U.S. Accuses Goldman Sachs of Fraud  —  Goldman Sachs, which emerged relatively unscathed from the financial crisis, was accused of securities fraud in a civil suit filed Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which claims the bank created and sold a mortgage investment that was secretly devised to fail.

The Fire Next Time  —  On Tuesday, Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, called for the abolition of municipal fire departments.  —  Firefighters, he declared, “won't solve the problems that led to recent fires.  They will make them worse.”  The existence of fire departments …

The White House, Elena Kagan, and Me  —  It's an odd thing to get attacked by the White House for a blog post, and odder still when the attack is for something mentioned in passing, and intended to highlight a political positive about a potential Supreme Court nominee.

Crist will look at indie bid ‘later on’  —  A day after vetoing a contentious teacher tenure bill in Tallahassee, Gov. Charlie Crist basked in the warm embrace of Miami-Dade educators and deflected questions about leaving the Republican party.  —  “I'm not thinking about that today,” …

Brutal attack on Republican fundraiser and her boyfriend appears politically motivated  —  Last Friday night, Allee Bautsch, the chief fundraiser for Louisiana's Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, was violently assaulted, along with her boyfriend, outside of a famed New Orleans restaurant.

The Crashers: They came, they saw, they failed  —  You were ready for the Tea Party saboteurs.  And boy, did they fail epically.  Saul Alinsky would be ashamed.  —  Grass-roots activists smoked out the infiltrators — and tagged them immediately.  —  Reader Celeste in Columbus, Ohio, sends photos of a great comeuppance.

Conservatives Are Just Beside Themselves Over ‘Glee’ Making Fun of The Half Governor.  Oh, Boo Hoo.  —  Seriously, the right-wing hysteria about - well, just about everything is wearing thin.  There's something so over the top, something so, well, histrionic about John Nolte's take on “Glee …

Obama orders most hospitals to grant gays visitation rights  —  Same-sex partners must get the same privileges granted heterosexual couples in hospitals that get Medicare or Medicaid funds, he says in a memo.  —  Reporting from Washington  —  President Obama late Thursday ordered …

U.S. SENATE RACE: Poll: Reid loses full ballot test  —  Third-party, nonpartisan candidates have little impact  —  U.S. Sen. Harry Reid must pick up far more support from crossover Republicans and independents to win re-election, according to a new poll that shows him losing to the GOP front-runner …

If Dems Lose, Will Obama Win?  —  THE PRESIDENT'S CHANCES OF GETTING RE-ELECTED MIGHT WELL RISE IF THE HOUSE FLIPS.  —  Taking the classic Tip O'Neill “all politics is local” approach, The Cook Political Report examines the 435 House races individually.  That step-by-step process indicates …

Barbour, advisers privately mull 2012  —  When asked about his presidential ambitions, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour told reporters earlier this year that “If you see me losing 40 pounds that means I'm either running or have cancer.”  —  It might be time to start watching Barbour's waistline.

HI-01: Three-way tie headed into special election  —  Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 4/11-14.  Likely voters.  MoE 5% (No trend lines)  —  Ed Case (D) 29  —  Colleen Hanabusa (D) 28  —  Charles Djou (R) 32  —  Other 4  —  Undecided 7  —  The May 22 special election is a “jungle primary” …

White NBC Reporter Confronts Black Man at Tea Party Rally: ‘Have You Ever Felt Uncomfortable?’  —  “There aren't a lot of African-American men at these events,” NBC News reporter Kelly O'Donnell, a white woman, told Darryl Postell, a black man at a Tea Party rally held Thursday in Washington …

APNewsBreak: Feds Indict Ex-Blackwater President  —  APNewsBreak: Feds indict ex-Blackwater president, 4 others on weapons charges  —  The former president of Blackwater Worldwide and four other former officials at the embattled security firm were indicted Friday on federal weapons charges …