CHARLES RANGEL UPDATE: Rangel ethics inquiries vex House leaders. “A renewed ethics probe of Rep. Charles B. Rangel of New York poses an embarrassing distraction for House Democrats, as the Ways and Means Committee that he leads will oversee House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plans for an $825 billion economic rescue and a tax increase on wealthy Americans. . . . Mrs. Pelosi resisted calls for the long-serving New York Democrat to give up the chairmanship, despite revelations that Mr. Rangel failed to pay more than $10,000 in taxes on rental income from his villa in the Dominican Republic and may have received an improper financial benefit from leasing four rent-stabilized New York apartments for use as a residence and a campaign office.”