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 Battle Lines  —  Back in January, Frank Luntz wrote a memo saying that the best way to defend Wall Street from any new regulation was to spuriously characterize efforts at regulatory reform as leading to “endless bailouts.”  Then earlier this week, GOP Senate leaders Mitch McConnell …

How Barack Obama invented himself  —  David Remnick's new biography of Barack Obama shines a light on a man who only saw his father for 10 days, and whose dazzling success may have hinged on his wife's willingness to take risks.  —  David Remnick, the editor of the New Yorker …

Voters Currently Divided on Second Obama Term  —  Just under half say he deserves re-election  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Registered voters are about evenly divided over whether President Barack Obama is deserving of a second term in office.  Currently, 46% say he deserves re-election and 50% say he does not.

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.

Judge strikes down adoption ban  —  LITTLE ROCK — A circuit judge Friday struck down a state law banning unmarried couples from adopting and serving as foster parents.  —  Act 1 unconstitutionally burdens non-marital relationships and acts of sexual intimacy between adults by forcing …

New Orleans beating follow-up: Attackers yelled “Little blonde b*tch,” “f**king faggot,” nothing political  —  The other day I noted the frenzy of commentary over the assault in New Orleans involving a campaign fund-raising staffer for Louisiana GOP Gov. Bobby Jindal and her boyfriend.

Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown calls Obama's Tea Party remarks ‘sad’  —  The Senate's newest Republican called it “sad” that Barack Obama told a laughing crowd of Democratic donors on Tax Day that he was amused by the antics of Tea Partiers, who the president said should be thanking …

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 …

Legal Experts Blast Judge's Decision: ‘If National Day of Prayer Is Unconstitutional, the Constitution Is Unconstitutional’  —  (CNSNews.com) - Conservative legal experts say a federal district judge in Wisconsin had no legal basis for declaring the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional - and predict the decision cannot stand.

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,” …

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.

We Will Never Say Thank You  —  Fearless Reader high-tailed it out of Washington to avoid witnessing yet another Tea Party gathering within view of the White House on Tax Day.  —  He visited Florida for three reasons: to break the hearts of NASA employees, to raise scads of money …

Israel iPad Ban Puzzles Many  —  Government Cites Wireless Interference, but Apple Tablet Uses Standard Chips  —  JERUSALEM—Israel this week has been blocking travelers from bringing Apple Inc.'s new iPad into the country saying the device's wireless technology threatens to create interference …

Massa wrote chief of staff $40,000 check after announcing he would quit Congress  —  The day after Rep. Eric Massa announced he was resigning his office amid a sexual harassment scandal, the congressman wrote a $40,000 check to his chief of staff, federal campaign records reveal.