Political Scene

SUPREME COURT

Report: Kagan to get Supreme Court nod

NBC News reported late Sunday night that President Obama will nominate Elena Kagan to replace Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court.

The report did not cite any sources, but was widely picked up across U.S. media.

Miss Kagan has always been considered a likely Obama Supreme Court nominee, though the president chose Sonia Sotomayor last year for his first pick.

The 50-year-old Miss Kagan was dean of Harvard Law School before Mr. Obama picked her as the U.S. solicitor general. She won a 61-31 confirmation vote.

WHITE HOUSE

No cyberterrorism in Wall Street glitch

The White House’s homeland security and counterterrorism adviser says there is no evidence that a cyber-attack was behind the chaos that shook Wall Street on Thursday.

John Brennan told “Fox News Sunday” that officials have uncovered no links suggesting that cyber-attacks caused turbulence that sent the Dow Jones industrials plunging almost 1,000 points before staging a partial recovery at the end of the day.

The market already was weak because of the spreading European debt crisis. Some have speculated that a typographical error might have triggered the massive computerized sell-off.

Regulators and market officials are scouring millions of trades to understand what caused the volatility. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are relying on self-regulatory offices at the New York Stock Exchange and elsewhere to help them identify questionable trades.

RELIGION

Religion opponents lose inauguration fight

Atheists who oppose prayer and other religious elements in presidential inaugurations have lost a case in a federal appeals court.

A three-judge panel on Friday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that sought to stop President Obama from using the words “so help me God” when he took the oath of office last year. Those who sued also wanted to stop ministers from saying prayers at Mr. Obama’s inauguration and wanted the court to eliminate religion from future inaugurations.

Two judges said it is too late to act on Mr. Obama’s inauguration and the court cannot block religious elements at future events when the participants are not yet known. The third judge says long-standing practices such as prayers and the oath of office are constitutional.

DIPLOMACY

Obama: U.S., Russia must both fight terror

President Obama says he wants greater cooperation between Russia and the United States on economic, security and anti-terrorism matters. Mr. Obama told a Russian television station that no single country can defeat terrorists who have attacked targets throughout the world. He said he looks forward to “increasing cooperation between the United States and Russia” on fighting terrorism.

Mr. Obama also said he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have discussed how the two former rivals can “ramp up our commercial, our trade, our economic ties.”

“How can we help to promote the innovation agenda in Russia?” Mr. Obama said in the interview, which was conducted Thursday in the White House. The transcript was released Saturday. “What are we doing around high-tech industries that can produce jobs and raise standards of livings for both the Russian people and the United States?” he said. “That’s an area where I think you’re going to see a lot of work and a lot of cooperation.”

Mr. Obama said he hopes Mr. Medvedev will visit high-tech centers such as Silicon Valley when he travels to the United States in late June.

FEDERAL RESERVE

Fed chief tells grads money not everything

Your parents were right. Money can’t buy you happiness. That was the message from the Federal Reserve chairman on Saturday to graduates of the University of South Carolina.

“We all know that getting a better-paying job is one of the main reasons to go to college. … But if you are ever tempted to go into a field or take a job only because the pay is high and for no other reason, be careful!” Ben S. Bernanke said in his commencement address. “Having a larger income is exciting at first, but as you get used to your new standard of living and as you associate with other people in your new income bracket, the thrill quickly wears off,” he said.

Studies found that just six months after winning a large lottery prize — even in the million of dollars people reported being not much happier than they were before winning, Mr. Bernanke said.

Mr. Bernanke’s advice blended what economics and social science have to say about personal happiness. When you boil down all the studies and fancy formulas, it sounds a lot like what your parents told you. Other findings: Happy people tend to spend time with friends and family. Happy people tend to do what they love for a living or a hobby. Happy people tend to feel in control of their lives.

Happiness research is useful for policymakers, too, Mr. Bernanke said

WHITE HOUSE

Obama sends Congress business lending bill

The Obama administration has sent Congress a proposal to create a $30 billion support program to unfreeze credit for the nation’s small businesses.

The $30 billion fund would provide support to small and medium-sized banks with assets under $10 billion to encourage them to increase lending to small businesses.

Mr. Obama outlined the effort in his State of the Union address in January. Initially, the administration planned to obtain the resources by tapping leftover funds in the financial bailout program. Officials said Friday that the new effort has no links to the unpopular Troubled Assets Relief Program.

In remarks to reporters at the White House, Mr. Obama says that the program had been expanded to include a new state small business credit that would support efforts by state governments to provide loans to small businesses.

FDA

E. coli investigated at lettuce farm

Food and Drug Administration investigators are looking at a farm in Yuma, Ariz., as a possible source of a widespread E. coli outbreak in romaine lettuce.

Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio, recalled lettuce sold in 23 states and the District on Thursday because of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 19 people, three of them with life-threatening illness.

Devon Beer, vice president of Freshway Foods, says his company worked with the FDA to trace the contaminated lettuce to a Yuma grower. He would not say which one.

OHIO

Ex-attorney general enters guilty pleas

COLUMBUS | Ohio’s former attorney general has pleaded guilty to two ethics violations involving improper payments to staff from campaign and office transition funds.

Marc Dann’s attorney entered guilty pleas on his behalf in a Columbus courtroom Friday morning. Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Ted Barrows described the plea as an Alford plea, in which a defendant acknowledges there is enough evidence for a conviction but does not admit wrongdoing.

Dann maintained his innocence while also telling the judge he took full responsibility for his mistakes. He was fined $1,000 and sentenced to perform 500 hours of community service.

Barely into his first term, a sexual harassment scandal involving top aides broke out, ultimately leading to his resignation.

• From wire dispatches and staff reports