer espionage system to date; however, it also represents the first time an outside group successfully uncovered the inner-workings of one. The Chinese government denies involvement.