Key members of the Senate banking committee are coalescing around legislation that would strip the Federal Reserve of much of its regulatory authority but would leave the central bank with oversight of the nation's largest banks, according to aides familiar with the ongoing negotiations.

Under the plan, the Fed would continue to supervise only 23 bank-holding companies with assets exceeding $100 billion. Supervision of the nearly 5,000 banks below that threshold would fall largely to a proposed new regulator to be created by merging the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, aides said.

Aides to the governor said Ritter was released from Denver Health Medical Center and was at home resting Saturday. The governor was hurt Tuesday on an early morning bicycle ride with four friends.

Ritter fell when his wheel hit that of another rider. That rider suffered a minor injury, but the governor took the worst of it. Besides the broken ribs, Ritter had a dislocated shoulder.

Doctors have cleared the governor to work, though aides say Ritter will keep a limited schedule over the next week or so as he recovers.

With the widespread anticipation that Cuomo will run for governor, he should have considered the appearance of misconduct when he accepted the investigation, said Pery Krinsky, a New York City-based attorney who lectures on legal ethics.

"At that moment, there was a clear bright yellow line that says it would be advantageous to the attorney general if his investigation concludes that Gov. Paterson engaged in some form of misconduct," Krinsky said. "There's no question, no doubt, that that would be an advantageous result for the attorney general."

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration is still reviewing its options for trying the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks as it comes under increasing pressure to put the proceedings before a military court.

No decision has been made on whether to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four accused co-conspirators in federal court in New York, as announced in November by Attorney General Eric Holder, or prosecute them in the military system, President Barack Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said today.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Advisers to President Barack Obama are close to recommending that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-professed mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks, be tried in a military tribunal instead of a civilian court, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

This would be a reversal of Attorney General Eric Holder's plan for Mohammed and four other suspects in the 2001 attacks to stand trial in a civilian court in New York City.

ALBANY - Gov Paterson personally directed two female staffers to reach out to a domestic violence victim who was pointing the finger at his right-hand man.

In the latest damning twist in a mushrooming scandal, Paterson had "multiple" conversations with a state worker who is pals with him and the woman, Sherr-una Booker, a source with knowledge of the situation said.

The worker, Deneane Brown, spoke several times with Booker, who accused top Paterson aide David Johnson of a brutal assault on Halloween night in the couple's Bronx apartment, the source said.

Gov. Paterson's world was crumbling around him Tuesday as some of his closest supporters called on him to resign - and the state's Democratic Party chair was on his way to Albany for a "realistic" chat.

Amid shocking reports suggesting Paterson personally ordered aides to contact a domestic violence victim who was pointing the finger at his right-hand man, the National Organization for Women called on Paterson to resign.

* Slim rumor propels NYT stock

Stocks | Mergers & Acquisitions | Media

* NYT gained over 11 pct on speculation

* Stock pared gains later (Adds NYT comments, details on holding, updates stock)

MEXICO CITY, March 1 (Reuters) - Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is "happy" with his current investment in New York Times Co (NYT.N), one of his close aides told Reuters on Monday.

"There is no change (in the stake holding)," said chief spokesman Arturo Elias. "For the time being, we are very happy with the company's performance."

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is "happy" with his current investment in New York Times Co, one of his close aides told Reuters on Monday.

"There is no change (in the stake holding)," said chief spokesman Arturo Elias. "For the time being, we are very happy with the company's performance."

Shares of the U.S. media company rose more than 11 percent on Monday at one point, propelled by a rumor that Slim was seeking to buy the New York Times, where he became a minority stakeholder in 2008. It was trading at $11.52, up 5.3 percent, about an hour before the New York exchange closing, after hitting $12.16 earlier.

Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said on Sunday that the House must move on a package of fixes to the health care bill before the Senate can act.

