White House: No bow to Saudi  —  The White House is denying that the president bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at a G-20 meeting in London, a scene that drew criticism on the right and praise from some Arab outlets.  —  “It wasn't a bow.  He grasped his hand with two hands …

Big Liberal Bloggers Tee Off On Progressive Groups For Not Sharing Ad Wealth  —  Some of the leading liberal bloggers are privately furious with the major progressive groups — and in some cases, the Democratic Party committees — for failing to spend money advertising on their sites …

Lost in Translation: Turkish Anchor Appears in Blackface on Air in Coverage of President Obama  —  There is a great deal of chatter on the Internet today about an anchor who appears in blackface in the coverage of President Obama's trip to Turkey.  The rough translation from the appearance is “Welcome, Mr. Obama.

Hijacked US crew ‘retake vessel’  —  US crew members have retaken their hijacked ship but their captain is still being held by Somali pirates on a lifeboat, reports say.  —  Pentagon sources and relatives of the Maersk Alabama's 20 crew were earlier quoted as saying the ship was back under control after a struggle.

South Park creators given signed photo of Saddam Hussein  —  Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park, were given a signed photo of Saddam Hussein by US marines after the former Iraqi leader was shown their movie in prison.  —  During his captivity, US marines forced Saddam …

Obama to Push Immigration Bill Despite the Risks  —  While acknowledging that the recession makes the political battle more difficult, President Obama plans to begin addressing the country's immigration system this year, including looking for a path for illegal immigrants to become legal …

Human Rights Campaign Exposes National Organization for Marriage's Fake Ad for Fake Problems  —  Right-wing group does not have truth on its side, so it hires actors to spew lies; Audition reel uncovered online  —  WASHINGTON -The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay …

Thoughts on Bill O'Reilly and Squeaky the Chicago Mouse  —  Dear Bill: Thanks for including the Chicago Sun-Times on your exclusive list of newspapers on your “Hall of Shame.”  To be in an O'Reilly Hall of Fame would be a cruel blow to any newspaper.  It would place us in the favor of a man …

Does God Exist?  Hitchens vs. Craig  —  I had the opportunity to see Christopher Hitchens debate Dr. William Lane Craig on the topic “Does God Exist?” at BIOLA University.  The gymnasium was packed with 3,000 people, most of whom were Christians but some non-believers made a showing.

Keith Olbermann's scathing criticism of Obama's secrecy/immunity claims  —  (updated below - Update II - Update III)  —  Several weeks ago, I noted that unlike the Right — which turned itself into a virtual cult of uncritical reverence for George W. Bush especially during the first several years …

Rick Warren on the Newsweek ‘End of Christian America’ article, Pt. 1  —  HH: Special hour of the Hugh Hewitt Show, my old and dear friend, Rick Warren, is in studio with us, America's pastor.  He's the author of The Purpose Driven Life.  He is the founding pastor 30 years ago at Saddleback Valley Community Church.

Why Coleman Should Drop Out  —  If he keeps up the fight, he is likely to lose, unnecessarily deprive Minnesota of a second senator, end his political career seen as a sore loser, and hurt his party in a state that is eager for this fight to be over.  His team has talked enough …

Obama administration ‘anti-religious,’ Gingrich says  —  (CNN) — Newt Gingrich said Tuesday the Obama administration is “intensely secular” and “anti-religious,” the former House Speaker's second hard-hitting criticism of the new administration this week.  —  In an interview with FOX News …

At emotional hearing, relatives finally hear man's name cleared  —  AUSTIN — Twenty-two years ago, Ruby Session listened in disbelief as a Lubbock jury convicted her son, Timothy Cole, of rape.  She promised herself that one day she would make sure this injustice was corrected.

The Best State Political Blogs  —  The day has arrived!  —  After sifting through hundreds upon hundreds of recommendations that came in via the Fix comments section, Twitter and email, we are finally ready to unveil our list of the best political blogs in each of the 50 states.

AP Newsbreak: Obama looks at climate engineering … WASHINGTON (AP) - The president's new science adviser said Wednesday that global warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing radical technologies to cool Earth's air.  —  John Holdren told The Associated Press …

JOHN ZIEGLER: A New Low Point for the Media: Couric Wins Award for Palin Interview  —  Documentary Filmmaker  —  On April 15th, the “prestigious” (and apparently now openly liberal) USC Annenberg School for Communication will be presenting CBS “Evening News” anchor Katie Couric …

Parental rights: The new wedge issue  —  If there were a recipe for creating a new conservative culture-wars issue, it might look something like this: Start with the United Nations, fold in the prospect of an expanded role for government in children's lives, add some unfortunate court decisions …

Mitt Romney sells Utah ski house … SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Race-car driver and money manager Hal Prewitt bought Mitt Romney's ski house at Deer Valley Resort for “a little less” than the asking price of $5.25 million, his agent said  —  Tuesday.  —  “It's beautiful.

Muslim Girl Gets $400G From Nevada School District in Head Scarf Bully Case  —  A Nevada school district agreed to pay $400,000 to a Muslim girl and her friend over allegations that other students threatened to kill her in the stairwell for wearing a religious head scarf and the staff did nothing to stop it.

Palin fan sets up Web site to cover her legal defense costs  —  (CNN) — A Texas businessman launched a Web site Tuesday that allows users to help defray Gov. Sarah Palin's legal costs.  —  The donations will be forwarded to the governor's attorney in Alaska.

“Fair and balanced” Fox News aggressively promotes “tea party” protests … Despite its repeated insistence that its coverage is “fair and balanced” and its invitation to viewers to “say ‘no’ to biased media,” in recent weeks, Fox News has frequently aired segments encouraging viewers to get involved with …

Why Do Americans Befriending the Castros Ignore Cuba's Pro-Democracy Movement?  —  HALF A DOZEN members of the Congressional Black Caucus spent hours huddling with Fidel and Raúl Castro in Havana this week as part of a swelling campaign to normalize relations with Cuba.

Some Libertarian Basics  —  In the comments on my health care rationing post, I received many standard attacks as being cold-hearted and willing to deny health care to people who need it.  —  From a libertarian perspective, your generosity is reflected in what you do with your own money, not in what you do with other people's money.

A.P. Exec Doesn't Know It Has A YouTube Channel: Threatens Affiliate For Embedding Videos  —  Here is another great moment in A.P. history.  In its quest to become the RIAA of the newspaper industry, the A.P.'s executives and lawyers are beginning to match their counterparts in the music industry for cluelessness.

Sadr City After the Fall  —  One year ago, Moqtada al Sadr's radical Mahdi Army militia strongholds in Basra and Sadr City were two of the biggest threats remaining to the Iraqi republic.  Al Qaeda in Iraq had been reduced to a remnant, but the country still was a violent mirror of Lebanon.

Banks Holding Up in Tests, but May Still Need Aid  —  For the last eight weeks, nearly 200 federal examiners have labored inside some of the nation's biggest banks to determine how those institutions would hold up if the recession deepened.  —  What they are discovering may come as a relief …

Men's Underwear Sales, Greenspan's Economic Metric, Reveal Crisis  —  As chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan was known for using quirky, proletariat metrics to judge the temperature of the economy.  The most famous of these, as recounted by NPR's Robert Krulwich in January 2008, were the sales of men's underwear.

The Future of Marriage  —  One of the great coups of the movement for same-sex marriage has been to plant the premise that it represents the inevitable future.  This sense has inhibited even some who know perfectly well that marriage is by nature the union of a man and a woman.