Poll Finds Tea Party Backers Wealthier and More Educated  —  Tea party supporters are wealthier and more well-educated than the general public, tend to be Republican, white, male, and married, and their strong opposition to the Obama administration is more rooted in political ideology …

Obama Speech Signals a U.S. Shift on Middle East  —  WASHINGTON — It was just a phrase at the end of President Obama's news conference on Tuesday, but it was a stark reminder of a far-reaching shift in how the United States views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and how aggressively it might push for a peace agreement.

Sens. McConnell and Cornyn go to Wall Street  —  It's stuff like this that makes me think Wall Street executives aren't very smart. … McConnell and Cornyn's many virtues aside, neither of them are experts on this bill.  Neither of them sits on the Senate Banking Committee.

Rubio Tops Crist By 23 Points In Florida GOP Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Crist As Independent Has Slight Edge In 3-Way Race  —  Marco Rubio has opened up an elephant-sized 56 - 33 percent lead over Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida's U.S. Senate Republican primary …

Mitt Romney-Sarah Palin in 2012?  You betcha!  —  Conservative superstar Sarah Palin opened the door yesterday to joining forces with Mitt Romney for a 2012 White House run - a hot ticket that has some Republicans licking their chops at the prospect of unseating President Obama.

The Great Tea-Bait  —  Heath Shuler did not hear the “N-word” on March 20.  —  It may be the most celebrated missing recording since Watergate: the nonexistent or unaccounted-for video of the tea-party protesters at the Capitol who three black congressmen claim yelled racial slurs at them on March 20, the eve of ObamaCare's enactment.

How Tweet It Is!:  Library Acquires Entire Twitter Archive  —  Have you ever sent out a “tweet” on the popular Twitter social media service?  Congratulations: Your 140 characters or less will now be housed in the Library of Congress.  —  That's right.  Every public tweet, ever …

Britain Closes Airspace as Volcanic Ash Spreads  —  LONDON — British civil aviation authorities ordered the closing of the country's airspace as of noon on Thursday to shield aircraft from a high-altitude cloud of ash drifting south and east from an erupting volcano in Iceland.

General Election 2010: Conservatives lead in 100 key seats, Telegraph poll shows  —  The Conservatives are on course for a convincing election victory after a new poll for The Daily Telegraph showed the party is leading Labour by 12 points in crucial marginal constituencies.

Early Bumps in Blumenthal's Senate Run in Connecticut  —  HARTFORD — Richard Blumenthal's campaign for the Senate was supposed to be a glide.  Nothing and no one could stop him.  —  As the Connecticut attorney general, Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat, had been sticking up for consumers …

Fed Shouldn't Reveal Crisis Loans, Banks Vow to Tell High Court  —  The biggest U.S. commercial banks will take their fight against disclosure of Federal Reserve lending in 2008 to the Supreme Court if necessary, the top lawyer for an industry-owned group said.

UNDERFUNDED TEACHER PENSION PLANS:  —  It's Worse Than You Think  —  Josh Barro, Walter B. Wriston Fellow, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research  —  Stuart Buck, Distinguished Doctoral Fellow, Department of Education Reform, University of Arkansas  —  Executive Summary

Sink the Murtha  —  The Navy can do better than honoring this hack  —  The late Rep. John Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, has achieved his highest undeserved honor.  Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has decided to name the Navy's newest San Antonio Class amphibious transport-dock LPD 26 the USS John P. Murtha.

Larry King Files for Divorce #8  —  TMZ has learned Larry King just filed for divorce from his wife Shawn Southwick — the 8th time King's pulled the plug on a marriage.  —  In the divorce papers, filed moments ago in L.A. County Superior Court, Larry blames the split on “irreconcilable differences.”

Elena Kagan's Stints in Court May Hint at a Style On It  —  WASHINGTON — Two weeks ago, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, a leading contender for appointment to the Supreme Court, presented her sixth argument there.  She bantered easily with the justices, and she seemed to have a special rapport …

The K.S.M. Files  —  Watching Attorney General Eric Holder struggle on Wednesday to answer senators' questions about the detention and trial of terrorism suspects made us nostalgic for the old days — back in 2009 — when the United States was making progress toward cleaning …

TALK BUSINESS POLL: U.S. SENATE RACE - DEMOCRATS  —  The race for the U.S. Senate is on.  —  Our latest Talk Business Poll of 1,167 statewide voters shows that incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln leads challenger Bill Halter 38% to 31% in the Democratic primary.