President of Poland Killed in Plane Crash in Russia  —  MOSCOW - A plane carrying the Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, and dozens of the country's top political and military leaders crashed in a heavy fog in western Russia on Saturday morning, killing everyone aboard.

Palin fires up GOP on Obama, midterm elections at annual conference  —  NEW ORLEANS — Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin captivated a crowd of more than 3,000 Republican Party activists here Friday with a speech featuring the same blend of folksiness and anti-Obama fire that has made her an icon within …

Junior Florida Republican Party staffer had $1.3 million charged to party credit card  —  She was a 25-year-old junior staffer when the Florida Republican Party gave her an American Express card.  —  Over the next 2½ years, nearly $1.3 million in charges wound up on Melanie Phister's AmEx …

The “Kennedy Court,” only more so  —  Analysis  —  If it has been so that the Supreme Court could properly be called the “Kennedy Court,” because of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's grip on a tie-breaking vote much of the time, that may well be even more so when the Justices open a new Term next October.

Huckabee Rips Steele, Romney, LGBT Activists  —  Calls Romney's Healthcare Plan “Dismal Failure,” Compares Same-Sex Marriage to Incest  —  In an interview Wednesday, former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee weighed in on embattled Republican National …

Haley Barbour's growing influence  —  A self-described “fat redneck” is the most influential Republican in the country in our latest Friday Line.  —  Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is that rare combination of effective politician and savvy strategist, popular in his home state and revered among …

15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Wealth And Inequality In America  —  The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.  Cliché, sure, but it's also more true than at any time since the Gilded Age.  —  The poor are getting poorer, wages are falling behind inflation, and social mobility is at an all-time low.

“Bias”  —  Not to nitpick too much, but the decision by Andrew Golis and Chris Lehman to kick off their new Yahoo News venture with lame efforts at even-handedness kind of annoyed me: … I think it's important to note that on the Media Matters “about us” page they don't once mention bias.

Dawn Johnsen, Key Obama Justice Nominee, Withdraws Her Nomination  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Dawn Johnsen, the president's appointment to the Office of Legal Counsel whose nomination has lingered in Congressional limbo for more than a year, has officially withdrawn her candidacy for the post …

Tax day: $160-billion relief, and counting  —  More than $160 billion in tax relief has been granted to families and businesses under the American Recovery and Reinvetment Act signed into law last year, Presdent Barack Obama announced today with a radio address near the eve of Tax Day.

A Voice of Reason  —  The Republican Party is not simply the “just-say-no” party.  It's also a shameless advocate of the free lunch.  Ronald Reagan famously told us he could jack up defense spending, cut taxes and balance the federal budget all at the same time.  —  George W. Bush put two big wars on a credit card.

Afghanistan and the Decline of American Power  —  President Karzai's anti-American shift is a statement about the standing of the Obama administration in the region.  —  President Obama's “war of necessity” in Afghanistan increasingly has to it the mark of a military campaign disconnected from a bigger political strategy.

Grayson crashes local GOP meeting, tells Orange mayoral critic “take a walk”  —  U.S. Rep Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, walked in on an Orange County Republican Executive Committee meeting Thursday night at a Perkins restaurant and got into a confrontation with county mayoral candidate Matthew Falconer …

URGENT: Stop CNN From Airing Deficit Propaganda  —  This weekend, CNN is giving four hours of free airtime to the leading propagandist fanning the flames of deficit hysteria, Pete Peterson, along with his lackeys.  Bloggers and online activists are joining today to promote this action: