Republicans say Obama's Supreme Court pick must be mainstream  —  Senate Republican leaders declined to rule out a filibuster of President Obama's nominee to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, if they think the pick falls outside the judicial mainstream.

1994 Republican Rout Is Casting Shadow in 2010  —  WASHINGTON — The year was 1994.  Congressional Democrats were battered after a failed fight to pass a health care bill.  It was the first midterm election for a new Democratic president, Bill Clinton.  By overwhelming numbers …

Zazi, Al Qaeda pals planned rush-hour attack on Grand Central, Times Square subway stations  —  Chilling new details about the foiled Al Qaeda plot to blow up the city's busiest subways have emerged as a fourth suspect was quietly arrested in Pakistan, the Daily News has learned.

Hallucinogens Have Doctors Tuning In Again  —  As a retired clinical psychologist, Clark Martin was well acquainted with traditional treatments for depression, but his own case seemed untreatable as he struggled through chemotherapy and other grueling regimens for kidney cancer.  Counseling seemed futile to him.

DAVID GREGORY'S SENSE OF FACT-CHECKING.... The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz noted this morning that NBC's “Meet the Press,” still the most watched Sunday public affair show, is posed to undergo some cosmetic changes.  It will not, however, follow ABC's lead on the fact-checking front.

Bill to extend jobless benefits faces Senate showdown  —  Congress is poised for another partisan showdown over extending unemployment insurance, as concerns about the growing budget deficit have complicated the path forward for an otherwise popular program.

Bishop ‘blames Jews’ for abuse row  —  A furious transatlantic row has erupted over quotes that were attributed to a retired Italian bishop, which suggested that Jews were behind the current criticism of the Catholic church's record on tackling clerical sex abuse.

Tea Party Rallies Remain a Cauldron for Conspiracy Theories  —  The Tea Party Express has toured state after state trying to kick up a debate about constitutional rights and cast doubt on the legality of the recently passed health care overhaul, all with an eye toward the 2010 elections.

Romney wades into Hawaii special election, raises $1.5 million for PAC  —  1. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney will throw his support behind Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou in advance of the May 22 special election, an endorsement that will draw further national attention to the increasingly competitive contest.

The Better Pope  —  The world didn't always agree with Pope John Paul II, but it always seemed to love him.  Handsome and charismatic, with an actor's flair and a statesman's confidence, he transformed the papacy from an Italian anachronism into a globe-trotting phenomenon.

Op-Ed Columnist: Bank Failures: Why Georgia?  —  As we look for ways to prevent future financial crises, many questions should be asked.  Here's one you may not have heard: What's the matter with Georgia?  —  I'm not sure how many people know that Georgia leads the nation in bank failures …

GAO: Postal Service business ‘not viable’  —  Happy Monday!  The U.S. Postal Service's current business model “is not viable” and the mail agency should make deeper job and wage cuts, hire more part-time staff and consider outsourcing operations, according to a draft of a government audit acquired by The Federal Eye.

So How's the Economy Doing, Anyway?  —  Business Week's Mike Dorning thinks the economy is on the mend: … Floyd Norris of the New York Times agrees that a lot of people are being too pessimistic: … There's a lot to this.  But just off the top of my head, here are the things that gnaw at me when I hear stuff like this:

Lieberman Gets A Chuckle Out Of Peddling Far-Right Nuke Myth  —  Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), once a reliable vote in favor of nuclear arms reduction efforts, has now bought into the right-wing myth that our nuclear arsenal is deteriorating and that the U.S. needs to build new nuclear weapons.

U.S. Troops Fire on Bus in Afghanistan, Killing Civilians  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — American troops raked a large passenger bus with gunfire near the southern city of Kandahar on Monday morning, killing as many as five civilians and wounding 18, Afghan authorities and survivors said.

Washington Readies for Huge Nuclear Summit  —  Top of the Agenda: Securing Loose Nuclear Materials that Could End Up in the Hands of Al Qaeda  —  (CBS) The nation's capital is gearing up for a very busy couple of days.  President Obama opens a summit on nuclear security Monday with dozens of world leaders scheduled to attend.

U.S. Says Regulators Feuded Over WaMu for Years  —  WASHINGTON — Regulators failed for years to properly supervise the giant savings and loan Washington Mutual, even as the company wobbled under the weight of risky subprime mortgages, a federal investigation has concluded.

Russia is said to have fueled unrest in Kyrgyzstan  —  BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN — Less than a month before the violent protests that toppled the government of Kyrgyzstan last week, Russian television stations broadcast scathing reports portraying President Kurmanbek Bakiyev as a repugnant dictator whose family …