President Obama announced he will host a bipartisan health-reform summit with the country’s congressional leaders later this month during a Super Bowl pre-game interview Sunday. “I want to come back [after the Presidents’ Day congressional recess] and have a large meeting—Republicans and Democrats—to go through, systematically, all the best ideas that are out there, and move it forward,” Obama said. The president’s announcement shows his efforts to compromise with the GOP, but he will not start his health-care reform plan anew, a White House official reported. Though both parties have reportedly been skeptical of the summit idea, the recent Democratic loss of the Senate supermajority has forced the president to modify his legislative strategy. The half-day summit, which will take place at Blair House on February 25, is his latest effort to do so.

Bourbon Street has a new reason to get rowdy. The New Orleans Saints won their first Super Bowl in team history on Sunday night. After the Colts dominated in the first half of the game, the Saints returned after halftime hungry for the Vince Lombardi trophy. The third quarter kicked off with back-to-back touchdowns from both teams before the Saints dominated in the nail-biting fourth quarter. They challenged a two-point conversion when Lance Moore dropped the ball in the end zone. Referees ruled in New Orleans' favor since players no longer have to maintain possession all the way through the catch and the Saints took a 24-17 lead. They continued marching as the clock wound down when Tracy Porter picked off Peyton Manning, jetting 74 yards down the field for a crowd-rousing touchdown, expanding the Saints lead 31-17 to with just three minutes left. Despite disappointment, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning lead a record-making 96-yard touchdown drive, tying with the Chicago Bears for the longest drive in Super Bowl history.

Now that he has a new job, will he get his $35,000 commode back? Ousted Merill Lynch Chief John A. Thain is now taking over CIT Group Inc. The appointment, announced Sunday, is effective immediately and Thain will start his new job on Monday. The over-100-year-old commercial lender emerged from bankruptcy in December. The New York-based company was crippled by former CEO Jeffrey Peek’s venture into subprime lending before it filed for bankruptcy. CIT is under constraints connected to the 2008 bailout, meaning it’s shut out of its traditional source of funding, the commercial paper market. “If we’re going to get the U.S. economy to continue to grow, if we’re going to create jobs, then we need to have this kind of a company do well,” Thain said Sunday.

In an interview with Fox News Sunday, former Governor Sarah Palin revealed that she will consider running for president in 2012 if she believes it is "the right thing to do for our country and the Palin family." She also said in her first Sunday show appearance, "I won't close a door that perhaps could be open for me in the future," and she thinks "it would be absurd to not consider what it is that I could potentially do to help our country." When questioned about President Obama, Palin said he would lose if the election was held today, but if he replaces his top advisers, his fate could change. She cited Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel as an example, saying his comment that liberal groups are "f-ing retards" was cause for his dismissal. Yet when asked about Rush Limbaugh's use of the same language, she was quick to defend the talk show host because, as she says, he was using satire.

At least 311,000 2010 Prius hybrids are expected to join Toyota's list of recalled vehicles after the company received numerous complaints about the car's brakes, a source told The New York Times. Toyota is likely to make the announcement early in the week following their recall of approximately eight million vehicles worldwide due to faulty gas pedals. After some 2010 Prius drivers expressed concerns about being unable to stop on uneven surfaces, U.S. regulators opened up an investigation last week. Executives at the fallen car company acknowledged the braking system flaw on Thursday and said it was corrected in Priuses built after the end of January. The hybrid vehicle was redesigned for the 2010 model year, including a brake system that was intended to increase fuel efficiency, according to Toyota. Toyota's president apologized for the recalls Friday.

Arch enemies David Letterman and Jay Leno shared football and chips in an ad for CBS' Late Show that aired during the second quarter Sunday night. Letterman, who thought up the idea, reprised his 2007 Super Bowl ad with Oprah Winfrey for this year's game, with the addition of Leno sitting beside them. They filmed the spot in complete secrecy last Tuesday, and Leno even wore a fake moustache to disguise himself when he arrived in New York. In the spot, Colts fan Letterman complains, "This is the worst Super Bowl party ever," to which Leno replies, "He's just saying that because I'm here." Letterman then mimics his fallen talk show adversary and Leno rolls his eyes as Winfrey throws her arms up in the air. The two late night stars and daytime queen filmed the ad on Tuesday at Letterman's Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, according to Winfrey's Twitter, which confirmed the spot's authenticity.

