Free Republic

A “lone ranger” thief barged into a Midtown Catholic church Wednesday and stole a $3,000 gold-plated rose from a memorial honoring the lives lost on 9/11 in a brazen “act of desecration,” according to cops and the pastor of the parish. The suspect walked into the Church of St. Francis of Assisi on West 31st Street near Seventh Avenue around 2:30 p.m. and grabbed the rose – created out of the steel from Ground Zero – a cherished part of the 9/11 Memorial Shrine, according to authorities and the Rev. Brian Jordan. “This was not only a robbery, as far...

White House officials are embracing a plan to tax "gold-plated, Cadillac" insurance policies, giving momentum to an idea that is receiving bipartisan consideration on Capitol Hill. "A premium charge on top of the most expensive packages is one of the ways to ensure that there's a lid on health-care costs," a top administration official told POLITICO. "The president believes this is an intriguing idea." Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said Friday on Bloomberg TV that he is "taking an intense look at it." And top House leadership official told POLITICO that the...

(02-08) 09:45 PST WASHINGTON D.C. -- A political odd couple, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and White House spokesman Tony Snow, today slammed critics of Pelosi's bid to use a government plane that can fly her nonstop between Washington and her home district in San Francisco. "This is a silly story, and I think it's been unfair to the speaker,'' Snow told reporters. E-mail Edward Epstein at eepstein@sfchronicle.com.