More help is on the way: The Senate voted to pass a $140 billion extension in unemployment benefits and tax breaks on Wednesday. The measure, which passed 62 to 36 with six Republican votes, also has funds to help states pay for Medicaid and to extend COBRA health insurance. It faces an uncertain future in the House, however, where Democrats have taken a different approach.

The evidence against Senator John Ensign (R-NV) is building. A set of previously undisclosed emails shows that Ensign tried to steer lobbying work to Douglas Hampton, the husband of a woman Ensign had an affair with—an apology of sorts. Ensign is being investigated by the FBI and the Senate Ethics Committee. In the messages—the first signs of an electronic trail in this case—Ensign suggests that a Las Vegas development firm hire Hampton, after the firm had approached him for help on several energy projects in 2008. Ensign denies all allegations of wrongdoing. “Senator Ensign has stated clearly he has not violated any law or Senate ethics rule,” said the senator’s spokesperson. “If Doug Hampton violated federal law or rules, Senator Ensign did not advise him to do so, did not suggest that he do so, and did not cooperate with his doing so.”

It’s been a rough few weeks for the Democrats, so here’s something to earn back a little political capital—and credibility. House Democratic leaders issued a ban on handing out multimillion-dollar, no-bid contracts, known as earmarks, to private contractors Wednesday. "We have made some real progress. The negative noise out there is at almost a deafening level," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said Tuesday. "And it drowns out, too often, the facts." In recent years, lobbyists have made earmarks part of their standard practice when dealing with corporate clients. They have also elicited a fair deal of scrutiny, particularly in ethics and corruption investigations. Not so long ago, there were only a few hundred earmarks being issued each year, but 2010 spending bills included $16 billion worth of earmarks to public and private entities. The Democrats were commended by Republicans for the move.

Filibuster reform just got a big boost: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate would review filibuster rules at the beginning of the next Congress and that changes to them are “likely.” “The filibuster has been abused,” Reid said. “I believe that the Senate should be different than the House and will continue to be different than the House. But we're going to take a look at the filibuster. Next Congress, we're going to take a look at it. We are likely to have to make some changes in it, because the Republicans have abused that just like the spitball was abused in baseball and the four-corner offense was abused in basketball.” How will the rule change work? The Huffington Post explains: “[C]hanging the rules at the beginning of the 112th Congress will require the chair to declare the Senate is in a new session and can legally draft new rules. That ruling would be made by Vice President Joe Biden, who has spoken out against the current abuse of the filibuster. The ruling can be appealed, but that appeal can be defeated with a simple majority vote.”

President Obama's populist crusade for health care continued on three fronts Wednesday. Obama took his traveling campaign to Missouri, while Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius addressed the annual conference of insurance lobbyists, America's Health Insurance Plans. And, outside the conference, Vermont Governor Howard Dean led a 1,000-person protest. "Are you for the insurance companies or are you for the American people?" Dean asked, boiling down the issue. At this point, Obama and Co. are still trying to woo the Democrats on the fence, since no Republicans are expecteed to vote for the $1 trillion health-care package. Republicans say that with only 25 percent of people believing Congress should pass the bill according to one recent poll, Democrats are trying too hard. They want to "shove this government takeover of the health-care system down the throats of the American people," House Minority Leader John Boehner said.

Bill Gates' reign as the world’s richest man was interrupted this year as the world’s plutocrats cashed in at a startling rate. Though the Microsoft tycoon has held the title for 14 of the last 15 years, he was overtaken by Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu, according to Forbes' annual list. Slim, whose $18.5 billion in earnings over the last 12 months catapulted him into first, has reportedly amassed a fortune of $53.5 billion. The growth was due largely to shares of America Movil shooting up 35 percent. Gates, whose fortune is at approximately $53 billion, is a close second after earning $13 billion this year. Warren Buffett is third with $47 billion, $10 billion of which came from a pair of shrewd investments in Goldman Sachs and General Electric during the economic turmoil. "We've put a lot of money to work during the chaos of the last two years," Buffett wrote. "When it's raining gold, reach for a bucket, not a thimble."

Looks like the Free Willy hand roll will no longer be on the menu. A sushi restaurant in Santa Monica, California, and one of its chefs were charged Wednesday with selling endangered-whale meat. Illegal sale of a marine mammal product is a misdemeanor that comes with a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of $100,000 for an individual, or $200,000 for an organization. "Someone should not be able to walk into a restaurant and order a plate of an endangered species," said U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. in a statement. The allegations came when a New York Times story revealed the restaurant, Hump, had served endangered Sei whale meat, which may have come right out of the trunk of a white Mercedes.

