Goldman Sachs taps ex-W.H. counsel  —  Goldman Sachs is launching an aggressive response to its political and legal challenges with an unlikely ally at its side — President Barack Obama's former White House counsel, Gregory Craig.  —  The beleaguered Wall Street bank hired Craig …

This Is Apple's Next iPhone  —  You are looking at Apple's next iPhone.  It was found lost in a bar in Redwood City, camouflaged to look like an iPhone 3GS.  We got it.  We disassembled it.  It's the real thing, and here are all the details.  —  While Apple may tinker with the final packaging …

Sen. Collins pledges to block Democratic Wall Street bill  —  Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced after meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday that she will vote to filibuster a Democratic Wall Street reform bill.  —  Her announcement hurts Democratic chances …

Gay rights protesters interrupt Obama speech at fundraiser  —  Gay rights protesters interrupted President Barack Obama's speech at a fundraiser for California Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) Monday night in Los Angeles.  —  Activists from a group called GetEQUAL began shouting at Obama while he was speaking at the podium.

Who Are the Other 95 Percent?  —  On April 15th, alongside the Tea Party's Tax Day protest in DC, members of “The Other 95%,” a new group we recently formed on Facebook, were on the Mall holding two huge signs reading “The Other 95% Say Thanks For Our Tax Cuts, Obama!”

GOP Split Over How to Win in Fall  —  WASHINGTON—Sen. John Cornyn, who is spearheading the Republicans' campaign to take back the Senate, is on a roll.  The GOP snatched a seat in Massachusetts and polls favor Republicans in many key states.  —  But the genial Texas lawyer is facing an unusual challenge …

Beaten Jindal Staffer Says Protesters are the Perpetrators  —  The mother of one of the victims of a brutal beating in New Orleans outside of a Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) event has confirmed in a new interview that the two victims assaulted outside of the high-dollar GOP …

Dems race for cash — for 2012  —  A handful of Democratic senators ramped up their fundraising efforts in the first quarter of 2010 — despite the fact that they're not up for reelection until 2012.  —  The burst of fundraising activity underscores Democrats' deepest fears …

McCain tacks right on immigration  —  Sen. John McCain has endorsed a tough Arizona anti-immigration bill that will let police arrest people who aren't carrying identification, the latest move in McCain's rightward shift in advance of a tough Republican Senate primary this summer.

Black Tea Party Protesters vs. Keith Olbermann  —  A couple of months back, in response to criticism about his multiple characterizations of Tea Party activists as racists, MSNBC oxygen-generator Keith Olbermann issued this agonized open letter to his antagonists:

Justices Get Personal Over Privacy of Messages  —  WASHINGTON — The question in a case argued Monday in the Supreme Court sounded both irresistible and important: Did a California police department violate the Constitution by reading sexually explicit text messages sent by an officer on a department-issued pager?

The long, clear, inspiring record of Diane Wood  —  If one were to analogize the search for Justice Stevens' replacement to the recently concluded health care debate, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Diane Wood would be the public option.  Just as the truly left-wing health care approach …

More from Eyjafjallajokull  —  As ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano continued to keep European airspace shut down over the weekend, affecting millions of travelers around the world, some government agencies and airlines clashed over the flight bans.

Sen. Corker Refutes Right-Wing Talking Point: The Resolution Fund Is ‘Anything But A Bailout’  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) took to the Senate floor today to repeat the false assertion that the pending financial reform bill will lead to further taxpayer-funded bailouts.

What's behind the anti-Tea Party hate narrative?  —  There's a new narrative taking hold in the wake of the recent Tea Party protests and the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing: The Tea Partiers' intense opposition to the Obama administration has led to overheated political rhetoric …

Biden hails ‘devastating blows’ to Al-Qaeda in Iraq  —  WASHINGTON — US Vice President Joe Biden said Monday that Al-Qaeda had suffered potentially “devastating blows” with the killings of its top leaders in Iraq.  —  Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayub al-Masri, who had direct links with Osama bin Laden …

Election 2010: Texas Governor  —  Texas Governor: Perry 48%, White 44%  —  In the seven weeks since incumbent Rick Perry won the Republican Primary, there has been little change in the race for Governor of Texas.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely Texas voters finds Perry with 48% support.

Why the Left Needs Racism  —  It serves a political purpose.  —  What do you get when you cross a corny old joke with a network news report?  Something like this:  —  A black guy walks into a tea party, and a white lady says to him, “You know, we don't get many African-Americans in here.”

Comcast Denies Connection to RightNetwork  —  Comcast denied reports Monday that it is a partner in the RightNetwork, a red state start-up that promises “content that reflects and reinforces their perspective and worldview.”  —  Comcast, the country's largest cable provider …

Polling Institute Survey Finds Tight Three-Way Race for Governor  —  Governor Deval Patrick leads state Treasurer Tim Cahill by five points, with Republican challenger Charles Baker seven points behind Patrick in the three-way race for governor, according to a new Western New England College Polling Institute survey.

The Obama Effect  —  One argument many of us made in favor of the election of Barack Obama was that he would instantly help the US recover from its nadir of global reputation in the Bush-Cheney pre-emptive war-and-torture era.  No, I sure didn't argue that this would change everything overnight …