SEC Said to Vote 3-2 to Sue Goldman Sachs Over CDOs  —  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission split 3-2 along party lines to approve an enforcement case against Goldman Sachs Group Inc., according to two people with knowledge of the vote.  —  SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro sided …

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.

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?

Sedition  —  On the Chris Mathews Show Sunday, I said that some of the right-wing infotainment gasbags—people like Glenn Beck etc.—were nudging up close to the edge of sedition.  This has caused a bit of a self-righteous ruckus on the right.  Let me be clear: dissent isn't sedition.

Crist Faces New Pressure in Senate Race  —  Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida faced new pressure today to abandon his campaign to win the state's Republican nomination for the United States Senate, with the head of the party's senatorial re-election committee declaring that Mr. Crist has “zero chance” to win.

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 …

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:

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.

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 …

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.”

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.

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.

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 …

THE THEOCRATIC WING OF THE GOP.... A certain former half-term governor appears to be drifting even further away from the American mainstream.  Over the weekend, appearing at an evangelical Christian women's conference in Louisville, Sarah Palin rejected the very idea of separation of church and state …

Iranian cleric: Promiscuous women cause quakes  —  BEIRUT - A senior Iranian cleric says women who wear immodest clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes.  —  Iran is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, and the cleric's unusual explanation …

Perry: Anyone Who's Not A ‘Rank Political Hack’ Realizes That Bush Was A ‘Very, Very Good President’  —  Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) — who is running for reelection and holds a narrow lead over his Democratic challenger Bill White — is engaged in a desperate appeal to the conservative base to help put him over the top.

FBI says 66-year-old man arrested after March threat against Rep. Brown-Waite  —  A 66-year-old man was arrested Sunday for threatening Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.) last month, the FBI said.  —  The man, Erik Lawrence Pidrman, was arrested by FBI and local law enforcement agents Sunday afternoon.

QUOTE OF THE DAY.... Last week, the Boston Globe talked to Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) about his opposition to Wall Street reform.  He initially explained that he disapproves of the bill because it adds “an extra layer of regulation,” but that's absurd.  Asked how the legislation could be improved …

Reduction Is Theme Of President's Next Act  —  As President Obama approaches the end of his administration's opening chapter, his advisers have begun a backstage debate over Chapter 2, which will be fundamentally different in tone, aspiration and political complexity.