Gingrich: Pelosi ‘Lied,’ ‘Despicable,’ ‘Dishonest,’ ‘Vicious,’ ‘Trivial’  —  ABC News' Rick Klein reports: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich today offered a blistering critique of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's handling of oversight on harsh interrogation tactics, in a major escalation of partisan attacks being aimed at Pelosi.

More Americans “Pro-Life” Than “Pro-Choice” for First Time  —  Also, fewer think abortion should be legal “under any circumstances”  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A new Gallup Poll, conducted May 7-10, finds 51% of Americans calling themselves “pro-life” on the issue of abortion and 42% “pro-choice.”

Powell aide says torture helped build Iraq war case  —  (CNN) — Finding a “smoking gun” linking Iraq and al Qaeda became the main purpose of the abusive interrogation program the Bush administration authorized in 2002, a former State Department official told CNN on Thursday.

Health Care Leaders Say Obama Overstated Their Promise to Control Costs  —  WASHINGTON — Hospitals and insurance companies said Thursday that President Obama had substantially overstated their promise earlier this week to reduce the growth of health spending.

Obama's kinder, gentler military commissions  —  [Updated below - Update II - Update III (Obama's statement) - Update IV - Update V (ACLU interview) - Update VI]  —  It now appears definitive that the Obama administration will attempt to preserve a “modified” version of George Bush's military commissions …

Empire of Carbon  —  I have seen the future, and it won't work.  —  These should be hopeful times for environmentalists.  Junk science no longer rules in Washington.  President Obama has spoken forcefully about the need to take action on climate change; the people I talk to are increasingly optimistic …

New ‘prisoner abuse’ photographs emerge despite US bid to block publication  —  Graphic photographs of alleged prisoner abuse, thought to be among up to 2,000 images Barack Obama is trying to prevent from being released, emerged yesterday.  —  The shocking images of inmates in Iraq …

Judge Sotomayor's Appellate Opinions in Civil Cases  —  Judge Sonia Sotomayor is an obviously serious candidate to serve on the Supreme Court.  We have been struck by how the amount of commentary about Judge Sotomayor has ignored the most accessible and valuable source of information: her opinions as an appellate judge.

G.M. Notifying 1,100 Dealers That They Will Be Dropped  —  DETROIT — General Motors is telling about 1,100 dealers on Friday that they will lose their franchises by late next year.  —  Unlike Chrysler, which on Thursday released a list of 789 dealers that it was cutting loose …

Obama clears field for Gillibrand in New York  —  President Obama has cleared the Democratic primary field for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in New York, two Democrats said, asking Rep. Steve Israel not to challenge her in the primary.  —  “The President doesn't want a messy primary in New York …

Dead People Get Stimulus Checks  —  MYFOXNY.COM - This week, thousands of people are getting stimulus checks in the mail.  The problem is that a lot of them are dead.  A Long Island woman was shocked when she checked the mail and received a letter from the U.S. Treasury — but it wasn't for her.

The Ticking Time Bomb Slippery Slope  —  Torture apologists invariably wind up invoking outlandish “ticking time bomb” hypotheticals to justify their barbarous behavior.  Wouldn't you torture someone to prevent the imminent nuclear destruction of Los Angeles?

Gore chides Cheney … post comment | … Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)  —  I guess his phony racket of selling those bogus carbon credits to Birkenstock-wearing, tree hugging dopers is drying up and Al needs to find new relevance.  With any luck this moron will walk right …

Romney's critique  —  Mitt Romney broadened his critique of President Obama in a speech to the NRA today, attacking him on familiar economic themes and broadening his national security attacks to embrace Vice President Dick Cheney's line that Obama is rolling back policies that kept America safe:

In the Loop: The Not-So-Persuasive Liz Cheney  —  We now know at least one reason former vice president Dick Cheney was taking the Acela up to New York on Monday morning: He was going to attend a debate on U.S. policy on Iran where his daughter Liz Cheney, former principal deputy assistant secretary …

China to open first sex theme park  —  Love Land in Chongqing aims to address taboo and improve sex education but many residents see it as vulgar  —  Maybe it was the giant revolving model of a woman's legs and lower torso, clad only in an unflattering crimson thong, or perhaps it was the oversized replica of a set of genitals.