The CBO has released April's Monthly Budget Review. The short version: Revenues are higher this March than they were a year ago, thanks mostly to rising income and payroll taxes. The summary paragraph from the report: The federal government recorded a deficit of $257 billion for the first six months of fiscal year 2007, CBO estimates, $46 billion less than the shortfall incurred during the same period in 2006. Revenues have risen by 8 percent in the first half of the year, whereas outlays have grown by about 3 percent.

Via Think Progress, looks like the Office of Special Counsel has launched an investigation into GSA chief Lurita Doan's possible Hatch Act violations.

A just-released study found that a widely implemented, expensive technology to improve mammograms has been a resounding failure. The Chicago Tribune: The study is the latest development in the debate over the usefulness of screening mammograms, which are recommended for all women over 40. Regular mammography has been shown to reduce breast cancer deaths, especially in women older than 50. But the test is imperfect -- it misses up to 20 percent of cancers and often catches things that are not cancer, requiring worrisome and expensive follow-up.

...health care for workers, not so much. Reporting on Ford Motor Co's latest SEC filing, the Wall Street Journal informs us ($): [Ford's] top seven executives received compensation valued at more than $62 million in 2006, even as the 104-year-old auto maker posted a record $12.6 billion net loss for the year. ... [CEO Alan ] Mulally received a $666,667 salary, an $18.5 million bonus, options awards valued at $8.68 million, and other compensation for items such as use of a corporate aircraft and relocation costs.