New York Governor David Paterson might follow in his predecessor’s footsteps as a “bombshell” story from the The New York Times could drop on Monday and force his resignation, according to unsourced reports. The New York Daily News says the story will be “far worse” than the governor’s acknowledged extramarital affair with a former state employee. (The Daily News says a “major newspaper” will drop the story, not directly naming The Times.) A source close to Paterson’s office told Business Insider that the piece will appear on Monday and that the governor’s resignation is expected to follow. Paterson's spokesman denies the resignation rumors, and says a New York Times profile is coming out later about the governor, but does not contain any bombshell allegations.

Up to 11 people were injured in an explosion at a power plant in Middletown, Connecticut Sunday. Police retracted their previous report that two people had been killed in the blast. A Middletown police sergeant said he misunderstood something he overheard on a police radio, and no fatalities have been confirmed. Some of those injured were thrown 30 or 40 feet, according to an ER doctor at the Middletown hospital. The blast occurred at about 11:30 a.m. this morning at the Kleen Power Plant, which was under construction and had yet to open. The building was in a “testing phase” and was projected to go online later in 2010, according to police. Approximately 50 people, most of whom were construction workers, were working on the site when the explosion occurred. Firefighters are still searching the site and do not know how long the investigation will take. Connecticut residents reported either hearing or feeling the effects of the explosion up to 20 miles away from the plant. The Department of Homeland Security reported it was aware of the blast and is monitoring the situation, according to CNN.

White House Counterterrorism Chief John Brennan played defense on Super Bowl Sunday, slamming Republicans’ criticism of the Obama administration’s handling of the Christmas Day bomber. Brennan said he called senior Republican lawmakers on Christmas to update them on the investigation process, including how the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, would be treated. But in recent weeks, right-wing representatives attacked the White House for prosecuting Abdulmutallab before a civilian court, instead of a military commission. They also condemned the administration for reading Abdulmutallab his Miranda rights. “I explained to them that he was in FBI custody,” Brennan told NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday. “They knew that ‘in FBI custody’ means that there’s a process then you follow as far as Mirandizing and presenting him in front of a magistrate.” Brennan said no one raised any concerns at the time. One briefed Republican, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Kit Bond, disputed Brennan’s claims. “The truth is that the administration did not even consult our intelligence chiefs,” Bond said Sunday.

The G7 vowed to ensure that Greece would fulfill its financial obligations in the wake of a global stock-market rout last week attributed largely to fears over how that nation's economic problems would affect the EU and its common currency, the euro. At the weekend's summit in Canada, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said he was confident that Greece, which has been hit by the budget-deficit crisis, would meet tough new belt-tightening targets.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization to begin work on a higher-grade nuclear fuel for a Tehran medical-research reactor, according to Reuters. His announcement comes in direct opposition to a plan, agreed upon last year by Iran and six major powers, for the country to send its low-enriched uranium abroad in exchange for higher-refined fuel and to quell fears about Tehran’s ability to make an atomic bomb. In a televised speech, Ahmadinejad said, “We had told them (the West) to come and have a swap, although we could produce the 20 percent enriched fuel ourselves.” His comments prompted U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to again call on the international community for sanctions to halt Iran’s nuclear work.

The famously reserved British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was brought to tears during a television interview taping this weekend in front of a studio audience as he discussed the death of his daughter and possible premature death of his son. Brown’s wife, Sarah, who was also present for the Piers Morgan interview, sobbed as her husband spoke of their infant daughter Jennifer, who died in 2002 from a brain hemorrhage, and son Fraser, who suffers from cystic fibrosis, reports The Daily Mail. The 2.5-hour exchange will air next Sunday. The Prime Minister said he was the first to realize his 10-day old daughter would not survive. “He described how he held her tiny little hand until the very end,” an audience member recalled. During the frank dialogue, Brown also discussed his tumultuous relationship with Tony Blair, reportedly saying he had “explosive” arguments with the former U.K. Prime Minister, but denied hitting any of his aides despite admittedly losing his temper at times.

