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National Security: Obama To Announce More Personnel For Afghanistan

• "The Obama administration will unveil a new Afghanistan strategy" today "that calls for devoting significant new resources to counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan and economic development in Pakistan, according to senior U.S. officials," the Wall Street Journal reports. "The administration now plans to send about 4,000 military trainers to Afghanistan -- in addition to the recently announced 17,000 additional troops -- and hundreds of diplomats and other civilian officials."

• "After agreeing to bury their differences and unite forces, Taliban leaders based in Pakistan have closed ranks with their Afghan comrades to ready a new offensive in Afghanistan as the United States prepares to send 17,000 more troops there this year," the New York Times reports. "In interviews, several Taliban fighters based in the border region said preparations" include stepping up "a campaign of roadside bombings and suicide attacks."

• "Hezbollah is using the same southern narcotics routes that Mexican drug kingpins do to smuggle drugs and people into the United States, reaping money to finance its operations and threatening U.S. national security, current and former U.S. law enforcement, defense and counterterrorism officials say," the Washington Times reports.

• "A senior U.S. official said" today "that Kyrgyzstan and Washington have agreed to continue talks over a key American air base that American forces had been told to leave within six months," AP reports. "A Kyrgyz presidential spokesman reiterated that the base decision was final, but said the Central Asian country was still open to a new deal with the United States."

White House: New Auto Industry Aid Package Expected Soon

• "Obama plans to announce a new aid package for General Motors and Chrysler in the coming days and says the carmakers must make 'pretty drastic changes' to save their industry," AP reports. "Obama gave a preview of his administration's approach... during an online town hall meeting Thursday, promising additional aid only if the Detroit change its ways and receives concessions from stakeholders."

• "Outlining a far-reaching proposal on Thursday to rebuild the nation's broken system of financial regulation, the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, fired the opening salvo in what is likely to be a marathon battle," the New York Times reports. "On the surface, both the lawmakers... and the financial industry's lobbying groups made it sound as if they completely agreed with Mr. Geithner's call.... But in fact industry groups are already mobilizing to block restrictions they oppose and win new protections they have wanted for years.

Congress: Budget Blueprint Moves To Senate Floor

• "The Senate Budget Committee Thursday approved its FY10 budget resolution, sending it to the floor on a party-line vote, a likely harbinger when it is considered next week," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports. "Democrats spent the better part of two days fending off Republican attempts to trim spending before passing the measure, 13-10."

• "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Thursday refused to rule out the eventual use of fast-track budget rules for" the president's "highest profile policy proposals, even as he defended his own Budget Committee chairman's decision to exclude such rules from the Senate's initial spending blueprint," Roll Call (subscription) reports.

• "Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus," D-Mont., "unveiled roughly $2 trillion worth of tax legislation Thursday, in a bid to move quickly on extending portions of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts well before their scheduled expiration at the end of next year," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports. "Baucus' bill would make permanent all but the top two existing income tax brackets, as well as the current 15 percent rate on capital gains and dividends for those in the lower income brackets."

Economy: Obama To Seek Buy-In From Bank Executives

• "Obama will seek support today from executives of the nation's largest banks for his plan to stabilize the financial system and try to get beyond the furor over bailouts and bonuses" in a White House meeting with "as many as 15 banking executives," Bloomberg News reports. "Lawrence Summers, Obama's top economic adviser, said the meeting was a measure of the ties between the government and banking industry at a time of economic crisis."

• "For the past two weeks, the percentage of respondents in The Gallup Poll who say the economy is getting better has been steadily ticking up. Monday through Wednesday, 29% took the optimistic view -- the highest number since July 2007," USA Today reports. While "66% continue to say the economy is getting worse," this signals "a significant improvement in public attitudes after nearly two years of downbeat forecasts."

• "Half a year after the government seized Freddie Mac, confusion about its role is stoking tensions between the company and its regulator, including a dispute this month over how much the mortgage giant should reveal to private investors about its financial troubles," the Washington Post reports.

Politics: Hoyer Plays Mediator In Health Care Talks

• "House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has taken on the role of mediator between the three powerful House committee chairmen tasked with writing a massive health reform bill," The Hill reports. "This strategy by the House Democratic leadership demonstrates that they have internalized one of the lessons learned by the failure of the Clinton administration's health reform effort in the 1990s, when committee and subcommittee chairman squabbled over jurisdiction."

• "The New Hampshire House voted Thursday to legalize same-sex marriage, narrowly approving a bill that faces an uncertain future in the State Senate and, should it pass there, most likely a veto by Gov. John Lynch," the New York Times reports. "The vote followed by a day an announcement by Gov. Jim Douglas of neighboring Vermont that he would veto a bill legalizing same-sex marriage if it reached his desk."

• "As the president prepares to formally unveil his Afghanistan strategy" today, Richard Holbrooke's "influence, as Obama's special envoy for the region, is undeniable -- but exercised in a restrained style many familiar with his exploits in previous assignments would have thought impossible," Politico reports.

World: Obama, G-20 Leaders May Clash Over Global Stimulus Plans

• Economic safety net programs "lie at the heart of a heated debate that has erupted on the eve of next week's Group of 20 meeting of industrialized and developing nations and the European Union, creating a rift between the Obama administration and European governments," the New York Times reports. The U.S. "is pressing for a coordinated package of stimulus plans by member countries," while "virtually all European governments, led by budget-conscious Germany," favor "stricter regulation of financial markets."

