Gov. Brewer signs controversial immigration bill  —  Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer today signed a controversial immigration bill into state law, advancing a politically charged debate that is already having reverberations in Washington.  —  “Respect for the rule of law means respect for every law,” said Brewer, a Republican.

Rating Agencies Shared Data, and Wall St. Seized on It  —  One of the mysteries of the financial crisis is how mortgage investments that turned out to be so bad earned credit ratings that made them look so good.  —  One answer is that Wall Street was given access to the formulas behind …

It's on: “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” set for May 20th  —  Someone at Dan Savage's blog started it, then Michael Moynihan at Reason picked it up, now I feel obliged to help push it out there.  Says Moynihan: … Cue the predictable media squealing that “you'll only antagonize them!”

American (Judicial) Idol  —  Americans are justifiably proud of having given the world a model for the architecture of democratic self-government.  Democracies old and new have emulated the separation of powers and the idea of a constitutional court with the authority to review and invalidate actions of the other branches.

Florida's Charlie Crist could use a hug  —  What is it about a man crush that is incompatible with the two-party system?  —  When a Democrat, Sen. Joe Lieberman, was kissed by George W. Bush on the House floor, the smooch became the symbol of Lieberman's embrace of the Bush war policies, and he was drummed out of the party.

Have Conservatives Gone Mad?  —  Serious thinkers on the right have finally gotten around to a full and open debate on the epistemic closure problem that's plaguing the conservative movement.  The issue, to put it in terms that even I can understand, because I didn't study philosophy much in college: has the conservative base gone mad?

Climate change legislation unlikely this year, say sources  —  (CNN) - Despite a new bipartisan push on climate change, legislation on the issue is unlikely to make it to the Senate floor this year, two Senate Democratic sources tell CNN.  —  That would be a blow to three senior senators set …

FDIC closes Broadway Bank, Amcore, five others  —  Ricky McCullough, associate ombudsman for the FDIC, talks to the media about the closing of Broadway Bank on Friday, April 23.  (Phil Velasquez/ Chicago Tribune)  —  By Becky Yerak |  Broadway Bank, the family-run lender …

GUY FAWKES, NEW REPUBLICAN HERO.... Last fall, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) organized a right-wing rally on Capitol Hill for November 5, in the hopes of killing health care reform.  After characterizing her followers as “insurgents” and “freedom fighters,” Bachmann urged far-right activists to, in her word, “scare” federal lawmakers.

Jon Stewart of ‘The Daily Show’ Takes On Fox News  —  George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are long gone.  Fox News Channel is Jon Stewart's new enemy No. 1.  —  Last week that comedian did something that the hosts of “Fox & Friends,” the morning show on Fox News, did not do …

A health-care reform Rorschach test  —  I long ago learned that cost estimates are health-care reform's version of a Rorschach test: They tell you more about the reader than the bill.  And the early reaction to the latest estimates (pdf) out of the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services are no different.

Edwards to Testify About Sex Tape  —  Hungry Beast Giving Beast Women in the World  —  Blogs and Stories  —  John Edwards will testify under oath about his relationship with mistress Rielle Hunter, facing questions about the infamous sex tape and whether he spent campaign funds to hide the relationship.

Greenpeace says no to energy bill  —  Offering the first evidence of the complex Senate debate that lies ahead on an energy reform bill, the environmental group Greenpeace said Friday it intends to oppose the legislation that a bipartisan group of Senators intend to introduce next week.

M.I.T. Economist Wins John Bates Clark Medal  —  Esther Duflo, a development economist at M.I.T., has been awarded the John Bates Clark Medal.  The award is given to “that American economist under the age of 40 who is judged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge.”