New Orleans may be focused on the Saints playing in their first Super Bowl Sunday, but that’s not stopping more big news from hitting the city. Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu was elected mayor on Saturday in a landslide vote. It is the first time the city’s voters have elected a white candidate in over 30 years, with the last white mayor none other than Mitch's father, Moon Landrieu. In his victory speech, the moderate Democrat called for a city that is "unified rather than divided.” He has also been vocal about his discontent with the speed of recovery post-Katrina. The current mayor, Ray Nagin, couldn't seek re-election due to term limits, and his popularity has dropped sharply since his handling of Hurricane Katrina.

"How's that hopey-changey thing workin' out for you?" Sarah Palin asked a crowd of 1,100 gathered for the first National Tea Party Convention Saturday night, part of a 40-minute speech assaulting the Obama administration and pumping up the conservative faithful. "America is ready for another revolution," Palin said. The former vice-presidential candidate challenged the White House's approach to national security, particularly its treatment of the Christmas Day bomber, and the president's handling of the economy. She said those gathered for the Nashville event had "both party machines running scared." Palin's reported $100,000 speaking fee caused some controversy within the grassroots movement. Two elected officials, Republican Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, pulled out of speaking engagements at the tea party conference, fearing possible ethics violations because of the murky financial status of the event's sponsor, a for-profit group, Tea Party Nation.

Avatar’s time in the spotlight may finally be over. Dear John, the romantic tearjerker based on Nicholas Sparks’ novel, shot past Cameron’s sci-fi epic at the box office with a $32.4 million haul this weekend, with Avatar taking in $23.6 million. The surprise success of Dear John, starring Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum as a couple whose relationship is tested by war, shows the power of young female moviegoers—the same group that pushed Twilight and Hannah Montana: The Movie to unprecedented successes last year. According to the Los Angeles Times, 84 percent of the audience was female, and 64 percent was under the age of 21. Also opening this weekend was John Travolta’s From Paris With Love, which had a disappointing debut of $8.1 million.

Earlier this month when Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called to end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, a strange thing happened: the GOP was silent. Despite the expected criticism from John McCain, Republicans had little else to say on the topic, and in today’s New York Times columnist Frank Rich writes, "The right’s noise machine was on mute." The proposed repeal also received little attention from TV networks, with Fox News sharing a brief, fair report and CNN attempting to gain more viewers by featuring old homophobic clichés. But why? Much of it had to do with Mullen's testimony, writes Rich. "As more gay people have come out—a process that accelerated once the modern gay rights movement emerged from the Stonewall riots of 1969—so more heterosexuals have learned that they have gay relatives, friends, neighbors, teachers and co-workers. It is hard to deny our own fundamental rights to those we know, admire and love," writes Rich. But there’s also little political advantage to homophobia, with many independents trending closer to Democrats than Republicans on social issues.

Nobel laureate and Nigerian political activist Wole Soyinka wrote an op-ed in the Times of London defending controversial comments he made during an interview on The Daily Beast, when he called Britain a “cesspit” and breeding ground for fundamentalist Muslims. His accusations stem from Nigeria being placed on a U.S. watch list because of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, also known as the Christmas Day bomber. Although Abdulmutallab was born and raised in Nigeria, Soyinka suggests his extremist views did not develop until he attended university in London. The same story applies to Richard Reid, the shoe bomber. Soyinka says his friends fear for their sons who are at British universities because they appear to be "caught up in Islamic fundamentalism." Although he points out several reasons why London is to blame, he says a large part has to do with its acceptance of all cultures and ideas. "I am not condemning the idea of the open society, but alongside freedom sits responsibility," he wrote. "When freedom of expression is abused by the preachers of hate—either racial or religious—then the state has a responsibility to act."

