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the past few months, Pakistan's Pakistan's army has lost control of the Swat Valley to the Taliban. It has now launched an operation to win the valley back, but victory will difficult: The Taliban is highly organized, and uses hit-and-run guerrilla tactics.

President Barack Obama suffered a big setback Tuesday when two of his nominees withdrew their names from consideration for top administration jobs. Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader, pulled his nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services. Nancy Killefer withdrew her name from consideration as Mr. Obama's chief government performance officer.

President Obama set out to create an administration with higher ethical standards and fewer ties to the lobbying industry in Washington. Obama also set out to assemble the most experienced, plugged in and hyperconnected team of Cabinet members and top-level staffers ever. Were these two goals mutually exclusive?

Tom Daschle, President Barack Obama's pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, withdrew his nomination Tuesday amid a controversy over his taxes. Also Tuesday, Nancy Killefer withdrew her nomination for the post of chief performance officer after bungling payroll taxes.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) says he is glad former Sen. Tom Daschle withdrew as President Barack Obama's pick to be Health and Human Services secretary. DeMint says senators were receiving angry calls from the public about Daschle's tax troubles, and the issue raised question about Obama's ability to lead in a crisis.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews The Class, the Oscar-nominated French film about a high school class in an impoverished Paris neighborhood.

The economy shrank at a pace of 3.8 percent in the final three months of last year, the worst performance in more than two decades. At the White House, President Barack Obama took note as he was launching a task force to focus on helping the middle class.

The government has announced the U.S. economy shrank at its fastest pace in nearly 27 years. That because consumers and businesses cut spending. Layoffs that began in the real estate and finance sectors are now hitting workers in nearly every field. Some iconic firms are slashing jobs by the thousands.

France shut down Thursday as the country experienced a general strike. The action, called by eight of the country's biggest trade unions, is intended to protest the effects of the global recession, and to demand that the government make protecting employment its top priority.

The House has passed an $825 billion economic stimulus bill. However, no Republicans voted for the bill. They say it has too much spending and not enough tax cuts. It was a loss for bipartisanship but an early win for President Obama — just eight days into his presidency. The bill now goes to the Senate.