Tickle fights are just the beginning, it seems: The Atlantic’s Joshua Green writes that, in his Navy years, former Rep. Eric Massa was “notorious for making unwanted advances toward subordinates,” including offering them special massages he called “Massa Massages.” One sailor tells Green of an incident where a possibly drunken Massa “seemed to be groping me.” Another sailor also tells Greene of an incident where Massa’s naval roommate woke up “to Massa undoing his pants trying to snorkel him.” (Here’s a definition of “to snorkel.”) Apparently, Massa’s shipmates didn’t turn him in for fear that he’d retaliate.

Following in the national trend of major districts closing public schools, Kansas City voted in favor of closing 29 of its 61 schools to cope with a projected $50 million budget gap. Teachers at six other low-performing schools will have to reapply for their jobs, and the district must sell its downtown central office. The cuts will cost about 700 jobs, including 285 teaching positions. Many are concerned that the move will irreparably stunt the city’s development. "And now the public education system is aiding and abetting in the economic demise of our school district,” a city councilperson said. “It is shameful and sinful.” The district, meanwhile, has been quick to point out that many of the schools are only half full—its enrollment of fewer than 18,000 students is about half what the schools had a decade ago.

A.C. Slater is all grown up. Mario Lopez is going to be a father. People’s 2008 Bachelor of the Year and his girlfriend, 28-year-old actress Courtney Mazza, are expecting a baby in the fall. The pair met in 2008 when Lopez starred in A Chorus Line on Broadway. Lopez, 36, who became an icon of the 1990s on Saved by the Bell, is the host of Extra and MTV’s Best Dance Crew. "I'm really excited. I'm happy. I can't wait to be a dad," he told People magazine.

This year's group of 10 International Women of Courage Award recipients included an Afghan woman in local government who advocates for government accountability for women's needs, a Cypriot who created her own anti-human-trafficking network, and a Kenyan woman who was arrested for her efforts against corruption. The award, started in 2007 to honor women who have fought for human rights and women's equality, was presented Wednesday by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "These 10 women have overcome personal adversity, threats, arrest, and assault to dedicate themselves to activism for human rights," said Melanne Verveer, the State Department's Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. "From striving to give more voice to politically underrepresented women in Afghanistan to documenting human-rights abuses in Zimbabwe, these heroic individuals have made it their life's work to increase freedom and equality in the world."

Is Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi just teasing us at this point? When asked in an interview with Charlie Rose if the House would have the votes to pass the health-care bill, Pelosi said, “If we took it up today, yes.” Why then haven’t they passed it already? Pelosi said that they couldn’t set the timing for the final vote until they agree on the final legislative language and the Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill’s impact. “My clock doesn’t start ticking until the CBO numbers come,” she said.

One of the problems reformers have with the U.S. education system is that states come up with their own standards, therefore making it impossible to compare students across state lines (and giving states incentives to lower standards so they can create the illusion of a statistical boost and get more federal money). That may soon change however: On Wednesday, a panel of educators proposed national academic standards to be applied to K-12 students across the country. 48 states participated in producing the new standards and if they adopt them over the next few months, the checkerboard system of local standards could largely be replaced, and new standardized tests and textbooks. Only Alaska and Texas did not participate. “Governor Rick Perry argued that only Texans should decide what children there learn,” says The New York Times—presumably, Perry was talking about Newt Gingrich.

Actor Corey Haim has been found dead of a drug overdose, Los Angeles police say. Police were called to the Burbank, California, hospital St. Joseph's to investigate at 4 a.m. and Haim was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at a hospital in Burbank. Haim co-starred in The Lost Boys with Corey Feldman and became a teen heartthrob in the 1980s. He struggled with drug addiction for years, but was attempting a comeback in recent years. Haim and Feldman starred in the A&E reality show The Two Coreys in 2007, which chronicled Haim trying to pull his life back together by moving in with his old costar.

This is jaw-dropping: The median wealth for single black women in the prime of their working years in this country is $5, according to data from the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances. The median wealth for single white women during the prime of their working years, meanwhile, is $42,600 (which is, in turn, only 61 percent of what single white men of that age have). Wealth was measured as the total of one’s assets minus debts. Black women were more likely than other women to have been caught up in subprime lending. A married or cohabiting black woman had a median net worth of $31,500.

