By LISA HOFFMAN, Scripps Howard News Service

WASHINGTON - There's a huge clog in the American economy, one that is blocking a pipeline to innovation that has always set this country apart and fostered prosperity.

WASHINGTON - H1N1 has hit the Hill.

The first congressman came down with swine flu this past week. Rep. Greg Walden, a sixth-term Republican from rural Oregon, announced via Twitter that the virus had nailed him.

"Just diagnosed with likely H1N1. Ugh. Off to seclusion for awhile(cq)," the lawmaker, 52, tweeted Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Nearly six years after environmental inspectors found e-coli contamination in the water systems of commercial airliners, the feds have come up with final rules designed to make onboard drinking water safer.

It's not health care that will be the hottest issue in Congress when lawmakers return Sept. 8 from their summer vacation. Far more incendiary is the U.S. Postal Service plan to shutter as many as 4,800 neighborhood post offices and other mail facilities nationwide.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates wants to hear what's on your mind, so this past week he launched what is being described as "interactive, virtual town-hall sessions" by which he will take questions via the Internet from anyone on any subject, and -- eventually -- answer them.

Washington has been relatively quiet since the anti-war movement fizzled and the Bush administration decamped. But word now comes that the first protest demonstration of Barack Obama's presidency lurks right around the corner.

You knew it was only a matter of time before scammers latched on to the "Cash for Clunkers" program as the latest avenue for stealing our money or identity.

The White House wants to lift a Bush administration ban on federal agencies depositing tracking "cookies" on our computers when we visit U.S. government sites.

Six women of note on Capitol Hill and environs are currently hobbled by fractures or other injuries to one or another of their extremities.
The latest to join the crutch-and-cast club is Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who broke an ankle in three places when she stumbled walking down her Baltimore church's steps July 19.

This past week brought the conclusion of the Chu-Chu race, one of the greatest matchups in recent congressional politics.
A special election was held Tuesday in a Los Angeles-area district to fill the former seat of Democratic Rep. Hilda Solis, who was appointed by President Obama to be secretary of labor.