Breaking: Stupak Will Retire  —  Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) plans to announce his retirement today, Democrats briefed on his decision said.  Stupak, the leader of a pro-life faction within his party, had received death threats and was under intense political pressure after he agreed to support …

President Obama questions Sarah Palin's nuclear acumen  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday made clear he was not going to take advice from Republican Sarah Palin when it comes to decisions about the U.S. nuclear arsenal.  —  Palin, the former vice presidential candidate …

Gingrich: Obama is ‘most radical president ever’  —  NEW ORLEANS - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a potential presidential candidate in 2012, called Barack Obama on Thursday “the most radical president in American history” who oversees a “secular, socialist machine.”

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens retiring  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the court's oldest member and leader of its liberal bloc, says he is retiring.  President Barack Obama now has his second high court opening to fill.

Learning From Greece  —  The debt crisis in Greece is approaching the point of no return.  As prospects for a rescue plan seem to be fading, largely thanks to German obduracy, nervous investors have driven interest rates on Greek government bonds sky-high, sharply raising the country's borrowing costs.

Big Banks Mask Risk Levels  —  Quarter-End Loan Figures Sit 42% Below Peak, Then Rise as New Period Progresses; SEC Review  —  Major banks have masked their risk levels in the past five quarters by temporarily lowering their debt just before reporting it to the public, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Democratic Party Image Drops to Record Low  —  Favorable images of Democratic, Republican Parties now tied  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' favorable rating of the Democratic Party dropped to 41% in a late March USA Today/Gallup poll, the lowest point in the 18-year history of this measure.

Romney Dogged by a Tale of Two Health Plans  —  MANCHESTER, N.H.—Mitt Romney, along with some other Republicans likely to run for president in 2012, is raising money this year for congressional candidates who want to repeal President Barack Obama's sweeping health-care law.

What makes NPR (and the Economist) so special?  —  I've been thinking a bit about this NPR graph that's been floating around.  I wish it included another data point: The Economist magazine.  Their explosive growth over the last decade is well known, but consider that the publication had a record year in 2009.

LeMieux: Expect more retirements from the Senate  —  Look for more retirements from the Senate yet this year, Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) said Friday.  —  LeMieux, during an appearance on CNBC, said he expected more of his colleages announce their retirements in the months to come.

The Methane Apocalypse  —  Some very frightening news from the world of climate science, as an international scientific team discovers that the Arctic permafrost in Siberia may be starting to leak huge amounts of methane into the atmosphere.  —  And if this proves to be true, my friends …