Hope they have a television in the waiting room of your doctor’s office: Newsweek editor Jonathan Meacham is in talks to host a weekly program on PBS. The Friday night public-affairs program is called Need to Know. It will be co-anchored by Alison Stewart and debut on May 7 at 8:30. Meacham, in addition to editing Newsweek, won a Pulitzer last year for his biography of Andrew Jackson.

News that will make your kids happy: Nickelodeon has signed a three-year, eight-figure deal with Dan Schneider, creator of iCarly and other popular kids’ shows, reports Variety. The network rarely makes such deals with individual producers, but Schneider is a proven hitmaker, having created Drake and Josh, Zoey 101, and Victorious. "He knows what our audience is looking for and he consistently delivers, and he has such an eye for talent," a Nickelodeon executive said. "We wanted to make sure he was happy." iCarly, with five million viewers, is Nickelodeon’s most-watched show. Schneider got started with the network in the ‘90s, working on the sketch comedy show All That and Kenan & Kel.

A French leader with a mistress? Say it ain’t so! European news outlets are buzzing with rumors that, in decades past, would have been shrugged at: Both President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni are allegedly having affairs. The French paper Journal Du Dimanche and website suchablog.com both claim that Sarkozy has been seeing Chantal Jouanno on the side and that Bruni is “unofficially living with” the musician Benjamin Biolay in Paris. Sarkozy’s spokesman says he has “absolutely no comment” on the rumors.

Israel apologized for embarrassing Vice President Joe Biden by announcing it had approved 1,600 new homes in disputed east Jerusalem while Biden was engaged in talks with Palestinian leaders. Israel is not going to rescind the decision, however. The announcement was sharply criticized by Biden and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. "The substance and timing of the announcement, particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now," Biden said. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat chimed in, warning, "I think the Israeli government is making it almost impossible for us, the Americans and the international community, to take a one centimeter step in the direction of reviving the peace process.” Egypt and the United Nations also criticized the settlement announcement.

So where’s the money from the proposed fee on large financial institutions going to go? Apparently to a fund to rescue banks in case of future collapses. Bloomberg reports that senators are closing in on a deal that would create a $50 billion trust fund to be used to wind down failing financial institutions. The fund would allow future rescues to take place without resorting to taxpayer dollars. The House has already passed legislation to create a much larger, $150 billion fund.

Does this mean we can at least get Dwight to play the villain? Actor John Krasinski, better known as Jim from The Office, is the “main focus” of Marvel’s search for an actor to play Captain America, says Fox News. "John has read four times and is doing screen tests," a source says. "He has screen tested 2 times so far. It's very likely that he will be the new Captain America. He is a favorite among the key decision makers and has been asked to come back for more this week." Krasinski is expected to sign a multi-film deal. Comic-book fans at Marvel aren’t thrilled with the choice. Says one, "It's a surprise and we are bracing ourselves for 'that guy from The Office' to land Captain America. They are not really looking at the other guys, so it's time to get ready to work with him."

How bad have things gotten for male celebrities in New York since the Emperor’s Club was shut down? R&B star D’Angelo was arrested for trying to pay an undercover cop $40 to have sex with him over the weekend. He was apparently driving his Range Rover at the time. D’Angelo, whose real name is Michael Archer, has pleaded not guilty.

Bruce J. Graham, the architect who designed the Sears Tower and remade Chicago’s skyline, has died at his home in Hobe Sound, Florida, at age 85. His son George said the cause of death was complications from Alzheimer’s. Graham worked for the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill from 1951 until he retired in 1989, and played a huge role in making Chicago a world-class city for architecture. His most famous buildings are the John Hancock Center (100 stories) and the Sears Tower (110 stories and the world’s tallest when its building was finished in 1974). “Downtown Chicago—the Loop—shows Mr. Graham’s fingerprints at every turn,” the New York Times writes. He also designed buildings in Kong, Cairo, Barcelona, Seoul, and other American cities.

Leaving behind the ways of President Bush is sometimes easier said than done: President Obama’s expected decision to try the September 11 planners in a military tribunal violates the strict separation he tried to create between the Justice Department and the rest of government. Now, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero is making the most unfavorable of comparisons in The Wall Street Journal, comparing Holder to Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who was at the center of the U.S. attorney-firing scandal. Holder appears willing to go along with Obama’s decision: He has declared himself equally open to civilian or military trials.

