Cantor, Obama let sparks fly  —  House Republican Whip Eric Cantor returned from spring break determined to shed the “Dr. No” tag Democrats have hung around his neck — only to find himself in a face-to-face argument with the president over who started this year's rift with the House GOP.

Swine Flu: Is Matt Drudge a National Hero?  —  Over the weekend, you probably read something about Swine Flu, the new deadly porcine super-epidemic that's going to kill us all.  But, depending on where you get your news, you saw very different types of coverage.

Pelosi playing defense on torture  —  Nancy Pelosi didn't cry foul when the Bush administration briefed her on “enhanced interrogation” of terror suspects in 2002, but her team was locked and loaded to counter hypocrisy charges when the “torture” memos were released last week.

Air Force One Backup Rattles New York Nerves  —  A reader, Jim Brown, took this photograph from 10 Exchange Place in Jersey City, looking toward 77 Hudson Street and the Statue of Liberty.  In the photo, the plane appears closer than it actually was.  —  An Air Force One lookalike …

Money for Nothing  —  On July 15, 2007, The New York Times published an article with the headline “The Richest of the Rich, Proud of a New Gilded Age.”  The most prominently featured of the “new titans” was Sanford Weill, the former chairman of Citigroup, who insisted that he and his peers …

Thain Fires Back at Bank of America  —  John Thain figured seven months ago that he was just one rung down the corporate ladder from becoming chief executive of the largest consumer bank in the U.S. Now, he is trying to climb back from the professional disaster that followed.

The Media Elite's Secret Dinners  —  Last Tuesday evening, Rahm Emanuel quietly slipped into an eighth-floor office at the Watergate.  —  As white-jacketed waiters poured red and white wine and served a three-course salmon and risotto dinner, the White House chief of staff spent two hours chatting …

Pakistani Intelligence: Osama Is Dead  —  As Pakistan wrestles with the Taliban takeover of large swaths of its territory and the encroachment on Islamabad, its Inter-Services Intelligence agency tells us that Osama bin Laden is dead. … If you can't trust the ISI to give you accurate information …

New FAS-FAX Shows (More) Steep Circulation Losses  —  NEW YORK The Audit Bureau of Circulations released this morning the spring figures for the six months ending March 31, 2009, showing that country's largest metros continue to shed daily and Sunday circulation, now at a record rate.

Obama gets ahead of prompter  —  President Obama's speech at the National Academy of Sciences Monday morning hit a brief snag when Obama got ahead of his script.  —  Laying his plan for a President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Obama began to name the members of PCAST listed …

Just Imagine: The First 100 Days of John McCain  —  If things had gone differently.....  John McCain, the oldest first-term president in history, is proving as rambunctious and pugnacious as the youngest one, Teddy Roosevelt.  Of course, Teddy probably would have sent the Marines to Venezuela …

Conde Nast Closing ‘Portfolio’  —  For nearly two years I've been covering the media industry's bad news on this blog, including some that's hit very close to home.  Now it hits closer still: Condé Nast Portfolio is closing.  —  Our editor in chief, Joanne Lipman, just broke the news to staff …

More Atheists Shout It From the Rooftops  —  CHARLESTON, S.C. — Two months after the local atheist organization here put up a billboard saying “Don't Believe in God?  You Are Not Alone,” the group's 13 board members met in Laura and Alex Kasman's living room to grapple with the fallout.

Shortage of Doctors Proves Obstacle to Obama Goals  —  WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials, alarmed at doctor shortages, are looking for ways to increase the supply of physicians to meet the needs of an aging population and millions of uninsured people who would gain coverage under legislation championed by the president.

Obama team reverses union transparency  —  Finance reporting rules deemed too onerous for labor leaders  —  The Obama administration, which has boasted about its efforts to make government more transparent, is rolling back rules requiring labor unions and their leaders to report information about their finances and compensation.

With Rivals Ahead, Doubts for CNN's Middle Road  —  The election of Barack Obama does not seem to have ushered in a kinder, less-polarized environment in politics — or television.  —  And that's not a good break for CNN, a network whose strategy is to steer the middle course in its news coverage.

Say Yes.  What Are You Waiting For?  —  Spring is here, that glorious season when young men's fancies lightly turn to thoughts of love, as the poet Tennyson once suggested.  “Lightly” is right.  —  The average age of American men marrying for the first time is now 28.

Earle mulls run for attorney general  —  Former Travis DA says he's been approached about a statewide run.  —  Retired for all of four months, former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle is considering running for a new job, possibly as the state's top lawyer.

National Health Care With 51 Votes  —  Ramming a bill through Congress is not in the public interest.  —  Late last week President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders agreed to use “budget reconciliation” if necessary to jam a massive health-care bill through Congress.

GOP BASE OPPOSES PROGRESS.... It's hard to say whether Republican Party leaders on the Hill or in the RNC have any genuine interest in moving the party back towards the political mainstream, but in some ways, it doesn't really matter.  Even if GOP leaders saw the utility of moderating the party, the Republican base wouldn't allow it.