Obama Issues Sharp Call for Reforms on Wall Street  —  WASHINGTON - President Obama is traveling to the shadow of Wall Street on Thursday to counter what he calls “the furious efforts of industry lobbyists” trying to weaken or kill new financial regulations that he says are needed to stave off a second Great Depression.

Obama suggests value-added tax may be an option  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama suggested Wednesday that a new value-added tax on Americans is still on the table, seeming to show more openness to the idea than his aides have expressed in recent days.

In WH meeting, ‘Only two of the elected officials in the room had never filibustered a Supreme Court nominee’  —  When Senate leaders went to the White House Wednesday morning to discuss the Supreme Court opening, the meeting was attended by President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden …

Exclusive: WellPoint routinely targets breast cancer patients  —  (Reuters) - One after another, shortly after a diagnosis of breast cancer, each of the women learned that her health insurance had been canceled.  First there was Yenny Hsu, who lived and worked in Los Angeles.

Michael Steele Acknowledges GOP Had “Southern Strategy” For Decades  —  A lot of people are pointing to a new set of remarks Michael Steele made about the Republican Party and race, in which Steele acknowledged that the GOP hasn't given African Americans a reason to support the party.

The tea party's exaggerated importance  —  2009 was the year when many journalists concluded they were slow to recognize the anti-government, anti-Obama rage that gave birth to the tea party movement.  —  2010 is the year when news organizations have decided to prove they get it.  —  And get it.

Israel Rebuffs U.S. on Building  —  Prime Minister Netanyahu Says He Won't Freeze Home Construction in East Jerusalem  —  By JAY SOLOMON in Washington and CHARLES LEVINSON in Jerusalem  —  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conveyed to the White House this weekend his rejection …

‘South Park’ Episode Is Altered After Muslim Group's Warning  —  A message posted on SouthParkStudios.com, the Web site of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's production company.  —  8:56 a.m. |  Updated  —  An episode of “South Park” that continued a story line involving the Prophet Muhammad …

'I've gone from being Churchill to a Nazi in a week': Clegg defends attack on Britain's ‘delusions of grandeur’ over WWII  —  A rattled Nick Clegg today sought to defend himself over his claim that the British people have a ‘more insidious cross to bear’ than Germany over World War II.

Millions face tax increases under Dems budget plan  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's Democratic allies in the Senate promise to cut the deficit by almost two-thirds over the next five years, but their budget plan could threaten about 30 million people with tax increases averaging $3,700 …

First They Came For Hitler...  The thousand-year reich of Downfall parodies has ended in ruins.  Constantin Films, the German producer of the 2004 film Der Untergang, has compelled YouTube to start taking down the popular Hitler-rants-about-funny-thing-X clips.

Bringing Thunder-ous change to New Jersey  —  The bridge spanning the Delaware River connects New Jersey's capital with this town where the nation's most interesting governor occasionally eats lunch at Cafe Antonio.  It also connects New Jersey's government with reality.

CHICKENCARE GOES VIRAL  —  Perhaps inevitably, as you can see in the picture at the left, a progressive group has now created a special ChickenCare dance remix of senate candidate Sue Lowden's proposal to bring down health care costs by adopting a barter economy in medical care.

BANKS: Deposits Guaranteed … Through the great banking houses of Manhattan last week ran wild-eyed alarm.  Big bankers stared at one another in anger and astonishment.  A bill just passed by both houses of Congress would rivet upon their institutions what they considered a monstrous system of guaranteeing bank deposits.

Existing-Home Sales Rise on Home Buyer Tax Credit and Favorable Market Conditions  —  Buyers responding to the homebuyer tax credit and favorable affordability conditions boosted existing-home sales in March, marking the beginning of an expected spring surge, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

In Judicial Bouts, Diane Wood Shows a Persuasive Punch  —  WASHINGTON — There were few liberals and just one woman on the federal appeals court in Chicago when Diane P. Wood, an antitrust expert with a flair for foreign language and an ear for playing the oboe, showed up in the summer of 1995.

US military jury clears SEAL in Iraq abuse case  —  BAGHDAD (AP) — A U.S. military jury cleared a Navy SEAL Thursday of failing to prevent the beating of an Iraqi prisoner suspected of masterminding a 2004 attack that killed four American securit...

U.N.'s Ballooning $732 Million Haiti Peacekeeping Budget Goes Mostly to Its Own Personnel  —  The United Nations has quietly upped this year's peacekeeping budget for earthquake-shattered Haiti to $732.4 million, with two-thirds of that amount going for the salary, perks and upkeep of its own personnel …

Jim DeMint Talks to Brody File About Whether He Wants to Run for President  —  Senator Jim DeMint, a favorite of the Tea party movement and an influential conservative in the country tells The Brody File that while he won't rule out running for President in 2012 he says, “It's not something I desire”.