Bank of America announced it will end overdraft fees on debit cards this summer, a move that will cost the bank a large amount of revenue and pressure others to follow suit. Customers who don’t have enough cash in their accounts to make a purchase will simply be declined. More than 60 percent of overdraft fees charged by Bank of America come from debit cards. A new federal law is forcing banks to get permission from customers before allowing overdrafts on debit purchases and ATM withdrawals, fees that earned banks $20 billion last year. Regulators became concerned by reports of people paying as much as $40 for a cup of coffee thanks to overdraft fees, and Congress is considering even more restrictive rules. A 2008 study by the FDIC found that while 75 percent of customers are never charged overdraft fees, a small group—14 percent of cardholders—generates 93 percent of the fees.

Wal-Mart is under fire for a picture posted to a blog showing two Barbies—identical except for skin color—on sale for different prices, with the black doll listed on sale at half the price of the white one. The photo was first posted to FunnyJunk.com, a humor site, and then Guanabee.com, a Latino site that says the person who offered the photo said it was taken at a Louisiana store. Wal-Mart officials say items are routinely put on sale to move inventory and make room for spring merchandise. But critics say the corporate giant should have been more sensitive, absorbing losses from not selling the black dolls instead of putting them on clearance. A sociologist-blogger said the retailer should avoid sending “a message that we value blackness less than whiteness." She added that black parents are more likely to buy their kids a doll of a different race, but speculated that they might not see the appeal in a doll with darker skin color but stereotypically white features. Mattel says its new “So In Style” dolls, which are designed to more closely mimic black women’s faces, received a positive response.

Once upon a time, health care was supposed to be President Obama’s Christmas gift to America; now, it’s possible it may not even be ready for Easter. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer cast doubt that the House could pass health-care reform by the March 18 deadline set by President Obama. "None of us have mentioned the 18th other than [Press Secretary Robert] Gibbs," Hoyer said "We are trying to do this as soon as possible. That continues to be our objective." Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi demurred when asked if she thought the House could pass health-care reform by Easter on April 4. “That would be my hope,” she said. Meanwhile, President Obama continued to tour the country on Tuesday to push for health-care reform. In Missouri, he said he’d use “bounty hunters” to root out health-care fraud.

Is filibuster reform gaining steam? Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) plans to hold three hearings on the filibuster and ways to reform it, Politico reports. New and liberal Democrats are concerned about the procedural tool, and Schumer, who chairs the rules and administration committee, decided to go forward after discussing it with Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), who are also worried. Democrats argue that the tactic has been increasingly abused in recent years and are frustrated that the GOP forces them to have a 60-vote supermajority to advance much legislation. Schumer’s decision comes after a potential rival for the majority leader position, Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), has ramped up his criticism of the filibuster; some see both men wooing fellow senators hungry for more aggressive leadership. Both men deny they’re seeking the position, saying they expect current Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to be reelected.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts can tell when he’s unwelcome: Roberts criticized the atmosphere of the president’s annual State of the Union address to Congress, calling it a “political pep rally.” Speaking to University of Alabama law students, Roberts said Obama’s speech in January was “very troubling” because the president knocked the court for its overturning of limits on corporate spending on campaign ads. "To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I'm not sure why we're there," Roberts said. Though anyone is free to criticize the Court, "there is the issue of the setting, the circumstances and the decorum. The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court—according the requirements of protocol—has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling." He also said senators ask inappropriately political questions, which they know nominees can’t answer, at confirmation hearings. Obama’s press secretary defended the speech by further criticizing the decision in question.

Former Attorney General Mike Mukasey may have served in the Bush administration with Dick Cheney, but he has a bone to pick with Cheney’s daughter Liz. In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Mukasey calls the efforts of Cheney and others to smear Justice Department lawyers who have represented terrorists as “shoddy and dangerous.” He then states the should-be obvious: “A lawyer who represents a party in a contested matter has an ethical obligation to make any and all tenable legal arguments that will help that party.” Without ever mentioning Liz by name, Mukasey characterizes her “Al Qaeda 7” campaign as trying to paint Justice Department lawyers as “in-house counsel to Al Qaeda” and “a fifth column within the Justice Department.”