The Brooklyn man responsible for a fire that killed five neighbors last week told reporters that he was under Satan's spell. "It must have been the devil that possessed me to do it, it couldn't have been Jesus Christ," Daniel Ignacio said from Bellevue Hospital's prison ward. Ignacio told the New York Daily News that he is still tormented by the smoke and flames. "Now I close my eyes and I hear screaming," Ignacio said. He has been charged with five counts of murder and one count of arson.

William Hunter and William Smellie, 18th-century London doctors, are revered founders of obstetrics, whose work permanently changed the care that women receive during childbirth. But were they also serial killers? That’s the claim in new research published by historian Don Shelton in a British medical journal. His study claims that the doctors enabled the murder of dozens of pregnant women to study their bodies. Their murder rate outpaced those of Jack the Ripper and other notorious killers from the period, Shelton writes. Shelton says that the docs arranged for a killing spree, using henchmen to deliver them the bodies of 35 to 40 pregnant women and their unborn children between 1749 and 1755.

NASA officials have delayed the launch of the space shuttle Endeavor for at least a day because of cloud cover over the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission comes at a time when President Barack Obama is preparing to abandon the U.S. space agency's effort to return astronauts to the moon by 2020. There are only five missions left for the Constellation program, which began in 1981, before it is scheduled to halt at the end of this year. The shuttle, when launched, will deliver a cupola to outer space which will provide panoramic views of Earth from the International Space Station.

The marketing mogul behind Cabbage Patch kids and Pokemon toys is moving into jailed Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff's New York apartment, the New York Post reports. Alfred R. Kahn, the CEO of 4Kids Entertainment, has signed a deal for the Upper East Side apartment, which was recently listed at $8.9 million. The sale will go toward the government's effort to pay back Madoff's victims. On Friday, Madoff's relatives agreed to an asset freeze. The family will not sell any property worth more than $1,000 as a trustee continues to gather any assets which could go to the moneyman's defrauded clients.

As Miami prepares to host Sunday's Super Bowl, the pigskin cognoscenti gathered in southern Florida for the season's ultimate game have one worry on their minds: Will the league have a 2011 season? The labor agreement between the league's players and its owners is set to expire then, and if an accord is not reached, football fans may find themselves watching a short season—or worse, replacements running around the gridiron. That's what happened in 1987, the last time the NFL had a regular season work stoppage. The Washington Post's Michael Wilbon says the owners will have the upper hand in the battle.

The snow has finally let up and blizzard warnings have been lifted in the storm some are calling “Snowmageddon” or the “Snowpocalypse,” but mid-Atlantic states are still dealing with the fallout. Around 100,000 people are still without power, bus service and above-ground rail has been cancelled in Washington, D.C., and drivers are being urged to stay off the roads. “Monday is not going to be a get-to-work day," said an official from the Virginia Department of Transportation, estimating that plowing would continue through “the better part of next week.” Large swaths of the mid-Atlantic have ground to a halt in the wake of the historic storm. Accumulation totals have topped 30 inches in parts of Virginia, and more snow is expected to fall on Tuesday. Forecasters believe it could break the record set by the Knickerbocker Blizzard of 1922, which dumped 28 inches on the nation's capital.

One way to get around high ticket prices: stage your own event. Four disgruntled Tennessee tea party activists held their own news conference outside the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, calling out the “grassroots” event for its $550 price tag. “There are a lot of citizens in the state of Tennessee today who could not afford to be here… particularly in this economy,” said one. “They’re just as patriotic. They’re just as concerned.” Two of the protesters had helped plan the event early on, but resigned due to objections over the direction it was taking. The four Tennesseans even had harsh words for their movement’s political leaders, and one said, “We don’t need Sarah Palin to be the face of our movement. We don’t need Newt Gingrich or any of these other people, because these people are humans and they can fail. Our values will never fail us as long as we adhere to them.”

Phil Jones, the British professor who was embroiled in an email scandal over climate change research, considered killing himself, he told The Times of London. He also said that people continue to threaten him as well. “I was shocked. People said I should go and kill myself. They said that they knew where I lived. They were coming from all over the world," Jones said. He defends the work done by his climate research unit at the University of East Anglia but has stepped down from the post.