Your customized headlines for Wed, Mar 7, 2012

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the Obama administration helped negotiate a plan to give emerging economic powers increased say at the International Monetary Fund, while also having them contribute more to an enlarged pot of money for the fund.

Forget Super Tuesday. For technology enthusiasts, it's all about what happens on Wednesday in Cupertino, Calif., where Apple is expected to unveil the next generation of its iPad.

The company is headed into its Wednesday media event with plenty of consumer anticipation for its next tablet computer, despite the fact that Apple hasn't even confirmed that it is introducing a new iPad. The company's media invitation said only: "We have something you really have to see. And touch."

President Obama on Tuesday unveiled two housing initiatives intended to assist members of the military and Americans with government-insured loans.

In his first major news conference of 2012, Obama announced a new plan to cut refinancing fees for any loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The president also outlined a new agreement with banks to review foreclosures for members of the military that have taken place since 2006 and provide compensation to anyone who wrongfully lost a home.

Given the recent interest in cellphone jammers — which block cellphone signals — the Federal Communications Commission felt the need to release a document that states, unequivocally, that the devices are illegal.

A bill providing funding for the nation's highways, bridges and public transportation systems failed a test vote Tuesday, but Senate leaders signaled they still hoped to reach a deal to allow for a final vote.

Greece on Tuesday threatened to default on payments to any bond investor that doesn't participate in a debt restructuring that is central to international plans for a rescue of the ailing country.

Greece is asking banks, pension companies, hedge funds and others that hold about $260 billion in Greek bonds to trade them for new notes worth less than half the face value and carrying low-interest terms meant to make the country's situation sustainable.

— Researchers discover that more people will ride mass transit if it's made more convenient.

— Robotic snakes on a plane.

— A letter from Helen Keller describing what she 'saw' at the top of the Empire State Building.

I'm leery of commenting on Attorney General Eric Holder's assertion that the Obama administration has the right to execute American citizens suspected of being terrorists without judicial review. I don't know these issues well, and presume there are complexities I don't yet appreciate. But Holder's comment that "'due process' and 'judicial process' are not one and the same, particularly when it comes to national security," strikes me as chilling. And the people I trust who do know these issues well — like Spencer Ackerman and Adam Serwer — seem genuinely appalled, though I recommend reading Josh Marshall for a reasoned case in the other direction.

The Obama administration has lowered the refinancing fees for Americans with government-insured mortgages issued before June 2009, as Brad reported this morning. It marks the White House's latest attempt to rev up mass refinancing in hopes of preventing future defaults and foreclosures, and outside analysts are optimistic about its impact.