• "Swiss bankers see sinister motives behind the mounting international pressure on the country to loosen its strict bank-secrecy laws," the Washington Times reports. "The bankers said the United States and Britain -- backed by France, Germany and other Group of 20 powers -- are waging an 'economic war' to force the staunchly neutral nation to bring its tax disclosure norms for offshore accounts into conformity with global transparency standards."

• "China's February exports fell nearly 26% from a year before, the fourth in a series of worsening monthly declines. The building boom in Chinese factories is over, and" entrepreneurs are "casting about for business ideas," the Wall Street Journal reports.

Energy & Environment: Energy Plan Takes Shape With Markup

• "Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee leaders have begun to detail their strategy on a multifaceted energy plan, starting with a markup next week on four bills with broad support," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports. "The panel Tuesday will take up three bills that" Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and ranking member Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, "have introduced, analyzing the impact of energy development and production on water resources; updating appliance efficiency standards; and increasing energy efficiency for manufacturers."

• "The slowdown in investment in oil and gas production could lop off nearly eight million barrels a day of future oil supply growth, setting the stage for another big crude price surge in years to come, according to a new study," the Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports.

• "Ethanol investors met with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week in an effort to derail California's far-reaching proposal to slash carbon emissions from transportation fuels," the Los Angeles Times reports. "Environmentalists are alarmed by the mounting attack on the state Air Resources Board, which will hold a hearing on the rule in Sacramento today."

Transportation: Government To Conceal Records About Bird Strikes

• "The federal government plans to block public access to its records of aircraft and bird collisions such as the one that forced a US Airways jet to splashdown in New York's Hudson River in January," USA Today reports. "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says that the information could mislead the public and its release could prompt some airports and others not to report incidents, but the proposal is drawing sharp criticism from bird safety experts and public records advocates."

• "Obama said on Thursday struggling U.S. auto companies could expect new government aid if they commit to 'drastic' restructuring, promising to unveil a rescue plan in coming days," Reuters reports. "Without elaborating on a bailout price tag or specific restructuring steps for Detroit manufacturers, Obama said he wanted all major players to help overhaul a business model he called unsustainable."

• The Transportation Security Administration "is being accused of violating" a trademark "with a campaign it launched in 2007 urging airline passengers to pack carry-on bags neatly. The problem: TSA posters and videos tell passengers to 'SimpliFLY,'" USA Today reports. "That phrase, it turns out, has been used since 2003 by Salt Lake City International Airport to promote its toll-free call service that answers travelers' questions."

Health Care: Broad Coalition Agrees On Reform Principles

• "A wide-ranging coalition of special interest groups that have met in secret for months to reach a consensus on overhauling the nation's healthcare system have come to agreement on broad principles while avoiding some of the dicey questions Congress will grapple with," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports. "The Healthcare Reform Dialogue, as the group of 18 stakeholders calls itself, identified five specific areas for change, according to a source who shared an overview of the group's agreement, which is set for official release Monday."

• "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she's still committed to using a procedural trick to fast-track health care reforms this year -- despite opposition from" Baucus, Politico reports. Baucus told Politico on Thursday "that the House was making a big mistake by going that route, saying putting health care through the budget process would prompt a partisan battle that will undermine health care policy."

• "Secretary of Health and Human Services appointee Kathleen Sebelius will get her first airing before a Senate committee next week when she sits for her first of two confirmation hearings," Roll Call (subscription) reports.

Lobbying & Advocacy: Obama Limits Lobbying On Stimulus

• "Obama says lobbyists pushing for projects in the stimulus package can't utter a word about them to administration officials," the AP reports. "Lobbyists are hardly staying mum about this latest affront and are looking for ways to cope with the extraordinary speaking ban."

• "Covington & Burling continued its hiring spree, adding former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff as senior of counsel," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Chertoff, who joined the Bush administration in 2005, will practice in the firm's white-collar defense and investigations group, according to a firm press release."

• "The Philip Morris Company did not like to talk about what went on inside its lab in Cologne, Germany, where researchers secretly conducted experiments exploring the effects of cigarette smoking," the New York Times reports. "So when the Justice Department tried to get its hands on that research in 1996 to prove that tobacco industry executives had lied about the dangers of smoking, the company moved to fend off the effort with the help of a highly regarded young lawyer named Kirsten Rutnik. Ms. Rutnik, who now goes by her married name, Gillibrand, threw herself into the work."

Technology: Obama Uses Web Dialogue To Press Economic Plan

• "Obama, who used the Internet as a prime driver of his successful campaign for office, turned to the Web" on Thursday "to harness support for his economic agenda by hosting an electronic town hall meeting from the White House," the Washington Post reports. "Despite the technical elements and the regal venue, the meeting had the feel of a typical presidential town hall meeting in Elkhart, Ind., or even a campaign stop."

• "More than 40 potential amendments to Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy's patent-reform legislation are circulating among members' offices as the panel prepares to resume consideration of the bill Tuesday," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports. "Debate over the most divisive components, including language that would change how damages are awarded in patent infringement lawsuits, is still to come."

• "With most of the nation's TV markets scheduled to switch to digital broadcasts June 12, some lawmakers fear that demand for federally subsidized converter boxes is so strong that retailers will run short," CQ Politics reports. "The Commerce Department says it is fielding about 50,000 requests a day for coupons that consumers can use to help pay for the boxes."

Commentary: Plugging In On Energy

• The debate over global warming rages on in Earlybird's Pundits & Editorials section, and Ronald Brownstein argues that the solution won't be finding a silver bullet, but letting "a thousand flowers, or maybe filaments, bloom."

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