House and Senate Democratic leaders have been arguing for weeks over which chamber should jump first: House leaders say their members don't trust that the Senate will follow. Senate leaders argue that for technical, legislative reasons, the House must pass something before the Senate can act.

NEW YORK -- Calling himself an everyday fighter, Gov. David Paterson is quietly putting an end to the talk that he would prolong his long-shot bid to stay in office.

But the announcement Friday that the governor won't seek election may not be enough to quiet growing questions and a criminal investigation into Paterson's handling of an abuse complaint against a top aide.

Andrew Cuomo, the Democrat who will likely run for the office Paterson will leave, is heading a probe into whether the Paterson administration, and the governor himself, improperly intervened in a domestic violence case involving one of Paterson's most trusted aides, David Johnson.

ALBANY, N.Y. - Gov. David Paterson, who repeatedly and defiantly said he would let voters decide if he should run the state, abruptly quit his nascent election bid Friday amid a stalled agenda, faltering popularity and criticism of his handling of a domestic abuse case involving one of his most trusted aides.

"I cannot run for office and try to manage the state's business at the same time," Paterson said at a televised news conference announcing his decision.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration bluntly urged the Congress Thursday to steer clear of directing where terrorism suspects should be prosecuted, pushing back against efforts to require military rather than civilian trials.

A bipartisan group of senators has offered legislation aimed at forcing the administration to prosecute terrorism suspects, like the self-professed mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in special military commission trials instead of traditional criminal courts.

President Obama is taking a lot for granted.

Politico reports that top White House advisers are quietly working on plans for the 2012 re-election campaign.

For now - the planning is made up of private, closed-door meetings among aides at all levels. I guess when you have the economy, health care reform and the deficits under control, you can spend your time worrying about the next election. Even if it is almost three years away.

Cheney, 69, was feeling fine yesterday and was likely to be sent home from George Washington University Hospital within a day or two, aides said. He experienced chest pain Monday, and lab results revealed evidence of the heart attack, spokesman Peter Long said.

The news came just more than a week after Cheney and Vice President Biden essentially dueled across different Sunday talk shows, bickering over national security, Iran's nuclear program, and credit for success in Iraq.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.- Gov. David Paterson launched his campaign for a full four-year term as governor Saturday with a combative campaign speech that mocked recent reports about his job performance and personal life.

"After all you have heard, there's one rumor I will confirm: I am running for governor this year," Mr. Paterson said to a crowd of about 400 at Hofstra University. "They haven't knocked us down yet, and they never will."

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- David Paterson launched his campaign for a full four-year term as governor Saturday with a combative campaign speech that mocked recent reports about his job performance and personal life.

"After all you have heard, there's one rumor I will confirm: I am running for governor this year," Paterson said to a crowd of about 400 at Hofstra University. "They haven't knocked us down yet, and they never will."

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - David Paterson launched his campaign for a full four-year term as New York's governor Saturday with a combative campaign speech that mocked recent reports about his job performance and personal life.

"After all you have heard, there's one rumor I will confirm, I am running for governor this year," Paterson said to a crowd of about 400 at Hofstra University. "They haven't knocked us down yet and they never will."

A rap star says former Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney first touched him - and not the other way around - during a confrontation aboard a taxiing Air Canada flight.

Sky Blu says in a video on TMZ.com he was trying to go to sleep when he leaned his seat back on a Vancouver-to-Los Angeles flight Monday. He says Romney loudly told him to straighten it and grabbed his shoulder.

Gordy says he swung at Romney to defend himself. He says Romney's wife, Ann, screamed and the plane returned to the gate before two police officers escorted Gordy off.

WASHINGTON - Facing criticism that President Barack Obama isn't connecting with the American people, the White House is infusing its communications strategy with some of the ironclad discipline and outside-the-box thinking that made the Obama presidential campaign famous - and successful.

Sensitive about talk that the president was sometimes overexposed during his first year in office, the administration now is more discriminating about how and when the president deals with media - and about whom he talks to when he does.